CV75

I tend to agree. But I don’t think it matters how much God knows, and I think the relationship between His knowledge and our choices has more to do with our will than with our agency. While our agency is a function of law (consequences), opposition (alternatives), knowledge (intelligence), understanding (accountability), and freedom. https://www.lds.org/ensign/2009/06/moral-agency?lang=eng, I believe our will is more fundamental than agency. I think our will is an eternal attribute of our intelligence, or that which is co-eternal with God. As our will operated in co-eternity, God provided the elements of agency in the progressive estates. For example, in the spiritual realm, we had opposition in the form of differentiation (Abraham 3:18-19); in the earthly realm it began as the serpent and the forbidden fruit (Moses 7:32), and is now more complex (Moroni 7:12-13); and in the eternal realms we find a return to the same principle found in Abraham 3:18-19, in terms of governing greater and lesser reckoning (3:9). Because of our will, I think there are certain points in our decision-making where God does not know what we will choose until we have done so. He certainly knows the thoughts and intents of our hearts, and I suppose with utmost immediacy, as with all that we say and do, but He does not know our will until we reveal it through these choices. This is why He uses His omniscience and omnipotence to intervene whenever necessary and possible, and yet not always enjoy the fulfillment of His will. He comprehends all, as evidenced by having His Son descend below and ascend above all things, but I think the Atonement had to be prepared from before the foundation of the world, and be infinite and eternal in nature, in order to cover all that could happen in mortality (which by definition is merely finite and temporal, no matter how many souls are involved), precisely because He does not fully know our will before we exercise it.

I take foreknowledge to be the manifestation of perfect faith and not of perfect knowledge, and the purpose of our mortal probation ("to see if they will do all things whatsoever the Lord their God shall command them”) also. His perfect knowledge is realized when the fruits of His perfect faith are ripe (I see this as a teaching from Jacob 5). I think His giving us agency is done in the foreknowledge, or in the perfect faith, that eternal law will yield just fruits and that His Son will make that ripening process a merciful one.

While I appreciate the analogy, I see the probation by design is “to see if they will do all things whatsoever the Lord their God shall command them.” I do not take this to mean that spirits are pre-designed or pre-determined to keep the laws or commandments of various less-than-exalted kingdoms since Jesus descended below and ascended above all things to prevent that, or to prepare everyone for exaltation. Neither do I take this to mean we made our selection of a kingdom of glory prior to the second estate. Plus, we do all that vicarious temple work for that very purpose! The mortal system is temporary and in that sense is designed (destined) to ultimately fail, but it is accompanied by a concurrent and overarching divine system which ultimately replaces it. There is no place in the mortal system where the light of Christ (or since His Ascension, the living Christ) cannot reach, even though we all suffer physical and spiritual death. Because we each experience these in terms of degree, there is no push to ultimate failure except in the physical expiration of the body, which is not necessarily a bad thing, just the end of the test. I do appreciate the idea that mortality is our final testing prior to immortality. But because of its design “to see” our fitness, I think it is yet to be seen where we will be utilized in the hereafter.

Thank you for sharing these ideas. I believe that as long as we really don’t understand what it means to be all-knowing or all-powerful, we can say that God is omniscient and omnipotent enough to author and orchestrate the plan of happiness, or that He is omniscient and omnipotent compared to us. I also think that omniscience and omnipotence apply only to those things that can be known or done according to eternal law. One law is that knowledge follows faith. I see foreknowledge as a synonym for faith, since the object hasn’t yet been realized. Terms like plan and probation to me indicate that the outcome is not known ahead of time. In the Creation for example, God saw that certain actions were followed and pronounced them good. He has perfect faith in His Son, and in us to choose His Son, and that is His exercise of agency on His side of equation. The Atonement guarantees a favorable outcome for the faithful, which we certainly were in the first estate, and intended to continue to be in our probation, and which we plan and try to be in this estate. Because of this guarantee, the plan cannot be frustrated. I think that His status as the Star “more intelligent than they all” is indicative that we could not know all things He knew pertaining to our mortal experience, but that we had enough knowledge, and enough faith in Christ, to come. That we were in His presence without a body is the most fundamental barrier limiting our ability to know all things in mortality. And to physically be in His presence in the resurrection is only the beginning of knowing what He knows. Of course we have a taste of that spiritually as we advance from grace to grace during our mortal probation. I agree we made choices in our pre-existence based on the knowledge available and the faith we developed. I think that our faith in and appreciation of the Atonement, both then and now, informs our understanding of eternal law, including agency (and the outcomes or consequences thereof), knowledge, repentance, and the promised victory over sin and death.

As the perfect plan, it has the perfect outcome, and God certainly knows what that is. But is nevertheless a plan which must be followed to be realized, and this can play out differently depending on one's ongoing development of faith and obedience. I agree that guessing is not an example of using agency, though I suppose choosing to guess is. But I do not see applying faith as guessing; no guess is made with faith. Alma described faith as “not a perfect knowledge,” which I take to be a kind of knowledge, specifically an incipient knowledge granted by virtue of the light of Christ. It helps us recognize choices, even if we may not fully articulate them, in the same way that it provides an assurance of things hoped for (which are true) and the evidence of things not seen which are true as we move and act according to our wills. I believe we made choices before birth, and we chose to be tested in this second estate. I think one of the blessings we have from those pre-mortal choices is not only a body in this life, but a continued sense of or familiarity with the light of Christ which we enjoyed from before the beginning of the foundations of the world, along with other spiritual gifts that we were to continue to develop more fully in a physical world. I think our knowledge and choice from the pre-existence are an advantage in this world, just as any principle of intelligence we gain in this life gives us an advantage in the world to come.

I would say that God doesn't waste time envisioning all the possibilities; He leaves that up to us (even though He commands we keep our eye single to Him) and intervenes to help us whenever possible as He foresees the logical conclusion of our real-time choices. I would also say that God lives in an eternity that is ordered with a time component (as in a house of order) and that He allows our agency, in conjunction with His administration of eternal laws and their consequences, to operate freely. This is why our own laws don't work well in time or eternity (Isaiah 50:11).

For the LDS, power and knowledge are attributes of intelligence, so omnipotence and omniscience are only as relative as the intelligences involved (Abraham 3:19). Also for the LDS, as long as there is a probation, by definition, there is no known outcome until it happens (Abraham 3:25); judgement occurs only after all the facts are in (that is why it is called the “Last Day”). And from the same verse, as long as there is an opportunity to do “all things,” the tested are just as omnipotent as the Tester (which is the function of grace operating between the Greatest and His lesser stars).

I agree that it was pride and the desire to trade agency for probation (or trade righteousness for an existence without opposition, as Cain tried to do) to get gain.

There is only one power of God. He manifests it in an organized way. He uses orders, offices and keys to do this, and gives them names. The patriarchal order (not priesthood) is the order established in our temples with marriage. One spouse has the Melchizedek priesthood and the other doesn't but they share equally in the order. "Boyd K. Packer, an LDS Church apostle, has explained that the patriarchal priesthood is included in the Melchizedek priesthood: "There are references to a patriarchal priesthood. The patriarchal order is not a third, separate priesthood. Whatever relates to the patriarchal order is embraced in the Melchizedek Priesthood. 'All other authorities or offices in the church are appendages to [the Melchizedek] priesthood.' [D&C 107:5] The patriarchal order is a part of the Melchizedek Priesthood which enables endowed and worthy men to preside over their posterity in time and eternity." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patriarchal_priesthood

Jesus put you in there, and He will take you out in due time. But the joy is in knowing He put you there and whatever you do in good faith and "unweayingness", He notices and appreciates. Then there's praying for charity and seeing those who annoy you as Jesus sees them (he suffered for them, too, and appreciates what they do too).

Maybe a family council would help. Not for you to referee, but to bring up true principles that address their concerns. That might reveal needs that might be met by family scripture study, and the older boy can study separately with his girlfriend when the family has invested in developing their relationship in Jesus. It might also bring up a discussion on dating (maybe eventually he whole Strength of Youth material for that matter), and how romantic relationships change over the early to later teen years, etc. so the boys know what they might expect and be prepared for. They can learn a lot from their parents, I would think.

I think the meaning of spirit gender is found in the exercise of the will in observing, doing and experiencing. I think that that male and female spirits or intelligences, while doing most of the same things in common, also do a few things unique to their gender. Alma 13 focuses on the males. But the spirit daughters likewise learn to aspire to become like the Mother, as the spirit sons aspire to become like the Father. In doing that, I imagine there is both instruction and practical application involved (i.e. perhaps different roles in the creation, for example). The spirit's will should be aligned with the Father's of course, otherwise we have a war in heaven! Or at least as lack of progress.

It is Alma 13. The holy calling and ordination refers to priesthood ordination ("order of his Son"), but the ordinances of the holy order would include the bigger priesthood picture (eternal families), and all are foreordained for that.

I see only two questions in the OP: “Does every man who has been ordained to the Melchizedek priesthood have the power to heal?” I’d say yes, as long as the requirements for possessing this power are met, which are: The Lord’s will, His grace, and the faith and acceptability of the priesthood holder. “Why do so many healing blessings produce no results?” In the context of the question of the power to heal, I would say that God does not live by every word that proceedeth forth from the mouth of men; He is not bound by every blessing given, only by what He performs through his servants. Priesthood holders, or anyone with spiritual gifts, are not supposed to say or do whatever they want (D&C 68:4); if they do, "Amen to the priesthood or authority [or gift] of that man," which renders his performances not binding, or yielding no results, as the case may be.

Yes, the daughters of God have spiritual gifts, including that of healing. Our practices may have changed over the years, but that is a separate discussion, I think. But I believe this gift is alive and well with those sisters who possess and use it with care. Sacred things are to be treated with care, and how we treat with care may have changed over the years as well, such as our becoming more reserved about discussing or advertising them. The bishop can discern these things, and in the case of the man you know, has hopefully done so! Your bishop may also discern whether you have the spiritual gift of healing or of faith to heal, or the spiritual gift of faith to be healed. As an elder, you also have the authority to bless and act as voice whether you have these gifts or not.

If I’m understanding you correctly, you have used the priesthood (anointing and sealing with consecrated oil for the purpose of blessing the sick) to heal others, and you also have been healed by priesthood administration. I’m not clear as to whether you have the spiritual gift of healing or of faith to heal, or the spiritual gift of faith to be healed. I’m seeing subtle differences between the spiritual gift of healing and the spiritual gift of faith to heal. There are at least two spiritual processes involved, these being the exercise of faith to use the priesthood, and exercising faith in the priesthood. And there is one other related spiritual gift, the gift of faith to be healed. Regarding Brother Hanks, who had a better heling record than other priesthood holders in the area, I’m thinking that those who sought him out for healing may have had more faith in him than in their priesthood holding neighbors. That might be one reason they were not healed by priesthood administration; they simply lacked faith in it or their neighbors. Another is that perhaps Brother Hanks had more confidence in his spiritual gift than the priesthood holders had in using their priesthood. Personal worthiness may have had something to do with it. And perhaps the community at large simply recognized his gift and chose to use that as the first recourse before seeking priesthood blessings, simply in the interest of efficiency and efficacy.

It is, sometimes. “And again, to some it is given to have faith to be healed; And to others it is given to have faith to heal” (D&C 46:19-20). In this case, faith is a spiritual gift unto itself, and that can be used in conjunction with the gift of healing. Priesthood administration (blessing for health) is not mentioned here, but it is in D&C 42:43, 44 in the context of those without faith but who believe, in which the priesthood administration reveals the Lord’s will through the actual outcome and not the anticipated miracle. I think the spiritual gift of faith also works in conjunction with the priesthood administration. But we can generate faith outside of it being a particular spiritual gift. And sometimes the faith of the receiver is greater than the faith of the person giving the priesthood blessing or using the gift of healing. While the spiritual gift can be used instead of the priesthood administration, the same person can use both concurrently. I would say that in all cases the blessing is contingent upon the Lord’s will. Sometimes the Spirit will direct someone to say, “This blessing is contingent upon your faith,” and of course someone might also say that out of habit.

I think it is a practical example of keeping the faith during those conditions that are most common in mankind to destroy it from the outside in, whether spiritual or physical war. Mormon also saw our day and our wars and contentions, especially in those parts of the world where we have not seen the Church enter, and which have been in a constant state of war on some level for hundreds if not thousands of years.

I think every Elder has the authority to perform blessings, but only some have the spiritual gift of healing. The Lord honoring either to bring healing blessings to pass is contingent upon our faith and His will working together (and sometimes the agency of others not acting against God), so when they do not come together, we do not have the results (such a situation was addressed in D&C 124:49-50). D&C 46:11-12, 26 also says, “For all have not every gift given unto them; for there are many gifts, and to every man is given a gift by the Spirit of God. To some is given one, and to some is given another, that all may be profited thereby. …And all these gifts come from God, for the benefit of the children of God.”

I think intuition arises from subconscious reasoning, and reasoning that we are not aware is going on. The light of Christ and the Holy Ghost can certainly be involved, but not necessarily. I think intuition can be part of a thinking or personality style.

I think the mind is both the body (organized element) and the spirit. The spirit mind is added upon and enhanced by the physical mind. The soul is spirit and element, ideally inseparably connected, but in mortality they eventually fail and come apart. But the "fulness of joy" in the resurrection is sensed by the mind, and both the mind and joy would be incomplete without the full integration of spirit and element. When I say body and element, I include the biochemical and mechanical processes that go along with it. That is how, for example, the mind of a defective brain or body can cause outward behavior that may run contrary to the spirit's agency.

The Revelations in Context series are very helpful. If I recall correctly: 1-Oliver had a conscience and common sense. He was a teacher of children and understood the principle of finding things out. He used a divining rod, which the Lord recognized as a bonafide means of finding things out. He had studied things out with Joseph before, as shown in Section 7. And in 8:12, it is clear the Lord had spoken to him before. 2-Jospeh spent many years "studying" with Mornoni. Oliver didn't have this exact advantage of tutelage, but he could still ponder, which I think is the same thing, and something he was used to doing with his gift of Aaron for some time (the sprout, the rod, divining). 3-The online essays get into these types of translation. Enjoy!

Just an observation: President Monson's wording is "should prepare," as in accepting this obligatory priesthood duty. Every accountable young man can do that. Then when things get in the way, his preparation can still be applied in other ways if it is decided by the proper priesthood authority that he cannot serve a full-time mission. Whether or not he qualifies to carry out this obligation is up to the priesthood authority calling him to serve in a particular mission, since we do not call nor release ourselves (that's an example of the president's power to bind and seal). But all young men are called to prepare, and to serve by preparing. As far as missionaries getting independent spiritual promptings that differ from their presiding priesthood authority, I think correct understanding of doctrine will help both the president and the missionary counsel and reason together and obtain the Lord's will.

He was bad, but far from the only one able, willing and ready to seek the destruction of Jesus.

Someone can exert so much faith in Christ that the blessing cannot be withheld, or better put, requires no vetting and trial of faith on the part of the Savior. For example, Nephi was told, "all things shall be done unto thee according to thy word, for thou shalt not ask that which is contrary to my will," and "the Lord could not withhold anything from him [the brother of Jared], for he knew that the Lord could show him all things." The woman in this instance had great faith and was able to access the Lord's healing power. Just as the brother of Jared's faith surpassed His expectations, so did this woman's.