Church History Matters

The Second Anointing, The Law of Adoption, & Non-Temple Prayer Circles

During the last years of his life, the prophet Joseph Smith gave multiple public sermons dealing with 2 Peter 1, wherein the apostle Peter encourages his readers to “give diligence to make your calling and election sure” (vs. 10). Commenting on this phrase the prophet explained that to have one’s “calling and election” made sure meant to “obtain a promise from God for yourselves that you shall have eternal life.” And he explained that such a promise could be mediated through the keys restored by Elijah. By “this power of Elijah,” he said on one occasion, “we are sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise. [And] to obtain this sealing is to make our calling and election sure.” In another sermon he confirmed, “the power of Elijah is sufficient to make our calling and election sure.” 
In 2 Peter 1, Peter also speaks of obtaining the “more sure word of prophecy” (vs. 19), a phrase the prophet Joseph similarly interpreted to mean “a man’s knowing that he was sealed up unto eternal life … through the power of the Holy priesthood.”  
This was the theology—the possibility of being sealed up unto eternal life under the keys restored by Elijah. 
Then came the practice. 
Beginning in 1843 in Nauvoo, the prophet introduced a sacred ordinance to his most trusted associates wherein, using the keys of Elijah which he held, husbands and wives were sealed up unto eternal life. This was not the marriage ordinance. This was more, given to those already married. It was an ordinance sometimes referred to in the historical record as “the second anointing.” 
In this episode of Church History Matters, Casey and Scott discuss what they know about the theology and early practice of the second anointing. We also discuss the early—and now discontinued—sealing practice called “the law of adoption” wherein men and women were sealed into the families of Church leaders as their children. They also briefly touch on the now extinct practice of temple-like prayer circles that were conducted outside of the temple for many years in our history. 
For show notes and transcript for this and other episodes go to https://doctrineandcovenantscentral.org/church-history-matters-podcast/   

Marriage Sealings: A High Fusion of Theology + Ritual

The prophet Joseph Smith’s final years in Nauvoo, IL constituted a season of rich theological and ritual convergence. It was a time when various threads of biblical and revealed theology gave birth to the Latter-day temple rituals that would enable us to enact that very theology. It was in Nauvoo that the picture became clear. Every revealed ordinance builds with deep meaning to the next, until finally reaching the pinnacle ordinance of sealing wife and husband together for eternity. All theological and ritual threads come together at this point. 
In this episode of Church History Matters, we dig into when and where the ritual of marriage sealings first began in the Church and explore the tight weave between this ordinance and the theological threads of God’s true nature, the existence of Heavenly Mother, and mankind’s created purpose and destiny. 
For show notes and transcript for this and other episodes go to https://doctrineandcovenantscentral.org/church-history-matters-podcast/   

An Interview with an LDS Freemason

Welcome to our special bonus episode where Casey and I interview a friend of our show Lon Tibbitts. In our previous episode we discussed at length the relationship between masonry and the development of the temple endowment in Nauvoo—a topic a lot of people have questions about. So we thought you might enjoy hearing from Lon Tibbitts who has served both as an LDS ward bishop and as a Master of his Masonic lodge in Utah. Lon is a keen student of both masonic and LDS history, and in this interview he sheds light on the origins of freemasonry; on why so many Nauvoo Latter-day Saints joined the fraternity; on connections between masonry and the endowment, the Relief Society, and the martyrdom of Joseph Smith; as well as the later fraught relationship between freemasons and Latter-day Saints in Utah. We hope you enjoy it. 
For show notes and transcript for this and other episodes go to https://doctrineandcovenantscentral.org/church-history-matters-podcast/   

The Origins of the Temple Endowment

What Latter-day Saints today call the Temple Endowment was first given by the prophet Joseph Smith in 1842, two years prior to his death, to a small group of nine of his trusted associates in Nauvoo, Illinois. It was a key piece of the larger vibrant temple liturgy then developing in Nauvoo. But where did this temple endowment come from? What was its relationship to the prophet’s previous revelations? And what, if anything, was its relationship to masonry which Joseph Smith had joined only two months before administering that first endowment to his nine friends (who, by the way, were all masons as well)? 
In this episode of Church History Matters, Casey and Scott dig into the details of what we know (or think we know) about the origins of the Temple endowment ritual. They discuss several of what they believe are primary source materials the Prophet Joseph drew from as he formulated this important ordinance under inspiration. And they also offer a Nauvoo angle to the meaning of the word “Restoration.”
For show notes and transcript for this and other episodes go to https://doctrineandcovenantscentral.org/church-history-matters-podcast/   

Restoration of “the Priesthood” Through Temple Ordinances?

As the climax of the Kirtland endowment on April 3, 1836, Joseph Smith received sacred keys in rapid succession from Moses, Elias, and Elijah. This was the primary purpose for which the Kirtland Temple was built! Joseph had now received all that was necessary for the next phase of temple building which he hoped would take place in Northern Missouri at the settlements of Far West and Adam-Ondi-Ahman. But, due to heinous persecution, neither of these temples ever came to be and the saints found themselves in 1839 as refugees in a swampy, milaria-infested peninsula in Illinois that the Prophet would name “Nauvoo.” It was there over the next few years that the theology, the rituals, and those Kirtland keys, like pieces of a puzzle, began to come together to reveal the stunning purpose of the Nauvoo temple and every temple that would be built thereafter. The Lord referred to this temple-purpose as restoring “the fulness of the priesthood.” The prophet Joseph referred to it as “the restoration of the priesthood” or as the work of connecting “the priesthood.” But what does this mean? And how would the ordinances given to men and women, living and dead, constitute the work of restoring “the priesthood”?   
In this episode of Church History Matters we’re excited to talk about all of this! 
For show notes and transcript for this and other episodes go to https://doctrineandcovenantscentral.org/church-history-matters-podcast/   

The Kirtland Endowment: What it Was and Why it Matters

In 1831 the Lord promised the New York saints that if they would gather together with Church members in Ohio they would there “be endowed with power from on high.” Trusting this promise most of them moved to Ohio in expectation of receiving this endowment, or gift, of power from on high. But what exactly was this endowment? What “power” was given from on high? Was it one thing, or several things? And how was this gift (or gifts) of power received in the Kirtland temple so crucial in the unfolding story of the development of Latter-day Saint temple worship in general and to our personal temple experience today? 
In this episode of Church History Matters, we dig into the surprising yet satisfying answers to these important questions.
For show notes and transcript for this and other episodes go to https://doctrineandcovenantscentral.org/church-history-matters-podcast/   

The Beginnings of LDS Temple Worship

Temples: It’s difficult to overestimate their importance in the Latter-day Saint movement. In fact, it could be said that what is accomplished inside Latter-day Saint Temples is at the beating heart of the purposes of the Restoration. 
In today’s episode of Church History Matters we begin a new series exploring the Development of Latter-day Saint Temple worship. We’re starting at the very beginning and probing questions such as, how early on did Joseph Smith understand the temple-centric nature of his prophetic mission? What is the meaning of the word “endowment”? Which was the first temple commanded to be built in our day, and which temple was actually built first? How are we to make sense of what appears to be a failed prophecy in D&C 84 about the building of the Missouri temple in the first generation of the Church?  
For show notes and transcript for this and other episodes go to https://doctrineandcovenantscentral.org/church-history-matters-podcast/   

Q&R w/ Prof. Aaron Miller - Modern Money Controversies

Why did the Church file 13f documents with separate shell companies if there was no tax advantage for doing so? Could there be more to the story than simply saying Church leaders listened to "bad legal counsel" in the context of the recent SEC fine? 
What’s the latest on the story of James Huntsman who is currently suing the Church to get over 5 million dollars of his tithing returned to him?
Should Church leaders be more transparent with Church members about Church assets? Why or why not? And what about the size of the Church’s multi-billion dollar reserve? How can we best situate or contextualize that amount compared to other large organizations? And with so much money, does the Church even need our tithing dollars anymore? 
How effective is the Church at humanitarian work? Like, if we wanted to donate to humanitarian aid, would we be better off giving our money to the Church or some other other humanitarian organization? 
And finally, is capitalism compatible with consecration and zion building? 
All of these questions and more coming your way on this episode of Church History Matters.
For show notes and transcript for this and other episodes go to https://doctrineandcovenantscentral.org/church-history-matters-podcast/   

Q&R! On Early Church Finance w/ Drs. Elizabeth Kuehn & Jeffrey Mahas

Doctrine & Covenants 119 directs Church members to pay essentially two tithings—the first tithing being a one-time donation of all of their surplus property (meaning whatever they don’t have immediate need of), and the second tithing being an ongoing payment of one-tenth of what they would make in interest annually if they invested their total net worth at 6%. So, when did we shift in the Church away from the payment of tithing in that two-part way to the more general approach today of really only one type of tithe as 10% of our income? Also, who are the Danites and what role did they play in early tithing collection in Far West?
Furthermore, how is it okay for some full-time Church leaders today to receive a financial stipend or allowance? Is that historically justified in the revelations and early practice of the Church? Also—related question—is it considered priestcraft for people to receive money for their efforts to build Zion?  
Finally, after Joseph Smith’s martyrdom, was there significant disagreement between Brigham Young and Emma Smith regarding Church financial assets? If so, what role did that play in their turbulent relationship over the next decades? 
All of these questions and more coming your way on this episode of Church History Matters with Dr. Elizabeth Kuehn and a surprise guest we brought on last minute (we think you'll like him).
For show notes and transcript for this and other episodes go to https://doctrineandcovenantscentral.org/church-history-matters-podcast/   

Modern Church Financial Controversies

How does the Church justify putting over one billion dollars into building a mall in downtown Salt Lake City? And did they use tithing money to do so? Also, is it true that the Church has over 100 billion dollars in reserve? Why won’t Church leaders just disclose exactly how much they actually have? If it’s anywhere near that number, is it ethical for the Church to continue to ask its members—especially its poorer members—to tithe? Furthermore, what’s the deal with the Church paying a 5 million dollar fine to the SEC last year? What did they do wrong? Were they caught doing something nefarious?   
All of these questions and more coming your way on today’s episode of Church History Matters.
For show notes and transcript for this and other episodes go to https://doctrineandcovenantscentral.org/church-history-matters-podcast/