From: Francis Harper
wbfrmsup@iowatelecom.net
Francis Harper Message for 5/29/2020
The Principle of Added Witnesses
God has utilized double and multiple witnesses to establish truth from the early days of recorded history. Joseph who was sold into Egypt by his brothers (Genesis 37:28, 36) was aware of this principle of divine revelation.
Joseph had established a reputation as an interpreter of dreams giving credit to God for his ability. He asked: “Do not interpretations belong to God?” (Genesis 40:8).
Two years passed and the Pharaoh summoned Joseph to come and interpret two of his dreams. And again, Joseph very humbly said: “It [the interpretation of dreams] is not in me; God shall give Pharaoh an answer . . .” (Genesis 41:16).
The Pharaoh’s dreams were of seven fat cows and seven lean cows that ate the seven fat cows. His second dream was of seven full heads of wheat and seven shriveled heads of wheat which consumed the full heads. Joseph prefaced his interpretation by saying: “The dream is one” (Genesis 41:25). The two parts of his dream [seven cows and seven heads of wheat] deliver one and the same message; Egypt would experience seven years of plenty followed by seven years of famine.
The interpretation of Pharaoh’s dreams was: “Behold, there will be “seven years of great plenty throughout all the land of Egypt. And there shall arise after them seven years of famine” (Genesis 41:29-30). At this point Joseph explained the principle of the double witness the Lord has utilized, from the beginning, even until our day, to establish, or to confirm the truth of his divine revelations.
Joseph said to the Pharaoh: “And for that the dream was doubled unto Pharaoh twice; it is because the thing is established by God, and God will shortly bring it to pass” (Genesis 41:32). This double witness was enough to convince Joseph and the Pharaoh to build grain storage facilities, some of which we visited during our tour of Cairo in 1991. See Genesis 41:33-36.
As a result of this double witnessed divine revelation and the subsequent response of the Pharaoh and Joseph, his “Prime Minister,” countless numbers of lives were saved. Even Joseph’s own family was spared. See Genesis chapters 42-46.
Gideon was called of God by an angel, to save Israel from the Midianites. “And Gideon said unto God, if thou wilt save Israel by mine hand, as thou hast said, Behold, I will put a fleece of wool on the floor; and if the dew be on the fleece only, and if it be dry upon the earth besides, then shall I know that thou wilt save Israel by mine hand, as thou hast said” (Judges 7:36-37). The next morning the fleece was wet and all around it was dry. Then Gideon asked for a second witness. He said: “Now let it be dry only upon the fleece, and upon all the ground let there be dew. And God did so that night . . .” (Judges 7:39-40). Gideon was convinced the Lord would help him lead the army of Israel to victory over the Midianites.
Jesus said: “. . . in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established” (Matthew 18:16). He fed a multitude of people twice [5,000 and 4,000] calmed the storms twice, and helped his disciples catch a miraculous number of fish on two occasions.
Surely the Lord would provide a second witness to support the most important message of all, the coming of Jesus with the gospel, as it is recorded in the Bible. The Lord has in fact given the world a second witness of Jesus Christ and his everlasting gospel. Ezekiel prophesied of this as it is written: “Moreover, thou son of man, take thee one stick [scroll], and write upon it, for Judah . . . and take another stick and write upon it for Joseph . . .” (Ezekiel 37:16). As Jesus once said, “And if ye will receive it, verily . . .” (Matthew 11:14-15), the stick of Joseph is The Book of Mormon, written by the descendants of Joseph, and the stick of Judah is the Bible, written by the descendants of Judah.
Nephi, a descendant of Joseph who came from Jerusalem with his family to the Western Hemisphere a few years before the Babylonian Captivity [586 BC], wrote: I beheld a book . . . a record of the Jews (1 Nephi 3:157-160) . . . And after it had come forth . . . I beheld other books . . . these last records [The Book of Mormon and Doctrine and Covenants] shall establish the truth of the first” [The Bible] (1 Nephi 3:191-192). “In the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established (Matthew 18:16).
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Dear Ones,
God said: “I am the Lord, I change not” (Malachi 3:6). The Lord has utilized the principle of double and multiple witnesses on many occasions to confirm the truth of his divine revelations. We can expect him to continue to do this. He changes not.
It is written: “God speaketh once, yea, twice, yet man perceiveth it not” (Job 33:14). Sadly this is often the case. Alma wrote: “The Scriptures are laid before thee, yea, and all things denote there is a God; yea, even the earth, and all things that are upon the earth, and all things that are upon the face of it, yea, and its motion; yea, and also all the planets which move in their regular form, doth witness that there is a Supreme Creator: and yet do ye go about, leading away the hearts of this people, testifying unto them there is no God? And yet will ye deny against all these witnesses?” (Alma 16:54-55).
Paul said we are left without excuse. “For God hath revealed unto them the invisible things of him, from the creation of the world, which are clearly seen; things which are not seen being understood by the things that are made, through his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse” (Romans 1:20).
How many witnesses do we need? Paul began his letter to the Hebrews with these words: “We are compassed [surrounded] with a great cloud of witnesses . . .” (Hebrews 12:1). A cross can be seen in the eye of the Whirlpool Galaxy by the powerful Hubble telescope. Similarly, a cross can be seen in the center of the protein molecule called Laminim by a powerful electron microscope. God is using these tools of science as double witnesses of the cross being the great essential for our salvation.
I recall my first cousin Marilyn Evers bringing her boyfriend, Jim Culter to our home in the early days of World War II. She wanted to introduce her friend to her grandmother and other members of the family. I was only eleven or twelve years old at this time. I was very impressed with Jim’s appearance, dressed as he was in his US Navy uniform. I was especially attracted by his cocky white cap. He married my cousin Marilyn, and they became the parents of 3 daughters. Jim was baptized and served in the priesthood for many years. He also served as pastor of the Walnut Park congregation of the RLDS Church in Independence, Missouri.
In 1973, during a prayer service at the Walnut Park Church, Jim saw Jesus walk down the aisle to the front of the church where Jim was seated. He asked Jesus two questions: “When are you coming?” Jesus answered, “Soon.” Next he asked, “What can we do to prepare?” Jesus answered, “Keep my commandments.” Jesus then turned and nodded toward the seated congregation and said, “These are my people.”
After Jim’s death in 1977, another of my cousins, Ron Smith, was asked to accompany another priesthood member [Lester Tankersly] in making a home visit. The wife in this home was an RLDS member. The husband was an elder in the Presbyterian Church. His wife asked her husband to share his experience of seeing Jesus walking down the center aisle of the Walnut Park Church during the Sunday morning prayer service in 1973.
This sacred event, supported by a reputable second witness should strengthen our faith, making it no longer faith, but knowledge. We can say with Peter: “We have therefore a more sure knowledge that we have not followed cunningly devised fables, when we made known unto you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ . . .” (2 Peter 1:19, 16). Where is room for doubt?
My Love to All,
High Priest Francis Harper
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