|
|
 |
Chapter 10, A New Beginning
Brigham and the Kingdom of God
The Quote
One Nation under Gods, page 222
Closely associated with this belief was Brigham Young's role as God's chosen sovereign;
the one divinely anointed to rule over earth as Christ's latter-day prophet. The idea came
directly from Smith. However, unlike Joseph, who taught that the Saint's reign was to begin
in the future, Brigham asserted that God's kingdom had already come. "[T]hat Kingdom is
actually organized, and the inhabitants of earth do not [even] know it," Young said in
1855.88
The Reference
Endnote 88, page 554
88. Young, July 8, 1855, in JOD, vol. 2, 310.
The Problems
Abanes makes the clear assertion that Brigham Young believed that the Kingdom
of God was already organized on earth, and that this belief differed from the earlier beliefs
of Joseph Smith. A quick look at the original quote, in context, from the
Journal of Discourses proves that Abanes' analysis is faulty and that his quote actually
disproves his assertion. (In the following, the bold text indicates the words that Abanes used.)
When the Kingdom of God is fully set up and established on the face of the earth, and
takes the pre-eminence over all other nations and kingdoms, it will protect the people in the enjoyment
of all their rights, no matter what they believe, what they profess, or what they worship. If they wish
to worship a god of their own workmanship, instead of the true and living God, all right, if they will
mind their own business and let other people alone.
As was observed by brother Pratt, that Kingdom is actually organized, and the inhabitants
of the earth do not know it. If this people know anything about it, all right; it is organized preparatory
to taking effect in the due time of the Lord, and in the manner that shall please Him. As observed by one of
the speakers this morning, that Kingdom grows out of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, but it
is not the Church, for a man may be a legislator in that body which will issue laws to sustain the inhabitants
of the earth in their individual rights, and still not belong to the Church of Jesus Christ at all.
And further, though a man may not even believe in any religion, it would be perfectly right,
when necessary, to give him the privilege of holding a seat among that body which will make laws to govern
all the nations of the earth and control those who make no profession of religion at all; for that body
would be governed, controlled, and dictated to acknowledge others in those rights which they wish to enjoy
themselves. Then the Latter-day Saints would be protected, if a Kingdom of this kind was on the earth, the
same as all other people.
Notice that the quote used by Abanes was actually Brigham Young quoting "brother Pratt" (probably
Orson Pratt) from an earlier discourse. You, of course, do not see this mentioned anywhere in Abanes' description.
Neither do you see mentioned the surrounding text, which was from Brigham Young, that indicates that the
Kingdom of God was not yet on the earth. Notice the future-tense wording used by President Young:
- When the Kingdom of God is fully set up and established...
- ...it will protect the people...
- ...it is organized preparatory to taking effect in the due time of the Lord...
- ...among that body which will make laws...
- ...Then the Latter-day Saints would be protected, if a Kingdom of this kind was on the earth...
Thus, contrary to what Abanes directly asserts, Brigham Young did not believe that the
Kingdom of God was already on the earth. Further, contrary to what Abanes tries to assert time and again
within his book, Brigham Young didn't believe that the Kingdom of God and the Church of Jesus Christ of
Latter-day Saints were synonymous. Note his wording: "As observed by one of
the speakers this morning, that Kingdom grows out of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, but it
is not the Church..."
In addition, much of Chapter 10 (and indeed, the rest of the book) is spent trying to assert
that the leaders of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, in some conspiratorial attempt to
establish a dictatorial Kingdom of God on earth, will restrict the liberties and freedoms of others. Notice
that the above discourse by President Young does not say that. In fact, it disproves the major hypothesis
of Abanes. President Young states, among other things, that the Kingdom of God "will protect the people in
the enjoyment of all their rights, no matter what they believe, what they profess, or what they worship."
Further, those who are not in the Church will have the opportunity to govern:
...though a man may not even believe in any religion, it would be perfectly right, when
necessary, to give him the privilege of holding a seat among that body which will make laws to govern all
the nations of the earth and control those who make no profession of religion at all; for that body would
be governed, controlled, and dictated to acknowledge others in those rights which they wish to enjoy themselves.
Where is the conspiracy? Where is the "split" from the teachings of Joseph Smith that is asserted
by Abanes? It is certainly not evident in the original statements by Brigham Young.
Since the original discourse does not support Abanes' assertions concerning
President Young's beliefs, one has to wonder why Abanes would include such a quote in his book. Why would
he do so? All someone had to do is look up the original quote and they could understand that it does not
support Abanes' position--it significantly damages it! There are only a few possible explanations:
- Abanes procured the quote from someone else and never looked up the original context for the quote.
- Abanes found the quote on his own, but deceptively pulled words out of context that only support his position.
- Abanes read the original quote, in context, but did not understand that it damaged his hypothesis.
I can think of no other possibilities. Pick which possibility you will (depending on your personal
preferences and feelings toward Abanes), but none of these possibilities are indicative of a scholar or even a
reputable journalist.
Written by Allen L. Wyatt
Back to the Index
|
