Without Disclosing My True Identity
must come forth and stand before [the Lord] in his glory, and in his power,
and in his might, majesty, and dominion, and acknowledge to [their]
everlasting shame that all his judgments are just; that he is just in all his
works, and that he is merciful unto the children of men, and that he has all
power to save every man that believeth on his name and bringeth forth fruit
meet for repentance.^43Joseph Tried to Curb the (Priesthood) Power of Their Egos
In 1835, much of the structure of the priesthood was finally incorporated and the
offices and authority were outlined.^44 From the Three Witnesses’ choosing of those who
would become members of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles,^45 to the High Council
(acting without Joseph’s personal advice or counsel) forming the First Quorum of the
Seventy,^46 the men of the Church looked for any way they could to establish themselves and
their egos with the ability to act in God’s name upon earth. Early priesthood holders were
ordaining other men on a whim just because one who did not have the priesthood wanted
the pretended authority.
Joseph realized that the situation was getting out of control and knew he had to do
something to curb their vain pride and delusional enthusiasm. He called a council of High
Priests to put an end to the practice. There was some dissension—especially from David
Whitmer, who had earlier ordained his son to the office of an Elder in a faux ceremony
meant to mock the authority he could never really accept. In consequence of this situation,
Joseph went to the High Council and finally convinced them to limit the priesthood only to
those who had received “the consent of` a conference of High Priests”^47 prior to their
ordination. During the same council meeting, Christian Whitmer (David’s son) was re-
ordained properly under the new guidelines.
Providing an Example of Uncontrolled Free Will for the World
It might be argued that the LDS/Mormon people had, to some extent, a viable
excuse as to why they allowed their religion and church, along with its ordinances,
principles, and authority, to become what it did. They believed that Joseph was the one who
received the Lord’s will concerning them, and had Joseph at any time given them a direct
command from the Lord to not establish a priesthood, or a church, or promote their religion
as God’s one and only true church upon the earth, they would have listened to him.
They never understood free agency as Joseph did. They never understood—because
he could not tell them—that he was under the direct mandate of their mutual Christ to give
them what they wanted—even if it was “bad”—so that they would stumble. Each time
Joseph used a “revelation from God” (as the people assumed) it took away the people’s free
agency and manipulated them to act differently than they would have acted had they not
received a direct mandate “from God.”
Joseph’s role and mission, however, was to provide a mortal example of what
happens when humankind is left alone with their free will to pursue the desires of their
hearts in relation to the rest of humanity and their God—which “God” Joseph knew was
each individual’s free will. Joseph knew that of such was a “kingdom within” that guided
the actions of free-willed human beings. The LDS/Mormon people lived this perfectly.
Their powerful and motivating religion has allowed the human race assigned to this solar