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THE EXCOMMUNICATION OF JESUS CHRIST AND HIS BELIEVERS, Part 1 of Chapter 12 of The Church and The Priesthood Pages 196 to 214 When Jacob gathered his 12 sons together to give them their patriarchal blessings, he prophesied what would happen to their descendants down to the last days. In the blessing for Judah and his tribe, he declared, “The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh (the Savior) come; . . . (Gen. 49:10) To Moses was given the task of giving the Priesthood (sceptre) and its higher laws, but the people did not qualify. So Moses established a church with the Aaronic Priesthood and its lesser laws. The Jews (descendants of Judah) maintained both the Priesthood, its principles, ordinances and church down to the time that the Savior (Shiloh) came to earth. Jesus was born and raised in this church and soon became a full-fledged Rabbi with all their rights and privileges of teaching the Gospel. Jesus, however, was blessed with such wisdom and understanding that even at age 12 He confounded the wisest of the Pharisees on Priesthood issues. When He began to teach the laws of the higher Priesthood, he was rejected and “cast out” of the synagogues. This story of Christ’s rejection is told in the King James version of the Bible, but it is told better in some of the other versions.

PROPER ORDER IN THE PRIESTHOOD, Part 1 of Chapter 4 of Holy Priesthood Vol 3 Pages 45- 49 http://ogdenkraut.com/?page_id=124 Women’s relationship to the Priesthood has been a controversial issue in the Church for decades. The generally accepted, but very restrictive, position today is illustrated in the following story told by Leah Widtsoe about a conversation between a small boy and his sister: The boy stated he could be an engineer when he grew up and drive a huge engine. The girl said she could be a great musician and thrill great audiences with the joy of her art. The boy retorted that he could be President of the United States. For a while the little girl was somewhat silenced for surely here her brother had the better of the argument. Suddenly a bright thought came. “When I grow up, I can be a mother and have a baby all my own and nurse it!” That seemed to silence the lad until this bright thought came, “But I can hold the Priesthood!” (“Priesthood and Womanhood,” Relief Society Mag., Oct. 1933, p. 598) This young boy, like most Elders in the Church, had acquired a narrow view of the relationship of women to the Priesthood. The Apostle Paul gave a more liberal interpretation– “Nevertheless neither is the man without the woman, neither the woman without the man, in the Lord.” (I Cor. 11:11) He took the position that both men and women share in the divine blessings of the Priesthood.

THE MORMONS, Plural Marriage , Part 2 of Chapter 15 of Holy Priesthood Volume 4 Pages 200 to 21 When the law of celestial marriage was first whispered to him, he opposed it, exclaiming, “It is of the devil,” but God knew his heart and in open day a messenger from heaven with three women clothed in white raiment stood before him several feet from the ground and addressed him thus, “You never can receive a full and complete salvation in my kingdom unless your garments are pure and white and you have three counselors like me.” Thus he was convinced that the principle was right and he subsequently married five wives and he became the father of fifty children. (Jenson’s Biographical Encyclopedia 3:415) Opposition to the law of plural marriage Joseph Smith: They accuse me of polygamy, and of being a false Prophet, and many other things which I do not now remember; but I am no false Prophet; I am no impostor; I have had no dark revelations; I have had no revelations from the devil; I made no revelations; I have got nothing up of myself. The same God that has thus far dictated me and directed me and strengthened me in this work, gave me this revelation and commandment on celestial and plural marriage, and the same God commanded me to obey it. He said to me that unless I accepted it and introduced it, and practiced it, I, together with my people, would be damned and cut off from this time henceforth. And they say if I do so, they will kill me! Oh, what shall I do? If I do not practice it, I shall be damned with my people. If I do teach it, and practice it, and urge it, they say they will kill me, and I know they will. but,” said he, “we have got to observe it. It is an eternal principle and was given by way of commandment and not by way of instruction.” (Contributor 5:259) http://ogdenkraut.com/?page_id=30

“THEY SHALL BE ONE FLESH”, Chapter 9 of Holy Priesthood Volume 3 Pages 131 to 145 Read along at: http://ogdenkraut.com/?page_id=124 Listen to book with no commentary: https://youtu.be/JXvxfuWtdfs Read other gospel related books: http://ogdenkraut.com/?page_id=30 Vocal music reaches its greatest power and beauty in the harmonious blending of more than one voice. The energy, power and usefulness of electricity results from the combination of both the negative and the positive wires. Scissors are useless without both halves. So must men and women be spiritually united to receive the fullness of Priesthood blessings and promises. The instruction to “be one flesh” was given to mankind at the beginning of this world: And Adam said, This I know now is bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh. She shall be called woman, because she was taken out of man. Therefore shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall cleave unto his wife; and they shall be one flesh. (Gen. 2:29-30, I.V.) It should be understood that being one in flesh has to do with the physical union–and does not mean necessarily one in spirit, purpose or principle, although that is certainly the ideal. Paul explained to the Corinthians: Know ye not that your bodies are the members of Christ? Shall I then take the members of Christ, and make them the members of an harlot? God forbid. [132] What? know ye not that he which is joined to an harlot is one body? for two, saith he, shall be one flesh. But he that is joined unto the Lord is one spirit. (I Cor. 6:15-17)

THEIR FINEST HOUR, Chapter 11 of Holy Priesthood Volume 3 Pages 161-171 It is inspiring and informative to read the stories of early LDS women who, from their heart and mind, delivered some of the most noble speeches for freedom ever recorded. Here in Salt Lake City, on a very inclement 13th of January in 1870, about five or six thousand women packed the old tabernacle to present their feelings and support for what they considered to be a vitally important Priesthood law–plural marriage. The Mormons had been suffering from the efforts of vicious mobs, prejudiced ministers, and corrupt politicians. Laws were being passed against the rights of the Mormons to live their religion unmolested. The sisters of the Church wanted to make their stand. Only women were allowed to attend these statewide mass meetings–except for a few press reporters. Mrs. Sarah M. Kimball, as president, was the first speaker. Excerpts from her talk, as well as the remarks of several others, are reprinted here as they appeared in Tullidge’s Women of Mormondom, showing the valiant defense of these pioneer women in behalf of this eternal Priesthood law: We are not here to advocate woman’s rights, but man’s rights. The bill in question would not only deprive our fathers, husbands and brothers, of enjoying the privileges bequeathed to citizens of the United States, [162] but it would deprive us, as women, of the privilege of selecting our husbands; and against this we unqualifiedly protest. (Sarah M. Kimball, p. 381) Read Holy priesthood volume 3 at http://ogdenkraut.com/?page_id=124 Read more books of the restoration at http://ogdenkraut.com/?page_id=30