Doctrine and Covenants 98-101

 THE SIMMERING POT OF JACKSON COUNTY

"The Prophet Joseph and those who accompanied him to Missouri in the summer of 1831 were joyful to learn that Jackson County was the location of the latter-day Zion.  They did not realize that within two years the Saints would be driven from their homes in western Missouri...

"The year 1833 was one of tribulation for the Saints in Jackson County, Missouri.  Irreconcilable conflicts developed with their neighbors over several issues...

"By the end of 1832 there were 800 Saints gathered into five branches in Jackson County.  New people were arriving almost every week..."

There was a clear organization of Church leadership set up in Jackson County by the Prophet. "Some members, however, tried to circumvent the Church leaders in Missouri by ignoring their authority to preside...

"Other difficulties arose in Zion.  Petty jealousies, covetousness, light-mindedness, unbelief, and general neglect in keeping the commandments of God came to the attention of the Prophet.  Some people in Zion even charged Joseph Smith with 'seeking after monarchical power and authority' and said that he was purposely putting off settling in Zion...

"The Prophet wrote back in the spirit of peace and sent a copy of the 'Olive Leaf' (D&C 88)...

"Following receipt of the Olive Leaf revelation, a council of high priests met on 26 February 1833 and called for solemn assemblies to be held in each of the branches (see D&C 88:70).  David Pettigrew wrote in his journal that Bishop Partridge appointed them 'as a day of confession and repentance.'"

The Lord was pleased with this new spirit...(D&C 90:34) Peace began to prevail.  A "school of elders," like the Kirtland "school of prophets" was organized.  Prophecies were being publicized in the Church newspapers and The Book of Commandments was being printed.  The plan for the City of Zion was drawn up, which included dwellings for 15,000-20,000 people in 1 square mile with a complex of 24 temples (probably more like the Kirtland Temple--meetinghouses/temples--as the fulness of temple worship wasn't instituted until the Nauvoo Temple).  Farmers and merchants alike would live "in town," the farmers commuting to work outside town each day.

"The happy and favorable circumstances of the Saints in Jackson County ended suddenly in July of 1833.  The original inhabitants of the area became increasingly suspicious as the number of Church members in Jackson County grew rapidly...

"Jackson County's residents were a rough-and-ready group who had come from the mountainous regions of several southern states to the western edge of the United States to find freedom from societal restraints...Many of them indulged in profanity, Sabbath-breaking, horse-racing, cock-fighting, idleness, drunkenness, gambling, and violence...

"By July 1833 the Mormon population in the county was almost 1,200 with more arriving each month.  Some members boasted that thousands more were coming to live in the county...

"Protestant ministers...resented the Mormon intrusion" into their territory.  "In addition, Mormon merchants and tradesmen successfully took over a portion of the lucrative Santa Fe Trail trade previously dominated by the Missourians...

"The Missouri frontiersmen feared and hated the [Native Americans]" who were being settled nearby by the government.  "The first Mormon missionaries came into this tense atmosphere declaring the prophetic destiny of the native Americans.  The old settlers were afraid the Saints would use the [Native Americans] to help them conquer the area for their New Jerusalem...

"The conflict between the Saints and the old settlers came to a head over the slavery issue.  Missouri had come into the Union as a slave state...Some of the Saints brought abolitionist sentiments from the North and East...Missourians were highly aroused early in 1832 by rumors that the Saints were trying to persuade slaves to disobey their masters or run away."  (Quotes are all from the Institute manual, Church History in the Fulness of Times, p. 127-132)

SUMMARY OF THE LORD'S WORDS TO SAINTS IN TROUBLE

The chapter summaries in the scriptures can often give us great clarity on the words of the Lord. In the case of Sections 98 and 101, written to the Saints in Jackson County in the time of their worst affliction, we can look at them as a list. Each point is also relevant to us in our various situations throughout the world. In the United States, I think it is instructive in regards to the current polarization of political idiologies and the criticism towards or disregard for the Constitution.

• The afflictions of the Saints will be for their good.
• The Saints are to befriend the constitutional law of the land.
• Honest, wise, and good men should be supported for secular government.
• Those who lay down their lives in the Lord’s cause will have eternal life.
• Renounce war and proclaim peace.
• The Saints in Kirtland are reproved and commanded to repent.
• The Lord reveals His laws governing the persecutions and afflictions imposed on His people:
• War is justified only when the Lord commands it.
• The Saints are to forgive their enemies, who, if they repent, will also escape the Lord’s vengeance.
• The Saints are chastened and afflicted because of their transgressions.
• The Lord’s indignation will fall upon the nations, but His people will be gathered and comforted.
• Zion and her stakes will be established.
• The nature of life during the Millennium is set forth.
• The Saints will be blessed and rewarded then.
• The parable of the nobleman and the olive trees signifies the troubles and eventual redemption of Zion.
• The Saints are to continue gathering together.
• The Lord established the Constitution of the United States.
• The Saints are to importune for the redress of grievances, according to the parable of the woman and the unjust judge.

In the end, although they had to endure severe trials and many lost their lives or their faith, those who remained with the Church ended up completely escaping the most devastating war in the history of the United States, the Civil War. Jackson County, Missouri was one of the hottest points of the Civil War, and when the war was over, General Order #11 was issued by Union General Thomas Ewing on August 25, 1863, forcing the Jackson County residents to move or be burned out. Although the Saints endured terrible trials, those very trials--their expulsion from Missouri and later Illinois--caused them to completely escape the horror of the Civil War, as Utah was not even a state yet.

THE LORD'S WORDS TO US IN OUR TIMES OF TROUBLE

The beginning of the revelation in Section 98 is one of the most comforting in all scripture. It has been not only a comfort to the Saints in the time it was originally received, but to many individuals since in their own personal trials. It is one of those scriptures through which Heavenly Father can clearly speak to us:

1 Verily I say unto you my friends, ^afear not, let your hearts be comforted; yea, rejoice evermore, and in everything give ^bthanks;

2 ^aWaiting patiently on the Lord, for your prayers have entered into the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth, and are recorded with this seal and testament—the Lord hath sworn and decreed that they shall be granted.

3 Therefore, he giveth this promise unto you, with an immutable covenant that they shall be fulfilled; and all things wherewith you have been ^aafflicted shall work together for your ^bgood, and to my name’s glory, saith the Lord.

Today there are groups of Saints who feel marginalized, oppressed, misunderstood, or underappreciated within the cultures in which they live and sometimes within the Church. There are doctrines we do not understand or which have not yet been fully revealed, because the Restoration is ongoing. We are still learning where faithful Saints who have gender issues, such as same-sex attraction or gender dysphoria, fit in the present-day Kingdom of God on earth, as well as in the eternal doctrine of the family. We are still learning more about the role of women in the priesthood. We still don't fully understand why early Church leaders could be inspired of God and still have views that were racist.

There are also individual Saints who are going through other severe trials that are hard to understand. Every one of us will fall into this category at some time in our life because developing trust in God is a key component of our progression toward Godhood. Our trials also teach us very important lessons about each other and ourselves, and they reveal to us our total dependence upon our Savior.

If either of these categories describes you at this present time, I encourage you to read, re-read, and possibly even memorize these three verses of comfort and promise from the Lord of Sabaoth (the Lord of Heavenly Armies) and know that He is on your side if you are on His. If your prayers are inspired and ratified by the Holy Ghost, they will be answered. 

MY TESTIMONY OF GOD'S CARE

Although I usually try to not make this blog about me, I feel impressed to indulge in telling a personal story about these verses as a follow-up to the story I shared in the last post.

For several years of our married life, right around the turn of the 21st century, my husband, who is a space sciences engineer, was working on a joint satellite project between the United States and Russia. This work required him to travel frequently to Moscow for ten days or two weeks at a time. I was at our home raising 6 children, from an infant to teenagers. It was hard on our family to have our father gone so much of the time. It was hard on his health to have to flip his days and nights so frequently as he drastically changed time zones. It was very hard on me to be a single parent. These feelings of frustration worsened as it became increasingly obvious that two mighty countries with two massive governments who functioned in completely different ways would never trust each other enough to get this satellite off the ground. The project would never be completed and launched. 

One day it occurred to me that, although I had complained quite a bit about this situation of family separation, I had never asked in prayer for the Lord to take it away. Immediately I dropped to my knees beside my bed, but as I began to pray I was suddenly infused with the knowledge that I was going to pray for the wrong thing. I was immediately filled with peace and purpose in my role as the sometimes sole parent at home. I did offer a prayer, but it ended up being a prayer of gratitude for the knowledge that the travel was important in God's plan. I never felt to complain again.

As Gary walked the streets of Russia in the early years of his work there, street children would flock around him, begging for money. It was heartbreaking. It was the early days of the democracy experience for Russia and their economy had collapsed. Most of these children were orphaned or abandoned. He learned to always carry coins in his pocket to throw for the children, like one might throw candy in an American parade. This got money to the children and also got them off him so he could continue down the street. By about the year 2000 as Russia became more stable, the children gradually disappeared from the streets, placed into orphanages. Gary's flights home from Russia began to be increasingly filled with American parents and their newly adopted Russian infants and children. 

Since the birth of our sixth child, we had always felt an incompleteness in our family. Several times I had accidentally told people we had seven children! Yet the seventh child did not appear in the usual way. 

In the meantime, my husband's supervisors invited the spouses of the team to travel to Russia to tour with them in conjunction with one of their business trips. I'm not a great traveler and I had never wanted to go to Russia, but I felt I would always regret it if I didn't take advantage of the offer. It ended up being a wonderful experience. At the conclusion of the tour, I then personally experienced an airline flight from Moscow to New York City with about fifteen newly-adopted children and their American parents.  

I hold the copyright to this photo. It may not be copied.

We began to wonder whether the Lord wanted us to adopt from Russia. It seemed silly, since we already had six biological children and since there are children in America who also need parents if we wanted to adopt one. We also didn't have the funds for a foreign adoption. But we asked the question in prayer over the next several weeks and our prayers were powerfully and unmistakenly answered: YES! And we knew the child was a four-year-old girl. We began the process of adoption. 

I hold the copyright to this photo. It may not be copied.

We traveled to Krasnodar, Russia and met a beautiful little 4-year-old girl. We were told we would be able to return in six weeks to adopt her. But just before we were to return, we were told her paperwork had not been filed correctly and we would have to wait a little longer. Then the birthmother (from within prison, where she was serving a drug sentence) sent a letter to the child and promised to come back to get her. We would have to wait to see if she would follow through. Then adoptions in the region halted for months while a new regional Board of Education (which oversees adoptions) was appointed. We ran out of money and took out a second mortgage on our home. Our paperwork, home study, and official documents expired so we did it all again. And we waited. I carried an almost constant knot in my stomach and had to make myself eat. We could not see how this stalemate would ever resolve.

During this time, my visiting teacher, whose three children were all adopted, shared with me the scripture mentioned above, D&C 98:1-3. It had carried a personal message to her from God when she had been despairing during the long wait for their second child. I hoped it was a message for us as well.

We were sent pictures of other children to adopt, but as we prayed for guidance about whether we should change direction, we always got the answer to just continue waiting. Our ward fasted and prayed with us for our adoption. Then our Russian adoption agent suddenly emigrated to America (with our money) and we were left high and dry.

It was right then, when all hope seemed lost, almost two years after we started the adoption process, that suddenly the way cleared. We found a new Russian adoption agent through connections on an Internet support group who was more knowledgeable, more powerful and who had integrity. The area was reopened for foreign adoption, and we were sent a photograph of a sweet little four-year-old girl. The minute I saw that first photo, I knew this was our daughter. We redid all our expensive paperwork (again!) and booked our flights. We drove from Krasnodar to the orphanage in Afipsky with our new adoption agent, who said, "I was raised an atheist, but one cannot work in adoption and remain an atheist." We met a little girl with a big smile, and as I measured our new daughter for clothing, I discovered she had exactly the same measurements as the first little girl--even down to the shoe size! 

I hold the copyright to this photo. It may not be copied.

The new Board of Education was not eager to allow adoptions into large families, but simply because we had waited so long and never given up, they allowed us to complete the last America adoption in that region before they shut it down again, and on October 11, 2004, our family was finally complete. 

As time went on, we were able to see, more and more, how everything had worked out exactly according to Heavenly Father's plan for our family: Our daughter had not actually entered the orphanage system at the time we first traveled. God sent us that early, not only so that the new Board of Education would admire us for our persistence, but so that we could meet and photograph a darling little boy and help facilitate his adoption into another Latter-day Saint family in our home town. That boy recently completed a mission to Michigan. God also chose a child for our first attempt who looked just like our actual daughter would look two years later, so that our new agent would be able to easily find the right one just by appearance once she was available. We hope that the first little girl was successfully reunited with her mother, and that her mother has been motivated to stay clean from drugs for the benefit of her child. And all those times that I "accidentally" said we had seven children, we really did because our daughter was born in Russia 9 months before our youngest son was born in Utah.

This experience, which was at first the greatest trial of my faith, turned into the miracle that has become one of the greatest anchors to my faith. As one of the members of our ward said today in his testimony, "When in doubt, zoom out." If we can "zoom out" of the moment, get a long-range, eternal perspective, and trust that God knows what He is doing, trials of faith can become anchors of faith.

Doctrine and Covenants 94-97

 TEMPLE BUILDING IN THE LATTER DAYS

 

This painting by the amazing Walter Rane is from JosephSmith.net.

The sacrifices of the early Saints to build their first temples are legendary. This week, rather than a discussion of the scripture, I'll share examples of three of them.

VILATE KIMBALL

“Our women were engaged in knitting and spinning, in order to clothe those who were laboring at the building.  And the Lord only knows the scenes of poverty, and tribulation and distress, which we all passed through to accomplish it.  My wife would toil all summer.  She took 100 pounds of wool to spin on shares which, with the assistance of a girl, she spun, in order to furnish clothing for those engaged in building the temple.  And although she had the privilege of keeping half the quantity of wool for herself, as her recompense for her labor, she did not reserve even so much as would make a pair of stockings.  She spun and wove and got the cloth dressed and cut and made up into garments, and gave them to the laborers.  Almost all the sisters in Kirtland labored in knitting, sewing, spinning, etc, for the same purpose, while we went up to Missouri” (Heber C. Kimball quoted in Kelly, Latter-day History of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, p. 163).

JOHN TANNER

Sometimes it’s easier to give when you don’t have very much to lose.  When a man has a lot of wealth, sometimes he tends to define himself by it and cling to it like a lifeboat.  But not John Tanner.

John Tanner was a wealthy convert.  He had outlived two wives, and then married a third (having a total of 21 children!) when the missionaries found him.  His infected leg was healed by the missionaries, and the next day he was baptized.  He committed to help the church and sustain the prophet.  He was so wealthy that he used six wagons to move his family from New York to Kirtland, and provided ten more for other church members.

The day after his arrival in Kirtland in early 1835, he met with Joseph Smith and the high council and lent them $2,000 to pay off the mortgage on the temple property, plus another $13,000 for other purposes.  He contributed to the temple building fund, and he signed a $30,000 note for merchandise to help Saints move to Kirtland.  (Whoa!  $30,000 in 1835!!!)

When he moved his family from Kirtland to gather with the saints in Missouri three years later, he had to borrow a wagon.  He had very little money left.  He endured all the trials of Missouri and Illnois.  Despite his humble circumstances, a few months before Joseph Smith was killed, “John returned the $2,000 noted signed in Kirtland as a gift to the Prophet and was blessed by Joseph that he and his posterity would never beg for bread.”

He provided food and help to the saints as they left Nauvoo, arriving in Salt Lake City himself in 1848.  He died two years later, a faithful and humble friend to the end (Garr, Cannon and Cowan, Encyclopedia of Latter-day Saint History, p. 1219-1220).

REYNOLDS CAHOON

Reynolds Cahoon had left Kirtland to serve a mission to Missouri.  After his release, he asked whether he could return to Missouri, to “Zion.”  The answer given was no, he was needed to serve on the Kirtland Temple building committee (D&C 94:14-15).  He fulfilled that position well.

Later his family was chased out of Kirtland with the rest of the saints, and then chased out of Missouri, finally settling in Nauvoo.  Again Brother Cahoon was called to the temple building committee, a calling which scared the daylights out of him.  “I think I never was placed in so critical a position since I was born,” he said.

He moved to Salt Lake City with the saints and died there in 1861.  His obituary in the Deseret News called him, “a true friend to the prophet of God while he was living, full of integrity and love for the truth and always acted cheerfully the part assigned him in the great work of the last Days.”  (Susan Easton Black, Who’s Who in the Doctrine and Covenants, p. 46-48)

SACRIFICE REWARDED

It took the saints 3 years to build the Kirtland Temple, and they had to leave it behind after only two years of service, but they took with them the blessings they had received through sacrificing to build the temple and through their participation in the temple after it was built.  The physical body of the temple decayed (later to be restored) but the spirit of the temple moved on with the saints and is still with us today.

BECOMING A TEMPLE PEOPLE

President Howard W. Hunter encouraged us to become “a temple people.”  Our predecessors in the Church had to make sacrifices to build and attend temples. We likewise must sacrifice to enter the temple. 

Here is a story of sacrifice from our family: Our youngest daughter had to be removed from her first family (due to neglect and abuse), live in an orphanage for a year and a half, leave her home country (Russia) with her new parents, travel over 6,000 miles to the other side of the world (Logan, Utah), learn a new language (English), and learn how to live in a family instead of an institution in order to be sealed to her eternal family (ours) in the Logan Utah Temple. Being adopted at age 4 is terrifying enough, without having your culture, environment, and most of all, your language completely changed! I still remember the huge smile she had on her face as she placed her hand over ours on the altar in the Logan Temple.

I hold the rights to this personal photo. 

Please do not copy.

About ten years later, after a search for her biological family in Russia (two siblings had been adopted within Russia, and the third was now an adult), we found out her mother had passed away. So Marisha was then baptized for her first mother in the Logan Temple and I was proxy for her initiatory and endowment. It was a sweet experience for us.

What sacrifices have you had to make to be a temple person, or what sacrifices are you now making for your future temple covenants? Please comment below if you feel comfortable sharing a story. (Phones don't have the comment ability, but if you are on a computer or a tablet you should have the capability.) Tell us where you are from as well. Let's share our stories and our love for the temple!

(I still don't know why our Heavenly Parents planted our daughter in Russia first, but if you would like to read a little essay I wrote about part of our adoption experience, you can find it here.)

Doctrine and Covenants 93

The revelation received on May 6, 1833, is a deep, deep dive into doctrine. We don't know what the context of this revelation was--what question may have been asked, what circumstances led up to it--but it picks up and expounds upon doctrine in the New Testament.

The first verse is a general outline of the doctrine of Christ.

1 Verily, thus saith the Lord: It shall come to pass that every soul who ^aforsaketh his ^bsins and cometh unto me, and ^ccalleth on my name, and ^dobeyeth my voice, and keepeth my commandments, shall ^esee my ^fface and ^gknow that I am;

This May 6 revelation helps us see who Jesus Christ is, who God the Father is, and who we are. It follows up on the truths taught in Section 88 about the Light. (Please see a previous lesson on Section 88.)

The Record of John: Learning of Christ

Since Section 93 contains the record of John (presumably John the Baptist) it is really helpful to first read John the Beloved's record of John the Baptist's testimony in the New Testament alongside it. (I hope that didn't confuse you...) I'm mixing the order up a little bit in order to align between the two.

John 1:

1 ^aIn the ^bbeginning was the Word, and the ^cWord was with God, and the ^dWord was ^eGod.

I was always so confused by this. Why was Christ called "the Word?" 

D&C 93 clarifies:

8 Therefore, in the beginning the ^aWord was, for he was the Word, even the messenger of salvation.

Words are communication. Christ was the communicating link between God the Father and His children. He was the message, the connection from God to us. And with God, words are the same as actions because he has complete integrity. So He spoke and the world was created. Christ was the Word God spoke that saved us.

John 1:

2 The same was in the ^abeginning with God.

3 All things were ^amade by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.

4 In him was ^alife; and the life was the ^blight of men.

5 And the ^alight shineth in ^bdarkness; and the darkness ^ccomprehended it not.

D&C 93:

9 The ^alight and the Redeemer of the world; the Spirit of truth, who came into the world, because the world was made by him, and in him was the life of men and the light of men.

10 The worlds were ^amade by him; men were made by him; all things were made by him, and through him, and of him.

John 1:

6 ¶ There was a man sent from God, whose name was ^aJohn.

7 The same came for a ^awitness, to bear ^bwitness of the Light, that all men through him might ^cbelieve.

8 He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light.

9 That was the true ^aLight, which ^blighteth ^cevery man that cometh into the world.

D&C 93 adds clarification upon the New Testament doctrine that Jesus Christ is both divine and human. It also makes it clear that John saw the premortal Christ:

2 [Every soul that sees my face will know] ...that I am the true ^alight that lighteth every man that cometh into the world;

3 And that I am ^ain the Father, and the Father in me, and the Father and I are one—

4 The Father ^abecause he ^bgave me of his fulness, and the Son because I was in the world and made ^cflesh my ^dtabernacle, and dwelt among the sons of men.

5 I was in the world and received of my Father, and the ^aworks of him were plainly manifest.

6 And ^aJohn saw and bore record of the fulness of my ^bglory, and the fulness of ^cJohn’s record is hereafter to be revealed.

7 And he bore record, saying: I saw his glory, that he was in the ^abeginning, before the world was;

John 1:

10 He was in the ^aworld, and the ^bworld was ^cmade by him, and the world ^dknew him not.

11 He came unto his own, and his own ^areceived him not.

12 But as many as ^areceived him, to them gave he ^bpower to become the ^csons of God, even to them that believe on his ^dname:

13 Which were ^aborn, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.

14 And the Word was made ^aflesh, and ^bdwelt among us, (and we ^cbeheld his ^dglory, the glory as of the ^eonly ^fbegotten of the Father,) full of ^ggrace and truth.

This verse has left a huge doctrinal question that has confused theologians for centuries: How could a God be born as a baby that has physical needs, that cries and fusses and grows into a child that skins his knees and maybe has a tantrum occasionally, if he is a God, full of grace and truth?

Section 93 teaches that Christ received "grace for grace," or in other words, in his earthly experience He developed His godly characteristics as He practiced them, through the grace of His Father in Heaven. He was not born fully formed, and even He had to exercise patience and practice and take time to grow into His role. 

D&C 93:

11 And I, John, ^abear record that I beheld his ^bglory, as the glory of the Only Begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth, even the Spirit of truth, which came and dwelt in the flesh, and dwelt among us.

12 And I, John, saw that he received not of the ^afulness at the first, but received ^bgrace for grace;

13 And he received not of the fulness at first, but continued from ^agrace to grace, until he received a fulness;

14 And thus he was called the ^aSon of God, because he received not of the fulness at the first.

John 1:

15 ¶ John bare ^awitness of him, and cried, saying, This was he of whom I spake, He that cometh after me is preferred before me: for he was before me.

D&C 93:

15 And I, ^aJohn, bear record, and lo, the heavens were opened, and the Holy Ghost descended upon him in the form of a dove, and sat upon him, and there came a voice out of heaven saying: This is my ^bbeloved Son.

John's Record: Becoming Like Christ

John then tells us that we, as Christ's followers, have received part of his fullness of grace. We also are growing, grace for grace.

John 1:
16 And of his ^afulness have all we received, and ^bgrace for grace.

17 ^aFor the ^blaw was given by Moses, but ^cgrace and ^dtruth came by Jesus Christ.

18 No ^aman hath ^bseen God ^cat any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath ^ddeclared him.

And the Joseph Smith Translation adds an important verse:

19 And no man hath seen God at any time, except he hath borne record of the Son; for except it is through him no man can be saved.

D&C 93 tells us that John also saw the resurrected and glorified Christ who had a fullness of glory, and that we also can obtain a fullness of glory, through Him.

16 And I, John, bear record that he received a fulness of the glory of the Father;

17 And he received ^aall ^bpower, both in heaven and on earth, and the glory of the Father was with him, for he dwelt in him.

18 And it shall come to pass, that if you are faithful you shall receive the ^afulness of the record of John.

19 I give unto you these sayings that you may understand and know how to worship, and ^aknow what you worship, that you may come unto the Father in my name, and in due time receive of his fulness.

Notice the word "that" in the middle of this verse. "That" is a key word in scripture connecting cause and effect. It is important to know God and how to worship Him, so that we can be united with Him and become like Him.

20 For if you keep my ^acommandments you shall receive of his ^bfulness, and be ^cglorified in me as I am in the Father; therefore, I say unto you, you shall receive ^dgrace for grace.

This astounding new doctrine (or clarification of lost or misunderstood doctrine) teaches, far beyond what the religions of the past 2,000 years ever taught, that we also can grow grace for grace until we are divine through Christ. Keeping His commandments will bring more grace upon us as we progress through life.  

Grace Upon Grace

It is hard for us to remember in our instant-gratification world, that God sends grace upon grace. He also sends knowledge "line upon line, here a little and there a little." This concept is so important, we find it multiple times in the scriptures. (See Isaiah 28:10; 2 Nephi 28:30; D&C 98:12.) Here is how it is expressed in D&C 93:

21 And now, verily I say unto you, I was in the ^abeginning with the Father, and am the ^bFirstborn;

22 And all those who are begotten through me are ^apartakers of the ^bglory of the same, and are the ^cchurch of the Firstborn.

23 Ye were also in the beginning with the Father; that which is ^aSpirit, even the Spirit of truth;

24 And ^atruth is ^bknowledge of things as they are, and as they were, and as they are to come;

25 And whatsoever is ^amore or less than this is the spirit of that wicked one who was a ^bliar from the beginning.

26 The Spirit of ^atruth is of God. I am the Spirit of truth, and John bore record of me, saying: He ^breceived a fulness of truth, yea, even of all truth;

27 And no man receiveth a ^afulness unless he keepeth his commandments.

28 He that ^akeepeth his commandments receiveth ^btruth and ^clight, until he is glorified in truth and ^dknoweth all things... (italics added)

Skipping down to verse 36, we find a truth that defines our theology:

36 The ^aglory of God is ^bintelligence, or, in other words, ^clight and truth.

In Section 88 we learned that truth, light, knowledge, power, glory, and joy are all expressions of the same thing: being one with God. (Here's that link again.) This is what we will experience in heaven: a fullness of glory, intelligence, light, truth, joy. It's going to be awesome!

Learn and Grow, While Living By Faith

Walter Scott

Walter Scott, one of the leaders of the Campbellite movement had outlined the essential elements of the gospel as "faith, repentance, baptism, remission of sins, the Holy Spirit, and eternal life" and labeled them "the plan of salvation" before Joseph Smith used that term (Mark Lyman Staker, Hearken, O Ye People: The Historical Setting of Joseph Smith's Ohio Revelations, 320-321). Scott taught wonderful gospel truths as a founder of the Disciples of Christ or Campbellite Church. He and his colleagues moved their followers away from the Calvinistic belief in a God of hellfire and damnation, ready to strike down any soul who committed the slightest sin, and back toward a belief in a loving Heavenly Father who wants His children to return to His embrace and will do all He can to aid them.

Sidney Rigdon had been a preacher of the Campbellite theology before the first missionaries came to Kirtland. The Lord said Brother Rigdon had been "sent for even as John, to prepare the way before me" (D&C 35:4). When Rigdon learned more truth from Joseph Smith, he accepted it joyfully, bringing many of his congregants with him. Those who had been in his Campbellite congregation found the first principles and ordinances of the gospel very familiar. (See Article of Faith 4.) In fact, Walter Scott complained that "Rigdon filched from us that elementary method of stating the gospel which has so completely brought it within the grasp of every one who hears it" (Staker, 331). 

The Lord had more to reveal than Scott wanted, however. The Vision of the Three Degrees of Glory (D&C 76), which Rigdon witnessed along with Joseph Smith, was abominable to him. He became very antagonistic toward the Church, rejecting expansion of knowledge beyond his own. Quite a few members of the Church had difficulty accepting that Vision as well, since it went beyond knowledge they previously held. Some even left the Church. Brigham Young was initially repulsed by the doctrine taught in the Vision because of his own religious background. He later said, "My traditions were such, that when the Vision came first to me, it was so directly contrary and opposed to my former education, I said, wait a little; I did not reject it, but I could not understand it" (Staker, 332). 

And yet today, the knowledge brought by this vision is cherished by Latter-day Saints: that Heaven is huge and that a merciful Heavenly Father plans to save everyone in the degree of glory in which they will be comfortable.

D&C 93 teaches us that "the glory of God is intelligence." God wants us to keep learning through our entire lives, and will bestow upon us knowledge, line upon line. This means, by definition, that no matter how old or how educated we are, we don't know everything right now. So if we hear something jarring about Church history, if we find a doctrine in the scriptures that doesn't make sense to us, if we don't understand the temple ceremony, if we miss receiving a blessing that we desperately want, if we disagree with a Church policy, we should just keep learning and living the gospel. We don't even need to put it (whatever it is) "on a shelf." We can keep studying it, while we realize we don't know everything yet, and trust that when we do, it will make sense. We hang on to what we do know--that God loves us and His love motivates everything He does. A little bit of knowledge can be a dangerous thing, it is true, but asking questions, studying and learning, asking more questions, studying and learning more--this is the way to knowledge, light, truth, power, and ultimately joy.

It is important for us to remember that, just as we are learning "line upon line," so the Restoration unfolds and is still unfolding, "here a little and there a little." Even as a Church, we don't have all the knowledge yet. (I invite you to check out Anthony Sweat's YouTube video series, "The Unfolding Restoration," on the Doctrine and Covenants Central channel.)

Hugh Nibley

There can be few people in this dispensation who studied the gospel, Church history, and world religions more thoroughly than did BYU professor Hugh Nibley. Hugh Nibley's book, An Approach to the Book of Mormon, was actually the Melchizedek Priesthood manual in the 1950s.  My father loved this book and loved the other writings of Hugh Nibley. My own testimony has been strengthened by reading Nibley's books and watching his rambling lectures on YouTube. 

A few days prior to his death at age 94, Brother Nibley "visited the other side" or had a near-death experience. His colleague, Brent Hall, asked if he would share what he saw there. 

Brother Nibley responded, 

"Well, it's really very simple. It comes down to two scriptures: One is that 'The glory of God is intelligence' and the next one is that 'Man is that he might have joy.' When I was there, I knew everything. Because of that, I was really happy." 

We must all keep learning and keep growing in grace. In this life, we will never know the last thing, however, even if we are Walter Scott, Sidney Rigdon, Brigham Young, or Hugh Nibley, because as we are we required to learn, we are also required to live by faith. And thus we grow in grace.

(You can watch Brother Hall tell the story here.)