Lecture 2
Overview
Lecture 2 of the 'Lectures on Faith' (originally published in the 1835 Doctrine and Covenants) systematically establishes God as the ultimate object upon which faith rests. The text posits a unique theological and epistemological framework: it asserts that God Himself possesses faith independently, equating His omnipotence with the principle of faith. The primary burden of the lecture is historical and epistemological, seeking to prove how mankind first conceived of God. The author argues against natural theology as the initiator of faith, claiming that while creation testifies of God, the very first thought of God in the human mind must come from human testimony (oral tradition). To substantiate this, the lecture relies heavily on Joseph Smith's 'New Translation' of Genesis (now known as the Joseph Smith Translation or Book of Moses), which inserts explicit Christian soteriology into the Edenic narrative, showing Adam being taught about the 'Only Begotten' by an angel. The text then engages in an exhaustive chronological mathematical proof using the Genesis genealogies to demonstrate that the lifespans of the early patriarchs (from Adam to Noah, and Noah to Abraham) overlapped significantly. This overlapping ensures an unbroken chain of reliable human testimony. The ultimate theological conclusion is that this human testimony serves as the catalyst for faith, which must then be diligently exercised through prayer and supplication until the believer achieves the ultimate success metric: obtaining power to behold God face-to-face, just as Moses and the Brother of Jared did.
Key Figures
- God: The supreme governor, omnipotent, omnipresent, and omniscient, who possesses faith in Himself independently and is the object of all rational beings' faith.
- Adam: The first man, who conversed with God face-to-face, received the first revelation of the Gospel, and served as the original source of human testimony regarding God's existence to all his posterity.
- Eve: Adam's wife, who also called upon the name of the Lord and heard His voice after the Fall.
- The Angel of the Lord: A divine messenger who appeared to Adam to explain that animal sacrifice is a similitude of the sacrifice of the Only Begotten of the Father.
- The Only Begotten (Jesus Christ): Mentioned in the creation account and as the ultimate fulfillment of Adam's sacrifices, full of grace and truth.
- Cain: Adam's son who rebelled, slew his brother, but still retained the knowledge of God because God conversed with him directly after his transgression.
- Abel: Adam's righteous son whose offering was accepted and who received the knowledge of God from his father before receiving divine assurance himself.
- Noah: The patriarch who bridged the antediluvian and postdiluvian worlds, preserving the knowledge of God and passing it to the generations of Abraham.
- Abraham: The patriarch who received the knowledge of God through the overlapping lifespans of Shem and other descendants of Noah.
- Enoch: A righteous patriarch cited as an example of one who exercised faith until he obtained power to behold God face-to-face.
- Moses: The historian and prophet cited as the author of Genesis, and an example of one who obtained faith to see God face-to-face.
- Brother of Jared: An ancient prophet (from the Book of Mormon, though not explicitly named as such here) cited alongside Enoch and Moses as one who obtained faith to behold God face-to-face.
- Seth, Enos, Cainan, Mahalaleel, Jared, Methuselah, Lamech: Antediluvian patriarchs whose overlapping lifespans are mathematically detailed to prove the unbroken chain of human testimony from Adam to Noah.
- Shem, Arphaxad, Salah, Eber, Peleg, Reu, Serug, Nahor, Terah: Postdiluvian patriarchs whose overlapping lifespans are detailed to prove the unbroken chain of human testimony from Noah to Abraham.
Doctrines Analyzed
Key theological claims identified in this text:
Divine Independent Faith
Assertion
God possesses faith in Himself independently, and this is tied to His omnipotence, omnipresence, and omniscience.
Evidence from Text
Question.—Is there a being who has faith in himself indepen[d]ently? Answer.—There is. Q. Who is it? A. It is God.
Evangelical Comparison
In Evangelical theology, faith is defined biblically as 'the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen' (Hebrews 11:1). Because God is omniscient, declaring the end from the beginning (Isaiah 46:10), and because He is the sovereign Creator who sustains all things by the word of His power (Hebrews 1:3), He does not 'hope' or 'believe' in the sense of exercising faith. He simply knows and acts. The assertion in Lecture 2 that God has faith in Himself stems from the Mormon premise (established in Lecture 1) that faith is the principle of all power. Therefore, to possess all power, God must possess all faith. Evangelicals view this as a category error that anthropomorphizes God, reducing His inherent, uncreated divine nature to the mastery of a universal principle (faith).
Epistemological Primacy of Human Testimony
Assertion
The very first thought or idea of God's existence comes to mankind exclusively through human testimony (oral tradition passed down from Adam), not through the observation of nature.
Evidence from Text
we have seen that it was human testimony, and human testimony only, that excited this enquiry, in the first instance in their minds... What testimony have men, in the first instance, that there is a God? A. Human testimony, and human testimony only.
Evangelical Comparison
Lecture 2 explicitly attempts to bypass General Revelation as the initiator of faith. While it quotes Romans 1:20, it caveats the verse by claiming that creation only points to God *after* one has already received the idea of God through human testimony. In stark contrast, Evangelical theology holds to the doctrine of General Revelation, rooted in Psalm 19:1-2 and Romans 1:19-20. The Apostle Paul argues that what can be known about God is plain to them because God has shown it to them through the things that have been made, so that men are 'without excuse.' If human testimony were the *only* way to first conceive of God, then those who never heard the testimony would have a valid excuse before God. Evangelicalism maintains that while Special Revelation (Scripture/the Gospel) is necessary for salvation, General Revelation is sufficient to initiate the knowledge of God's existence and moral law.
Explicit Christology in Eden
Assertion
Adam was explicitly taught by an angel that his animal sacrifices were a similitude of the sacrifice of the Only Begotten of the Father, and he was commanded to repent and call upon God in the Son's name forever.
Evidence from Text
And the angel said unto him, This thing is a similitude of the sacrifice of the Only Begotten of the Father, who is full of grace and truth. And you shall do all that you do in the name of the Son: and you shall repent and call upon God in his name for ever.
Evangelical Comparison
Lecture 2 relies on Joseph Smith's 'New Translation' of the Bible (specifically what is now the Book of Moses) to assert that Adam had a fully developed, explicit Christian theology. According to this text, Adam knew the title 'Only Begotten,' understood the exact typological nature of his sacrifices, and was commanded to pray in the name of the Son. Evangelical theology, adhering to Sola Scriptura and the historical-grammatical method, views the revelation of Christ in the Old Testament as progressive. While Evangelicals believe Adam's sacrifices prefigured Christ, and that Genesis 3:15 promised a Redeemer, the explicit naming and theological mechanics of the 'Only Begotten' were not revealed until the incarnation (John 1:14, Hebrews 1:1-2). The insertion of anachronistic Christian liturgy into the mouths of antediluvian patriarchs is viewed by Evangelicals as a pseudepigraphical alteration of the closed canon.
Theophany as the Culmination of Faith
Assertion
The ultimate goal and result of diligent faith is to obtain power to behold God face-to-face in this life.
Evidence from Text
the extent of their knowledge, respecting his character and glory, will depend upon their diligence and faithfulness in seeking after him, until like Enoch the brother of Jared, and Moses, they shall obtain faith in God, and power with him to behold him face to face.
Evangelical Comparison
The text establishes a spiritual trajectory where faith begins with human testimony and must culminate in a literal, face-to-face manifestation of God. It cites Enoch, Moses, and the Brother of Jared as the standard. In Evangelical theology, while God did manifest Himself in specific redemptive-historical moments (theophanies/Christophanies), seeing God face-to-face is not the normative goal or metric of a believer's faith. The Apostle Peter commends believers by saying, 'Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him' (1 Peter 1:8). Furthermore, Jesus told Thomas, 'Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed' (John 20:29). Setting a face-to-face vision as the metric for 'extent of knowledge' places an unbiblical mystical burden on the believer.
Comparative Analysis
Theological Gap (Summary)
The text diverges by asserting that God exercises faith, that human testimony is the absolute prerequisite for conceiving of God, and by relying on Joseph Smith's additions to Genesis to prove Adam had explicit Christian theology.
Theological Gap (Explained)
The theological gap between Lecture 2 and Evangelical Christianity is profound in the areas of Theology Proper, Epistemology, and Bibliology. First, regarding Theology Proper, the text asserts that God possesses faith independently. Because the Lectures on Faith define faith as the principle of power, the author concludes that an all-powerful God must possess all faith. Evangelicals reject this as a fundamental misunderstanding of God's nature; God is omniscient and sovereign, possessing exhaustive foreknowledge and power. He does not exercise faith (Hebrews 11:1), as He lacks nothing and is blind to nothing. Second, epistemologically, the text denies the efficacy of General Revelation to initiate the knowledge of God. By insisting that 'human testimony, and human testimony only' is the genesis of faith, it contradicts Romans 1:19-20, which declares that creation itself renders man without excuse. Finally, the text violates Sola Scriptura by utilizing Joseph Smith's 'New Translation' of Genesis. This translation inserts explicit, anachronistic New Testament Christology into the Edenic narrative, fundamentally altering the biblical doctrine of progressive revelation and undermining the sufficiency of the closed canon.
For All Ages
Imagine you have a friend who says, 'I only know the sun exists because my dad told me about it.' You would probably say, 'But you can just look up and feel the warmth!' This text teaches that people only first thought about God because their parents told them, ignoring that God made the world so beautiful that anyone can look at it and know He is there. Also, the text says that God has 'faith.' But faith means trusting in something you can't see. God sees everything and knows everything, so He doesn't need faith; He is the one WE put our faith in! Finally, the text uses a rewritten version of the Bible to say Adam knew all about Jesus by name, which changes the true story of how God slowly revealed His rescue plan over time.
Friction Points
Theology Proper
Asserts that God possesses faith in Himself independently, conflating faith with omnipotence.
Sola Scriptura
Relies on Joseph Smith's extra-biblical additions to Genesis to establish core doctrinal arguments about Adam's knowledge of Christ.
General Revelation
Denies that creation is sufficient to initiate the knowledge of God, insisting that human testimony is the exclusive first cause of faith.
Sola Fide / Assurance
Establishes a face-to-face manifestation of God as the expected culmination and metric of successful faith.
Semantic Warnings
Terms that have different meanings between traditions:
"Faith"
In This Text
A principle of power that even God possesses independently.
In Evangelicalism
The assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen, exercised by humans toward God.
"New Translation"
In This Text
Joseph Smith's inspired, prophetic revision of the Bible (JST/Book of Moses) which restores lost truths.
In Evangelicalism
Evangelicals view this as an unauthorized, pseudepigraphical alteration of the biblical text without manuscript support.
Soteriology (Salvation)
Salvation Defined: Life and salvation are found by centering one's faith in God, who is the supreme governor.
How Attained: By giving credence to human testimony, exercising faith, repenting, calling upon God in the name of the Son, and seeking diligently until obtaining a manifestation.
Basis of Assurance: Assurance is ultimately based on receiving a direct, personal manifestation of God (seeing Him face-to-face).
Comparison to Sola Fide: While the text emphasizes faith, it defines the *goal* of faith as obtaining a mystical vision ('power with him to behold him face to face'). This shifts the focus from resting in Christ's finished work (Sola Fide) to a performance-based mysticism where one must strive incessantly to achieve a visionary experience.
Mandates & Requirements
Explicit Commands
- Devote oneself to God's service through incessant prayer and supplication.
- Strengthen one's faith until obtaining a manifestation of God.
- Do all things in the name of the Son (given historically to Adam).
- Repent and call upon God in the Son's name forever (given historically to Adam).
Implicit Obligations
- Trust and give credence to the testimony of the fathers/prophets regarding God's existence.
- Diligently seek after a knowledge of God's character, perfections, and attributes.
- Pass down the knowledge of God to one's posterity.
Ritual Requirements
- Offer sacrifices as a similitude of the Only Begotten (historical requirement for Adam).
Evangelism Toolkit
Practical tools for engagement and dialogue:
Discovery Questions
Open-ended questions to promote reflection:
- If God is all-knowing and sees everything perfectly, what does it mean for Him to have 'faith,' since Hebrews 11:1 says faith is the conviction of things not seen?
- Romans 1:20 says that God's invisible attributes are clearly seen in creation so that people are without excuse. If human testimony is the *only* way people first think of God, wouldn't someone who never heard that testimony have a valid excuse?
- The text says the goal of faith is to see God face-to-face like Moses did. Do you feel pressure to achieve that kind of manifestation to know your faith is strong enough?
- Why do you think the Lectures on Faith were removed from the Doctrine and Covenants in 1921 if they were originally published as the 'Doctrine' portion of the book?
Redemptive Analogies
Bridges from this text to the Gospel:
Sacrifice as a similitude of the Only Begotten
While Evangelicals reject the JST addition to Genesis, the underlying theological concept is entirely biblical. The Old Testament sacrificial system was indeed a shadow pointing to the ultimate, once-for-all sacrifice of Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God.
Spiritual Weight
Burdens this text places on adherents:
The text sets the ultimate metric of successful faith as obtaining 'power with him to behold him face to face.' This places an immense psychological and spiritual burden on the believer. If a believer has not experienced a literal, face-to-face theophany, they may feel their faith is deficient, leading to endless striving, incessant supplication, and a lack of assurance in their standing before God.