D&C 124:28
28 For
there is
not a place found on earth that he may come to and restore again that which was lost unto you, or which he hath
taken away, even the fulness of the priesthood.
D & C 124:32
32 But
behold,
at the end of this appointment your baptisms for your dead shall not
be
acceptable unto me; and if you do not these things at the end of the
appointment ye shall be rejected as a church, with your dead, saith
the Lord
your God.
We have many of the “apostles and
prophets” of this dispensation taking verse 32 very seriously. In
October 1996
general conference Boyd. K. Packer made the following statement about
this
verse.
During
a very
difficult time, the Lord gave the sternest warning that I know of in
all
scripture. It had to do with the building of the Nauvoo Temple. The
Saints knew
from experience that to proceed to build a temple would bring terrible
persecution, so they delayed. The Lord extended the time and said, “If
you do
not these things at the end of the appointment ye shall be rejected as
a
church, with your dead, saith the Lord your God.”
The saints were very concerned
about being
“rejected with our dead” if they didn't finish the temple. But did
they succeed
in avoiding the curse? We can look at the other promises that the Lord
gave
that would go along with the completion of the temple and by looking
at them we
can we should be able to tell if the temple was completed as required.
40 And verily I say
unto
you, let this house be built unto my name, that I may reveal mine
ordinances
therein unto my people;
41 For I deign to reveal unto my church things which have been kept
hid from
before the foundation of the world, things that pertain to the
dispensation of
the fulness of times.
42 And I will show unto my servant Joseph all things pertaining to
this house,
and the priesthood thereof, and the place whereon it shall be built.
43 And ye shall build it on the place where you have contemplated
building it,
for that is the spot which I have chosen for you to build it.
44 If ye labor with all your might, I will consecrate that spot that
it shall
be made holy.
45 And if my people will hearken unto my voice, and unto the voice of
my
servants whom I have appointed to lead my people, behold, verily I say
unto
you, they shall not be moved out of their place.
46 But if they will not hearken to my voice, nor unto the voice of
these men
whom I have appointed, they shall not be blest, because they pollute
mine holy
grounds, and mine holy ordinances, and charters, and my holy words
which I give
unto them.
47 And it shall come to pass that if you build a house unto my name,
and do not
do the things that I say, I will not perform the oath which I make
unto you,
neither fulfil the promises which ye expect at my hands, saith the
Lord.
48 For instead of blessings, ye, by your own works, bring cursings,
wrath,
indignation, and judgments upon your own heads, by your follies, and
by all
your abominations, which you practice before me, saith the Lord.
(D&C
124:40-48)
28 - Did the Lord "restore again that which was lost"? - No
40 – Did the Lord reveal any ordinances in the Nauvoo temple? – Not in
Nauvoo
or at a later temple
41 – Did God reveal in temple things “hid from before the foundation
of the
world?” - No
44 – Were the saints moved by their enemies? - Yes
45 – Were they “moved out of their place?” - Yes
46 – Did they get the blessing? - No
47 – Did the saint do what was asked and bind the Lord to bless them?
- No
48 – Did they receive cursings, wrath, indignation and judgements? -
Yes
By all the measured provided in this revelation, it appears that the
saints
didn't fulfill their requirements, nor did the Lord fulfill the
covenants that
he had promised if it had been completed on time.
The only conclusion we are left with is that the Saints didn't finish
the
temple, they didn't get the blessings that were promised from the
temple and in
fact were only left with the results as outlined in verse 32 that they
“shall
be rejected as a church, with your dead”. A very sobering thought.