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THINGS AS THEY ARE, WERE ARE TO COME

The Last Lecture
ANTHONY E. LARSON

a speech outline

THINGS AS THEY ARE, WERE ARE TO COME

The Last Lecture a speech outline

Copyright 2007 Anthony E. Larson

The ancient cosmology taught by Joseph Smith is a temporal gospel truth not yet widely perceived or appreciated by members of the Church. Just like everything else in the gospel, understanding temporal gospel truths requires much study and prayer.

ears ago at byu, a new lecture series was instigated. Called the Last Lecture, it was formatted to give the lecturer the opportunity to speak as though it were the last address he or she would give before dying a sort of gospel last will and testament, if you will. Thats what I would like to do today. If I knew I was going to be called home tomorrow, this is what I would want to say to you right now. Over the last 40 years or so, I have dedicated my spare time outside raising a family and earning a living to an in-depth study of the restored gospel. That study resulted in a distinctive view, one that prompted me to become an author and lecturer roles I had never previously contemplated in my wildest fantasies. In so doing, I found myself breathing rather rarified air: None of my fellow Saints seemed aware of the information I had ferret out and then sought to share with them. In fact, it became apparent early on that most church members regarded my views with the same hesitation and scorn that they reserved for reports of ufo sightings, vanishings in the Bermuda Triangle and chance encounters with Big Foot or Yeti in remote regions of the world. They almost entirely discounted what I sought to teach, and they regarded me as nothing more than a purveyor of odd knowledge having little to do with their understanding of the gospel or the real world.

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As time went on and my research progressed, this conceptual and perceptual gap widened. I discovered whole areas of thought and information of which most members were seemingly totally unaware. It was apparent that this traditional symbolism touched on more than simply prophetic imagery; it had sweeping implications for every aspect of the gospel, including temple iconography and ritual perhaps one of the least understood facets of the restoration. And this puzzled me as much as it perplexed others. At first, I questioned my own conclusions. How could it be that everyone else had missed this information? Logic and reason suggested that I had probably shimmied out on a faux limb; otherwise, most members would already know these things. After all, we all belong to the one, true church, guided by inspired men. How could it be that with revelation in the church there would be gaps in our gospel knowledge? It just didnt seem logical or possible. Nevertheless, the evidence continued to mount as my research progressed. Thanks to a quiet revolution in the natural sciences, this information was notoriously obvious and readily available. There could be no doubt about the validity of the concepts I was learning. Ere long, my research uncovered the indisputable fact that these ideas had been taught in the early days of the church by general authorities. Most reported that they had learned these concepts from the horses mouth: the prophet Joseph Smith himself. So, I was confronted with a dilemma. On the one hand, the modern church, with leaders who I knew to be inspired, seemed to know little or nothing of the things I had discovered. On the other, the evidence was overwhelming that the concepts were correct and had been taught early on in the restoration. How, I wondered, could this seeming dichotomy be resolved? What had apparently blinded the majority of church members to such information? The answer was actually quite simple, but not easy to see and sometimes hard to acknowledge. It was we, the Saints, who had dropped the ball. Its not that I had discovered something heretofore unknown; I had simply discovered for myself something that every Latter-day Saint should also have learned in the course of a thoroughgoing study of the restored gospel. I was unique only in that I had followed that distinct

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trail of evidentiary breadcrumbs through the informational forest. I had gone without reservation where others feared to tread. They had elected to ignore those bits as irrelevant or misleading. Let me demonstrate the indifference or apathy of the Saints for you. For example, how many of you have taken the opportunity to read through the Bible dictionary in your scriptures? (Hold up the scriptures.) There is a wealth of information there. Even though its only just about 200 pages long, most Saints have never taken the time to study those few pages. Or, what about Joseph Smiths own diary, History of the Church? How many of us have read his views firsthand? No truly earnest member can claim they understand their founding prophet if they have not read his own statements on a myriad of issues, spiritual and secular. Its a virtual treasure trove of gospel information. Yet, most members dont even know it exists. Some may say that they cant be expected to do all that reading. My rejoinder is to ask, How long have you been a member? Five years? Ten years? Most of your adult life? How is that not enough time to do a little reading? Most of us have read untold volumes in our lifetime: newspapers, magazines, manuals, books, etc. Yet, weve not found time to fully study the gospel, our virtual passbook to salvation and exaltation. Instead, like recalcitrant children, most of us balk at true study. Instead, we depend upon the general authorities and others to spoon-feed us. And therein lies the flaw in our logic. What the brethren have concentrated on, as the Lord charged them to do, are the basics: the first principles and ordinances of the gospel. Its missionary work, all well designed, carefully orchestrated and calculated to reach out to nonmembers and new members alike, to get them solidly based in the fundamental principles of the restored gospel. What we hear in general conference talks and in church each Sunday is meant to support one mission and one mission only: convert the Saints and get them moving along the right path. The rest of the information is our responsibility, again, by divine design. Yet, most of us are stuck in that early growth stage in our gospel progression. True, we fulfill our callings and even comply with church standards sufficient to go to the temple for the higher ordinance work.

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Yet, we do so largely without understanding what we see and experience there and in our reading of the scriptures as well. Due to our almost complete failure to truly study the fullness of the gospel, we struggle with huge information gaps. Those are evidenced by our gospel blind spots: the imagery of ancient wisdom used in the metaphors of prophecy, the symbolism of our temples and the language of the prophets. The notion that we can read the temple, just as we do the scriptures, eludes us. Even for those among us who attend the temple regularly or work therein, the symbolism in its ordinances, rites and rituals as well as the icons in its architecture are a mystery to us, invisible and unacknowledged. So, too, with the symbolism of the scriptures. We all know, for example, that the phrase used therein the mountain of the Lords house refers to the temple. But, we have no clue about the origins of such an odd metaphor. How is a temple equated to a mountain? We dont even exhibit so much as a little curiosity about such symbolism, taking it entirely for granted. This, too, is the case with prophecy. Littered with seemingly bizarre imagery, it appears far too confusing and unfathomable for the average member. So, we dismiss it as unimportant or too mysterious for anyone but the most inspired of prophets to interpret. Therefore, we suppose that if it were truly vital to our personal repository of gospel knowledge, our church leaders would have repeatedly explained it in minute detail, just as they do fundamental gospel elements. We suppose that merely listening and reading a bit, coupled with sincere, prayerful supplication for answers, will yield all we need to know. Nothing could be further from the truth. This is key: The Spirit is not a teacher. He only confirms and comforts. This has been explained to us over and over. You must learn a thing first by research and study before the Spirit can confirm the truth of it to you. We suffer from what I call the Oliver Cowdery syndrome: We think that truth will be given us without any effort on our part. Read about Elder Cowderys dilemma in D&C 8 and 9.

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Think about it. How did you come by your testimony? It was necessary that you first inform yourself about the gospel before praying about it. Reading the Book of Mormon came before praying about it to get a confirmation of its truth from the Spirit. Likewise, Joseph Smith had to study the Bible to come across the notion that God would answer his questions for him before he could be given that first vision. Thats the way it works: study first, ask second. But, casual reading does not qualify as study. Study means work. It takes real effort on your part and true inquisitiveness to formulate a focused concept sufficiently well developed to pray about. And surprisingly, as often as not, the Spirit reveals the truth of what youre studying or formulating before you ever get the chance to ask. Hes that anxious to lead you forward. So, in summary, let me say that what I have learned is not peripheral to ones gospel knowledge and understanding. It is essential. (Hold up the Bible.) Without it, we may as well tear our scriptures in half and throw one of the two halves away. (Tear the binding right down the middle and toss half of it on the floor.) We may as well listen to the gospel message half asleep. We are missing that much...and more. We set at naught the efforts of the prophets to enlighten us, and we disparage the fullness of the restored gospel. What a sad state of affairs. So as I noted at the outset of this talk, this would be my last lecture, sermon or counsel to you: Study! Look closely, and you will learn what Ive learned. I am not the keeper and purveyor of odd knowledge and irrelevant information you may have taken me to be. Ive only found and followed the trail of breadcrumbs left there for us. Ive diligently tracked it where it was intended to lead those who exercise due diligence. Ive documented my concepts in the statements of early church leaders from Joseph Smith on forward, and Ive successfully and enlighteningly employed these concepts to make sense of temple symbolism and prophecy. Its no mystery. Theres no magic. But like the obvious nose on your face, its nearly invisible to you. Only through concerted effort and diligence will this wisdom become apparent to you. And no one else can or will do it for you not your home teacher, not your bishop not your stake president not

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even the prophet. Its not the responsibility of the brethren to explain every nuanced detail of the gospel to you. Thats your job; get after it. As President Kimball was fond of saying, Do itnow! For more essays from this series: http://mormonprophecy.blogspot.com/ For online classes, videos, newsletters and published books exploring this material in depth: http://www.mormonprophecy.com/ Your questions or comments are welcome: anthonyelarson@gmail.com