20 PRIESTHOOD LAWS And EVIDENCES, P 6 of Ch 8 of The Church and The Priesthood

TWENTY PRIESTHOOD LAWS AND EVIDENCES, part 6 of Chapter 8 of The Church and The Priesthood 

Pages 160 to 177

1. The Kingdom of God

Jesus said, “Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.” (Matt. 6:33)

If we are to seek for this Kingdom first above all else, we certainly need to know what it is. The Kingdom of God has been defined as many things: heaven, the Holy Spirit, the Gospel and more commonly the LDS Church.

The scriptures and Joseph Smith had a much different interpretation from these. In the Old Testament, Daniel interpreted King Nebuchadnezzar’s dream of a great image of a man made of iron, brass, clay and gold. (See Dan. 4.) They represented various governments of men with leaders such as presidents, governors, princes, counselors, and captains. (See Dan. 6:7.) Daniel even described God’s government that would be set up in the latter days.

A government consists of four elements: (1) a king or leader, (2) a territory, (3) subjects, and (4) laws. This was a description of the Kingdom of God to be restored in the latter [162] days. In 1830 Joseph Smith restored the Church (religious), but in 1844 he organized the Kingdom of God (political).