Doctrine and Covenants 14-16 addresses individual members of the Whitmer family, who had heard about Joseph Smith shortly before opening their home to him for the translation of the plates. Each of them was willing to follow the Lord by following Joseph the Prophet and each was desirous of knowing exactly what the Lord would have him do. Mary was already doing what the Lord willed her to do by hosting Joseph, Emma, and Oliver and was rewarded with a witness of the plates. Her sons received personal direction from God through the Prophet Joseph Smith.
Doctrine and Covenants Section 16:
1 aHearken, my servant Peter, and listen to the words of
Jesus Christ, your Lord and your Redeemer.
2 For behold, I speak unto you with sharpness* and with power, for
mine arm is over all the earth.
3 And I will tell you that which no man knoweth save me and thee
alone—
4 For many times you have desired of me to know that which would
be of the most worth unto you.
5 Behold, blessed are you for this thing, and for speaking my words
which I have given unto you according to my commandments.
6 And now, behold, I say unto you, that the thing which will be of the most worth unto you will be to declare repentance unto this people, that you may bring souls unto me, that you may rest with them in the kingdom of my Father. Amen.
John is told almost the same thing in Section 15.
*The second definition for “sharpness” in Webster’s 1828 dictionary, after “keenness of an edge or point” is “not obtuseness.” If you are unsure of the meaning of “obtuseness,” its opposite is “clarity.” So the Lord is speaking to Peter with clarity for his individual situation, assuring him that He has power over and concern for all the earth (“mine arm is over all the earth”).
Peter could know this was the word of God to him and not just the words of Joseph Smith through the revealing of Peter’s personal desire in v. 4, but undoubtedly also through the verification of the Holy Spirit.
“Now, what do we hear in the gospel which we have received? A voice of agladness! A voice of mercy from heaven; and a voice of btruth out of the earth; glad tidings for the dead; a voice of gladness for the living and the dead; glad tidings of great cjoy.” (D&C 128:19)
The Whitmer men joyfully became witnesses of the gold plates, disciples of Jesus Christ, and missionaries of the Restored gospel. Did they have any idea what was ahead of them? As one learns about the history of the Church, the consequences of becoming a member in these early days seem almost unbearable: persecution, migration, loss of homes, murders and rapes of family members, poverty, sickness. Was it worth the sacrifice they did not realize they would be making?
In the end, the Whitmers counted the cost too great. Although they were always true witnesses to the Book of Mormon and the gold plates, they lost faith in Joseph Smith as a prophet and in the cause of the Church.
“[In 1838] the Church was forced to migrate [from Missouri] to Nauvoo. The Whitmers did not go. John Whitmer stayed at Far West, a city that vanished and left him with an isolated farm. David Whitmer moved to Richmond, where he first worked with team and wagon, then developed a successful livery stable and transportation business. John and David lived in Missouri forty and fifty years after the Mormon exodus, though most of the family did not survive beyond the mid-1850s. Father and Mother Whitmer died in Richmond in 1854 and 1856. Jacob Whitmer, Book of Mormon witness and Missouri high councilor, became a farmer and shoemaker in Richmond and was buried near his parents in 1856.” (Richard Lloyd Anderson, “The Whitmers: A Family That Nourished the Church,” Ensign, August 1979)
I’ll be honest: I can’t imagine what it was like to be one of the early converts, to live so close to the Prophet during trying circumstances that he didn’t look like a prophet anymore, to endure the taunting from the great and spacious building after reaching the Tree of Life. None of these Saints lived a charmed life, and I’m sure they asked themselves, “Isn’t this supposed to be a plan of happiness?” And some of them, like the Whitmers, couldn’t find the answer.
ISN’T IT SUPPOSED TO BE A PLAN OF HAPPINESS?
Let me draw upon a story of another Saint from another era who did endure to the end.
Sister Jean A. Stevens said, “My mother lived a rich life, full of happiness, joy, love, and service. Her love of the Savior was reflected in the way she lived her life. She had a remarkable connection to heaven and a gift and capacity to love and bless everyone around her.”
How did this woman become this way? She must have had a fairytale life, with a wonderful wedding, and all the things in life to make it comfortable and enjoyable, right?
“In the Salt Lake Temple, Mother received her endowment, and then they were married for time and all eternity by President David O. McKay. Theirs was a humble beginning. There were no photographs, no beautiful wedding dress, no flowers, and no reception to celebrate the occasion. Their clear focus was on the temple and their covenants. For them, the covenants were everything. After only six days of marriage and with a tearful good-bye, my dad left [to serve a mission in] South Africa…
“Three
years after Dad returned from his mission, World War II was raging, and like so
many others, he enlisted in the military. He was away from home for another
four years as he served in the navy aboard battleships in the Pacific…
“In all the seasons of her life, Mother was strengthened and blessed by her love of the Lord and by the covenants she faithfully made and kept” (General Conference, October 2014).
The making and keeping of covenants can bring happiness, joy and love into our lives despite heartbreak, war and loneliness.
President Eyring told us, “You were tutored by [Heavenly Father] before you came into this
life. He helped you understand and accept that you would have trials, tests,
and opportunities perfectly chosen just for you. You learned that our Father
had a plan of happiness to get you safely through those trials and that you
would help bring others safely through theirs. This plan is marked by covenants
with God” (April 2014 Conference).
So the plan of happiness follows a pathway of covenants.
A PICTURE OF HAPPINESS: THE PATHWAY OF COVENANTS
Let’s draw a picture of happiness. This is our real-life
fairytale.
[Draw a stick figure princess in the lower center of the
chalkboard. Have each person in your class or family copy what you draw onto their
own piece of paper.]
This is the prince/princess. That would be you. We all live in a
dark world with evil and sorrow, but there are stars to guide us, points of
light from the heavens. And we each carry a light, the light of Christ, to
light our path.
[Draw a scepter in her/his hand with a star on the end.]
[Draw a path from the stick figure to the lower center of the
picture.]
This is the strait and narrow path. It is strait (not “straight”)
which means it is restricted. We don’t get to choose your own path or how to
walk it; we follow exactly as it is designed. This path is the Gospel Path, and
our part to play in the gospel is basically the 4th Article of
Faith. We exercise faith, repent, get baptized and receive the Gift of the Holy
Ghost. We are allowed to enter into the kingdom of God on the earth (the
church). We take upon ourselves Christ’s name and become members of his family,
with the possibility of inheriting what he has. We act in his name, in other
words we do what he would do if he were here. We promise to keep the
commandments, to bear each other’s burdens, and to stand as witnesses of God.
(Mosiah 18:8-11)
[Write “BAPTISMAL COVENANT” on the path.]
So where does this path lead? Well, a kingdom has to have a
castle, right?
[Draw a temple outline.]
In fact, it is the House of God. By entering into the temple and
making covenants in which we are initiated, endowed with power, and sealed together
as families, we join the covenant that God made with Abraham and become members
of the House of Israel. Abraham is now our ancestor and we belong to his family.
The terrestrial world is symbolized by the moon, and we enjoy the greater light
that the moon has as it reflects the light of the sun into the dark world.
[Draw a moon by the temple.]
Keeping our temple covenants helps us become a terrestrial
society: good people trying to help each other become better. As children of
Abraham, we are obligated to “bless all nations of the earth” through the
Priesthood (the power of that runs His church), and “gather Israel,” or seek,
teach and invite others to join the House of Israel in this life and
vicariously through family history and temple work.
[Write “HOUSE OF ISRAEL (ABRAHAM)” on the temple.]
Before Abraham’s time, Heavenly Father made a covenant with his
ancestor and the symbol of that covenant is the rainbow.
[Draw a rainbow over the temple.]
I know you are thinking that the rainbow covenant was made with
Noah after the flood when God promised He wouldn’t flood the earth again, but
that was just a renewal. The original covenant is found in the Joseph Smith
Translation appendix. It is also mentioned in D&C 76. Enoch led a city
entrenched in wickedness, and he taught them through Priesthood power so thoroughly
over a long period of time, that they became too holy for this earth and the
City of Enoch was taken up to heaven. (Read JST Gen. 9:21-25.)
When the people on earth have created a Zion society by “embracing
the truth” (which we do when we are baptized) and by looking upward, the City
of Enoch will come down from heaven and join Zion on earth. We look upward when
we keep our temple covenants. All the symbolism in the structure and the
interior of the temple pulls our eyes upward, just as the ceremony pulls our
perspective heavenward, and the covenants will fit us for a Zion society, where
everyone is equal and there are no rich or poor.
Article of Faith 10 relates to both Enoch’s and Abraham’s
covenants:
“We believe in the literal gathering of Israel and in the
restoration of the ten tribes, that Zion (the New Jerusalem) will be
established upon the American continent; that Christ will reign personally on
the earth; and that the earth will be renewed and receive it’s paradisiacal
glory.”
In fact, the temple connects heaven and earth even before the
final days. Angels minister to us, miracles happen, prayers are answered every
day as we keep the covenants we have made. The heaven we create on earth, Zion,
will eventually be joined by the City of Enoch and become the real Heaven.
[Write “ZION COVENANT (ENOCH)” on it. Under it, write “Create
Zion.”]
The first covenant of all was made with Adam and Eve when they
left the Garden of Eden.
[Draw a sun above the rainbow.]
We came to this earth by “falling” from heaven. We were separated
from God, and we were no longer pure and holy because this world is full of sin
and error. But this was necessary to gain the knowledge and experience needed
to become like God so He allowed the Fall to happen, and then provided a Savior
for us. Jesus Christ would “fit us for heaven” as the Christmas carol says,
through His Atonement, which would free us from our sins through repentance,
and the sins of others against us through forgiveness, and make us holier and
better than we could be on our own, so that we could become Celestial beings
and enjoy Eternal Life, or God’s Life, ourselves. (Read 3 Nephi 27:13-14.)
All of these covenants are only possible because of Christ’s
atonement, His part in the Gospel covenant. Article of Faith 3 reads,
“We believe that through the Atonement of Christ, all mankind may be
saved, by obedience to the laws and ordinances of the gospel.”
[Write “GOSPEL COVENANT—ATONEMENT (ADAM/EVE)” by the sun.]
Each of these covenants is part of the New & Everlasting
Covenant of the Gospel (See Elder Marcus B. Nash, December 2015 Ensign), and
the whole thing operates by love: God’s love for us, and our love for him and
for our brothers and sisters on earth.
[Draw a heart around the entire picture. Write “NEW &
EVERLASTING COVENANT” above the heart.]
EXPERIENCING GOD'S LOVE = JOY
God’s love: “For God so loved the world
that he gave his only begotten son, that whoso believeth in him should not
perish but have everlasting life” (John 3:16).
Our love: The statement that love is the sum of all the
commandments is found in every book of scripture. (Deut. 6:5; Mark 12:30-31;
D&C 59:5-6; Moro. 10:32) I like the way it is stated in Romans 13:8-9 “…He that
loveth another hath fulfilled the law…if there be any other commandment, it is
briefly comprehended in this saying, namely, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as
thyself.”
Keeping the New and Everlasting Covenant does not just bring us
happiness in the next life; it makes us happy here, because the most
joyful experience in the world is to feel and share God’s love.
As Elder Nash said, “For all who abide the terms of the new and everlasting covenant,
the reward is joy and peace in this world and eternal life in the next.”
Paul wrote to the Romans, “Who shall separate us from the love of
Christ?” (Read Romans 8:35-39) As long as we have the love of Christ, we will
have happiness, despite times of trial.
Everything that happens outside our power will be a blessing to
us, even things we might term as “bad.” As Paul taught, “And we know that all
things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called
according to his purpose.” (Romans 8:28)
So the great news of the gospel is that a life of happiness does
not depend on everything working out the way we plan, and no bad things
happening, and being able to follow all our dreams and hopes, and having enough
money to buy what we want, and getting the exact number of children we want,
and never having a crime committed against us, and having perfect health and
beauty, and any other things that we don’t have control over. It does not
depend on what happens to us. It depends on something we have total control
over: the keeping of our covenants to love God and our fellow human beings.
Now we can see how Sister Stevens’ mother lived a life filled with
“happiness, joy, love and service,” despite missing out on some of her fondest
dreams and enduring great periods of loneliness and trial at what should have
been the most pleasant time of her life. We can see how many of the early Saints
persisted in the Church despite torturous circumstances and painful loss.
There is no permanent disappointment or sorrow on the covenant
path.
It is the love of God and for God and others that brings us the greatest joy, the greatest happiness and the greatest peace in this life.
THE THREE WITNESSES + ONE
For a lesson about the Three
Witnesses (and the fourth), please go to https://gospeldoctrineplus.blogspot.com/2013/01/doctrine-and-covenants-lesson-4.html
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