Historical knowledge prevents the loss of true doctrine. The doctrines of “calling and election” and “Second Comforter” are taught plainly in scripture and in the teachings of Joseph Smith, as detailed in the chapter “The Gospel of Christ.” Joseph called obtaining your calling and election “among the first principles of the gospel” (Words of Joseph Smith, 27 June 1839) and frequently preached it among public crowds.
Seeking these experiences is not optional for a disciple of Christ. We are commanded to seek the face of the Lord:
And seek the face of the Lord always, that in patience ye may possess your souls, and ye shall have eternal life. (D&C 101:38.)
To know Christ is required for eternal life. “And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.” (John 17:3.) How can you know someone you have never met? Jesus said we must actually receive him in order to know him.
But if ye receive me in the world, then shall ye know me, and shall receive your exaltation; that where I am ye shall be also. This is eternal lives—to know the only wise and true God, and Jesus Christ, whom he hath sent. I am he. Receive ye, therefore, my law. (D&C 132:23-24.)
Because one cannot have eternal life without obtaining these experiences, true messengers from God always commend others to seek Jesus:
And now, I would commend you to seek this Jesus of whom the prophets and apostles have written, that the grace of God the Father, and also the Lord Jesus Christ, and the Holy Ghost, which beareth record of them, may be and abide in you forever. Amen. (Ether 12:41.)
You will not find mention of either of these doctrines in the teachings of modern Mormonism. When was the last time you heard a General Authority bear their witness of having their calling and election made sure or having received the Second Comforter? When was the last time you heard a General Conference talk that even referenced either of these topics? When have you seen them mentioned in church manuals? The “Gospel Topics” page on LDS.org does not list “Calling and Election” or “Second Comforter.” Nevertheless, General Authorities used to bear their witness of having their calling and election made sure and having received the Second Comforter.1 There used to be General Conference talks and Ensign articles on these topics2 They used to be described in church manuals.
What changed? Harold B. Lee’s correlation program formalized doctrinal creation, modification, and deletion via an outline of permissible gospel topics. It is probable that “Second Comforter” and “calling and election” were not on the original list. As the brethren who had begun leadership callings pre-correlation passed away, so did these topics.
In contrast to God’s word in the scriptures and through Joseph Smith, modern LDS leaders have not only neglected to teach the doctrines of the Second Comforter and calling and election made sure, but have actually preached against them.3
Footnotes
- 1. Joseph Smith, Oliver Cowdery, Lyman Wight, and many other contemporaries of Joseph Smith openly claimed to have seen Jesus in waking vision. ↩
- 2. The last conference talk using the phrase “Second Comforter” was in 1963. The last conference talk referencing “calling and election” was in 1984. Each of the three references to the topic in the 1980s were from Elder Bruce R. McConkie, the last general authority to teach this doctrine. ↩
- 3. “I have never prayed to see the Savior, I know of men—Apostles—who have seen the Savior more than once. I have prayed to the Lord for the inspiration of his Spirit to guide me, and I have told him that I have seen so many men fall because of some great manifestation to them...” (Heber J. Grant Journal, 4 October 1942) “Of course, all of the righteous desire to see the face of our Savior, but the suggestions that this must happen in mortality is a familiar tactic of the adversary.” (Dallin Oaks, Boise, Idaho, June 17, 2105.) In the newest LDS edition of the Bible, the footnotes to John 14:16, 18, and 23—previously referring to Christ—have been changed to refer to the Holy Ghost. It is clear that the former content was not only the position of the committee of apostles that created the footnotes, but also Joseph’s position, as given in D&C 130:3: “John 14:23—The appearing of the Father and the Son, in that verse, is a personal appearance; and the idea that the Father and the Son dwell in a man’s heart is an old sectarian notion, and is false.” (D&C 130:3.) ↩