The King Follett discourse is famous primarily because of the claim that Joseph Smith made when he presented to the Saints the bold doctrine about the destiny of man. I marvel that the sermon was given just two months prior to the young Prophet's martyrdom (he was only 38).
In the discourse, the principle of intelligence is taught, which is a fascinating doctrine in itself that I could devote a lot of time to on this site. Joseph ties the principle of intelligence to salvation, or living eternally with God.
Before this life, he explains, "God himself, finding he was in the midst of spirits and glory, because he was more intelligent, saw proper to institute laws whereby the rest could have a privilege to advance like himself. The relationship we have with God places us in a situation to advance in knowledge."
He goes on by saying that the laws God put into place instruct the "weaker intelligences, that they may be exalted with Himself so that they might have one glory upon another, and all that knowledge, power, glory, and intelligence, which is requisite in order to save them in the world of spirits."
At this point in the sermon, Joseph pauses to reflect on the way to know, understand, and comprehend true doctrines. He does this by appealing to a sense we typically do not associate with the way God speaks to our souls. He continues:
"This is good doctrine. It tastes good. I can taste the principles of eternal life, and so can you. They are given to me by the revelations of Jesus Christ; and I know that when I tell you these words of eternal life as they are given to me, you taste them, and I know that you believe them. You say honey is sweet, and so do I. I can also taste the spirit of eternal life. I know that it is good; and when I tell you of these things which were given me by inspiration of the Holy Spirit, you are bound to receive them as sweet, and rejoice more and more."
Can you taste that? It calls to mind the scriptural command to "feast," whether it be temporally under the Mosaic Law, or in the spiritual sense as cited here, here and here.
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All quotes from Joseph Smith's History of the Church, Vol. 6, p. 312.
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1 comment:
Interesting notion about tasting and feasting. It makes me wonder about Lehi's vision and the fruit of the tree that was the most sweet he had never before tasted, i.e. the love of God. Involving this sense in experiencing true knowledge and one's destiny/purpose in life makes it seem all the more intimate of an experience with God and the Holy Ghost in effectively perceiving truth from falsehood - just as a person can readily distinguish the sweet from the sour, or sugar to vinegar. Hmm...very interesting. Nice blog, Josh! -BEN
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