Mormon Dilemma 51

20 August

Mormon Dilemma 51

Who is King?

D&C 38:21-22; But, verily I say unto you that in time ye shall have no king nor ruler, for I will be your king and watch over you. 22 Wherefore, hear my voice and follow me, and you shall be a free people, and ye shall have no laws but my laws when I come, for I am your lawgiver, and what can stay my hand?

Times & Seasons 5:618; “…to build up the kingdom upon the foundation that the prophet Joseph has laid, who still holds the keys of this last dispensation, and will hold them to all eternity, as a king and priest unto the most high God, ministering in heaven, on earth, or among the spirits of the departed dead, as seemeth good to him who sent him.

Improvement Era 1909, Vol Xiii, No. 1; Every man reigns a king over the kingdom of—self. He wears the crown of individuality that no hands but his own can ever remove. He should not only reign, but—rule. His individuality is his true self, his best self, his highest self, his self victorious…Man reigns over this miniature kingdom of self—alone. He is as much an autocrat as is God in ruling the universe. No one can make him good or evil but he, himself.

1 Timothy 1:17; Now unto the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God, be honour and glory for ever and ever. Amen.

Every once in awhile as a normal person just living life we find that we probably could’ve been a little nicer to those around us or spent more time on our knees instead of on our own high horse preaching the gospel according to “me”.  But as we mature as Christians those times should be fewer and further between as we live a spirit filled life in the Lord.

I just can’t imagine wanting to think like I used to as a Mormon.  If peace in my life was dependent upon my personal mood swings I’d always be in a world of hurt.  So what do you believe as a Mormon when LDS scriptures and teachings from the beloved leaders contradict each other so?

 

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3 Responses to “Mormon Dilemma 51”

  1. shematwater August 23, 2011 at 4:58 pm #

    There is no contradiction.

    I am the ruler of myself, as no one can force me to do anything. As such the term King is an appropriate term for the description.

    Joseph Smith is also a King, or ruler of this dispensation. He is its head, and all those who belong to it will be under his dominion.

    However, Christ is the great King, over all the worlds created by his Father, and thus over Joseph Smith.
    In this particular passage that you quote he is speaking of the Millennial reign, but that doesn’t matter much.

    Revelation 1: 6 “And hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.

    Revelation 5: 10 “And hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth.”

    It seems clear that the faithful will be made kings, just as it taught by the LDS church.

    No contradiction exists.

    • lifeafterministry August 23, 2011 at 5:24 pm #

      Your response grieves my heart Shem. How can you be the king and ruler of yourself if you call Christ King? That is double mindedness as James spoke about and a man divided as Jesus Himself warned us about.
      Please, reconsider this above all other things. How can you be a Christian and feel that you are the ruler of yourself?
      I already know that no one can force you to do anything. I already know that you are the one as a person who makes decisions about your life. Tell me though, how can you be the ruler of yourself if you’re a Christian? Jesus is supposed to be your God.
      The deal with being a Christian is that you turn your life over to Him – wholly and completely. Everything you do is for the Lord. Paul expressed his agony over his own selfishness in Romans chapter 7. He wants to do the will of God but his internal selfishness acts like a traitor to Jesus. Why, he said, do I do the things I do not want to do and don’t do the things I know I want and should do?
      He is expressing the agony of the nature of man – the selfishness, the ongoing struggle of wanting control. The struggle becomes less as we walk along in our Christian lives and we totally surrender everything about us to Him and nail it to the cross – thus making Him our King and Ruler, not us (or me in this case).

  2. shematwater August 23, 2011 at 8:53 pm #

    I am the ruler of myself because Christ cannot be the ruler of myself.

    You said “I already know that no one can force you to do anything. I already know that you are the one as a person who makes decisions about your life.”

    This proves I am the ruler and King of myself, for the King is the absolute ruler, who has the final control. If Christ was the king of myself he would have the final control over my actions. Because he cannot have that control he cannot be the ruler of myself.

    As I said, this poses no dilemma for any member of the church, for the simple fact that we are not restricted in our use of the term King. We can apply it to anything that the term is rightly applied to. In England there is a king of the people. Can there then be Christians there who claim a mortal King? Of course there can. Because the King of England has final control over the people (or he did anyone). In the same way I can apply the term King to myself in reference to the fact that I have final control over my actions, and in no one diminish the power and authority of Christ or his Father, and in no way lessen the extent to which I submit my life to them.
    In other words, I am the King over myself, but I give my kingdom over to Christ as a vassal state, in which I am still sovereign, but I pay all tribute to him.

    There is no dilemma here.

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