A couple of days ago, I posted the entirety of Ezekiel, chapter 8. It’s a chapter that kicks off a multi-chapter recounting of one of the Lord’s interactions with Ezekiel (passages definitely worthy of in-depth study) and whose theme and underlying message pops into my head from time to time. A coalescing of recent events in my life has caused that to happen quite frequently lately, but not for the same exact reasons it has in the past.
Without going into many of the finer details of chapter 8, I will just summarize the chapter by saying that Ezekiel is taken, in the spirit, to Jerusalem and shown a number of abominations happening in the temple there. Israel’s wickedness doesn’t seem to be new knowledge to Ezekiel. Much of the chapters previous to chapter 8 tell of Israel’s wickedness and its impending consequences. It is interesting, however, to think about what this information, specifically, might have meant to Ezekiel. Could he have ever imagined that the wickedness found in Israel would run so deep as to be found within inner rooms of the temple and that the people perpetrating that wickedness were the priests themselves? Is it possible that one of the reasons why this account is included in our canon of scripture is to warn us of something similar that might happen in our day?
I think it would be foolish to rule out the possibility.
God’s word isn’t limited to “religion,” and, as of late, I have been shown how God will, eventually, bring to light the darkness of any institution—even those deemed to be “secular”—that does not act in accordance with good, moral, and righteous principles. How much more so an institution charged to bear his gospel to the world?
To my LDS family and acquaintances, I have often said that, if the principle that the President and other leaders of the church can’t lead you astray was correct, we should all be Jewish. Actually, the idea would be as equally applicable to the time of the Patriarchs, but it still makes the point. How could God be an unchanging God and no respecter of persons, and yet privilege us with infallible church leadership when he has never done so with any other group of people in history? It is undeniably true that a significant portion of the teachings of Jesus during his mortal ministry is a testament to the fact that Israel had deviated from the teachings of Moses. He holds nothing back in speaking out against the wickedness of the priests of his day. And I don’t think it’s a coincidence that many of the passages in the Joseph Smith Translation of the New Testament give the reader greater insight about the dangers of following “leaven of the Pharisees.” Why would that be? It is obviously too late for his translation to be a warning the the ancient Israelites. Perhaps Joseph knew that, because he was “a prophet like unto Moses,” the people who claimed to follow his teachings would do exactly as those who claimed to follow Moses’ teachings anciently and that the leadership of the church he established would do likewise—even priests performing abominations in the inner rooms of the temple.
Yesterday morning, my mind and heart were flooded with a great love for “the strength of [the Lord’s] house.” (D&C 101:55-59) The need for “the residue of [his] servants” and for his “warriors” is great. Just as Ezekiel was told to dig through a wall, the Lord’s warriors are told to break down the walls of his enemies by exposing all of their lies and falsehoods that they have erected to provide their presumed safety and secrecy. Where does this happen? In the nobleman’s own vineyard.
Did the abominations of the ancient Israelite priests somehow void what Moses taught? No. In fact, the law of Moses, being a schoolmaster, was an important stepping stone for those not yet prepared to receive Jesus and what he eventually taught.
Can the abominations of any modern-day priests somehow void what Joseph Smith taught? No. Joseph’s teachings were an important stepping stone for what was yet to come and for what is yet to come.
There is so much yet to come.
As institutions crumble, remember that the Lord cannot put new wine into old bottles. Take his light for a guide and be renewed in him, that you may stand ready and willing to receive what he is giving.