By Jared Eastley

January 2017

I have heard some people ask, “Why would God not give revelations or send angels to warn or instruct LDS General Authorities if they were somehow in error or leading us astray?  And why would God not personally intervene to correct church leaders rather than send a messenger from outside of the leadership hierarchy?”

First of all, if you are asking this then it is most likely that you have not personally had God or angels appear to you. If you have not had these experiences, it is very unlikely that you understand the principles and laws which govern these types of events. That being the case, it is foolish to have the opinion that God should or would send heavenly messengers to warn or instruct LDS General Authorities if they were somehow in error or leading us astray. If you do not understand the principles and laws which govern these blessings then it is illogical to think that your understanding or opinion on the subject should be those which an omnipotent and all-knowing God should adhere to.

I can think of two instances in the Book of Mormon where angels were sent to cry repentance. Once when Laman and Lemual were beating Nephi with a rod and once when Alma the Younger was told he had better repent or he would be destroyed. In Nephi’s case, it is possible that the angel saved Nephi’s life; also it is evident that the faith of Nephi warranted this divine intercessory event. In Alma the Younger’s case, the faith and prayers of his father warranted the event.

Heavenly manifestations are always the result of faith and obedience.  Just because you think that General Authorities have this level of faith does not mean that they do. And who are you to counsel the Lord? God is never bound to act within the bounds which we set for Him. God has never decreed that the leaders or members of any church can only be corrected by prophets from within their unique institutions; this has never been the case; in fact, quite the opposite has historically been what God has chosen. Prophets of God almost always hail from outside of the institution, as did John the Baptist, Lehi, and Abinadi.

Another reason why General Authorities do not receive these types of revelations and manifestations is because they already systematically ignore and reject all of the prophetic warnings and directives aimed directly at them from within the pages of the Book of Mormon (which they profess to believe in) as well as from other authorized messengers sent from the presence of the Lord.

99.999% of the population do not get angelic messengers or open revelations from God telling them to repent and fly right. Just because the General Authorities fancy themselves as holding the holy priesthood of God or as holding special priesthood keys does not mean that they are somehow entitled to open revelation or angelic messengers in the event that they need correction. People that think they are entitled to revelation are almost always wrong.  Entitlements can only be obtained by direct covenant between two parties made by their own free will and choice, with full fidelity to those covenants.  Church leaders and members often claim divine entitlements that have no covenantal or scriptural foundation for such a belief. 

It is no secret that the leadership of the LDS church now claims collective infallibility. They claim that they will not and cannot lead us astray. They imply that the Lord will not let them lead us astray. Again, the implication is that the Lord would somehow intervene before such a thing were to happen. This mentality contradicts decades, even centuries, of historical precedent where church leaders, even LDS church leaders, have clearly done the wrong thing and led their people astray.  Joseph Smith made mistakes and he published the revelations where he was rebuked for it. Brigham Young openly taught the Adam-God doctrine and the doctrine of Blood Atonement. Since his time LDS church leaders have openly admitted that he was completely wrong in these teachings and have reversed the church’s teachings on these subjects. There are many more examples which could be easily cited.

Our “living prophets and apostles,” as we now call them, tell us to keep our eyes on them and that by so doing we will stay on the correct path and receive salvation in the kingdom of God. They have hijacked the doctrine of faith in Jesus Christ and replaced it with faith in the General Authorities and leaders of the LDS church.  This is blatant priestcraft and idolatry. By so doing they become false prophets and false Christs by issuing this guarantee of salvation by following them. They have no power and no authority to claim such a thing. The Lord does not send angels or give open revelation to false prophets and false Christs. Period.

The ministering of angels is given to those of strong faith and a firm mind in every form of godliness. (Moroni 7:30) Those of strong faith are those who heed the scriptures, who take personally the warnings given in scripture, and who do not violate the agency of man by seeking dominion over man. The leaders and general authorities of the LDS church do not heed or follow the commandments or directives within the Book of Mormon; rather, they simply follow the Church Handbook of Instructions and the directions given by their superiors.  They do not believe that the warnings to the Gentiles outlined within the Book of Mormon apply to them; rather they point the dirty finger at all the other Christian churches; thinking that they themselves are somehow immune from censure.  They actively uphold the good name of the church, as a matter of policy, upon threat of excommunication, with blatant disregard for truth, claiming default infallibility, with no possibility that the church could ever be wrong.  Such pride, self-righteousness, and arrogance are appalling.  LDS Church leaders routinely violate the agency of man by actively seeking dominion and authority over church members upon threat of institutional shunning, disfellowship, and even excommunication.  In this sense, they are no different than the Catholics, Muslims, or Pharaohs of old who have ruled with force and with cruelty in upholding their divine rights as priests and rulers with complete disregard to the laws and decrees of Almighty God.

Open revelation, the ministering of angels, the Second Comforter—these are blessings given to those who have been chosen to become Gods and rulers in the kingdom of God throughout the ensuing eternities. They receive this priesthood directly from God and are sealed up unto eternal life because they are trusted. Church leaders that flagrantly disregard the scriptures, prophetic warnings, and prophetic messengers, and who violate the agency of man are the last people on earth who will likely receive these types of spiritual manifestations because they are not trusted and they have not passed the tests of obedience upon which these blessings are predicated; on the contrary, they have flaunted the scriptures, the commandments, and the prophetic warnings. These are not heirs of salvation; they are no different than the countless other church leaders of other churches who likewise reject the Book of Mormon and the fullness of the Gospel as contained therein.

How can you claim to believe the Book of Mormon when you do not follow the directions given within the Book of Mormon and when you do not even believe the doctrine contained in the Book of Mormon? Most LDS members and leaders treat the Book of Mormon like an inspirational quote book, not as a book of scripture to be believed and followed. LDS members and leaders always give precedence to living church leaders who claim little or no open revelation, no visions, and who give no prophecies. These people do not even believe the repeated testimony of the Book of Mormon prophets who advocate the gospel which guarantees the blessings of miracles, the ministering of angels, and of seeing the face of the Lord if they will simply have faith in Christ, repent, receive baptism and receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. These people really do not believe that these blessings are really even likely or possible in their lives. But they defer to living church leaders who offer no prophecy, no visions, and no revelations over the Book of Mormon prophets who do. This is insanity.

Everyone fancies themselves as excellent candidates for Zion whenever it happens to come along. They think Zion is just this celestial utopia or paradise where Christ walks around talking with people and where we mostly just do a bunch of temple work for dead ancestors. This is hardly scriptural. Yes, Christ does dwell among those in Zion, but much more than that, Zion is where everyone is united in Christ, where there are no poor among them, and where the Spirit of the Lord operates unrestrained.

Those who are heirs of Zion are those that heed the scriptures, especially the Book of Mormon. They are unified with Christ to the degree that they often see Him and converse with Him face to face. These are they who are the called and chosen of God, who have received of His fullness, and who have been blessed by both Christ and the Father. Why are you chosen for this? Because you honor God and God’s laws and because you expressly honor the agency of man.

Church leaders, whom so many of us assume are of Zion stature and quality, these do not honor God and God’s laws, nor do they honor the agency of man. They follow their own commandments, they teach their own wisdom, and they seek to establish their own dominion and authority over their fellow man. This is why church leaders and general authorities do not have God or angels come to them to tell them how to correct themselves. It’s already been done. The Book of Mormon already spells out what they should be doing. Also, messengers like Robert Smith, Denver Snuffer, and others have already been sent to give them formal witnesses and warnings. That’s all they are going to get! Whether or not you think that is proper, sufficient, or fair is of no consequence. These men will be held accountable and answerable before the judgement bar of God for how they responded to God’s words given in scripture and by His messengers.

“Therefore remember, O man, for all thy doings thou shalt be brought into judgment. Wherefore, if ye have sought to do wickedly in the days of your probation, then ye are found unclean before the judgment–seat of God; and no unclean thing can dwell with God; wherefore, ye must be cast off forever.  And the Holy Ghost giveth authority that I should speak these things, and deny them not.” (1 Nephi 10:20 – 22)

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I also recommend this excellent video by Robert Smith on this subject:

If God wanted to fix something in a church, would he do so from within?