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perfection that appertain to the Melchizedek order. That those who train themselves to receive theMelchizedek Priesthood, by magnifying their callings in the Aaronic Priesthood, must be true and faithfuland worthy for the final receipt of the greater priesthood is self-evident. Indeed, one of the reasons theLord destroyed Korah and his band of Levites was that they, being unworthy, sought "the high priesthoodalso." (Inspired Version, Num. 16.)Aaronites(Aaronites )See AARON, AARONIC PRIESTHOOD, LEVITES, SONS OF MOSES AND AARON.Descendants of Aaron, specially honored as the priests of Israel, were called Aaronites. (1 Chron.12:27; 27:17.) Descent and genealogical proof thereof were of vital importance. "The children of thepriests," when the temple was to be rebuilt in Jerusalem, "sought their register among those that werereckoned by genealogy, but they were not found: therefore were they, as polluted, put from thepriesthood." (Ezra 2:61-63; Neh. 7:63-65.)Abaddon(Abaddon )See APOLLYON, DESTROYER, DEVIL, HELL.This expression, of Hebrew origin, was used by John as a name for Satan. (Rev. 9:11.) It is the same asthe Greek Apollyon and means literally the Destroyer. It was used anciently to mean hell, as shown in themarginal reading of Psalm 88:11.Abominable Church(Abominable Church )See CHURCH OF THE DEVIL.Abomination of Desolation(Abomination of Desolation )See ABOMINATIONS, SECOND COMING OF CHRIST, SIGNS OF THE TIMES.Daniel spoke prophetically of a day when there would be "the abomination that maketh desolate"(Dan. 11:31; 12:11), and the phrase was recoined in New Testament times to say, "the abomination ofdesolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet." (Matt. 24:15.) Aside from the prophetic setting and relyingsolely on the plain meaning of words, we would conclude that this phrase (abomination of desolation)would have reference to some great act or status of corruption and befoulment, of contamination andfilthiness, which would bring to pass destruction, ruination, devastation, desolation.Such is the case. These conditions of desolation, born of abomination and wickedness, were to occurtwice in fulfilment of Daniel's words. The first was to be when the Roman legions under Titus, in 70 A.D.,laid siege to Jerusalem, destroying and scattering the people, leaving not one stone upon another in thedesecrated temple, and spreading such terror and devastation as has seldom if ever been equalled on earth.Of those days Moses had foretold that the straitness of the siege would cause parents to eat their ownchildren and great loathing and evil to abound. (Deut. 28.)And of the same events our Lord was led to say: "For then, in those days, shall be great tribulation onthe Jews, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, such as was not before sent upon Israel, of God, since thebeginning of their kingdom until this time; no, nor ever shall be sent again upon Israel. And except thosedays should be shortened, there should none of their flesh be saved." (Jos. Smith 1:12-20.)Then, speaking of the last days, of the days following the restoration of the gospel and its declaration"for a witness unto all nations," our Lord said: "And again shall the abomination of desolation, spoken ofby Daniel the prophet, be fulfilled." (Jos. Smith 1:31-32.) That is: Jerusalem again will be under siege("For I will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle"); again the severity of the siege and theextremities of brutal conflict, born of wickedness and abomination, will lead to great devastation and10

desolation ("and the city shall be taken, and the houses rifled, and the women ravished; and half of the cityshall go forth into captivity"). (Zech. 14.) It will be during this siege that Christ will come, the wicked willbe destroyed, and the millennial era commenced.In a general sense, this expressive designation, abomination of desolation, also describes the latter-dayterrors to be poured out upon the wicked wherever they may be. And so that the honest in heart mayescape these things, the Lord sends his missionaries forth to raise the warning voice, to declare the gladtidings of the restoration, lest "desolation and utter abolishment" come upon them. The elders arecommanded to reprove "the world in righteousness of all their unrighteous and ungodly deeds, settingforth clearly and understandingly the desolation of abomination in the last days." (D. & C. 84:114, 117.)Also: "Go forth among the Gentiles for the last time, as many as the mouth of the Lord shall name, tobind up the law and seal up the testimony, and to prepare the saints for the hour of judgment which is tocome; That their souls may escape the wrath of God, the desolation of abomination which awaits thewicked, both in this world and in the world to come." (D. & C. 88:84-85.)Abominations(Abominations )See ABOMINATION OF DESOLATION, CHURCH OF THE DEVIL, SIGNS OF THE TIMES,SIN, WICKEDNESS.Those practices which are so vile, hateful, and detestable as to excite and deserve loathing are calledabominations. Idolatry and every form of sex immorality, for instance, are so classified. (Lev. 18.)Abrahamic Covenant(Abrahamic Covenant )See ADOPTION, CELESTIAL MARRIAGE, CHILDREN OF THE COVENANT, COVENANTS,EXALTATION, GATHERING OF ISRAEL, HOPE OF ISRAEL, MELCHIZEDEK PRIESTHOOD,NEW AND EVERLASTING COVENANT, RESTORATION OF THE GOSPEL.Abraham first received the gospel by baptism (which is the covenant of salvation); then he hadconferred upon him the higher priesthood, and he entered into celestial marriage (which is the covenant ofexaltation), gaining assurance thereby that he would have eternal increase; finally he received a promisethat all of these blessings would be offered to all of his mortal posterity. (Abra. 2:6-11; D. & C. 132:2950.) Included in the divine promises to Abraham was the assurance that Christ would come through hislineage, and the assurance that Abraham's posterity would receive certain choice, promised lands as aneternal inheritance. (Abra. 2; Gen. 17; 22:15-18; Gal. 3.)All of these promises lumped together are called the Abrahamic covenant. This covenant was renewedwith Isaac (Gen. 24:60; 26:1-4, 24) and again with Jacob. (Gen. 28; 35:9-13; 48:3-4.) Those portions of itwhich pertain to personal exaltation and eternal increase are renewed with each member of the house ofIsrael who enters the order of celestial marriage; through that order the participating parties becomeinheritors of all the blessings of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. (D. & C. 132; Rom. 9:4; Gal. 3; 4.)To fulfil the covenant God made with Abraham - having particular reference to the fact that the literalseed of his body would be entitled to the blessings of the gospel, the priesthood, celestial marriage, andeternal life (Abra. 2:10-11) - a number of specific and particular things must take place in the last days.The gospel must be restored, the priesthood be conferred again upon man, the keys of the sealing powergiven again to mortals, Israel gathered, and the Holy Ghost must be poured out upon the Gentiles. All thishas, of course, already taken place or is in process of fulfilment. (1 Ne. 14:5-7; 15:12-20; 19:14-17; 22:325; 2 Ne. 6:6-12; 9:1-2; 10:7-15; 11:5; 29:1; 3 Ne. 15; 20; 21; Ether 13:1-13.) This is the very day whenthe identity of those "who are heirs according to the covenant" (D. & C. 52:2), who are "lawful heirs,according to the flesh" (D. & C. 86:8-11), is being made known.To the Nephites the resurrected Lord proclaimed: "Ye are of the house of Israel; and ye are of thecovenant which the Father made with your fathers, saying unto Abraham: And in thy seed shall all thekindreds of the earth be blessed. The Father having raised me up unto you first, and sent me to bless youin turning away every one of you from his iniquities; and this because ye are the children of the covenant And after that ye were blessed then fulfilleth the Father the covenant which he made with Abraham,saying: In thy seed shall all the kindreds of the earth be blessed - unto the pouring out of the Holy Ghost11

through me upon the Gentiles, which blessing upon the Gentiles shall make them mighty above all, untothe scattering of my people, O house of Israel. And they shall be a scourge unto the people of this land.Nevertheless, when they shall have received the fulness of my gospel, then if they shall harden their heartsagainst me I will return their iniquities upon their own heads, saith the Father. And I will remember thecovenant which I have made with my people; and I have covenanted with them that I would gather themtogether in mine own due time, that I would give unto them again the land of their fathers for theirinheritance, which is the land of Jerusalem, which is the promised land unto them forever, saith theFather." (3 Ne. 20:25-29.)As a sign - "that ye may know the time when these things shall be about to take place" - the Lord saidthat a free nation would be set up on the American continent, that the gospel would be restored, and thatthe Book of Mormon would come forth. "And when these things come to pass that thy seed shall begin toknow these things - it shall be a sign unto them, that they may know that the work of the Father hathalready commenced unto the fulfilling of the covenant which he hath made unto the people who are of thehouse of Israel." (3 Ne. 21.)Abrahamic Dispensation(Abrahamic Dispensation )See DISPENSATIONSAbraham's Bosom(Abraham's Bosom )See PARADISE, SPIRIT WORLD.Our Lord, in the parable of Lazarus and the rich man, uses the term Abraham's bosom to meanparadise. Abraham, the friend of God, not at that time having been resurrected, was continuing his life inthe paradise of God, the same place to which the righteous beggar went. (Luke 16:19-31.) The expressionconnotes the close fellowship and harmony that exists among the righteous in the paradisiacal sphere ofpeace and rest.Abraham's Children(Abraham's Children )See ADOPTION, CHILDREN OF THE COVENANT, ISRAEL, TRIBES OF ISRAEL."We be Abraham's seed," the Jews said; and so they were in the literal sense. But in the gospel senseAbraham's children are those who do the works of Abraham, for their blood is thereby cleansed andpurified as was Abraham's, and they are adopted into his lineage. (Abra. 2:8-11; D. & C. 84:33-41;132:29-33; Teachings, pp. 149-150.) Hence, our Lord replied to the Jews, "If ye were Abraham's children,ye would do the works of Abraham. . . . Ye do the deeds of your father. . . . Ye are of your father the devil,and the lusts of your father ye will do." (John 8:31-47.)Absolution(Absolution )See FORGIVENESS.Abstinence(Abstinence )See WORD OF WISDOM.Abyss(Abyss )See BOTTOMLESS PIT.12

Accountability(Accountability )See AGENCY, BAPTISM, INFANT BAPTISM, ORIGINAL SIN THEORY, SALVATION OFCHILDREN, TEMPTATION, YEARS OF ACCOUNTABILITY.Personal accountability for all of one's acts underlies the whole gospel plan and is the naturaloutgrowth of the law of free agency. Without such personal responsibility free agency could not operate,for neither rewards nor punishments would follow the exercise of agency. And if there were no rewards orpunishments, there would be no salvation or damnation, and so the whole plan of salvation would vanishaway. (2 Ne. 2:11-16.) But contrary to the false doctrine which denies personal responsibility for sin, andsays instead that men are predestined to salvation or damnation, the Lord has said that men will bepunished for their own sins (Second Article of Faith; Articles of Faith, pp. 52-73), and that they will bejudged according to the deeds done in the flesh. (Rev. 20:12.)Accordingly, men are accountable for all their acts both temporal and spiritual. (D. & C. 42:32;104:13.) Accountability for civic and governmental acts is included. "We believe that governments wereinstituted of God for the benefit of man; and that he holds men accountable for their acts in relation tothem, both in making laws and administering them, for the good and safety of society." (D. & C. 134:1.)In fact the Lord established the constitution of the United States, "That every man may act in doctrine andprinciple pertaining to futurity, according to the moral agency which I have given unto him, that everyman may be accountable for his own sins in the day of judgment." (D. & C. 101:77-80.)Acts of God(Acts of God )See GOD, JUDGMENTS OF GOD, SIGNS OF THE TIMES.Common custom designates the calamities of nature as acts of God. In courts of law, for instance,floods, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, hailstorms, and the like, since they apparently are wholly outsidethe realm of human control, are called acts of God. This view of things is particularly offensive to thosebranches of modern Christendom which specialize in the false view that Deity is light, love, and goodnessand never manifests himself except through attributes of this sort.In actuality the hand of the Lord is seen in all things including the calamities of nature. He has givenlaws unto all things, including the forces of nature; and by these laws those forces are operated, governed,and controlled. (D. & C. 88:42-45.) One of these laws is that the righteousness or wickedness of mendirectly affects the operation of the forces of nature. Crops grow for the righteous who pay tithing. (Mal.3:7-12.) The rains come and the productivity of the soil is enhanced when men keep the commandments.(Lev. 26:3-5.) By listening to the whisperings of the Spirit, many righteous persons have been led out ofthe paths of impending calamities; conversely, when the fulness of the Lord's wrath has rested uponwicked cities and nations, the inhabitants of those places have been placed in the way of "acts of God"which would destroy them. These things are seen in the whole record of God's dealings with men.Adam(Adam )See ADAM-GOD THEORY, ADAMIC LANGUAGE, ADAM-ONDI-AHMAN, ANCIENT OFDAYS, BATTLE OF THE GREAT GOD, EVE, FALL OF ADAM, FIRST FLESH, FIRST MAN,FORBIDDEN FRUIT, MICHAEL THE ARCHANGEL, PRE-EXISTENCE, WAR IN HEAVEN.Our knowledge about Adam, and the exalted station held by him in the eternal providences of theAlmighty, begins with an understanding of his pre-existent work and mission. By his diligence andobedience there, as one of the spirit sons of God, he attained a stature and power second only to that ofChrist, the Firstborn. None of all the billions of our Father's children equalled him in intelligence andmight, save Jesus only. He sat in the council of the gods in the planning of the creation of this earth, andthen, under Christ, participated in the creative enterprise. (Abra. 3:22-26.) He was foreordained to come toearth as the father of the human race, and when Lucifer and one-third of the hosts of heaven rebelled,13

Adam (with the exalted title of Michael the Archangel) led the hosts of the righteous in the war in heaven.(Rev. 12:7-9.)"And the first man of all men have I called Adam," the Lord says, "which is many." (Moses 1:34; 3:7;6:45; Abra. 1:3; 1 Ne. 5:11; D. & C. 84:16.) That is, Adam was placed on earth as the first of the humanfamily and given a name which signifies many as pertaining to the greatness of the posterity which shouldflow from him.As to the manner in which Adam was placed on earth, the First Presidency of the Church (Joseph F.Smith, John R. Winder, and Anthon H. Lund) has given us this plain statement: "He took upon him anappropriate body, the body of a man, and so became a 'living soul.' . . . All who have inhabited the earthsince Adam have taken bodies and become souls in like manner. . . . Man began life as a human being, inthe likeness of our Heavenly Father. True it is that the body of man enters upon its career as a tiny germ orembryo, which becomes an infant, quickened at a certain stage by the spirit whose tabernacle it is, and thechild, after being born, develops into a man. There is nothing in this, however, to indicate that the originalman, the first of our race, began life as anything less than a man, or less than the human germ or embryothat becomes a man." (Man: His Origin and Destiny, p. 354.)Adam's great part in the plan of redemption was to fall from the immortal state in which he firstexisted on earth and thus bring mortality and death into the world. This he did, bringing temporal andspiritual death into the world, from the effects of which deaths the atonement of Christ was foreordainedas a ransom. After the fall, Adam and Eve became the parents of all living. (Moses 5:11; D. & C. 27:11; 1Ne. 5:11; 2:23-25.) We are his descendants and there are no persons who have ever lived on earth whohave not had this same ancestry. "He is the father of the human family; . . . [the] head of the humanfamily." (Teachings, p. 157.)Father Adam was one of the most noble and intelligent characters who ever lived. He began his earthlife as a son of God, endowed with the talents and abilities gained through diligence and obedience in preexistence. He is the head of all gospel dispensations (Teachings, pp. 167-169), the presiding high priest(under Christ) over all the earth; presides over all the spirits destined to inhabit this earth (Teachings, pp.157-159); holds the keys of salvation over all the earth; and will reign as Michael, our prince, to alleternity. (D. & C. 78:16.) He was baptized (Moses 6:64-66), married for eternity, for death had not yetentered the world (Moses 3:21-25), had the fulness of the gospel (Moses 5:57-59), and following 930years of existence after the fall went on to the paradise of God to await a glorious resurrection with Christand the righteous saints. He has returned to earth in our day, bringing keys and authorities to the ProphetJoseph Smith (D. & C. 128:21); will soon preside at the great Adam-ondi-Ahman council (D. & C. 116);and finally will reign over his righteous posterity in the Patriarchal Order to all eternity. (Doctrines ofSalvation, vol. 1, pp. 90-106.)Adam-God Theory(Adam-God Theory)See ADAM, ANCIENT OF DAYS, BIRTHRIGHT, CELESTIAL MARRIAGE, EXALTATION,GOD, GODHOOD, MICHAEL THE ARCHANGEL, PATRIARCHAL CHAIN, PATRIARCHALORDER, PLURALITY OF GODS.Cultists and other enemies of the restored truth, for their own peculiar purposes, sometimes try tomake it appear that Latter-day Saints worship Adam as their Father in heaven. In support of their falseassumptions, they quote such statements as that of President Brigham Young to the effect that Adam isour father and our god and the only god with whom we have to do. This statement, and others of a similarnature, is perfectly consistent and rational, when viewed in full gospel perspective and understood in thelight of the revelations relative to the patriarchal chain binding exalted beings together. Full and detailedexplanations of all important teachings on these points are readily available. (Doctrines of Salvation, vol.1, pp. 96-106.)Faithful members of the Church worship the Father, in the name of the Son, by the power of the HolySpirit, and view Adam in his proper high place as the pre-existent Michael, the first man and presidinghigh priest (under Christ) over all the earth for all time, and as the one who will again lead the armies ofheaven in the final great war with Lucifer. There is a sense, of course, in which Adam is a god. But soalso, in the same sense, are Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; Moses and all the ancient prophets; Peter, James,and John; and all the righteous saints of all ages, including those of both high and low degree.14

All exalted beings become joint-heirs with Christ and inherit the fulness of the Father's kingdom.Having entered in at the gate of celestial marriage, and having pressed forward in righteousness,overcoming all things, they pass by the angels and the gods "to their exaltation and glory in all things. . . .Then shall t

Mormon Doctrine is the ideal book for all who seek salvation through the knowledge of Him who said: "Teach one another the doctrine of the kingdo m. Teach ye diligently and my grace shall attend yo u." (D. & C. 88:77- 7.) 5 Preface 6 (Preface ) This work on Mormon Doctrine is designed to h