The Hidden Things of Darkness
I didn’t intend for today’s message to have such an ominous heading, and it is not because this week is Halloween. Section 123 of the Doctrine and Covenants mentions it in the context of something much more sinister. It is about an evil spirit and the “fetters of hell”, and our duty to combat it.
“It is an imperative duty that we owe to God, to angels, with whom we shall be brought to stand, and also to ourselves, to our wives and children, who have been made to bow down with grief, sorrow, and care, under the most damning hand of murder, tyranny, and oppression, supported and urged on and upheld by the influence of that spirit which hath so strongly riveted the creeds of the fathers, who have inherited lies, upon the hearts of the children, and filled the world with confusion, and has been growing stronger and stronger, and is now the very mainspring of all corruption, and the whole earth groans under the weight of its iniquity.”
This is not a new topic I am addressing today. As I read this verse and those that follow, I see that I am justified in condemning the creeds that most modern Christians adopt as the foundation of their beliefs. When the Lord calls the spirit that inspires the creeds, “the very mainspring of all corruption, and the whole earth groans under the weight of its iniquity.” And that is not all. Listen to this language, “Which dark and blackening deeds are enough to make hell itself shudder, and to stand aghast and pale, and the hands of the very devil to tremble and palsy.”
I sometimes feel like this is my mission statement, “it is an imperative duty that we owe to all the rising generation, and to all the pure in heart— For there are many yet on the earth among all sects, parties, and denominations, who are blinded by the subtle craftiness of men, whereby they lie in wait to deceive, and who are only kept from the truth because they know not where to find it— Therefore, that we should waste and wear out our lives in bringing to light all the hidden things of darkness, wherein we know them; and they are truly manifest from heaven— These should then be attended to with great earnestness.”
I have often felt like I have been too harsh. However, my disdain for the creeds does not extend to followers of other Christian denominations. I do hold those who use the creeds as a sledgehammer of judgment against The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. The context of Section 123 is the expulsion of the Saints from Missouri and, subsequently, from other places. This religious bigotry and hatred are currently on display in online forums and, sadly, in the murder of Saints in Grand Blanc, Michigan, by a man driven to madness by the spirit of the creeds.
It is in our best interest to educate ourselves about these matters so that we can set the record straight about who, where, and what we worship. “Therefore, that we should waste and wear out our lives in bringing to light all the hidden things of darkness, wherein we know them; and they are truly manifest from heaven— These should then be attended to with great earnestness. Let no man count them as small things; for there is much which lieth in futurity, pertaining to the saints, which depends upon these things.”
We need to be beacons of light in exposing the “hidden things of darkness”. We do not condemn those who have been blinded by the “subtle craftiness of men”. We do not do it necessarily by saying, “You are wrong.” We do it by saying what is right and things that are truly manifested from heaven. One of the main reasons for the restoration is to combat the effects of the creeds. We need to show people where to find the truth.