"Nevertheless, it is not written that there shall be no end to this torment, but it is written endless torment. Again, it is written eternal damnation; wherefore it is more express than other scriptures, that it might work upon the hearts of the children of men, altogether for my name’s glory." (D&C 19:6-7)

I wonder if there is another key to be had here. Essentially God said "I let mankind believe this untruth, and there was a good reason for it." In another article1 I talked about this from the perspective of allowing men to damn themselves because they would not search the mystery of Godliness.2 I want to consider another perspective. What if another key can be had here? What if the key is essentially that God speaks in the language of whomever he is speaking with? Who is the audience for "torment that never ends?" The audience is those who know not God. Perhaps more specifically, the audience are those who speak in a language of condemnation.3 Who know nothing but condemnation for themselves and others. If we know who and what God is,4 does that understanding transcend?5 Will we then be able to speak with a new tongue and relate to God, ourselves and our fellow men in a new language?6 Then are we able to be a more accurate measure, or reflection?

If we, so beligured by the accuser7 cry out8 for relief is that a reason God has dealt with us so? Does God condescend to relate to us in the voice of the accuser while pointing to something more glorious, more transcendent, so that we will seek for Him? So we will seek for relief? A relief that can only be found by one, individually, on his walk back.

 

There are, I believe, two audiences for this language. First those who do not know God and are not bothered to know Him, and second, those who have somewhat of a desire to know Him but do not seek him with all their hearts. This is the net which is cast. It tries to reach the first group, and tries to retain the second. In this theory, the first group, ought to be shaken, the second group ought to be stirred up even more than they are. One of three things then happen:

  1. The person cries out, unloading all unbelief until they know Him.
  2. The person needs relief from the accuser and they abandon religion altogether.
  3. They stay because they find fulfillment in leadership or other social reasons.

The primary audience are those whose souls are stirred when they discover someone else has seen God. Who believe a true messenger who says in many different ways "all are alike to God, all have the same privilege." This is the audience, who hear His voice with whom God is performing a balancing act in the hope that some few might respond with the "gifts"9 that have been given.

There is a certain schizophrenia in our minds about God and I wonder if this is not intentional by both God and those who know him and attempt to teach10 others about Him. Because we can't reconcile all that is written about Him in our minds, we come up with false constructs to explain the dichotomy such as "God's love is conditional," or we eventually seek to know Him for ourselves.

I feel like, to a great degree, my mind, my heart and my soul have been abused, and it's an abuse that I have allowed. It's an abuse that I have brought with me and mapped onto someone else's words.

 

Indeed this seems to be the purpose of the Aaronic priesthood. It is a language that mankind understands well.

"And the lesser priesthood continued, which priesthood holdeth the key of the ministering of angels and the preparatory gospel; Which gospel is the gospel of repentance and of baptism, and the remission of sins, and the law of carnal commandments, which the Lord in his wrath caused to continue with the house of Aaron among the children of Israel until John, whom God raised up, being filled with the Holy Ghost from his mother’s womb." (D&C 84:26-27)

It was the "wrath" of God that caused Aaronic priesthood to be given and continue. God is not wrathful, but men are wrathful. Men reap the rewards of their own judgements. God offers a way out.

"The law was given under Aaron for the purpose of pouring out judgments and destructions." (TPJS p. 322)

 

Whereas a priest after the order of Melchizedek is a man that knows God, and therefore has a new tongue.

"The power and authority of the higher, or Melchizedek Priesthood, is to hold the keys of all the spiritual blessings of the church11" (D&C 107:18-19)

 

A Language is something we have or learn, a Tongue is something we are, or become.

 

Notes

1. Article: The Plainness of God

2. "And now I, Nephi, cannot say more; the Spirit stoppeth mine utterance, and I am left to mourn because of the unbelief, and the wickedness, and the ignorance, and the stiffneckedness of men; for they will not search knowledge, nor understand great knowledge, when it is given unto them in plainness, even as plain as word can be." (2 Nephi 32:6-7)

3. Aaronic is condemnation. This is the audience to whom the scriptures are given. Those that have been sufficiently gathered to hear more.

See also talk five: Priesthood.

4. See Gospel-Fulness: All-in-all.

5. Out of time, out of place.

"The great offense was in Satan’s control of the timing.  Had they remained in the Garden throughout the Sabbath day of rest then they would have received the commandment to partake of the fruit in the Lord’s timing. At this point they would have moved from their innocent state into a condition not unlike the Millennial day.  The “fall” would have transitioned to a Terrestrial state, rather than a Telestial state." (Denver Snuffer: Adam and Eve)

Does this have anything to do with the statement "their children shall grow up without sin unto salvation"?

"It is a trick of the devil to get people to close their minds and close their hearts, because they fear what they may be learning will do damage to them. When Adam and Eve partook of the fruit, and then Satan called their attention to the fact that they were naked, that is the beginning of the mischief visited on humanity by the adversary who seeks to bind, control and limit the freedom of all mankind in order to imprison them. He pointed out to them that they ought to be ashamed. Therefore, when they heard the voice of God speaking, they withdrew because of what the shame triggered within them—fear. They were ashamed to come into the presence of that being who they knew to be just and holy, because now they were naked and afraid. Their "nakedness" before God came as a consequence of understanding the difference between what they were compared to the perfection of God. That knowledge came as a result of partaking of the fruit out of season and out of sequence. They were not going to receive a command to partake of the fruit until after the day of rest had been observed. They were not only naked before God, but they were also violating the Sabbath. They were beginning the labor of mortal existence out of time, sequence and season. That is the way a great number of errors are made in mortality.

"You see, we are commanded not to partake of some things out of season. Then we are commanded to partake within season. When we get the timing wrong, we wind up with difficulties and problems we should not have encountered. When we make that mistake, we are forced to repent. Repentance is a critical thing. It is the message of the Book of Mormon. It is the greatest message contained in the book of Isaiah and it is the message of all true prophets. There are two things that generally stir you up to repentance. The first thing is to awaken to your awful situation. The second is to arise, and connect with the source that will cure what is wrong with you. We are not self-curing. We are filled with that same shame that came in the beginning as a consequence of doing what we were not suppose to be doing. The greatest way the adversary keeps us in a state of slumber is to prevent us from looking about and awakening to the awful situation we find ourselves. Hugh Nibley commented on more than one occasion that there is nothing quite as annoying as being awakened out of a deep sleep. No one really likes that. When it comes right down to it, unconsciousness is a very pleasurable thing; particularly when what you awaken to what we face here." (Denver Snuffer: The Mission of Elijah Reconsidered)

6. "But, behold, my beloved brethren, thus came the voice of the Son unto me, saying: After ye have repented of your sins, and witnessed unto the Father that ye are willing to keep my commandments, by the baptism of water, and have received the baptism of fire and of the Holy Ghost, and can speak with a new tongue, yea, even with the tongue of angels..." (2 Nephi 31:14)

7. "And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night." (Revelation 12:10)

8. Preceeding the revelations given to Enos: "And my soul hungered; and I kneeled down before my Maker, and I cried unto him."

Preceeding the revelations given to the Brother of Jared: "and he did carry them in his hands upon the top of the mount, and cried...unto the Lord"

Preceeding the revelations given to King Lamoni's Father: "the king did bow down before the Lord, upon his knees; yea, even he did prostrate himself upon the earth, and cried mightily"

Preceeding a blessing given to a father: "And straightway the father of the child cried out, and said with tears, Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief."

9. "That anvil you are dragging around was given to you by God as a gift. Don't curse it. Pray for God to come and lift it. You are never going to be able to get far carrying it anyway. You may not even be able to lift it, but in the economy of God, that is a gift. A gift! Not for you to act upon, nor to surrender to, but for you to fight against in humility and meekness and to say, "I'm not winning. I haven't won. It goes on and on, and yet still I fight against it." (Lecture 8, A Broken Heart and Contrite Spirit)

10. "There are at least three stages in the process of restoring knowledge. The first stage is to receive it, but that stage is limited to just receiving it. Receiving it is not the same thing as the second stage, which is to comprehend it. It is possible that a man receive something, without understanding what it was that he received. Time and careful and solemn ponderous thoughts are required to untangle what is been received, in order to comprehend what it is that you have been given. But it is altogether something of a different order of magnitude, completely separate from that, to teach it. You can receive it, you can comprehend it, but you may not be able to teach it." (Denver Snuffer, Plural Marriage. Emphasis added.)

11. It should go without saying by now, that "church" refers to the humble followers of Christ and is not a denomination. See D&C 10:67-70.

 

See Also

"We have this absolutely schizophrenic set of pictures in our head about the Lord. On the one hand, he is this limp-wristed, happy-go-lucky, permissive chap who sashays about, blessing everyone with fairy dust. And on the other hand, we have this stern unapproachable, distant galactic ruler who just can’t be troubled by any of us. And he says this is his work and his glory, to save you, not merely to save and preserve you, but to bring about your eternal life and you exaltation. That’s what he’s about. Get rid of the junk in your head and let the scriptures speak to you." (Denver Snuffer, Temple Talk)