Stars to Guide Us

A classic Christmas song heralds the twelve days of Christmas with gifts marking each one. While Americans sometimes tire of that particular Christmas song, many European and South American cultures celebrate all twelve days from December 25 to January 6 as part of the holiday season.

Each of the twelve days of Christmas has a particular meaning a purpose. The first day, of course, is a celebration of the birth of Christ. In some cultures, it is the messenger of the baby Jesus, rather than Santa, that provides gifts for the children on this day. The second day, Boxing Day, is a day for giving gifts to the poor, and so on.

The final day of Christmas has dual meaning. Twelve is a symbol in scriptures for authority and completeness; for God in heaven and His government. The twelfth and final day is therefore celebrated as Epiphany, a celebration of Christ's achievement and glory. It is also Three Kings Day, a grand finale in recognition of Melchior, Caspar and Balthazar, or the three magi who are traditionally believed to have completed their travel from the east to worship the Christ child on this day.

The Gospel of Matthew teaches that the three magi or wise men followed a star that guided them to Jesus' location outside of Jerusalem. Stars had been used for navigation for thousands of years prior to this historic visit and continued to be the primary method for mariners and explorers to determine latitude, longitude and course until the late twentieth century.

In fact, a thousand years ago the largest empire in the world was established on an advanced understanding of celestial navigation. This empire was not in London, Paris, Madrid, Shanghai, Moscow or Rome. It was not the result of conquest nor secured with cannons. Its' leaders are not heralded in most history books or known in popular culture. Yet, the mighty Polynesian Empire once controlled an area of the Pacific Ocean nearly twice as large as the United States or Europe. Despite limited technology and the perils of sea travel, the Polynesians' knowledge of the stars allowed for epic voyages, the development of strategic alliances and one of the most impressive trade networks in the history of the world. From Aotearoa to Easter Island to Hawaii, Fiji, Samoa, Tonga and Tahiti, the Polynesian Triangle dominated more than six million square miles of the Pacific.

In the northern hemisphere, celestial navigation focuses on the position of the North Star. When the sun has set, travelers on land and sea look for the bright, unchanging star at the end of the Little Dipper's handle to set their course. While other stars move throughout the night, the North Star is positioned almost directly above the northern axis of the earth and so appears due North as the world turns.

Interestingly, the North Star is actually three stars: Polaris A, Polaris B, and Polaris Ab. Polaris A is roughly six times the size of our sun and two thousand times brighter. Orbiting around a common center of mass and located approximately 323 light years away, the three stars are indistinguishable to the naked eye.

Just as the stars have guided wise men, emperors and explorers, the Lord has provided lights to guide us back into his presence. Elder Boyd K. Packer has counseled us to, "Set that sextant in your mind to the word covenant or the word ordinance. The light will come through. Then you can fix your position and set a true course in life" (May 1987).

Ordinances are sacred acts performed by the authority of the priesthood and designed by God to teach spiritual truths. Five ordinances are essential to our salvation and exaltation: baptism, confirmation, ordination to the Melchizedek Priesthood for men, endowment and sealing. Each of these ordinances, like stars along a plotted course, are accompanied by specific covenants and blessings.

A covenant is a sacred promise between God and his children. God sets the conditions for each covenant and offers blessings for our obedience. We are all given agency to choose to enter the covenant or not, but we cannot expect to reach the Lord's desired destination for us unless we plot the course he has outlined. That is, we have no claim on the promised blessings, including our own salvation and/or exaltation, unless we have agreed to the terms.

Baptism, for example, is the first of the essential saving ordinances. We enter a covenant when we are baptized by immersion in water by one having authority. The prophet Alma taught:

Behold, here are the waters of Mormon (for thus were they called) and now, as ye are desirous to come into the fold of God, and to be called his people, and are willing to bear one another's burdens, that they may be light; Yea, and are willing to mourn with those that mourn; yea, and comfort those that stand in need of comfort, and to stand as witnesses of God at all times and in all things, and in all places that ye may be in, even until death, that ye may be redeemed of God, and be numbered with those of the first resurrection, that ye may have eternal life--

Now I say unto you, if this be the desire of your hearts, what have you against being baptized in the name of the Lord, as a witness before him that ye have entered into a covenant with him, that ye will serve him and keep his commandments, that he may pour out his Spirit more abundantly upon you (Mosiah 18:8-10)?

Alma outlined both requirements and blessings for the faithful who are baptized, but it is clear in scripture that we must be baptized to return to the presence of our Heavenly Father. Christ taught his followers that "strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it" (Matthew 7:14). More explicitly, he taught Nicodemus: "Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God" (John 3:5).

Similar requirements and blessings are associated with the remaining essential ordinances. The Oath and Covenant of the Priesthood requires greater discipline and effort but offers greater rewards:

For whoso is faithful unto the obtaining these two priesthoods of which I have spoken, and the magnifying their calling, are sanctified by the Spirit unto the renewing of their bodies. They become the sons of Moses and of Aaron and the seed of Abraham, and the church and kingdom, and the elect of God. 

And also all they who receive this priesthood receive me, saith the Lord... And he that receiveth me receiveth my father; And he that receiveth my Father receiveth my Father's kingdom; therefore all that my Father hath shall be given unto him. And this is according to the oath and covenant which belongeth to the priesthood (D&C 84:33-39).

Even greater than the ancient Polynesian Empire is the Kingdom of God spread out across the cosmos. We are invited to join this glorious kingdom. To do so, we must do as the wise men did millennia ago and seek the Lord by following the lights he has provided. In accepting covenants we will be strengthened and taught along our path. We will be able to to see the next step and learn what we need to know. We can be endowed with divine power and sealed to our families for time and for all eternity. Many other blessings are available to those who will seek divine light.

Success in this journey can take more than our lifetime, but we must not allow our efforts to tire or fade. Those who are faithful in keeping the covenants they have made and endure the crosses of the world are promised to be made perfect in Christ, to complete their journey in the presence of our Eternal Father, and to take their place in His grand and glorious kingdom. Then we will feel to rejoice in the Epiphany of Christ with the poet who exclaimed:

How great the wisdom and the love

That filled the courts on high

And sent the Savior from above

To suffer, bleed, and die!

He marked the path and led the way,

And ev'ry point defines

To light and life and endless day

Where God's full presence shines.

How great, how glorious, how complete

Redemption's grand design,

Where justice, love, and mercy meet

In harmony divine!

(Eliza R. Snow, 1804-1887)

Promises and Plural Marriage

One of the greatest Old Testament prophets is Abraham, originally called Abram. The scriptures record that he was one of the most valiant spirits in the premortal world and chosen to be a leader in the kingdom of God before he was born (Abraham 1-5). Forced to leave his homeland after religious persecution threatened his life, Abraham would go on to receive great revelations and a special covenant from the Lord with promises of priesthood, property and posterity "as innumerable as the stars". Hundreds of millions that have and do live on the earth regard Abraham as the "father of the faithful" and many refer to the place of the righteous dead as "sitting down next to Abraham" or "Abraham's bosom" (Luke 16:22-23).

Those who rightfully consider Abraham among the righteous have reason to consider the account given in Genesis 16: "Now Sarai Abrahm's wife bare him no children: and she had an handmaid, an Egyptian, whose name was Hagar. And Sarai said unto Abram, Behold now, the Lord hath restrained me from bearing: I pray thee, go in unto my maid; it may be that I may obtain children by her. And Abram hearkened to the voice of Sarai. And Sarai Abram's wife took Hagar her maid the Egyptian, after Abram had dwelt ten years in the land of Canaan, and gave her to her husband Abram to be his wife" (verses 1-3).

The Lord has commanded the faithful in every generation to keep sexual relations within the bounds of marriage, to not commit adultery, to cleave unto a spouse and unto none else; yet here and hereafter the Lord seems okay with Abraham's plural marriage to not only Hagar but several other women as well. How can this be?

This is the question that the prophet Joseph Smith asked the Lord in the summer of 1843. "Inasmuch as you have inquired of my hand to know and understand wherein I, the Lord, justified my servants Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, as also Moses, David and Solomon, my servants, as touching the principle and doctrine of their having many wives and concubines," the Lord responded, "Behold, and lo, I am the Lord thy God, and will answer thee as touching this matter" (D&C 132:1-2).

The following 64 verses detail the Lord's doctrine of eternal marriage. "If a man marry a wife by my word, which is my law," the Lord instructs, "it shall be done unto them in all things whatsoever my servant hath put upon them, in time, and through all eternity; and shall be of full force when they are out of the world... to their exaltation and glory" (D&C 132:19). Those married in holy temples by those authorized to exercise the appropriate priesthood keys can expect relationships far beyond the bounds of this life.

With that background, the Lord provided several reasons why righteous women and men obey the principle of plural marriage at certain times. The first is because God has commanded it and made it his law at those times.

"God commanded Abraham, and Sarah gave Hagar to Abraham to wife. And why did she do it? Because this was the law; and from Hagar sprang many people. This, therefore, was fulfilling, among other things, the promises. Was Abraham, therefore, under condemnation? Verily I say unto you, Nay; for I, the Lord, commanded it" (D&C 132:34-35, emphasis added).

The Lord's perspective is different than our own. "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts" (Isaiah 55:8-9). God's commandments are designed by an omniscient Father to execute his plan for his children and complete his mission for our immortality and eternal life.

At certain times, the Lord's commandment to a particular individual or group may surprise us because it is different from what we would expect it to be under normal circumstances. There are several examples of this in the scriptures including Nephi killing Laban, Moses killing the master builder, and several specific instances of plural marriage. "Abraham was commanded to offer his son Isaac; nevertheless, it was written: Thou shalt not kill. Abraham, however, did not refuse, and it was accounted unto him for righteousness" (D&C 132:36).

In the case of Abraham and Hagar, the Lord seems to be saying that the fulfillment of his promise to Abraham is of greatest importance. This is a powerful reassurance for us to whom the Lord has promised forgiveness, salvation and exaltation. As promised, the union of Abraham and Hagar has resulted in millions of posterity who revere their father Abraham.

The proliferation of children and grandchildren is another obvious reason for the Lord to command the faithful to practice plural marriage, particularly when their numbers are few. The Lord explained to Jacob: "For there shall not any man among you have save it be one wife; and concubines he shall have none... For if I will, saith the Lord of Hosts, raise up seed unto me, I will command my people; otherwise they shall hearken unto these things" (Jacob 2:27, 30). 

At such times, plural wives "are given unto [a man] to multiply and replenish the earth, according to [the Lord's] commandment"; but also "to fulfill the promise which was given [to the wives] by my Father before the foundation of the world, and for their exaltation in the eternal worlds, that they may bear the souls of men" (D&C 132:63).

Finally, the law of plural marriage is part of the "restitution of all things" promised before the Second Coming of Christ (Acts 3:20-21, D&C 132:40). As in other dispensations, the Lord required early members of the church in our dispensation to follow this law.

This was not a desirable or easy thing for those required to follow this commandment. Marriage has been weakened and redefined over several decades in modern Western culture; it was much less selfish and much more sacred in the 1840s. Joseph Smith delayed for a decade until the Lord sent an angel with a drawn sword who threatened to remove him from his place if he did not obey. When first taught the principle of plural marriage, Heber C. Kimball "became sick in body [from anxiety], but his mental wretchedness was too great to allow of his retiring, and he would walk the floor till nearly morning, and sometimes the agony of his mind was so terrible that he would wring his hands and weep like a child, and beseech the Lord to be merciful" (as told by Vilate Kimball, wife of Heber C. Kimball, in Orson F. Whitney, Life of Heber C. Kimball [1967], 325-38).

President John Taylor recalled, "I had always entertained strict ideas of virtue, and I felt as a married man that [plural marriage] was to me, outside of this principle, an appalling thing to do... It was a thing calculated to stir up feelings from the innermost depths of the human soul... Nothing but a knowledge of God, and the revelations of God, and the truth of them, could have induced me to embrace such a principle as this" (in B.H. Roberts, The Life of John Taylor, Third President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints [1963], 100). And Brigham Young summarized, "I was not desirous of shrinking from any duty nor failing in the least to do as I was commanded, but it was the first time in my life that I had desired the grave, and I could hardly get over it for a long time. And when I saw a funeral I felt to envy the corpse its situation, and to regret that I was not in the coffin" (in "Provo Conference," Deseret News, Nov. 14, 1855, 282).

A restricted number of the early Saints were tested and tried by the principle of plural marriage. Those who obeyed the voice of the Lord and his prophet received the promised blessings of posterity, divine power and assistance, hearts full of rejoicing, forgiveness of sin and preparation for exaltation.

"Plural marriage did result in the birth of large numbers of children within faithful Latter-day Saint homes. It also shaped 19th-century Mormon society in may ways: marriage became available to virtually all who desired it; per-capita inequality of wealth was diminished as economically disadvantaged women married into more financially stable households; and ethnic intermarriages were increased, which helped to unite a diverse immigrant population. Plural marriage also helped create and strengthen a sense of cohesion and group identification among Latter-day Saints. Church members came to see themselves as a 'peculiar people,' covenant-bound to carry out the commands of God despite outside opposition" (in Plural Marriage in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, www.lds.org/topics).

We do not know all the reasons why the Lord sometimes requires the faithful to live the principle of plural marriage. We know that it is carefully guarded and governed by priesthood keys: "For I [the Lord] have conferred upon you [the president of the Church] the keys and power of the priesthood, wherein I restore all things... And again, verily I say unto you, that whatsoever you give on earth, and to whomsoever you give any one on earth, by my word and according to my law, it shall be visited with blessings and not cursings, and with my power, saith the Lord, and shall be without condemnation on earth and in heaven" (D&C 132:45, 48). Plural marriage is acceptable only when commanded of the Lord and authorized only through the keys held by the president of the Church. It has been strictly forbidden since 1904.

We are not asked to live the principle of plural marriage today, but we can benefit from the promises given as a result. We can see the Lord's pattern and restoration in modern times and have greater faith in the divine origins of the modern Church. We can see that the Lord always makes a way to keep his commandments and prepare our hearts to hearken to his voice, as Abraham did. Perhaps best of all, we can know and be assured that when we keep the commandments of God, he will always keep his promises.