A Golden
Key to Your Scripture Studies | |||
In the present context of conceptual terms of the scriptures becoming "One In Thine Hand" and of a "Vision of All" may be considered as one and the same concept. As one pieces the scriptures together as a picture of 'all things,' a literal 'VISION OF ALL' begins to be formed and the scriptures become 'ONE IN THINE HAND' in the very exciting way that they do all come together in that broader panoramic frame, each scripture volune contibruting to the whole of it, contributing further additional details otherwise left out without all of the scriptures together. |
Of all the keys to this and that, to understanding and to doors, there are many presentations of proposed 'Keys' or 'Secrets' to the 'Unlocking' of the 'Mysteries' of understanding the Scriptures, the things of God. There are various texts of various authors and prophets found in the scriptures. Perhaps this is no more than one of them. But I have found that there is a unifying thread of commonality that runs throughout the whole of the scriptures in regard to this one key and their messages that interrelates them together and makes them more understandable and easier to read by using this key of understanding and thus its all makes greater sense to me. To this end of understanding, I will attempt to share here what that gold key to the common threads of understanding is.
Simply said, (1) on the one hand all is founded in and upon God's Great Plan of Exaltation, which comes under a variety of titles. These includes such as the 'Gospel Plan', the 'Plan of Happiness', the 'Plan of Salvation', 'God's Plan', the 'Plan of Eternal Progression' and so forth. And they are further associated with such things as the 'Everlasting Covenant' and/or the 'New and Everlasting Covenant', which difference seems to be to be that God renews his covenant blessings with each generation and to that 'new' generation it is always termed 'the New Everlasting Covenant.' This 'plan' or 'plans' set out the order of heaven and earth and their relationship to and with each other, that is 'man and God'. This seems to be the informational, context or subject matter that is at hand from one perspective of understanding.
The other perspective of understanding is the means of communicating that information, for something that is not known is of no use. And beyond just openning up the top of the skull and pouring it in, perhaps the most tangible and solid means of reliably transfering that information in a sound and historical means is by the written word of the scriptures. But getting that understanding and information out of the scriptures and into man is not so easily done. It takes time and effort and the ability to study and learn. And the scriptures do not always seem to relate very well even in and among themselves, and all their various texts.
I recall that one of the hardest things to deal with in reading the Book of Mormon scriptures for me was that greatest and biggest 'stumbling block' of mine, which was, 'what were all these Old Testament Isaiah chapters doing being placed right in the midst of Book of Mormon story?' You'd just get into the story of the Book of Mormon of Lehi and Nephi and their families and 'wham', you were hit with chapters out of Isaiah of the Old Testament that seemed entirely unrelated other than the fact that Nephi found them to be really great and/or Joseph Smith needed some filler text to make his book weightier.
And even with the good intentions of the explanations of various instructors as to 'just how great were the words of Isaiah', it still never did seem to adequately cause Isaiah to fit nicely into the pages of the Book of Mormon. At least not until now! Now I have found the why and the wherefore that ties not only Nephi and Isaiah together, but it ties each and every one of the four testaments' texts, authors and prophets together. Yes you heard me 'four testaments' and I'm not talking about Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. I speaking of the Old Testament, the New Testament, 'Another Testament' meaning the Book of Mormon, and fourth all the 'Other Testaments', where I have to include the Doctrine and Covenants, the Pearl of Great Price, the 'Green Scriptures' (our Hymn book) and even all continuous and mordern scriptural writings as well. And that includes the texts, writings, conferences addresses and even all else as spoken by and of the spirit of revelation via the Holy Ghost.
And what ties these all together, and fits them so well as to be but one and the same is what I would like to share. Here I could get off easy and say that it is the Spirit of Revelation and the Holy Ghost that does that, for certainly that is the confirming power of conviction which binds them. But I will take it beyond that. And I will present what to me makes of John the Revelator, Nephi, Mahonri Moriancumr, Isaiah, Moroni, Zechariah, Joseph Smith, Daniel, Zenos and all of the holy prophets and scriptural writings as being but one and that same; and as it were but one in mine hand today.
The Vision of it All
So now, (2) on the other hand, it may simply be said to be able to see and/or envision it all as 'one whole eternal round', past, present and future as one 'eternal now'. But that can be quite a large pill to swallow. So I will attempt piecing it together so as to understand how it does fit. And I'll venture to make a statement of promise, that is, 'The Book of Mormon, that is within the Book of Mormon lies a 'KEY' to unlocking the scriptures, even the whole of them, to man.
Yes, I would like to share with you 'a vision of it all' fit together as one, so that you may access your scriptural texts all toghter as 'one in thine hand' together fully related and and solid as being but one and the same 'thing'. And I think the place where I can start to do that is with a man named Mahonri Moriancumr.
Mahonri Moriancumr: Mahonri lived during that period of time we recognize as the time of the Tower of Babel. Mahonri was a righeous man, a man of God, and Mahonri had a brother named Jared. The prophets of that day were warning to people to dispurse themselves upon the earth and not to stay together to build that great tower to heaven or God would put a curse on them and confuse their tongue, meaning they would no longer be able to understand one another's speech, that is their languages would all be made different.
Jared did not want that to happen so he asked his brother Mahonri to pray to God that it would not happen to them. Over some time and a number of events Mahonri did speak and pray and talk with God. And Mahonri's faith in God became so great that at one time, Mahonri even saw the finger of the Lord's hand. And the Lord perceived that Mahonri had so great a faith in God that God no longer kept Mahonri within the veil and God did show himself to Mahonri (Ether 3).
Not only did God show himself to Mahonri, God also open up to Mahonri's eyes the vision of all things from the very beginning to the end thereof, and Mahonri Moriancumr saw all things even as God sees them, all before him, past, present, and future together as one. And the Lord commanded Mahonri to write what he had seen, the Vision of All, of all things from the beginning to the end. And Mahonri did write it in the language which God did preserve unto Mahonri, his brother Jared and their people with them. When Mahonri finished writing the book, the Lord had told him to seal it up and show it to no man, that it was come forth as the Lord saw fit to reveal it unto man.
Fast Forward to Nephi and Lehi
In the days of King Zedekiah in the Old Testament, about 600 years before the birth of Christ, there lived Lehi and his family and sons, one of whom was named Nephi. Lehi was a prophet of God and during the events of his life time Lehi was given to see a 'dream/vision', which due to the short abridged account of it given by his son Nephi, it has become known as the 'dream or vision of the tree of life.' But Lehi saw much more as Nephi states though Nephi did not tell all of what his father did see and speak to them about.
Nephi was a righteous son and he had had dealings with God himself. And it was Nephi's desire that he too could see that vision his father Lehi had seen. Nephi was also given to see the vision of his father and Nephi wrote about it. He reports what he saw in more detail than that which he had written in abridged form of his father's dream. Nephi went on to write and tell much more of his own visionary experience. Nephi even tells that he would/did see what the apostle John would see, but Nephi was forbidden to write any of that part of what he had seen for it was reserved for John the Revelator to write that portion of the vision.
Since Nephi had the plates of brass to study and read, Nephi would read many of the writings of many of the prophets. And Nephi came to a conclusion that there were 'also others who have been, to them hath he [the Lord] shown all things, and they have written them' (1 Nephi 14:26). It would have been then that Nephi developed his great affinity for the writings of the prophet Isaiah, for indeed Isaiah had seen the Lord even as Nephi had seen him. And Isaiah had seen the vision and written that which was given to him to write from it. Thus Nephi could 'copy' over the writings of Isaiah of the vision without having to write it all out himself. And he could gain the additional insights which Isaiah had had when he had seen the vision of all things. Though Isaiah is not mentioned in the following quote as one of those who may well have seen much if not all this vision, it does add some confirmation to the concept that others have also taken upon themselves to view 1 Nephi 14:26 as being associated with the 'Vision of All' of Mahonri Moriancumr/Moriancumer.
"This seems to be a specific reference to the vision had by the brother of Jared and the record made and sealed up by him (Ether 3:22-27). ... then shall the panoramic view given to Nephi, as well as those give to Adam, Enoch, Noah, Mohonri Moriancumer, Abraham, Moses, Joseph Smith, and others, be opened to all the obedient (2 Nephi 27:10-11, Ether 4:6-7, 15)." ~ Commentary on the Book of Mormon: Volume 1, page 115; Joseph Fielding McConkie; Robert L. Millet
Now if one can learn and accept this one thing, that many of the prophets of God have been shown 'the vision of all things' either in part or by way of particular guiding angel attendants, who have pointed out various particulars that the 'viewer' was to pay attention to, if not the whole of it: then with this understanding, in one's study of the scriptures they can readily begin to see what one prophet of God is speaking of and tie it into that which another such prophet of God has seen and is speaking of. No longer is Daniel, Isaiah, John, Nephi, Moroni, Zechariah, Jesus and the other prophets of the scriptures isolated from each other in their own separate texts and visions. They may begin to be seen from the panoramic view from before the foundation of the earth, that beginning, and on and through until the ending, even with the millennium, final judgement, the kingdoms of glory and beyond. In this the scriptures may come alive to you as you begin to see it all from alpha to omega and beyond into eternity.
All of the scriptures can begin to be blended in together as one to understand what God's great plan was, is and is to be. And the various events of the scriptures and their prophecies can be fitted in together. Moses was given to see the creation of this earth and its heaven. Both Moses and Abraham spoke of the pre-existent selection of Jehovah to become Jehoshua our Saviour and Redeemer. Zechariah saw the council of determination between Lucifer as Satan and Jehovah as Jehoshua prior to when Lucifer was cast out of heaven down to earth. The tree of life encompasses from the tree in the garden to the proceeding of man's walk on earth including the birth and life and administration of Jesus Christ and his twelve apostles and much more. Daniel saw and wrote many things pertaining to the course of mankind through time as did also Isaiah and many, many of the other prophets.
There is still the all inclusive written account of Mahonri Moriancumr's Vision of All, but taken together from the writers of the scriptures we have, we are also able to put together such a fairly comprehensive view of all things from beginning to end as well. And as we do, so do the scriptures become 'one in thine hand', a witness to the whole of things as set out and administered unto man by the hand of God.