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

Let Every Man Esteem His Brother as Himself

I'm a big fan of D.C. 38:24 and 25. Here's those verses along with a couple following them.

24And let every man ^aesteem his brother as himself, and practise^bvirtue and holiness before me.

25And again I say unto you, let every man esteem his ^abrother as himself.

26For what man among you having twelve sons, and is no respecter of them, and they serve him obediently, and he saith unto the one: Be thou clothed in robes and sit thou here; and to the other: Be thou clothed in rags and sit thou there—and looketh upon his sons and saith I am ^ajust?

27Behold, this I have given unto you as a parable, and it is even as I am. I say unto you, be ^aone; and if ye are not one ye are not mine.

28And again, I say unto you that the enemy in the secret chambers seeketh your ^alives.

Clearly the Lord repeats, "Let every man esteem his brother as himself" because it's important. Continuing on in verse 26 and verse 27, the Lord says that if we're not united, we're not his. Then he says, "the enemy in the secret chambers seeketh your lives." I think He's emphasizing the importance of love and unity but then saying, "this isn't so easy. The evil one (Satan) wants to ruin you." He does this by causing contention (3 Nephi 11:28,29). Consider how much damage is caused by a divorce (the opposite of unity). Anger also proceeds so many poor decisions. Love, on the other hand, overshadows a lot of poor things. I think if we did a better job greeting visitors to our meetings, it would be tough for them not to come back. Certainly it's true in my job. When my boss and co-workers show love and appreciation for me and when we have a common goal (difficult for the most powerful and least powerful person in a company to have a common goal, but when they do, that's a powerful company), I love being there and do good work.

Here's another few verses emphasizing the need for being good to one's brother. In the end, that's what we'll be judged on. A few examples: Marvin Ashton said roughly, "the quickest and best way to tell how one is coming unto Christ is by the way he treats other people."

Further, please consider Matthew 25. It contains 3 parables: the parable of the ten virgins, the parable of the talents, and the parable of the sheep and the goats. Quickly, the parable of the ten virgins teaches that church members will not all be prepared when Christ comes. It's vital for members to fill their lamps with oil in order to be prepared for Christ's coming. The parable of the talents teaches that God makes investments in us (talents - probably should be translated coins as to avoid confusion with the English word "talent" i.e., a skill, which is different) and expects a return on his investment. Some people have bigger investments in them (i.e., more talents), but they also must have a much bigger return. So taken together we've learned that members need to fill their lamps (i.e., do things) and not everyone needs to fill their lamp the same (so don't compare yourselves to one another). Finally, the sheep and the goats parable says that those who feed, clothe, visit, and care for the needy are going to end up on the right hand of God. Those who don't will be cast out of his presence. I think this last parable is teaching us how we fill our lamps and pay back the investment God makes in us. We help others. We are kind to others. We teach others. That's how we fill our lamps and pay back the investment God makes in us. (Unfortunately these parables many times are not looked at together. I have heard the following idea at least twice in the last 6 months: "so make sure you sure your talents with others by doing things like singing in the ward choir." Generally speaking, God doesn't care that much if we sing in the ward choir; certainly not nearly as much as caring for another.)

We can add that we must take care of people both spiritually and temporally - see Mosiah 4:26 (26And now, for the sake of these things which I have spoken unto you—that is, for the sake of retaining a remission of your sins from day to day, that ye may ^awalk guiltless before God—I would that ye should ^bimpart of your substance to the ^cpoor, every man according to that which he hath, such as ^dfeeding the hungry, clothing the naked, visiting the sick and administering to their relief, both spiritually and temporally, according to their wants.)

So to conclude, we fill our lamps and pay back our investments God makes in us by caring about other people. Now that's interesting. I have a lot to learn about there. This makes me think of a great verse on how we show faith, but I'll leave that for tomorrow.

Have a great night.

LaDon

Being close to God

I really enjoyed this verse that I read yesterday in D.C. 36:2.

2And I will lay my hand upon you by the hand of my servant Sidney Rigdon, and you shall receive my Spirit, the Holy Ghost, even the Comforter, which shall teach you the peaceable things of the kingdom;

Clearly it's great for Edward Partridge (the first Bishop in the church; the one being spoken to here) to have the Lord place his hands upon Edward's head. That's definitely a blessing to have the Lord close. However, I'd like to focus on Sidney. He gets to act as proxy for the Lord and is clearly close to the Lord in this example as well. I believe that this verse teaches that the way to guarantee a close proximity to the Lord is by doing his work. Visit someone. Do your home and visiting teaching. Invite someone to church. Help someone have a better day. Teach your kids the gospel, etc. Learn the names of everyone in the ward and talk to them sometime over the next year (all of them); obviously there's lots of possibilties (so many - brings to mind another verse - D.C. 58:28 - inasmuch as men do good they shall in nowise lose their reward - just do something good and you'll be fine in life; no need to do everything perfectly; besides everyone can help build the kingdom in very different ways - sorry, sidetracked again), but finding ways to be involved in God's work is the surest way to ensure we're close to Him, which is the best feeling in life.

A few other verses that show this: D.C. 84:19,20 - "in the ordinances of the priesthood the power of godliness is made manifest." My translation - you get to experience godliness in some sense when you participate in ordinances (similar to the above verse).

Also, think about Lehi's dream. In 1 Nephi 8:30 its says,

30But, to be short in writing, behold, he saw other multitudes pressing forward; and they came and caught hold of the end of the rod of iron; and they did press their way forward, continually holding fast to the rod of iron, until they came forth and fell down and partook of the fruit of the tree.

How do you partake of fruit after having fallen down? Probably because someone handed it to you. That's our jobs, to hand the fruit.

Perhaps one last verse to illustrate this concept. Isaiah 61 is a great chapter in which Isaiah speaks Messianically (this means he speaks as if he were the Savior - Jesus - speaking). The first two verses are very meaningful speaking about his mission. Then verse 3 says the folowing,

3To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that he might be glorified.

It says that as a result of Jesus' efforts, the ashes of life will become beautiful (i.e., he'll make tough experiences turn into beautiful/useful ones - for example, the hardest area on my mission was also the one in which I had the most spiritual experience of my life), joy for mourning, and praise to replace "heaviness". Why? So that we might become "trees of righteousness". Since we know that Christ can be represented by the tree of life, this is interesting that we also should become trees of righteousness that give off our own fruit (some 30, some 60, and some 100 as told in the parable of the sower - Matthew 13:8). We are to become like him, producers of fruit and givers of love. We can become like Him by practicing the things He does, like serving, or in Sidney Rigdon's case, giving the gift of the Holy Ghost to Edward Partridge (and this principle applies to women as easily as it does to men).

A little long again. Sorry. Have a great day!