LDS Trivia Questions

[JojoBag]

Can you correctly answer the following questions?

 

1. What language did Jesus speak?

2. What did the Ark of the Covenant contain?

3. What Philistine city-state did Goliath come from?

4. The continents of the Earth were divided in the days of which person?

5. What is the end time worldwide secret combination talked about in the book of Ether?

6. What was the very first miracle performed in this dispensation?

7. What was one of the most common priesthood miracles performed by Joseph F. Smith while on his mission to Hawaii?

8. How much food storage were the Saints originally counseled to have?

9. Joseph Smith taught that our Heavenly Father has six attributes. What is His first attribute?

10. Can the terms, “gift of discernment” and “spirit of discernment” be found in the scriptures?

11. Where was the City of Enoch located?

12. Can little children under the age of eight can be possessed by a devil or unclean spirit.

13. What subject did Joseph Smith spent the most time teaching the early Saints?

14. How old was Joseph F. Smith when he was called to serve a mission in Hawaii?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Answers:

 

1. Galilean Aramaic

2. Tables of the Law, Aaron’s rod that budded, pot of manna

3. Gath

4. Peleg

5. Socialism/communism. Pres. Benson identified socialism/communism as the global secret combination talked about my Moroni.

6. Casting out an evil spirit from Newel K. Knight by Joseph Smith

7. Casting out evil spirits. According to Joseph F. Smith's own words, this was one of the most frequent miracles he performed.

8. Seven years

9. Knowledge

10 .No. The correct term is “ the gift of the discerning of spirits.” Joseph Smith never used either term. Both terms were first used by Elder George Q. Cannon in general conferences in 1883 and 1893.

11. Gulf of Mexico (statement from Joseph Smith)

12. Yes. Some people confuse temptation with affliction. Wilford Woodruff once cast out a devil from a child who was just a few months old.

13. The discerning of spirits. According to his cousin, Elder George A. Smith, Joseph Smith spent more time teaching about the discerning of spirits than any other. subject

14. Fifteen

[Vort]

Trivia is fun. I haven't seen the questions yet. Let's see how I do. I see the answers are provided, so I will nuke those, unseen, before I answer.

 

Can you correctly answer the following questions?

 

1. What language did Jesus speak?

2. What did the Ark of the Covenant contain?

3. What Philistine city-state did Goliath come from?

4. The continents of the Earth were divided in the days of which person?

5. What is the end time worldwide secret combination talked about in the book of Ether?

6. What was the very first miracle performed in this dispensation?

7. What was one of the most common priesthood miracles performed by Joseph F. Smith while on his mission to Hawaii?

8. How much food storage were the Saints originally counseled to have?

9. Joseph Smith taught that our Heavenly Father has six attributes. What is His first attribute?

10. Can the terms, “gift of discernment” and “spirit of discernment” be found in the scriptures?

11. Where was the City of Enoch located?

12. Can little children under the age of eight can be possessed by a devil or unclean spirit.

13. What subject did Joseph Smith spent the most time teaching the early Saints?

14. How old was Joseph F. Smith when he was called to serve a mission in Hawaii?

1. Aramaic and possibly Koine Greek
2. The broken remnants of the original law carved by the finger of God upon stone tablets
3. Gath
4. WRONG, WRONG, WRONG. The continents were not divided in the days of Peleg. This is a thoroughly modern misinterpretation. The earth was divided; I suspect this refers to a political division, but the Bible does not elucidate.
5. The Democrat Party. Seriously, I don't know what you're referring to.
6. Well, let's see. By definition, the dispensation of the gospel began with the visitation of the Father and the Son to Joseph Smith, an indisputably miraculous occurrence. So I guess the visitation of the Father and the Son to Joseph Smith.
7. Hmmmm. No idea. I'll guess healing.
8. Two years' worth, I believe.
9. Justice.
10. Off the top of my head, I can't think of any examples, so I'll say no.
11. East of Eden. (I don't buy the old tale of the city of Enoch taking up the area of the present-day Gulf of Mexico, and am not likely to believe such a tale without some strong evidence of actual prophetic teachings to that effect. Just in case you're going there with this question.)
12. No, I believe this is contrary to how agency functions.
13. Don't know.
14. Fifteen.

Let's see how I did.

 

1. Galilean Aramaic

2. Tables of the Law, Aaron’s rod that budded, pot of manna

3. Gath

4. Peleg

5. Socialism/communism. Pres. Benson identified socialism/communism as the global secret combination talked about my Moroni.

6. Casting out an evil spirit from Newel K. Knight by Joseph Smith

7. Casting out evil spirits. According to Joseph F. Smith's own words, this was one of the most frequent miracles he performed.

8. Seven years

9. Knowledge

10 .No. The correct term is “ the gift of the discerning of spirits.” Joseph Smith never used either term. Both terms were first used by Elder George Q. Cannon in general conferences in 1883 and 1893.

11. Gulf of Mexico (statement from Joseph Smith)

12. Yes. Some people confuse temptation with affliction. Wilford Woodruff once cast out a devil from a child who was just a few months old.

13. The discerning of spirits. According to his cousin, Elder George A. Smith, Joseph Smith spent more time teaching about the discerning of spirits than any other. subject

14. Fifteen

1. One right.
2. Oops. Forgot about the manna, and I completely overlooked Aaron's rod. One right, one wrong.
3. Two right, one wrong.
4. Yeah, um...no. See my answer above. 3 right / 1 wrong
5. Reference, please? I know very well how much President Benson hated Communism, but I don't recall him ever giving a definitive interpretation of what Ether was referring to. 3 right / 1 wrong / 1 suspended
6. Hmmmm. No, I like my answer better. 4/1/1
7. D'oh. 4/2/1
8. Reference, please. In the meantime, I will assume you are right and I am wrong. 4/3/1
9. Reference, please. Lectures on Faith, perhaps? If so, that's more likely Sidney Rigdon than Joseph Smith, though in the main, the doctrine appears to have been Joseph's. (The Q&A presentation, common in 19th-century America, was definitely Rigdon's.) I'll assume you're right. 4/4/1
10. 5/4/1
11. Reference, please. I have heard this since childhood, but I know of no such statement from Joseph Smith. I'm happy to be proven wrong. The only reference I know of is a notation in Wilford Woodruff's journal, which reads (I just Googled it):
    
    Joseph also said that when the City of Enoch fled & was translated it was whare the gulf of Mexico now is. It left that gulf a body of water.
    
    A single bare mention of a supposed teaching, appended at the end of a journal entry with no context at all to understand what was being talked about, does not constitute strong evidence of anything. I'm tempted to call my answer right (because it clearly is right), but I'll suspend this one for now instead. 5/4/2
12. This violates my understanding of agency and Satanic influence. I would be very interested to see references to substantiate this. 5/4/3
13. Huh. How about that? Very interesting. 5/5/3
14. 6/5/3
    So, six right, five wrong, and three that I am waiting for references before calling uncle. (I'm willing to take your word for some of them, and I will not be surprised if I missed some of the others.) That's actually better than I thought I might do.

If these had been called "Common LDS Folklore Questions", then I would have scored much worse. The topic being "trivia questions", I think the questions need to be substantiated as true before they can properly count as trivia. Otherwise, it's like asking how much body hair Cain has.

[Guest]

1. The Democrat Party. Seriously, I don't know what you're referring to.

 

You get 10 points for that.  So 16/5/3.  Winner.  Fatality.

[JojoBag]

 

If these had been called "Common LDS Folklore Questions", then I would have scored much worse. The topic being "trivia questions", I think the questions need to be substantiated as true before they can properly count as trivia. Otherwise, it's like asking how much body hair Cain has.

 

Question 4. Sorry, but you got this one wrong.

 

The continents of the Earth, were, in fact, divided in the days of Peleg, which was referenced in the Doctrine and Covenants and the following article from the New Era.

 

"In 1885 the Austrian geologist Eduard Suess theorized on the existence of a supercontinent that he called Gondwanaland.

On November 3, 1831, at Hiram, Ohio, the Prophet Joseph received the above revelation with its great truth: “… and the earth shall be like as it was in the days before it was divided.” (D&C 133:24)

The fact that Latter-day Saints have been informed for such a long period of time of the once supercontinent is extraordinary, but not nearly as extraordinary as is our awareness of that which is yet to come.

Gondwanaland: What It Means to Latter-day Saints"

Jay M. Todd

New Era, Mar 1971

https://www.lds.org/new-era/1971/03/gondwanaland-what-it-means-to-latter-day-saints?lang=eng

 

-Question 5. The following comes from a conference talk given by Pres. Benson. I recommend you read the entire talk as it was all about secret combinations and communism/socialism.

 

“The Prophet Moroni seemed greatly exercised lest in our day we might not be able to recognize the startling fact that the same secret societies which destroyed the Jaredites and decimated numerous kingdoms of both Nephites and Lamanites would be precisely the same form of criminal conspiracy which would rise up among the gentile nations in this day.

The strategems of the leaders of these societies are amazingly familiar to anyone who has studied the tactics of modern communist leaders. The Lord has declared that before the second coming of Christ it will be necessary to ". . . destroy the secret works of darkness, . . ." in order to preserve the land of Zion—the Americas. (2 Nephi 10:11-16.)

The world-wide secret conspiracy which has risen up in our day to fulfil these prophecies is easily identified. President McKay has left no room for doubt as to what attitude Latter-day Saints should take toward the modern "secret combinations" of conspiratorial communism. In a lengthy statement on communism, he said:

". . . Latter-day Saints should have nothing to do with the secret combinations and groups antagonistic to the constitutional law of the land, which the Lord 'suffered to be established,' and which 'should be maintained for the rights and protection of all flesh according to just and holy principles.' " (Gospel Ideals, by David O. McKay, p. 306. Italics added.)”

Conference Report, Oct 1961, Pgs. 69-75

 

Question 6. You need to remember that at the time of the First Vision, Joseph did not have the authority of the priesthood to perform miracles.

 

"After some difficulty Joseph succeeded in taking Newel by the hand, and with great earnestness Newel pleaded with him to cast the devil out of him, for he knew he was possessed. The Prophet said, "If you know that I can, it shall be done." Then, almost unconsciously, he rebuked the evil spirit in the name of Jesus Christ and commanded him to depart. Immediately Newel spoke, saying he saw the evil spirit leave him and vanish from his sight. This was the first miracle performed in this dispensation. As soon as the devil departed Newel became normal again, his distortions of body ceased, and the Spirit of the Lord opened his vision to a glorious manifestation of the heavens."

Essentials in Church History, Joseph Fielding Smith, Pg. 98

 

Question 8. Here are a few quotes. There are several others, but you get the idea.

 

"I will now present a subject which will be a text for the brethren to preach upon from this stand, viz., the necessity of building storehouses in which to preserve our grain. If we have a fruitful season this coming summer, we shall have a large amount of surplus grain which we cannot carry out of the country to market: it must tarry here. And if the people do their duty in this matter, they will continue to lay up grain for themselves and for this community throughout this Territory, and for fifty or a hundred times as many more, until they have enough to last them seven years. You can figure at that, and learn how much grain you ought to lay up. If we have, as I believe we shall, a few seasons fruitful in grain, the staple article that we can cure and preserve, it is our indispensable duty to safely store it for a time to come. This will be a text for some of the brethren."

Brigham Young, JD 4:307

 

"I will tell you a dream which brother Kesler had lately. He dreamed that there was a sack of gold and a cat placed before him, and that he had the privilege of taking which he pleased, whereupon he took the cat, and walked off with her. Why did he take the cat in preference to the gold? Because he could eat the cat, but could not eat the gold. You may see about such times before you die. I wish to speak of these things while they are present with us, and I wish I could impress them upon your minds. The first season that we came here, I recollect that brother Brigham proclaimed the policy of our laying up grain, and told us to lay up a seven years' supply, and prepare for a famine. If our crops are now cut off, it will be one of the best things that has happened to this Church. When a servant of God counsels you, it is your duty to hear and obey his words."

Heber C. Kimball

JD 3:262

 

"A few years ago President Young gave counsel to the people of the Territory—most of whom agreed to it—to lay by seven years provisions. We were to have commenced three years ago, and were to have laid up one year's bread over and above the year's supply. The following year we were to add another year's supply, and so have continued until we had our seven years' supply laid up. How faithful the people have been in keeping this counsel I am not prepared to say, but I am afraid that few men in Israel, even among those who have raised breadstuffs and have had the power to control considerable quantities of it, had three years' bread laid aside when the grasshoppers made their descent this season and swept off half the grains, vegetables, and fruit raised in the Territory, and were prepared, if the whole had been swept off, to live for the next three years without laying in more bread. I am aware that some of our brethren thought this counsel extravagant; they considered that it could not be necessary to lay up such a quantity of bread; and some of them, instead of getting out lumber and making good substantial bins for the preservation of their wheat, turned out their means for teams, and freighted their bread to the north, to the east, and to the west; and not only so, but in many instances they gave it away, if they could only get half price for hauling it. Hundreds and thousands of sacks of flour have been hauled away, when it should have been stored up here against a day of want. I feel just as keenly on this matter now as when this counsel was given, and a little more so, for the army of the Lord—the grasshoppers—may have awakened my mind to the importance of the subject."

Elder George A. Smith

JD 12:141

 

"My faith does not lead me to think the Lord will provide us with roast pigs, bread already buttered, &c. He will give us the ability to raise the grain, to obtain the fruits of the earth, to make habitations, to procure a few boards to make a box, and when harvest comes, giving us the grain, it is for us to preserve it—to save the wheat until we have one, two, five, or seven years' provisions on hand, until there is enough of the staff of life saved by the people to bread themselves and those who will come here seeking for safety."

Brigham Young

JD 10:293-294

 

"Here are brother Amasa Lyman, brother Woodruff, and other brethren, who recollect Brigham testifying most strenuously in the Bowery—then occupied by the pioneers, when we first entered the Valley—of the propriety of this people laying up grain and other stores for seven years—because, said he, “The time has come when the words of the Prophets should be fulfilled, that the earth should rest every seventh year.”

He said it was our duty to lay up grain for seven years, because he foresaw what would be; he foresaw what we came here for—viz., to be the saviors of men. I have spoken also of these things constantly. How oft have you heard these things proclaimed for four years past? And, after all we have said, who is there that has laid up grain to last them one year, much less two, previous to the late scarcity we have passed through?

Those that did lay up a little had to feed that out, or be called scoundrels constantly. Some of the people considered a man a scoundrel that would not hand out the last kernel he had, or the last load of wood he had at his door.

Brother Brigham, myself, and Jedediah have blazed away on this matter for the last four years; and how many have manifested their faith by their works? Have one of you got wheat laid up to last you seven years? No; not one of you have got enough laid up to last three years."

Heber C. Kimball

JD 5:173

 

Question 9. The six attributes of God are:

1. Knowledge

2. Faith or power

3. Justice

4. Judgment

5. Mercy

6. Truth

Lectures on Faith, Lecture Fourth, Pgs. 41-42

 

Question 11.

"Again President Young said Joseph the Prophet told me that the garden of Eden was in Jackson Co., Missouri, & when Adam was driven out of the garden of Eden He went about 40 miles to the Place which we Named Adam Ondi Ahman, & there built an Altar of Stone & offered Sacrifice. That Altar remains to this day. I saw it as Adam left it as did many others, & through all the revolutions of the world that Altar has not been disturbed. Joseph also said that when the City of Enoch fled & was translated it was whare (sic) the gulf of Mexico now is. It left that gulf a body of water."

Wilford Woodruff’s Journal,

30 March 1873

 

 

"Joseph Smith said on another occasion, in the hearing of some of the saints still surveying, that the City of Enoch would again take its place in the identical spot from which it had been detached, now forming that chasm of the earth, filled with water, called the Gulf of Mexico.”

Enoch & His City, Joseph Young, p. 12

 

Question 12. As I mentioned in the answers, many LDS confuse temptation with affliction. Children under the age of eight cannot be tempted, but they can be afflicted.

 

First, let's go to the book of Mark 9:17-29

 

17 And one of the multitude answered and said, Master, I have brought unto thee my son, which hath a dumb spirit;

18 And wheresoever he taketh him, he teareth him: and he foameth, and gnasheth with his teeth, and pineth away: and I spake to thy disciples that they should cast him out; and they could not.

19 He answereth him, and saith, O faithless generation, how long shall I be with you? how long shall I suffer you? bring him unto me.

20 And they brought him unto him: and when he saw him, straightway the spirit tare him; and he fell on the ground, and wallowed foaming.

21 And he asked his father, How long is it ago since this came unto him? And he said, Of a child.

22 And ofttimes it hath cast him into the fire, and into the waters, to destroy him: but if thou canst do any thing, have compassion on us, and help us.

23 Jesus said unto him, If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth.

24 And straightway the father of the child cried out, and said with tears, Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief.

25 When Jesus saw that the people came running together, he rebuked the foul spirit, saying unto him, Thou dumb and deaf spirit, I charge thee, come out of him, and enter no more into him.

26 And the spirit cried, and rent him sore, and came out of him: and he was as one dead; insomuch that many said, He is dead.

27 But Jesus took him by the hand, and lifted him up; and he arose.

28 And when he was come into the house, his disciples asked him privately, Why could not we cast him out?

29 And he said unto them, This kind can come forth by nothing, but by prayer and fasting.

 

It should be noted that the New Testament of the King James Version was translated from the Greek language. In verse twenty-one, the words, “of a child,” were translated from the Greek adverb, “paidiothen,” which means, “from childhood, from early boyhood.” Paidiothen is from the noun “paidion,” which means “a little child, an infant, little one.” This indicates that the boy was a young child when he first became possessed.

 

Next is a quote from Wilford Woodruff.

 

"On the day following I parted with Elders Taylor and Fielding, who went to Liverpool, and with Elder Richards, who tarried in Preston. Elder Turley and I went to Manchester; it was the first time I had visited that city. There I met for the first time Elder William Clayton. As soon as I was introduced to him, he informed me that one of the sisters in that place was possessed of a devil. He asked me if I would not go and cast it out of her. He thought one of the Twelve Apostles could do most anything in such a case. I went with him to the house where the woman lay, in the hands of three men, in a terrible rage. She was trying to tear her clothing from her. I also found quite a number of Saints present, and some unbelievers, who had come to see the devil cast out and a miracle wrought.

"Had I acted upon my own judgment I should have refrained from administering to her in the company of those present; but as I was a stranger there, and Brother Clayton presided over the branch, I joined with him in administering to the woman. The unbelief of the wicked who were present was so great that we could not cast the devil out of her, and she raged worse than ever; I then ordered the room to be cleared, and when the company, except the few attending her, had left the house, we laid hands upon her head, and in the name of Jesus Christ I commanded the devil to come out of her. The devil left, and she was entirely healed and fell asleep.

"The next day being the Sabbath, the woman came before a large congregation of people, and bore testimony to what the Lord had done for her. We had a large assembly through the day and evening, to whom I preached the gospel. On Monday morning, the devil, not being satisfied with being cast out of the woman, entered into her little child, which was but a few months old. I was called upon to visit the child, and found it in great distress, writhing in its mother's arms. We laid hands upon it and cast the devil out; the evil spirits thereafter had no power over that household. This was done by the power of God, and not of man. We laid hands upon twenty in Manchester who were sick, and most of them were healed."

Wilford Woodruff: History of His Life and Labors, Pgs. 114-115

 

Now two quotes from the life of Joseph Smith. Although it does not indicate the age of his child, all his children were young at the time this particular incident took place. They do not say possession occurred, but as I stated before, evil spirits afflict little children as these two quotes illustrate.

 

"I will relate one circumstance that took place at Far West, in a house that Joseph had purchased, which had been formerly occupied as a public house by some wicked people. A short time after he got into it, one of his children was taken very sick; he laid his hands upon the child, when it got better; as soon as he went out of doors, the child was taken sick again; he again laid his hands upon it, so that it again recovered. This occurred several times, when Joseph inquired of the Lord what it all meant; then he had an open vision, and saw the devil in person, who contended with Joseph, face to face, for some time. He said it was his house, it belonged to him, and Joseph had no right there. Then Joseph rebuked Satan in the name of the Lord, and he departed and touched the child no more."

 

Life of Heber C. Kimball

Pg. 270

 

 

"Words of Helen Mar Whitney: We had struggles with evil spirits at Winter Quarters, which were something similar to what the Prophet Joseph Smith experienced in Far West, Missouri. He said the devil contended with him face to face, after he had afflicted his little child, claiming that he had the best right to a house which Joseph had purchased, it having been previously occupied by some wicked people. But the Prophet rebuked the devil in the name of the Lord, and he had to leave the house."

 

(Hyrum L. Andrus and Helen Mae Andrus, comps., They Knew the Prophet, p. 176)