The Fulness of the Gospel
P A R T - I:
The Fulness
by Joseph Warren Grammer
P A R T - I:
The Fulness
by Joseph Warren Grammer
It can safely be assumed that most Latter-day Saints know that the fulness of the gospel was restored through the Prophet Joseph Smith, that the Apostles are sent out to teach the fulness of the gospel, and that the Book of Mormon contains the fulness of the gospel. One day the question was asked, “What is the fulness of the gospel?” Some answer that question by saying it is the restoration of the priesthood, restored truths previously lost, missionary work, temple work for the dead, celestial marriage, and so forth. But, after much study, some have come to believe that it is much more. And although the things listed above are vital parts of the fulness, those things in themselves do not constitutes the fulness of the Gospel; they are only a part of that fulness. The intent of this study, therefore, is to search out the real answer to the question, “What is the fulness of the gospel?”
A Few Christlike Attributes
As we start out, it might be important to ask, “What really qualifies one to be a true witness of Jesus Christ and one who can bear a true and honest testimony of His divine nature?” Upon investigation, we discover that part of the answer is found in Section four of the Doctrine and Covenants. As missionaries, many of us have memorized that section, but is that enough? Have we truly studied it? Verses five, six, and seven of that section read as follows: “And faith, hope, charity and love, with an eye single to the glory of God, qualify him for the work. Remember faith, virtue, knowledge, temperance, patience, brotherly kindness, godliness, charity, humility, diligence. Ask, and ye shall receive; knock, and it shall be opened unto you. Amen.” (D&C 4:5-7.)
Each principle stated here is an attribute of Christ. It would be good if we studied each of these attributes and employed them in our lives—not just read about them. Peter mentions these same attributes in his writing. Opening the Bible to the first chapter of Second Peter, we start with verse four and read to verse eleven. This is a scripture that is important in understanding God’s design for us.
4. Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.
5. And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge;
6. And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness;
7. And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity.
8. For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.
9. But he that lacketh these things is blind, and cannot see afar off, and hath forgotten that he was purged from his old sins.
10. Wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sure: for if ye do these things, ye shall never fall:
11. For so an entrance shall be ministered unto you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. (2 Pet. 1:4-11.)
Notice that the Doctrine and Covenants rendition adds the attribute of humility, which isn’t mentioned by Peter. The Apostle Paul also mentions some of these attributes in Galatians 5:22-23. For our purposes, however, we will stay focused on Peter’s words. And as we incorporate these attributes into our lives, we shall come to understand what is meant by the word, “fulness.”
Great and Precious Promises
First, let’s consider what Peter means in verse four when he says, “Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature ...” Skipping down to verse eight, let’s think of what he means there: “For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
What are the great and precious promises? What is the divine nature? What does it mean to be neither barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of the Lord? To help answer these questions, let’s recall what the Lord said in D&C 93. “Verily, thus saith the Lord: It shall come to pass that every soul who forsaketh his sins and cometh unto me, and calleth on my name, and obeyeth my voice, and keepeth my commandments, shall see my face and know that I am.” (D&C 93:1.)
What does the Lord say WILL happen if we “forsaketh [our] sins,” “come unto [Him],” “calleth on [His] name,” “obeyeth [His] voice,” and “keepeth [His] commandments”? We learn that the “exceeding great and precious” promise that Peter mentioned is the promise of partaking of the “divine nature” of Christ, that is, seeing His face. If we abound in these Christlike attributes, as mentioned by Peter and in Section Four, then our “knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ” and our testimony of Him will not be “barren nor unfruitful.”
As we seriously consider this idea, let’s turn to Section 101. What do we read in verse 38? “Seek the face of the Lord always.” Does that statement mean that we should seek His face sometime in the future? No, it doesn’t! That is a commandment to everyone—to seek his face always—which means now. Section 93:1, quoted above, tells us what we need to do to obtain that great and precious promise. Verse ten of Section 67 gives a few more attributes to help us with this process. “And again, verily I say unto you that it is your privilege, and a promise ... that inasmuch as you strip yourselves from jealousies and fears, and humble yourselves before me ... the veil shall be rent and you shall see me and know that I am—not with the carnal neither natural mind, but with the spiritual.” (D&C 67:10.)
This verse starts by saying, “... verily I say unto you that it is your privilege, and a promise ...” Now, what privilege and promise did He give us? He said that, “... the veil shall be rent and you shall see me and know that I am ...” Here we have His promise again, but first there are some more prerequisites. What are they? The verse reads that we must “strip [ourselves] from jealousies and fears, and humble [ourselves] before [Him].” By adding these teachings to those of Peter and D&C Four, we find a more thorough list of qualifications when we want to partake of His presence, His divine nature, and His fulness.
What Is His Fulness?
Should we want to partake of His person and receive of His fulness? Before we can answer this question, we must know what constitutes His fulness. Section 84 helps us understand that also. The section points out some very important things, many of which may not be fully understood among most Latter-day Saints today.
23. Now this Moses plainly taught to the children of Israel in the wilderness, and sought diligently to sanctify his people that they might behold the face of God;
24. But they hardened their hearts and could not endure his presence; therefore, the Lord in his wrath, for his anger was kindled against them, swore that they should not enter into his rest while in the wilderness, which rest is the fulness of his glory.
25. Therefore, he took Moses out of their midst, and the Holy Priesthood also;
26. And the lesser priesthood continued, which priesthood holdeth the key of the ministering of angels and the preparatory gospel;
27. Which gospel is the gospel of repentance and of baptism, and the remission of sin, and the law of carnal commandments ... (D&C 84:23-27.)
Verse 23 tells us that Moses tried to get his people to cleanse and “sanctify” themselves so they would be worthy to see the face of God. However, they were not desirous to repent, so they “hardened their hearts.” Because of this, the Lord was angry with them and swore in His wrath that they would not “enter into his rest.”
Now what is His rest? It is seeing the Lord’s face (v. 23) and partaking of the “fulness of his glory” (v. 24). The fulness of His glory is the “fulness of the gospel.” One can learn this with careful reading of Section 76. Speaking of the Only Begotten Son, the Prophet Joseph Smith records: “Of whom we bear record; and the record which we bear is the fulness of the gospel of Jesus Christ, who is the Son, whom we saw and with whom we conversed in the heavenly vision.” (D&C 76:14.) Clearly then, the fulness of the gospel IS the fulness of the Son.
We learn from Section 76 that, those who are of the Church of the Firstborn also receive of the fulness of the Father (vv. 20, 71, 94); and that those who inherit the Terrestrial Kingdom do not receive of the fulness of the Son, nor the fulness of the Father, but only the presence and glory of the Son (v. 76). It should be obvious from these verses that just receiving the presence and glory of the Son is not necessarily the fulness of the Son. The fulness of the Son includes the fulness of the Father.
When you have a drinking glass filled to overflowing with water, you cannot get any more in it. You cannot get it fuller than full. When we receive the fulness of the Son, we cannot get more. That’s it. The Son received the fulness of the Father. That’s the Son’s fulness. And we are promised that what the Father has can be ours also. (D&C 76:55, 59-60; 1 Cor. 3:21-23.)
By reading Section 76 we learn the Prophet Joseph Smith and Sidney Rigdon were bearing record of the Only Begotten Son of the Father. They say that their record is the “fulness of the gospel,” after which they continue by saying that the “fulness of the gospel” is the “Son, whom [they] saw.” This “privilege, and a promise,” and “fulness,” ancient Israel could have enjoyed if they had only understood the blessing without hardening their hearts.
The fullness of God also includes the fulness of the priesthood. The Prophet Joseph Smith said, “If a man gets a fullness of the priesthood of God he has to get it in the same way that Jesus Christ obtained it, and that was by keeping all the commandments and obeying all the ordinances of the house of the Lord. Where there is no change of priesthood, there is no change of ordinances.” (TPJS, p. 308.) About this President Joseph Fielding Smith wrote, “There is no exaltation in the kingdom of God without the fulness of priesthood. ... Every man who is faithful and will receive these ordinances and blessings obtains a fulness of the priesthood, and the Lord has said that ‘he makes them equal in power, and in might, and in dominion.’” (See D&C 76:95; 88:107.)
Now many know that the gospel consists of repentance, baptism by water, and the baptism of fire and the Holy Ghost, even the Comforter, which showeth all things, and teacheth the peaceable things of the kingdom. (D&C 39:6.) The purpose of the (lesser) gospel, though, is only to prepare one for the “fulness” of the gospel, which gives them a fruitful knowledge of Jesus Christ and His divine nature. From reading D&C 84:23-27 we can see what happened because Israel would not become sanctified and receive the fulness of the Lord. The Lord took the opportunity of receiving His fulness from them and left only a preparatory gospel. It was an introductory gospel, if you will, and not the fulness of the gospel, which is the fulness of His presence.
The Oneness
As stated above, the fulness of the Son consists of the fulness of the Father. To further illustrate, let’s consider another statement by the Prophet Joseph. In 1842, while in council and giving instruction to a select few, he said he was, “... setting forth the order pertaining to the Ancient of Days, and all those plans and principles by which any one is enabled to secure the FULNESS of those blessing which have been prepared for the Church of the Firstborn, and come up and ABIDE IN THE PRESENCE of the Eloheim in the eternal worlds.” (TPJS, p. 237/) Doctrine and Covenants 93, a section to which we previously referred, helps shed a little light on this subject.
1. Verily, thus saith the Lord: It shall come to pass that every soul who forsaketh his sins and cometh unto me, and calleth on my name, and obeyeth my voice, and keepeth my commandments, shall see my face and know that I am;
2. And that I am the true light that lighteth every man that cometh into the world;
3. And that I am in the Father, and the Father in me, and the Father and I are one—
4. The Father because he gave me of his fulness, and the Son because I was in the world and made flesh my tabernacle, and dwelt among the sons of men. (D&C 93:1-4.)
Jesus became the Father because He obtained the fulness of the Father. For all intents and purposes, they are both the same because of this fulness, or oneness. Likewise, because of the fulness, we can become one with God and Christ. John recorded that Jesus said, “That they [His disciples] all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us:... And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one: I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one;...” (John 17:21-23 [1-26.)
Joseph Smith recorded the words of the resurrected Christ in the following manner: “I am Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who was crucified for the sins of the world, even as many as will believe on my name, that they may become the sons of God, even one in me as I am one in the father, as the Father is one in me, that we may be one.” (D&C 35:2.)
In verse two of D&C 93, Jesus said, “I am the true light that lighteth every man that cometh into the world” Actually, the oneness of the Father and the Son, is the light of the Father. When we become one in Christ Jesus, as He is with the Father, we will also possess that same light. When the scriptures state that Jesus and the Father are one in the same, they are not just speaking of a oneness in purpose, but literally of a oneness in the same light. That perfect light infuses itself through all those who are perfect, and all things actually become one. With these thoughts in mind, the words of the Savior become more clear when He said, “Therefore, let your light so shine before this world, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.” (JST Matt. 5:18.)
The fulness consists of being one with God, which in reality, is the same as being in the presence of the Father because of the oneness of the Only Begotten and the Father. Because of the fulness, as pointed out in John 17, we not only become one with the Father and the Son, but one IN the Father and the Son. That’s a fulness. You cannot get fuller than full.
The Schoolmaster
Writing to the Galatians, the Apostle Paul said, “Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith. But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster.” (Gal. 3:24-25.)
What is Paul saying here? He is saying that the preparatory gospel that ancient Israel received, because of their rejecting the Lord, is to teach us how to come to Christ. When we receive Christ into our personal lives, however, we do not need to be under the “schoolmaster.” We no longer need the lesser gospel to help us get to our Savior because we are there, though the “preparatory gospel” was important beforehand. This is exactly what he taught to the Hebrews when he wrote, “Therefore not leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on unto perfection; not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith toward God.” (JST, Heb. 6:1.)
Paul explains here that ancient Israel had the “schoolmaster,” or the preparatory gospel, to show them the way unto Christ, but now they had to go forward to “perfection.” To help illustrate the difference between the preparatory gospel and the fulness of the gospel, let’s turn again to the Doctrine and Covenants. “And this is my gospel—repentance and baptism by water, and then cometh the baptism of fire and the Holy Ghost, even the Comforter, which showeth all things, and teacheth the peaceable things of the kingdom.” (D&C 39:6.)
In this verse the Lord tells us that His gospel is repentance, baptism of water, and baptism by fire and the Holy Ghost. The Lord told James Covill that, if he partook of this gospel, he would be called to preach a “greater work,” which was called the fulness of His gospel. The Lord said to him: “But, behold, the days of thy deliverance are come, if thou wilt hearken to my voice, which saith unto thee: Arise and be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on my name, and you shall receive my Spirit, and a blessing so great as you never have known. And if thou do this, I have prepared thee for a greater work. Thou shalt preach the fulness of my gospel, which I have sent forth in these last days, the covenant which I have sent forth to recover my people, which are of the house of Israel.” (D&C 39:10-11.)
Here we find that there is a difference in the Lord’s gospel (vv. 6 and 10) and the fulness of [His] gospel. (v. 11.) There is a lesser gospel to prepare us for a greater, or fuller gospel—even the fulness of the Lord Jesus Christ. Some are called to preach that fuller gospel. To further illustrate, let’s go to another section. In Section 90 we read: “For it shall come to pass in that day, that every man shall hear the fulness of the gospel in his own tongue, and in his own language, through those who are ordained unto this power, by the administration of the Comforter, shed forth upon them for the revelation of Jesus Christ.” (D&C 90:11.)
Who are those “ordained” to the power of preaching the fulness of the gospel? It is not my purpose to discourage anyone, but is it the LDS missionaries as presently constituted? Have they truly received the fulness? As we have come to understand what the fulness contains, are these missionaries prepared to present the fulness to every man, in his own tongue and language, for the revelation of Jesus Christ? Or, are current missionaries only preaching the preparatory gospel, or the schoolmaster as Paul referred to it, to prepare people for the fulness? We must understand that the Church is not the fulness, in itself. It is only a vehicle through which the fulness can be obtained. In reality, can the current missionaries lift someone to a higher spiritual realm than what they, themselves, have obtained? Then, if the current missionaries are not teaching the fulness of the gospel, who is to teach it? Could there be someone else that the Lord will call and ordain to this responsibility?
The Church of the Firstborn
We learn that the 144,000 are “high priests, ordained ... to administer the everlasting gospel ... ordained out of every nation, kindred, tongue, and people, by the angels.” (D&C 77:11.) If the current missionary force of the Church is to preach the everlasting gospel to all people in their own tongue, why must the Lord call 144,000 special missionaries? Is there something more to the everlasting gospel than merely preaching the restoration of the Priesthood, the Book of Mormon, and the usual missionary lessons?
What are the 144,000 ordained to do? Verse 11 tells us they are “... to bring as many as will come to the church of the Firstborn.” (D&C 77:11.) Who is to inherit the Celestial Kingdom? We learn from D&C 76:54, “They are they who are the church of the Firstborn.” So the 144,000 are to gather in those who will become members of the Celestial Kingdom, if they will come. The 144,000 are not only sent out to non-members of the LDS Church but to the members as well; that is, if those members want to become members of the church of the Firstborn and inherit the Celestial Kingdom. When we consider this carefully, we come to understand there must be something lacking in our personal relationship with the Savior that warrants Him sending out 144,000 specially-ordained shepherds to gather His sheep into the fold of the Firstborn.
To be a member of the church of the Firstborn we must receive the Second Comforter and have our calling and election made sure. The Prophet Joseph Smith explains:
“Now what is this other Comforter? It is no more nor less than the Lord Jesus Christ Himself; and this is the sum and substance of the whole matter; that when any man obtains this last Comforter, he will have the personage of Jesus Christ to attend him, or appear unto him from time to time, and even He will manifest the Father unto him, and they will take up their abode with him, and the visions of the heavens will be opened unto him, and the Lord will teach him face to face, and he may have a perfect knowledge of the mysteries of the kingdom of God; and this is the state and place the ancient Saints arrived at when they had such glorious visions—Isaiah, Ezekiel, John upon the Isle of Patmos, St. Paul in the three heavens, and all the Saints who held communion with the general assembly and Church of the Firstborn.
“Oh! I beseech you to go forward, go forward and make your calling and your election sure...” (TPJS, pp. 150-51, 366.)
Elder Bruce R. McConkie thought this subject was so important that he wrote quite a few pages on the topic in his Doctrinal New Testament Commentary. Within those pages he said,
“The call itself is the gospel cause; it is not reserved for apostles and prophets or for the great and mighty in Israel; it is for all the members of the kingdom.
“To have one’s calling and election made sure is to be sealed up unto eternal life; it is to have the unconditional guarantee of exaltation in the highest heaven of the celestial world; it is to receive the assurance of godhood, it is, in effect, to have the day of judgment advanced....
“But in the most express and proper usage of terms, “The elect of God comprise a very select group, an inner circle of faithful members of the Church.... They are the portion of church members who are striving with all their hearts to keep the fullness of the gospel law in this life so that they can become inheritors of the fullness of gospel rewards in the life to come ...” (Doctrinal New Testament Commentary, pp. 326, 330-31.)
Elder McConkie said to have one’s calling and election made sure is, in effect, to advance the ordinance. Instead of waiting, we desire it now. This is not impatience when sought after under the direction of the Spirit, but a desire encouraged by the Lord and the prophets. Elder McConkie continued: “It is the privilege of those who have their calling and election made sure ... to receive the Second Comforter.” (Doctrinal New Testament Commentary, p. 337.)
This Second Comforter, or fulness of the gospel, is a very important thing indeed, and serious to consider. The Lord said, “And there are none that doeth good except those who are ready to receive the fulness of my gospel, which I have sent forth unto this generation.” (D&C 35:12.) Therefore, if we do not receive of His fulness, we are not doing very “good.” At least that is the way it appears.
The Lord wants us to become worthy and seek His face always, not just be baptized and only receive the whisperings of the Holy Ghost—but to receive Him. The Lord said, “You shall see me and know that I am.” If we do, we can have a true “knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ” and “enter into his rest.”
Alma referred to those who “entered into the rest of the Lord,” and he taught this principle, as can be seen by reading Alma 13: “Now they, after being sanctified by the Holy Ghost, having their garments made white, being pure and spotless before God, could not look upon sin save it were with abhorrence; and there were many, exceedingly great many, who were made pure and entered into the rest of the Lord their God.” (Alma 13:12.)
However, Paul told the Hebrews that they were not ready for the meat of the gospel. He pointedly said they were “dull of hearing,” and though they ought to be teaching, yet they still needed the first principle taught to them. He stated that they still had need of milk instead of strong meat. Then he said, “For every one that useth milk is unskillful in the word of righteousness: for he is a babe. But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.” (Heb. 5:11-14.)
Paul tells the Hebrews that they are “dull of hearing,” and that they need to still be taught the “first principles” of God. It appears that those people still needed to be sucking on the milk of the gospel instead of chewing and enjoying the fulness of the meat—the presence of the Lord—which can only come from personal revelation. Is not this milk what the Lord said was the “preparatory gospel” as recorded in Doctrine and Covenants 84:27?
The New Covenant
There was to be a covenant which the Lord would make to receive His people. We previously read from D&C 39:11 that the fulness of the gospel is a “covenant.”
Another condition necessary to redeem the Church from condemnation, as pointed out in D&C 84:54-58, is that the Saints need to “repent and remember the new covenant.” What is the new covenant they need to remember? To help gain an understanding of this new covenant, it might be good to turn to Jeremiah 31:31-34.
31. Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah:
32. Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt; which my covenant they brake, although I was an husband unto them, saith the Lord:
33. But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the Lord, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people.
34. And they shall teach no more every man his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord: for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the Lord: for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more. (Jer. 31:31-34.)
Here the Lord speaks to Jeremiah of a “new covenant.” The Lord tried to establish the same covenant with the fathers when he took them out of Egypt. We learn though, as we read in D&C 84, they refused that covenant, so the Lord removed Himself from them, which included the “fulness” of His glory. He, therefore, established another covenant, even the law of Moses, which was not the fulness of the gospel, or the fulness of the Glory of the Lord, but a lesser gospel. This covenant they broke also, which is the covenant referred to in verse 32 above.
However, the Lord is to establish a new covenant. And this new covenant will be unlike the one our ancient fathers broke, which was the schoolmaster. (v. 32; Gal. 3:24.) It will be an “everlasting” covenant, even the “fulness” of His gospel. “Verily I say unto you, blessed are you for receiving mine everlasting covenant, even the fulness of my gospel, sent forth unto the children of men, that they might have life and be made partakers of the glories which are to be revealed in the last days, as it was written by the prophets and apostles in days of old.” (D&C 66:2.)
Section 133 references the fact that the covenant is an “everlasting” covenant whereby we may become “partakers of the glories” which could be revealed unto us. “And for this cause, that men might be made partakers of the glories which were to be revealed, the Lord sent forth the fulness of his gospel, his everlasting covenant, reasoning in plainness and simplicity.” (D&C 133:57.)
With this new covenant the Lord is to put His law in our inward parts, and we will know it throughout our being. He is to write it in our hearts (Jer. 31:33), and it will become our treasure, or that which we treasure most. (Matt. 6:19-24.) We will have no need to teach our neighbor or our brother, for they shall know the Lord for themselves. Even the least of His people will know Him. They shall be His people and He will be their God. (Jer. 31:34.)
By reading D&C 76:50-70 we can learn who is to inherit the Celestial Kingdom of God. As we consider the subject of covenants, we find verse 69 to be very interesting. It says that those who are to receive the celestial glory are those “... who are just men made perfect through Jesus the mediator of the new covenant ...” (D&C 76:69.)
From reading verse 57 of Section 84, it can be learned that members of the Church must “... repent and remember the new covenant, even the Book of Mormon and the former commandments.” (D&C 84:57.) In this verse, by using the word “even,” the Lord appears to equate the new covenant with the Book of Mormon and the former commandments. That is to say: The Book of Mormon and the former commandments are included in the new covenant. Both have reference to the fulness of the gospel or receiving the fulness of the Lord.
Regarding the Fullness contained in the Book of Mormon, Let’s consider it in this light: The Book of Mormon is one of the keys in helping us understand the realization of the Resurrection and our relationship to Christ. The Lord Himself, in D&C 20:9, has stated that the Book of Mormon contains the “fulness of the gospel of Jesus Christ.” Speaking of the Book of Mormon He said that it, “... contains a record of a fallen people, and the fulness of the gospel of Jesus Christ to the Gentiles and to the Jews also.” Those words, however, do not mean that the Book of Mormon contains every teaching, every doctrine ever revealed. No! His words mean that in the Book of Mormon we will find the fulness of those doctrines required for our salvation. And they are taught plainly and simply so that even children can learn the ways of salvation and exaltation.
Entering into His Rest
The fulness is received by those who are honest in heart, and who have not hardened their hearts. Let’s take a moment and re-read verses 23-24 in Section 84: “Now this Moses plainly taught to the children of Israel in the wilderness, and sought diligently to sanctify his people that they might behold the face of God; But they hardened their hearts and could not endure his presence; therefore, the Lord in his wrath, for his anger was kindled against them, swore that they should not enter into his rest while in the wilderness, which rest is the fulness of his glory.” (D&C 84:23-27.) We find here that those who have not hardened their hearts will enter into His rest, which means to behold the face of God, endure His presence, and receive a fulness of His glory.
Alma 12:13 reads: “Then if our hearts have been hardened, yea, if we have hardened our hearts against the word, insomuch that it has not been found in us, then will our state be awful, for then we shall be condemned.” It might be good for us to reflect upon President Ezra Taft Benson’s words concerning the Church still being under condemnation. (General Conference, October 1988; see also D&C 84:23-27, 49-58; Isa. 5:20-23, 56:9-12; Jer. 23:1-4, 9-32; Ezek. 33: 30-33, 34:1-10; 2 Ne. 28:8-16, 20-21, 24; Morm. 8:35-40; D&C 107:18-19; Ether 4:4-7; D&C 112:23-26, 85:7.)
The fulness of the gospel is that great and precious promise whereby we can partake of the divine nature of Christ by seeking His face and being in His presence. It is that privilege and promise whereby the veil will be rent and we will see Him and know Him. It is to enter into His rest and partake of the fulness of His glory.
Therefore, the fulness of the gospel of Jesus Christ is nothing more nor less than knowing the mysteries of God in full, and receiving the fulness of Jesus Christ, which is also the fulness of the Father; being both one with, and in, the Father and the Son, who is full of grace and truth.
A Few Christlike Attributes
As we start out, it might be important to ask, “What really qualifies one to be a true witness of Jesus Christ and one who can bear a true and honest testimony of His divine nature?” Upon investigation, we discover that part of the answer is found in Section four of the Doctrine and Covenants. As missionaries, many of us have memorized that section, but is that enough? Have we truly studied it? Verses five, six, and seven of that section read as follows: “And faith, hope, charity and love, with an eye single to the glory of God, qualify him for the work. Remember faith, virtue, knowledge, temperance, patience, brotherly kindness, godliness, charity, humility, diligence. Ask, and ye shall receive; knock, and it shall be opened unto you. Amen.” (D&C 4:5-7.)
Each principle stated here is an attribute of Christ. It would be good if we studied each of these attributes and employed them in our lives—not just read about them. Peter mentions these same attributes in his writing. Opening the Bible to the first chapter of Second Peter, we start with verse four and read to verse eleven. This is a scripture that is important in understanding God’s design for us.
4. Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.
5. And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge;
6. And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness;
7. And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity.
8. For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.
9. But he that lacketh these things is blind, and cannot see afar off, and hath forgotten that he was purged from his old sins.
10. Wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sure: for if ye do these things, ye shall never fall:
11. For so an entrance shall be ministered unto you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. (2 Pet. 1:4-11.)
Notice that the Doctrine and Covenants rendition adds the attribute of humility, which isn’t mentioned by Peter. The Apostle Paul also mentions some of these attributes in Galatians 5:22-23. For our purposes, however, we will stay focused on Peter’s words. And as we incorporate these attributes into our lives, we shall come to understand what is meant by the word, “fulness.”
Great and Precious Promises
First, let’s consider what Peter means in verse four when he says, “Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature ...” Skipping down to verse eight, let’s think of what he means there: “For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
What are the great and precious promises? What is the divine nature? What does it mean to be neither barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of the Lord? To help answer these questions, let’s recall what the Lord said in D&C 93. “Verily, thus saith the Lord: It shall come to pass that every soul who forsaketh his sins and cometh unto me, and calleth on my name, and obeyeth my voice, and keepeth my commandments, shall see my face and know that I am.” (D&C 93:1.)
What does the Lord say WILL happen if we “forsaketh [our] sins,” “come unto [Him],” “calleth on [His] name,” “obeyeth [His] voice,” and “keepeth [His] commandments”? We learn that the “exceeding great and precious” promise that Peter mentioned is the promise of partaking of the “divine nature” of Christ, that is, seeing His face. If we abound in these Christlike attributes, as mentioned by Peter and in Section Four, then our “knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ” and our testimony of Him will not be “barren nor unfruitful.”
As we seriously consider this idea, let’s turn to Section 101. What do we read in verse 38? “Seek the face of the Lord always.” Does that statement mean that we should seek His face sometime in the future? No, it doesn’t! That is a commandment to everyone—to seek his face always—which means now. Section 93:1, quoted above, tells us what we need to do to obtain that great and precious promise. Verse ten of Section 67 gives a few more attributes to help us with this process. “And again, verily I say unto you that it is your privilege, and a promise ... that inasmuch as you strip yourselves from jealousies and fears, and humble yourselves before me ... the veil shall be rent and you shall see me and know that I am—not with the carnal neither natural mind, but with the spiritual.” (D&C 67:10.)
This verse starts by saying, “... verily I say unto you that it is your privilege, and a promise ...” Now, what privilege and promise did He give us? He said that, “... the veil shall be rent and you shall see me and know that I am ...” Here we have His promise again, but first there are some more prerequisites. What are they? The verse reads that we must “strip [ourselves] from jealousies and fears, and humble [ourselves] before [Him].” By adding these teachings to those of Peter and D&C Four, we find a more thorough list of qualifications when we want to partake of His presence, His divine nature, and His fulness.
What Is His Fulness?
Should we want to partake of His person and receive of His fulness? Before we can answer this question, we must know what constitutes His fulness. Section 84 helps us understand that also. The section points out some very important things, many of which may not be fully understood among most Latter-day Saints today.
23. Now this Moses plainly taught to the children of Israel in the wilderness, and sought diligently to sanctify his people that they might behold the face of God;
24. But they hardened their hearts and could not endure his presence; therefore, the Lord in his wrath, for his anger was kindled against them, swore that they should not enter into his rest while in the wilderness, which rest is the fulness of his glory.
25. Therefore, he took Moses out of their midst, and the Holy Priesthood also;
26. And the lesser priesthood continued, which priesthood holdeth the key of the ministering of angels and the preparatory gospel;
27. Which gospel is the gospel of repentance and of baptism, and the remission of sin, and the law of carnal commandments ... (D&C 84:23-27.)
Verse 23 tells us that Moses tried to get his people to cleanse and “sanctify” themselves so they would be worthy to see the face of God. However, they were not desirous to repent, so they “hardened their hearts.” Because of this, the Lord was angry with them and swore in His wrath that they would not “enter into his rest.”
Now what is His rest? It is seeing the Lord’s face (v. 23) and partaking of the “fulness of his glory” (v. 24). The fulness of His glory is the “fulness of the gospel.” One can learn this with careful reading of Section 76. Speaking of the Only Begotten Son, the Prophet Joseph Smith records: “Of whom we bear record; and the record which we bear is the fulness of the gospel of Jesus Christ, who is the Son, whom we saw and with whom we conversed in the heavenly vision.” (D&C 76:14.) Clearly then, the fulness of the gospel IS the fulness of the Son.
We learn from Section 76 that, those who are of the Church of the Firstborn also receive of the fulness of the Father (vv. 20, 71, 94); and that those who inherit the Terrestrial Kingdom do not receive of the fulness of the Son, nor the fulness of the Father, but only the presence and glory of the Son (v. 76). It should be obvious from these verses that just receiving the presence and glory of the Son is not necessarily the fulness of the Son. The fulness of the Son includes the fulness of the Father.
When you have a drinking glass filled to overflowing with water, you cannot get any more in it. You cannot get it fuller than full. When we receive the fulness of the Son, we cannot get more. That’s it. The Son received the fulness of the Father. That’s the Son’s fulness. And we are promised that what the Father has can be ours also. (D&C 76:55, 59-60; 1 Cor. 3:21-23.)
By reading Section 76 we learn the Prophet Joseph Smith and Sidney Rigdon were bearing record of the Only Begotten Son of the Father. They say that their record is the “fulness of the gospel,” after which they continue by saying that the “fulness of the gospel” is the “Son, whom [they] saw.” This “privilege, and a promise,” and “fulness,” ancient Israel could have enjoyed if they had only understood the blessing without hardening their hearts.
The fullness of God also includes the fulness of the priesthood. The Prophet Joseph Smith said, “If a man gets a fullness of the priesthood of God he has to get it in the same way that Jesus Christ obtained it, and that was by keeping all the commandments and obeying all the ordinances of the house of the Lord. Where there is no change of priesthood, there is no change of ordinances.” (TPJS, p. 308.) About this President Joseph Fielding Smith wrote, “There is no exaltation in the kingdom of God without the fulness of priesthood. ... Every man who is faithful and will receive these ordinances and blessings obtains a fulness of the priesthood, and the Lord has said that ‘he makes them equal in power, and in might, and in dominion.’” (See D&C 76:95; 88:107.)
Now many know that the gospel consists of repentance, baptism by water, and the baptism of fire and the Holy Ghost, even the Comforter, which showeth all things, and teacheth the peaceable things of the kingdom. (D&C 39:6.) The purpose of the (lesser) gospel, though, is only to prepare one for the “fulness” of the gospel, which gives them a fruitful knowledge of Jesus Christ and His divine nature. From reading D&C 84:23-27 we can see what happened because Israel would not become sanctified and receive the fulness of the Lord. The Lord took the opportunity of receiving His fulness from them and left only a preparatory gospel. It was an introductory gospel, if you will, and not the fulness of the gospel, which is the fulness of His presence.
The Oneness
As stated above, the fulness of the Son consists of the fulness of the Father. To further illustrate, let’s consider another statement by the Prophet Joseph. In 1842, while in council and giving instruction to a select few, he said he was, “... setting forth the order pertaining to the Ancient of Days, and all those plans and principles by which any one is enabled to secure the FULNESS of those blessing which have been prepared for the Church of the Firstborn, and come up and ABIDE IN THE PRESENCE of the Eloheim in the eternal worlds.” (TPJS, p. 237/) Doctrine and Covenants 93, a section to which we previously referred, helps shed a little light on this subject.
1. Verily, thus saith the Lord: It shall come to pass that every soul who forsaketh his sins and cometh unto me, and calleth on my name, and obeyeth my voice, and keepeth my commandments, shall see my face and know that I am;
2. And that I am the true light that lighteth every man that cometh into the world;
3. And that I am in the Father, and the Father in me, and the Father and I are one—
4. The Father because he gave me of his fulness, and the Son because I was in the world and made flesh my tabernacle, and dwelt among the sons of men. (D&C 93:1-4.)
Jesus became the Father because He obtained the fulness of the Father. For all intents and purposes, they are both the same because of this fulness, or oneness. Likewise, because of the fulness, we can become one with God and Christ. John recorded that Jesus said, “That they [His disciples] all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us:... And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one: I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one;...” (John 17:21-23 [1-26.)
Joseph Smith recorded the words of the resurrected Christ in the following manner: “I am Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who was crucified for the sins of the world, even as many as will believe on my name, that they may become the sons of God, even one in me as I am one in the father, as the Father is one in me, that we may be one.” (D&C 35:2.)
In verse two of D&C 93, Jesus said, “I am the true light that lighteth every man that cometh into the world” Actually, the oneness of the Father and the Son, is the light of the Father. When we become one in Christ Jesus, as He is with the Father, we will also possess that same light. When the scriptures state that Jesus and the Father are one in the same, they are not just speaking of a oneness in purpose, but literally of a oneness in the same light. That perfect light infuses itself through all those who are perfect, and all things actually become one. With these thoughts in mind, the words of the Savior become more clear when He said, “Therefore, let your light so shine before this world, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.” (JST Matt. 5:18.)
The fulness consists of being one with God, which in reality, is the same as being in the presence of the Father because of the oneness of the Only Begotten and the Father. Because of the fulness, as pointed out in John 17, we not only become one with the Father and the Son, but one IN the Father and the Son. That’s a fulness. You cannot get fuller than full.
The Schoolmaster
Writing to the Galatians, the Apostle Paul said, “Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith. But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster.” (Gal. 3:24-25.)
What is Paul saying here? He is saying that the preparatory gospel that ancient Israel received, because of their rejecting the Lord, is to teach us how to come to Christ. When we receive Christ into our personal lives, however, we do not need to be under the “schoolmaster.” We no longer need the lesser gospel to help us get to our Savior because we are there, though the “preparatory gospel” was important beforehand. This is exactly what he taught to the Hebrews when he wrote, “Therefore not leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on unto perfection; not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith toward God.” (JST, Heb. 6:1.)
Paul explains here that ancient Israel had the “schoolmaster,” or the preparatory gospel, to show them the way unto Christ, but now they had to go forward to “perfection.” To help illustrate the difference between the preparatory gospel and the fulness of the gospel, let’s turn again to the Doctrine and Covenants. “And this is my gospel—repentance and baptism by water, and then cometh the baptism of fire and the Holy Ghost, even the Comforter, which showeth all things, and teacheth the peaceable things of the kingdom.” (D&C 39:6.)
In this verse the Lord tells us that His gospel is repentance, baptism of water, and baptism by fire and the Holy Ghost. The Lord told James Covill that, if he partook of this gospel, he would be called to preach a “greater work,” which was called the fulness of His gospel. The Lord said to him: “But, behold, the days of thy deliverance are come, if thou wilt hearken to my voice, which saith unto thee: Arise and be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on my name, and you shall receive my Spirit, and a blessing so great as you never have known. And if thou do this, I have prepared thee for a greater work. Thou shalt preach the fulness of my gospel, which I have sent forth in these last days, the covenant which I have sent forth to recover my people, which are of the house of Israel.” (D&C 39:10-11.)
Here we find that there is a difference in the Lord’s gospel (vv. 6 and 10) and the fulness of [His] gospel. (v. 11.) There is a lesser gospel to prepare us for a greater, or fuller gospel—even the fulness of the Lord Jesus Christ. Some are called to preach that fuller gospel. To further illustrate, let’s go to another section. In Section 90 we read: “For it shall come to pass in that day, that every man shall hear the fulness of the gospel in his own tongue, and in his own language, through those who are ordained unto this power, by the administration of the Comforter, shed forth upon them for the revelation of Jesus Christ.” (D&C 90:11.)
Who are those “ordained” to the power of preaching the fulness of the gospel? It is not my purpose to discourage anyone, but is it the LDS missionaries as presently constituted? Have they truly received the fulness? As we have come to understand what the fulness contains, are these missionaries prepared to present the fulness to every man, in his own tongue and language, for the revelation of Jesus Christ? Or, are current missionaries only preaching the preparatory gospel, or the schoolmaster as Paul referred to it, to prepare people for the fulness? We must understand that the Church is not the fulness, in itself. It is only a vehicle through which the fulness can be obtained. In reality, can the current missionaries lift someone to a higher spiritual realm than what they, themselves, have obtained? Then, if the current missionaries are not teaching the fulness of the gospel, who is to teach it? Could there be someone else that the Lord will call and ordain to this responsibility?
The Church of the Firstborn
We learn that the 144,000 are “high priests, ordained ... to administer the everlasting gospel ... ordained out of every nation, kindred, tongue, and people, by the angels.” (D&C 77:11.) If the current missionary force of the Church is to preach the everlasting gospel to all people in their own tongue, why must the Lord call 144,000 special missionaries? Is there something more to the everlasting gospel than merely preaching the restoration of the Priesthood, the Book of Mormon, and the usual missionary lessons?
What are the 144,000 ordained to do? Verse 11 tells us they are “... to bring as many as will come to the church of the Firstborn.” (D&C 77:11.) Who is to inherit the Celestial Kingdom? We learn from D&C 76:54, “They are they who are the church of the Firstborn.” So the 144,000 are to gather in those who will become members of the Celestial Kingdom, if they will come. The 144,000 are not only sent out to non-members of the LDS Church but to the members as well; that is, if those members want to become members of the church of the Firstborn and inherit the Celestial Kingdom. When we consider this carefully, we come to understand there must be something lacking in our personal relationship with the Savior that warrants Him sending out 144,000 specially-ordained shepherds to gather His sheep into the fold of the Firstborn.
To be a member of the church of the Firstborn we must receive the Second Comforter and have our calling and election made sure. The Prophet Joseph Smith explains:
“Now what is this other Comforter? It is no more nor less than the Lord Jesus Christ Himself; and this is the sum and substance of the whole matter; that when any man obtains this last Comforter, he will have the personage of Jesus Christ to attend him, or appear unto him from time to time, and even He will manifest the Father unto him, and they will take up their abode with him, and the visions of the heavens will be opened unto him, and the Lord will teach him face to face, and he may have a perfect knowledge of the mysteries of the kingdom of God; and this is the state and place the ancient Saints arrived at when they had such glorious visions—Isaiah, Ezekiel, John upon the Isle of Patmos, St. Paul in the three heavens, and all the Saints who held communion with the general assembly and Church of the Firstborn.
“Oh! I beseech you to go forward, go forward and make your calling and your election sure...” (TPJS, pp. 150-51, 366.)
Elder Bruce R. McConkie thought this subject was so important that he wrote quite a few pages on the topic in his Doctrinal New Testament Commentary. Within those pages he said,
“The call itself is the gospel cause; it is not reserved for apostles and prophets or for the great and mighty in Israel; it is for all the members of the kingdom.
“To have one’s calling and election made sure is to be sealed up unto eternal life; it is to have the unconditional guarantee of exaltation in the highest heaven of the celestial world; it is to receive the assurance of godhood, it is, in effect, to have the day of judgment advanced....
“But in the most express and proper usage of terms, “The elect of God comprise a very select group, an inner circle of faithful members of the Church.... They are the portion of church members who are striving with all their hearts to keep the fullness of the gospel law in this life so that they can become inheritors of the fullness of gospel rewards in the life to come ...” (Doctrinal New Testament Commentary, pp. 326, 330-31.)
Elder McConkie said to have one’s calling and election made sure is, in effect, to advance the ordinance. Instead of waiting, we desire it now. This is not impatience when sought after under the direction of the Spirit, but a desire encouraged by the Lord and the prophets. Elder McConkie continued: “It is the privilege of those who have their calling and election made sure ... to receive the Second Comforter.” (Doctrinal New Testament Commentary, p. 337.)
This Second Comforter, or fulness of the gospel, is a very important thing indeed, and serious to consider. The Lord said, “And there are none that doeth good except those who are ready to receive the fulness of my gospel, which I have sent forth unto this generation.” (D&C 35:12.) Therefore, if we do not receive of His fulness, we are not doing very “good.” At least that is the way it appears.
The Lord wants us to become worthy and seek His face always, not just be baptized and only receive the whisperings of the Holy Ghost—but to receive Him. The Lord said, “You shall see me and know that I am.” If we do, we can have a true “knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ” and “enter into his rest.”
Alma referred to those who “entered into the rest of the Lord,” and he taught this principle, as can be seen by reading Alma 13: “Now they, after being sanctified by the Holy Ghost, having their garments made white, being pure and spotless before God, could not look upon sin save it were with abhorrence; and there were many, exceedingly great many, who were made pure and entered into the rest of the Lord their God.” (Alma 13:12.)
However, Paul told the Hebrews that they were not ready for the meat of the gospel. He pointedly said they were “dull of hearing,” and though they ought to be teaching, yet they still needed the first principle taught to them. He stated that they still had need of milk instead of strong meat. Then he said, “For every one that useth milk is unskillful in the word of righteousness: for he is a babe. But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.” (Heb. 5:11-14.)
Paul tells the Hebrews that they are “dull of hearing,” and that they need to still be taught the “first principles” of God. It appears that those people still needed to be sucking on the milk of the gospel instead of chewing and enjoying the fulness of the meat—the presence of the Lord—which can only come from personal revelation. Is not this milk what the Lord said was the “preparatory gospel” as recorded in Doctrine and Covenants 84:27?
The New Covenant
There was to be a covenant which the Lord would make to receive His people. We previously read from D&C 39:11 that the fulness of the gospel is a “covenant.”
Another condition necessary to redeem the Church from condemnation, as pointed out in D&C 84:54-58, is that the Saints need to “repent and remember the new covenant.” What is the new covenant they need to remember? To help gain an understanding of this new covenant, it might be good to turn to Jeremiah 31:31-34.
31. Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah:
32. Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt; which my covenant they brake, although I was an husband unto them, saith the Lord:
33. But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the Lord, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people.
34. And they shall teach no more every man his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord: for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the Lord: for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more. (Jer. 31:31-34.)
Here the Lord speaks to Jeremiah of a “new covenant.” The Lord tried to establish the same covenant with the fathers when he took them out of Egypt. We learn though, as we read in D&C 84, they refused that covenant, so the Lord removed Himself from them, which included the “fulness” of His glory. He, therefore, established another covenant, even the law of Moses, which was not the fulness of the gospel, or the fulness of the Glory of the Lord, but a lesser gospel. This covenant they broke also, which is the covenant referred to in verse 32 above.
However, the Lord is to establish a new covenant. And this new covenant will be unlike the one our ancient fathers broke, which was the schoolmaster. (v. 32; Gal. 3:24.) It will be an “everlasting” covenant, even the “fulness” of His gospel. “Verily I say unto you, blessed are you for receiving mine everlasting covenant, even the fulness of my gospel, sent forth unto the children of men, that they might have life and be made partakers of the glories which are to be revealed in the last days, as it was written by the prophets and apostles in days of old.” (D&C 66:2.)
Section 133 references the fact that the covenant is an “everlasting” covenant whereby we may become “partakers of the glories” which could be revealed unto us. “And for this cause, that men might be made partakers of the glories which were to be revealed, the Lord sent forth the fulness of his gospel, his everlasting covenant, reasoning in plainness and simplicity.” (D&C 133:57.)
With this new covenant the Lord is to put His law in our inward parts, and we will know it throughout our being. He is to write it in our hearts (Jer. 31:33), and it will become our treasure, or that which we treasure most. (Matt. 6:19-24.) We will have no need to teach our neighbor or our brother, for they shall know the Lord for themselves. Even the least of His people will know Him. They shall be His people and He will be their God. (Jer. 31:34.)
By reading D&C 76:50-70 we can learn who is to inherit the Celestial Kingdom of God. As we consider the subject of covenants, we find verse 69 to be very interesting. It says that those who are to receive the celestial glory are those “... who are just men made perfect through Jesus the mediator of the new covenant ...” (D&C 76:69.)
From reading verse 57 of Section 84, it can be learned that members of the Church must “... repent and remember the new covenant, even the Book of Mormon and the former commandments.” (D&C 84:57.) In this verse, by using the word “even,” the Lord appears to equate the new covenant with the Book of Mormon and the former commandments. That is to say: The Book of Mormon and the former commandments are included in the new covenant. Both have reference to the fulness of the gospel or receiving the fulness of the Lord.
Regarding the Fullness contained in the Book of Mormon, Let’s consider it in this light: The Book of Mormon is one of the keys in helping us understand the realization of the Resurrection and our relationship to Christ. The Lord Himself, in D&C 20:9, has stated that the Book of Mormon contains the “fulness of the gospel of Jesus Christ.” Speaking of the Book of Mormon He said that it, “... contains a record of a fallen people, and the fulness of the gospel of Jesus Christ to the Gentiles and to the Jews also.” Those words, however, do not mean that the Book of Mormon contains every teaching, every doctrine ever revealed. No! His words mean that in the Book of Mormon we will find the fulness of those doctrines required for our salvation. And they are taught plainly and simply so that even children can learn the ways of salvation and exaltation.
Entering into His Rest
The fulness is received by those who are honest in heart, and who have not hardened their hearts. Let’s take a moment and re-read verses 23-24 in Section 84: “Now this Moses plainly taught to the children of Israel in the wilderness, and sought diligently to sanctify his people that they might behold the face of God; But they hardened their hearts and could not endure his presence; therefore, the Lord in his wrath, for his anger was kindled against them, swore that they should not enter into his rest while in the wilderness, which rest is the fulness of his glory.” (D&C 84:23-27.) We find here that those who have not hardened their hearts will enter into His rest, which means to behold the face of God, endure His presence, and receive a fulness of His glory.
Alma 12:13 reads: “Then if our hearts have been hardened, yea, if we have hardened our hearts against the word, insomuch that it has not been found in us, then will our state be awful, for then we shall be condemned.” It might be good for us to reflect upon President Ezra Taft Benson’s words concerning the Church still being under condemnation. (General Conference, October 1988; see also D&C 84:23-27, 49-58; Isa. 5:20-23, 56:9-12; Jer. 23:1-4, 9-32; Ezek. 33: 30-33, 34:1-10; 2 Ne. 28:8-16, 20-21, 24; Morm. 8:35-40; D&C 107:18-19; Ether 4:4-7; D&C 112:23-26, 85:7.)
The fulness of the gospel is that great and precious promise whereby we can partake of the divine nature of Christ by seeking His face and being in His presence. It is that privilege and promise whereby the veil will be rent and we will see Him and know Him. It is to enter into His rest and partake of the fulness of His glory.
Therefore, the fulness of the gospel of Jesus Christ is nothing more nor less than knowing the mysteries of God in full, and receiving the fulness of Jesus Christ, which is also the fulness of the Father; being both one with, and in, the Father and the Son, who is full of grace and truth.
