PEDAGOGUE OF GOD’S WORD
By:
Hans H. Hansen
“And it came
to pass that these were the words which Helaman taught to his sons; yea, he did
teach them many things which are not written, and also many things which are
written. And they did remember his words; and therefore they went forth, keeping
the commandments of God, to teach the word of God among all the people…”
Hel 2:76
Has the priesthood of the great Restoration been
inadequate in teaching the saints the unadulterated word of God? As members of
the priesthood (whatever office), we were called to serve the God of Creation;
it is only in our service to Him that we hold the priesthood, moreover are
pedagogues of His Son Christ Jesus. Each individual that accepts a call to the
priesthood must acknowledge that they
are willing to relinquish the traditions of the establishment and of the world.
We are no longer to be bound by the ways and wisdom of men. As priesthood, we
serve the Creator. We then must let
go of our once held man-made “beliefs and customs” and allow the
power of the Holy Spirit to guide us into all truth. I have observed over my 44
years in the Restoration that the majority of those that were (are) called do
not believe that they were called of God, but rather by man. I know that I will
feel the heat from many of you because of this statement; nevertheless, I stand
on what I have said. If a man is truly called of God, he begins to metamorphose
into a new creature. He begins to think for himself outside of the “norm”
and the traditional ways. I remember a priest in the Chicago district that often
called his priesthood the “itty bitty” priesthood. The one identifying mark
of any man that has been called by another man is that there is no real change
in his thinking—whatever the church teaches he goes along with it, right or
wrong, for instance, just take a quick look at the priesthood of the
Institutional Church. On the other hand, men called of God will begin to
question traditions, doctrines, and other teachings. If you’re called of God,
then you will find it very hard to fit in with the norm. See Matthew 5:10 and
John 15:20.
We of the priesthood have caused one gigantic problem
within the church at large because of our failure to teach the saints the
unadulterated truth. In place of teaching the word of God, we teach the
traditions of our fathers. We teach the doctrine of man without testing it first
to know if it is true or not. We teach that whatever comes out of the church
must be right. Yet the scriptures
tell us to prove all things and to hold to that which is good (see I Thes. 5:21;
Alma 1:106). As God’s called priesthood, we must and will distinguish the
things that are good (God’s), and the things that are made up by the doctrines
and traditions of man that thereby the Lord God might preserve His people. We
cannot serve God, and mammon. Mammon is an Aramaic word pronounced mam-mo-nas',
it is mammonas in the Greek, and means (confidence, i.e. wealth, personified);
mammonas, i.e. avarice (deified): --mammon. In plain everyday English, you
cannot be faithful to God if you waver between Him and the world; He wants you
to serve Him alone. It is therefore of the utmost importance that we choose to
follow God. We cannot love God and church traditions, we must choose one or the
other, but we cannot serve both at the same time. The real truth of the matter
is that we cannot afford to put our trust in any human enmity or power.
None of us are perfect. However, those walking clinging to the rod of iron are
much closer to it than those that are walking with the traditions of man. I will
relate this situation to I Nephi 2: 62-83. The Rod of iron is the
word of God and as long as we cling and hold fast to it, we will not care who
points their finger of scorn at us. We will not lose our grip and wonder off
into darkness and be drowned in the depths of the fountain. We will feel no
shame as we look about and see our brothers and sister pointing their fingers at
us in an attitude of mocking us because we will not follow the vain doctrines
and traditions of the world. We that were called into God’s priesthood will
not wander into strange roads (traditions). They will not allow themselves to be
lost from God’s Word like the multitude of that strange building. The
priesthood of the Restored Church will not heed to themselves of that great and
spacious building, for we are called to be a holy priesthood. We are called to
preach and teach the children of man the Holy and anointed word of the God of
Creation, and not the traditions of the world.
In section 43:4a-d of the Doctrine and Covenants, we
are told in no uncertain words that we are to be the teachers (pedagogues) of
the word of God to the world, not the receiver of the traditions of the world.
“Again I say, hearken ye elders of my church whom I have appointed: ye are not
sent forth to be taught, but to teach the children of men the things which I
have put into your hands by the power of my Spirit; and ye are to be taught from
on high. Sanctify yourselves and ye shall be endowed-with power, that ye may
give even as 1 have spoken” (these same words can be found in the Book of
Commandments 45:14-16). The entire priesthood, not only the eldership, is very
much in need of being endowed from on high. Then again, to receive the endowment
we must first learn to accept the guidance of the Holy Spirit, for without his
guidance we cannot receive our endowment. This means that the priesthood (all
offices) must put Jesus Christ and His teachings above all other teachings. We
cannot receive the endowment as long as we are busy teaching and being taught of
the world the traditions of man. We are made clean through the blood of Jesus
Christ. We cannot be saved via the blood of goats. The same is true of His word
(Scriptures). The words of man (traditions) will not save us, regardless of how
great they may sound. It was Jesus Christ that was nailed to the cross for our
sins, not the traditions of men! It was because of those very traditions that
Christ had to hang upon that tree. As priesthood members, it behooves each of us
to fulfill His every command. We read in Matthew 28:19-20,
“Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of
the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching
them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am
with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.
According to the English dictionary the word teach means: To instruct; to inform; to communicate to another the knowledge of that of which he was before ignorant. In the Greek there are four definitions which means: to sound down into the ears, i.e. (by implication) to indoctrinate (catechize) or (genitive case) to apprise of: --inform, instruct, teach. In the Hebrew or the Aramaic it means certify, know, make known, teach. What this then means to the priesthood is that we are to tell the story of Jesus Christ, and of His gospel. We are to communicate to the world that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the Living God. It is our responsibility to indoctrinate the world about Him, not the vain traditions that we were taught of the world.
The time is far spent, and little has been done to apprise the wayward world of the restoration of the Church in these latter days. What the world knows of the Restored Church is only that that has been taught by the corrupt history of the Utah church. It is high time that the world hears the truth of the Restored Church of Jesus Christ from those that have been empowered to teach it, the Priesthood of the true Restored Church of Jesus Christ.
Hans H. Hansen
7318 Columbia Ave.
Hammond, IN 46324