Preach

To teach, proclaim, or advocate a religious message or belief. The word comes from the Middle English prechen, meaning to “deliver a sermon or proclaim the Gospel” and from Late Latin praedicare, meaning “to proclaim publicly, announce, or to give earnest advice, especially on moral subjects.”¹

The Lord would like His children to follow the guidance of Lehi: He then urged them with all the feeling of a loving parent to listen to his words, because then the Lord might be merciful to them and not reject them. My father sincerely preached to them (1 Nephi 2:13 CE). And His instruction in the last days is: Truly I say unto you, he that is ordained of me and sent forth to preach the word of truth by the Comforter, in the spirit of truth, does he preach it by the spirit of truth or some other way? And if by some other way, it is not of God. And again, he that receives the word of truth, does he receive it by the spirit of truth or some other way? If it be some other way, it is not of God. Therefore, why is it that you cannot understand and know that he that receives the word by the spirit of truth, receives it as it is preached by the spirit of truth? Wherefore, he that preaches and he that receives, understand one another, and both are edified and rejoice together. And that which does not edify is not of God, and is darkness. That which is of God is light, and he that receives light and continues in God receives more light, and that light grows brighter and brighter until the perfect day (T&C 36:4).

There was some eagerness on the part of Hyrum Smith before the Book of Mormon was even in print. He wanted to begin preaching repentance because he believed in the work, but the Lord held Hyrum back: Truly, truly I say unto you, I will impart unto you of my Spirit which shall enlighten your mind, which shall fill your soul with joy, and then shall you know, or by this shall you know, all things whatsoever you desire of me which is pertaining unto things of righteousness, in faith, believing in me that you shall receive. Behold, I command you that you need not suppose that you are called to preach until you are called. Wait a little longer, until you shall have my word, my rock, my church, and my gospel, that you may know of a surety my doctrine….Seek not to declare my word, but first seek to obtain my word, and then shall your tongue be loosened. Then, if you desire, you shall have my spirit and my word, yea, the power of God unto the convincing of men. But now hold your peace, study my word which has gone forth among the children of men, and also study my word which shall come forth among the children of men, or that which is now translating, yea, until you have obtained all which I shall grant unto the children of men in this generation, and then shall all things be added thereunto (JSH 14:12–14). Hyrum Smith would eventually become co-president with Joseph. The Lord commanded that he be ordained, not only to the office of the priesthood but as the one possessing the sealing power over the church; the one who would be the successor to Joseph, even though he was killed before Joseph. He was the prophet and president of the church, and Joseph rebuked the church because they weren’t giving heed to his words; his general epistle to the church admonishing them was never included in the Doctrine and Covenants (although it is now found in T&C 149). His name is omitted from the list of LDS Church Presidents, even though it should be there. This same Hyrum Smith was told by the Lord, “Do not go out and start preaching yet. You need to learn some things first. You need to be qualified first.”²

A person can be sincere, honest, and devout, but if they preach false doctrine, Nephi condemns them. There is simply no excuse to justify preaching what is untrue or incomplete. Those doctrines will lead others to hell, and therefore, they are false ministers in the service of darkness. The phrase that follows the preaching of false doctrines is “all those who commit whoredoms.” If read together, the result is:… all those who preach false doctrines, practice whoredom s… (2 Nephi 12:3 CE). This can be considered as a single thought or description because to leave the Lord and follow after a false source for salvation — a false god — is often described as “committing whoredoms.” If this is Nephi’s intent, then the preachers of false doctrine are condemned because they are leading others away from God. Nephi is clear about the fate of the preachers who preach false or incomplete doctrine and lead others away from God: Woe, woe, woe be unto them. This is a three-fold condemnation. They could not be saved because of their false teaching. This condemnation is not Nephi’s; he attributes it directly to God, and the three-part name of God mirrors the three-fold condemnation: Woe, woe, woe be unto them, saith the Lord God Almighty, for they shall be thrust down to hell! (ibid.). Covenant of Christ is even more explicit: Woe, woe, woe to the wise, the well-educated, and the rich who are prideful to their very center, and to all those who preach false doctrines, practice whoredoms, worship idols, and corrupt and pervert the Lord’s right way! They will be thrown down to hell (3 Nephi 12:3 CE). “Be careful what you preach. If you do not fully understand the Gospel of Christ, then you take a fearful responsibility upon yourself when you pretend to tell the truth.”³