“Now, let there be no misunderstanding. We are witnesses of Christ. He is our Savior. He is the door. He stands at the gate; ‘and he employeth no servant there; and there is none other way save it be by the gate; for he cannot be deceived, for the Lord God is his name.’ (2 Ne. 9:41.)
“But we are also witnesses of Joseph Smith, by whom we know of Christ, and who is the legal administrator to whom power was given to bind on earth and seal in heaven, that all men from his day forward might be heirs of salvation.”
—Elder Bruce R. McConkie, Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
A Mormon Poem
we pray
here and everywhere,
about our blessed name—
about salvation that is
in we
worship ages sacrifice
every to
every shall
every neither
but now another
one whom
one our
blessed eternal
one dispensation
one instrumentality
once great made old
we turn prophet
voice the voice of onward
pray from on high
pour out abundant measure
enterprises shroud
place and person
no longer ministrants
power and authority
other visitants
each in turn
preach to administer
teach the literal
appoint those who saw
and entertained
all may ask
they divine
they inquire
seek and despise
the ancient question
answer the peril prophetic
let there be “no servant there”
but know the bind
we link in blessed amen
Notes and Questions for Discussion
Thank you for reading! What was your impression of this poem? Which lines stood out to you, for either positive or negative reasons? Why?
This erasure poem utilizes words and phrases taken from the written text of Elder Bruce R. McConkie’s April 1976 General Conference address: Joseph Smith—The Mighty Prophet of the Restoration. The poem should be read as an original piece rather than an abridgement of Elder McConkie’s sermon. You can try another here: McConkie Erasure: Song of Songs. Reactions are welcome in the comment section.
Wheat & Tares 
I always enjoy your poetry, Jake. The line that resonated most with me is “but know the bind”—life inevitably places us in binds. None of us is getting out of here alive, after all. But there are smaller binds we find ourselves in all the time. These binds are often (though not always) inevitable—my worst binds have been the ones I didn’t recognize. Understanding the binds I find myself in, knowing the bind—there’s been a lot of power in that for me. Even if I can’t fix it, if I can know it, it’s easier to be at peace with it.
I know this isn’t how McConkie was using the word bind in the original text, but that’s why poetry is so great.
Thank you!
I don’t understand why you want to honor McConkie. He was an arrogant, know-it-all racist.
TN – I don’t think Jake is ‘honoring’ BRM – the general consensus on this site probably agrees w your assessment, if I am reading the vibes correctly. I think he is enjoying creating a poetic composition from the rather copious [possibly ‘voluminous’] published writings of the man. Jake, feel free to correct me if I am misreading the room.
Thank you to each of you for your comments. I appreciate the benefit of readers sharing sincere reactions.
True North, that includes you! Though, I feel you have misunderstood my post. I don’t see myself honoring Elder McConkie with my erasure poetry, though he does have my respect as an effective communicator. Granted, I invite people to consider the original text as well as my own. This could be seen as undue honoring. So…
I believe if you take a deep
breath, and reread the poem,
especially if you let each line
be its own message,
you’ll see plenty of criticism,
deconstruction, and second-
guessing of McConkie’s lofty
view of prophets.
“worship ages sacrifice” for instance, could mean a lot of things. But generally, when we talk about one thing aging another thing, we aren’t being positive (unless we’re talking wine/cheddar). Aging weakens, tires out, and turns things stale. So that line is me suggesting something negative about McConkie’s worshipful attitude toward prophets, Joseph Smith in particular.
Heck, even look at the portrait I started the post with, placing McConkie in shadows and emphasizing wrinkles. Does that image look like I’m honoring him? My previous erasure poem: McConkie Erasure: Song of Songs, turns a sermon into a sex poem, albeit in the style of the Bible’s Old Testament Song of Solomon. That is not honoring.
This is all very subjective. Poetry can be vague and cryptic. But that is only to create room for you to explore your own reactions and have your own interpretations.
I’ve read and viewed all of McConkie’s general conference addresses as an apostle. True North, I suspect we’re actually pretty close together in our attitude towards McConkie. But I am not going to restrict my poetic source material to people I agree with, or speakers who happen to be well-liked by today’s community standards. That would be constructing my own bubble and sitting close-minded inside, which is pretty much what general conference addresses are all about.
Maybe I didn’t catch the subtleties of your poem. I am a convert to the LDS Church (I joined in 1971 at the age of 21). I did not know about the priesthood ban until after I joined the church. McConkie’s book Mormon Doctrine was shoved down my throat to silence me when I was at BYU. His characterization of black people was sick and disgusting. The sooner McConkie is forgotten, the better.