Two Witnesses

Savings Truths Never Go Unopposed
Joseph F. McConkie

The greater the truth, the greater the heresy standing against it.

The 1st missionaries in Great Britain saw the heavens filled with legions of Lucifer’s angels marching against them and became worried.  As they left their home they looked into the skies and on the one side of the heavens were the dark soldiers while on the other side, an even greater army of soldiers filled with light marched against them.  Heber C. Kimball asked the prophet if they had done anything wrong to which Joseph answered no, the army of Lucifer will always array itself against truth.  The closer we get to God, the greater the adversary.

The truth of all things is established in the mouth of two witnesses:

1)    The sweet taste and sound of truth or the Holy Ghost
2)    The ugly rancor of Lucifer

If you give a Sacrament meeting talk and don’t draw the ire of Lucifer, you haven’t given a very good talk.

Story: Joseph McConkie entered Scotland as one of the first missionaries.  He was given a greenie fresh from the states that felt they should be able to preach at will and everyone would want to hear the gospel’s truth.  Young Elder Joseph McConkie explained that most people don’t want to hear about the gospel.  The greenie wouldn’t hear of it and fully believed everyone would want to hear about the gospel since it had not been taught there before.

As the two Elder’s entered the country they placed their first 25 Books of Mormon and everyone was excited to hear their message.  Elder McConkie was faced with an interesting dilemma, on the surface it appeared that he was wrong and they had had great success.  The following Monday, all 5 Scottish papers carried as their feature story that there is a religious war entering our country and we have tramps preaching Christianity.

As they went back for their second appointments, every Book of Mormon was returned, usually with it being left on the front door step.  They returned to their apartment at the end of the day only to find that they were kicked out.  The lease that they had secured for church meetings was also canceled.

Soon after the Mission President was invited to meet with a conference of the Scottish religious leaders.  He was given the topic: What gives you the right to preach the gospel in our country.  He started his oration by running his finger in his collar as though he were nervous, feigned a choke and said that he has a difficult time breathing in a smoke filled room, then looked at one of the priests in the front row with a huge stogie hanging out of his mouth and said, When Jesus comes the 2nd time, do you think He’ll come with a big stogie hanging out of his mouth.

Then he explained the difference between good and evil, anything good comes from Christ, honesty, charity, brotherly love, kindness, etc.  Do you agree?  To which they all nodded their heads in agreement.  Then he explained that all bad things come from Satan, things such as hatred, rancor, meanness, deceit, lying etc., do you agree?  They all did.

Then he said: If any of you have ill feelings toward my church or me where did you get those feelings?
Soon they created a new mission and a new mission president was called by the name of Stephen R. Covey, age 29.  He taught the missionaries a new marketing technique, since it wasn’t socially acceptable to listen to Mormon missionaries on the street; it was difficult to have success with this method.

So President Covey would set up his stump and start preaching the gospel while the missionaries would hide in the vicinity.  His wife, however, would come from the other end of the park.  She would walk toward him as he was preaching the gospel and when she was in ear shot, she would start berating him, Why are you here, you’re only here to marry our women and take them back etc.  She enjoyed heckling her husband, and then the missionaries would emerge and start setting appointments.  It was socially acceptable to listen to someone argue with Mormons.

Lucifer always provides opposition to outdoor missionary work.  Every time an Elder sets up to preach the gospel, there is a designated jerk assigned to the spot to heckle and harass.  It’s part of the system and fits nicely within the two witnesses principles.

The greatest growth always comes as a result of opposition.  Missionaries go through two years of rejection, doors slamming, people yelling at them, not keeping their commitments and when all is said and done, it was the best two years of his short life.

Every time someone commits to baptism, all hell breaks loose.  You warn them and check on them every day.  People they haven’t seen in years come out of the woodwork to provide an intervention and save them from the Mormons.  This can be effectively used as a witness that the church is true, warn them it will happen and testify that Satan is providing his testimony along with yours that the church is true.

Joseph Smith 1:5    This is a universal story, as Joseph knelt to pray, before he was visited from above, he was visited from below, Lucifer attacked him and all hell broke loose.  He was told in verse 33 that his name would be held for good and evil throughout the entire world.

70% of people in the world will never hear of Jesus Christ during their mortality.

The message of Joseph Smith separates us from the other Christian religions.  Br. McConkie would talk about Joseph Smith on the doorstep and many people would later testify they were converted on the doorstep.

How many preachers, after learning the missionaries are working their area say:  Okay everyone, the Mormons are back with their unique message of a restoration and new scripture called the Book of Mormon.  What do you say; let’s put this conflict to rest and everyone get a copy of the Book and read it.  When you’re finished let’s collectively fast and pray to God and determine once and for all who is right.  This has never happened, but isn’t it interesting.

There is an anti-Mormon book out there with Chapter 7 explaining the following strategy when talking with a Mormon missionary:

1)    Never pray to God about their message
2)    Never trust your mind or logic and
3)    Never trust your feelings

This guarantees you’ll never be caught off guard and lose your soul to their message.

Every time we build a temple all hell breaks loose.  In the early church, the saints were run out of every town they built a temple, eventually they had to leave the country.  After arriving in SLC, Brigham Young commanded them to build a temple and many saints reminded him that hell will mobilize again.  Brigham smiled and answered: “I love the sounds of all the bells in hell going off in our behalf.  I love that music.”

The gospel of Jesus Christ has no neutrality.  If you reject the light you stand in the dark.  There is no compromise.  Alma 24:30, once touched by the light and fall, a person is more hardened.

The greatest truths:

1.    Christ restored the doctrine that God is our Father.  He only references God as His Father.
2.    Christ is the Redeemer, Savior and the Son of God.
3.    The Holy Ghost is part of the godhead and the only non-physical being, he is spirit.

Each of these comes with an equal heresy to provide a 2nd witness of their truth.

J. Reuben Clarke said it is not enough to have a testimony; we must have the moral courage to defend it.  Without the courage to defend, your testimony will do more harm than good.  We must also have intellectual testimonies to stand against scientific barrages.

If you want to have the companionship of the Holy Ghost, you must preach the doctrine He likes.  The Holy Ghost likes deep doctrine, the doctrines of the restoration.  Whenever such doctrine is taught or preached, He gets excited and ratifies the message.  Strong or deep doctrines include: Nature and Character of God, Temple ordinances and doctrine, priesthood, ordinances of salvation, restoration of keys, apostasy, Plan of Salvation etc.

You cannot build a strong testimony on weak doctrine.  Weak doctrines are those not lost in the apostasy: honor, love, kindness, charity, service, and brotherly love.

If you want to have a great Sacrament meeting, teach one of the doctrines of the restoration.  Our children have the right to hear deep doctrine.