Chris wrote: ↑October 16th, 2022, 4:14 pm
- Elder Quentin L. Cook
"We do not talk of those sacred interviews that qualify the servants of the Lord to bear a special witness of Him, for we have been commanded not to do so. But we are free, indeed, we are obliged, to bear that special witness."
"I declare to you that I know that Jesus is the Christ. I know that He lives. He was born in the meridian of time. He taught His gospel, was tried, was crucified. He rose on the third day. He was the first fruits of the resurrection. He has a body of flesh and bone. Of this I bear testimony. Of Him I am a witness.”
-Elder Boyd K. Packer
"Why don’t our talks in general conference and local meetings say more about the miracles we have seen? Most of the miracles we experience are not to be shared. Consistent with the teachings of the scriptures, we hold them sacred and share them only when the Spirit prompts us to do so…In bearing testimonies and in our public addresses we rarely mention our most miraculous experiences, and we rarely rely on signs that the gospel is true. We usually just affirm our testimony of the truthfulness of the restored gospel and give few details on how we obtained it."
-Dallin H Oaks
"I don’t know just how to answer people when they ask the question, ‘Have you seen the Lord?’ I think that the witness that I have and the witness that each of us [apostles] has, and the details of how it came, are too sacred to tell. I have never told anybody some of the experiences I have had, not even my wife. I know that God lives. I not only know that he lives, but I know him."
I think these quotes of modern apostles are very illustrative of the situation we find ourselves in today.
Take Elder Cook for example. He reveals he had a sacred interview and was commanded not to talk about it(even though he just brought it up). This is meant to imply that to the believer that these interviews are with Christ and the commandment given by Christ. But the only interviews we know of are with the president of the church. So did he meet with Christ, or did he meet with the president of the church? You will never be told.
But he is free to bear special witness (what an odd phrase). Hallelujah! The Lord did not command him not to be a Christian! But what is special about his witness? We are not told, and likely never will be told. Imagine walking into a court of law saying that you witnessed something and then refusing to tell people about what you saw. You just keep winking at the jury saying "believe me.. i saw it". Even worse.. imagine telling everyone that you are a special witness and one of a select group of people specifically chosen to be the only witnesses to something and then having everyone in that group refuse to actually give a witness. Boggles the mind.
And we see this same double speak throughout the church. We are told it is similar to how the Savior taught in parables. Those with eyes to see and ears to hear. But there is one glaring difference. The Savior actually performed miracles that all could see. He provided a foundation for his claims and a foundation for which his parables could be understood.
We have nothing. In fact, we are actually told miracles and stories about their experiences with Christ are too sacred to share with those who have covenanted with Christ to be his disciples. How strange. Even the other apostles aren't to be told about these experiences. Double strange.
So we have a bunch of people who claim to be 'special' witness of Christ, but won't tell anyone what makes their witness special. And we see no fruit from these special witnesses that we have seen throughout history from those who claim to be these same special witnesses. The last miracle we heard described by one of these special witnesses was that the power came back on so that a meeting could occur.
So no healings. No raisings. No gift of tongues. No prophesying. No seeing. No translating. No actual witnessing. But trust us.. we are special. We know. And if you don't believe us you have no faith. But it isn't blind faith, because some people a long time ago actually did witness and had fruit and we claim to be part of that historical lineage. But don't expect any actual evidence.
Unlike some others, I don't think the brethren are evil. But I also don't think there is anything special about them or their experiences. They are just men who are led by the Holy Spirit in the same way any of us are. If they keep these things from even each other, who are supposed to form a quorum or brotherhood of special witnesses of Christ, then I think it likely that they have never actually occurred. And I believe they are intentionally obscure about this stuff because they understand that so many members actually believe that these men have met Christ and that he personally discusses things with them on a regular basis.
