Context

I read the D.C. two years ago making sure I looked at the historical context of a section before I read it. Can I just say it made a huge difference! I began to understand how much of a prophet Joseph was and how the words were coming directly from God. The timing and messages were to precise to be from another source.

Here's a couple examples:

D.C. 35:

25And ^aIsrael shall be ^bsaved in mine own due time; and by the^ckeys which I have given shall they be led, and no more be confounded at all.

Why would Sidney Rigdon need to know to follow the keys? Because he would be in the first presidency in the future but not an ordained Apostle, so he wouldn't have them. And, he needed to know that it was important to follow the keys. Instead, he tried to lead the church himself. He was warned almost 13 years ahead of time not to do this.

D.C. 34:

6To lift up your voice as with the sound of a ^atrump, both long and loud, and ^bcry repentance unto a crooked and perverse generation,^cpreparing the way of the Lord for his second ^dcoming.

Orson Pratt was an incredible missionary. He crossed the Atlantic Ocean 16 times doing missionary work. That sounds like being a missionary a long time. He also was a very vocal defender: he debated a minister in the Tabernacle in a very public debate that received national attention.

Perhaps more famously:

D.C. 122:

6 If thou art ^aaccused with all manner of false accusations; if thine enemies fall upon thee; if they tear thee from the society of thy father and mother and brethren and sisters; and if with a drawn sword thine enemies tear thee from the bosom of thy wife, and of thine offspring, and thine elder son, although but six years of age, shall cling to thy garments, and shall say, My father, my father, why can’t you stay with us? O, my father, what are the men going to do with you? and if then he shall be thrust from thee by the sword, and thou be dragged to ^bprison, and thine enemies prowl around thee like ^cwolves for the blood of the lamb;

Unfortunately Joseph Smith was taken away from his family and dragged to prison.

Or this one about Joseph - D.C. 24:

17And whosoever shall go to law with thee shall be cursed by the law.

Joseph Smith was tried at law dozens of times and was never found guilty (I'm pretty sure even Carthage wasn't an exception - it was a holding place.). Considering he was a law abiding citizen, this is a pretty inspired prophecy to even know he would be tried so many times.

These are some of the more obvious ones concerning people: more impressive are some of the others that show how well the Lord was listening to his people and how the principles he shares in these verses still apply today. More of that to come.......

Have a good day.

LaDon