Doctrine and Covenants 14-17

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 4^th 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

Doctrine and Covenants Lesson 12-13

INTRODUCTION

(Display various tools, or pictures of them: a magnifying glass, wire whisk, calculator, trowel, tuning fork, wrench, comb, thermometer, toothbrush, and a Swiss Army knife.)

What do all these items have in common? (They are all tools.)  We can use each of these tools to accomplish a specific purpose, if we have the understanding of how they are to be used.  The Swiss Army knife is unique on this table in that it can be used for many different purposes.  The Priesthood of God is even better than a Swiss Army knife because it can be used to accomplish every good purpose, if we have the authority to use it, and the ability to understand how.  It is the greatest all-purpose tool there ever was or will be.

(Ask the class to finish this sentence.)  The Priesthood is the power and authority (or the tool) by which:

(And here are some possible answers.)

• All things exist
• All things are governed
• The Plan of Salvation operates
• The Gospel is preached
• The ordinances of Salvation are performed
• We are sealed up unto eternal life
• The Lord will govern all nations of the earth.

The Priesthood operates by love.  It exists for the purpose of blessing and serving others.  By serving others, we are also blessed. We have another lesson coming up on the Oath and Covenant of the Priesthood, and how we should exercise Priesthood power, but the basic summary is that it must be done in love.

THE RESTORATION OF THE AARONIC PRIESTHOOD

Before the Book of Mormon was published, before the Church was organized and named, the priesthood was restored.  This had to come first, as the Priesthood was the tool for building the entire kingdom.  Only the First Vision, the tutoring by Angel Moroni, and most of the translation of the plates preceded the Priesthood chronologically.  All three of these things were necessary to prepare Joseph to receive the Priesthood.  Read D&C 84:18-21.

Joseph Smith wrote a simple factual account of the restoration of the Priesthood found in Joseph Smith-History 1:68-73, but let’s read Oliver Cowdery’s very poetic and emotional account of it.  You can find this in the very back of your Joseph Smith-History as a footnote.  (Read the last 3 paragraphs.)  This took place May 15, 1829.

INVITATION TO PARTICIPATE

Think of your experiences with the Priesthood.  How have you seen the power of the Priesthood manifested in your life?  If you are a priesthood holder, what have your feelings been when baptizing someone, or performing another sacred ordinance?  What experiences have you had receiving blessings through priesthood leaders?

THE HISTORY OF THE AARONIC PRIESTHOOD

The ways in which the Aaronic Priesthood was administered has passed through several distinct periods in this dispensation:

1. 1829-1845: There were no age guidelines, but Aaronic Priesthood bearers were mostly adults.  Their primary duty was to visit members in their homes, to remember and nourish them as the Book of Mormon states.
2. 1846-1877: After the temple endowment was broadly available, more men were ordained to the Melchizedek Priesthood in order to be sealed in the temple and to serve missions.  There were few men left in the Aaronic Priesthood.  So a lot of times men were called to be “acting” priests, teachers, and deacons, even though they held the Melchizedek Priesthood.  Deacons served as the meetinghouse custodians.
3. 1877-1908: By now the quorums were on a ward level, and the First Presidency instructed that all worthy young men be ordained to the Priesthood, and schooled in its use as teens.  Boys from 11-18 received the priesthood, and generally stayed as deacons until they received the Melchizedek Priesthood.  The deacons were still custodians, not involved in the sacrament.
4. 1908-present.  The Aaronic Priesthood was restructured to be a preparatory priesthood for boys.  A worthy boy was ordained a deacon at around age 12, teacher at 15, priest at 18, and elder at 21.  Teachers and priests began to serve as junior home teachers, an apprentice to the Melchizedek Priesthood.  In the 1930s, an adult Aaronic Priesthood program was begun for converts and those returning to activity.  The ages of advancement changed back and forth a little over the years, and the age of ordination to a deacon was reduced to as young as age 11 in 2018 (Encyclopedia of Latter-day Saint History, Garr, et.al., p.1; Letter from First Presidency, December 14, 2018).

Our youth have tremendous priesthood opportunities and responsibilities that the youth of Joseph Smith’s day generally did not have.  As the youth have become more valiant, the priesthood ages have been reduced.  Or is it the other way around?  Elder James E. Talmage was in the early group of boys who were ordained to the Aaronic Priesthood.  His recollection of his ordination as a deacon was printed in the 1914 deacons’ instruction manual: 

“It seemed scarcely possible that I, a little boy, could be so honored of God as to be called to the Priesthood … The effect of my ordination … entered into all the affairs of my boyish life … When at play on the school grounds, and perhaps tempted to take unfair advantage in the game … I would remember … 'I am a deacon, and it is not right that a deacon should act in this way.'  On examination days, when it seemed easy for me to copy some other boy’s work … I would say in my mind, 'It would be more wicked for me to do that than it is for them, because I am a deacon'” (Incidents from the Lives of our Church Leaders [deacons’ instruction manual, 1914], pp.135-36, quoted in Gospel Doctrine manual).

And so the priesthood offers a great opportunity to our young men to begin to become godly at a young age.  (Read D&C 20:46-47.)

THE RESTORATION OF THE MELCHIZEDEK PRIESTHOOD

The Melchizedek Priesthood was restored the same spring that the Aaronic Priesthood was.  They are actually the same priesthood; the Aaronic is just a part of the Melchizedek.

LYMAN WIGHT, THE FIRST HIGH PRIEST

The first man ordained as a high priest, after Joseph and Oliver received the priesthood, was Lyman Wight.  This took place at the fourth general conference of the Church, June 3, 1831, one year after the church was organized.  There were 2,000 members in attendance. (In just one year since its inception!)  John Whitmer, the newly appointed Church historian, recorded: 

“[Joseph] laid his hands upon Lyman Wight and ordained him [a high priest] after the holy order of God.  And the Spirit fell upon Lyman, and he prophesied concerning the coming of Christ … He said the coming of the Savior should be like the sun rising in the east, and will cover the whole earth.  So with the coming of the Son of Man; yea, He will appear in His brightness and consume all [the wicked] before Him; and the hills will be laid low, and the valleys be exalted, and the crooked be made straight, and the rough smooth.   And some of my brethren shall suffer martyrdom for the sake of the religion of Jesus Christ, and seal their testimony of Jesus with their blood.  He saw the heavens opened and the Son of Man sitting on the right hand of the Father, making intercession for his brethren, the Saints.  He said that God would work a work in these last days that tongue cannot express and the mind is not capable to conceive.  The glory of the Lord shone around”  (History of the Church 1:175-176).

Lyman at times was an excellent example of a priesthood bearer and at other times he was a very poor example.  Let’s look at excellent first.  Read section heading to D&C 103.  Brother Wight had volunteered for this journey as a messenger, even though he only had three day’s provisions for the journey.  He knew the Saints needed the guidance of their Priesthood leader.  When he got to Joseph Smith, this is what the Lord told him to do.  Read D&C 103:30-34.  He then journeyed through Pennsylvania, New York, Indiana, Illinois, and Michigan – everywhere that there was a little pocket of Latter-day Saints – mustering volunteers for Zion’s Camp.  Then he marched in the camp himself, second in command to Joseph Smith, walking from Michigan to Clay County, Missouri, without stockings on his feet.

Photograph of Lyman Wight's second cabin 

at Adam-Ondi-Ahman (BYU archives)

Lyman Wight was a powerful example of bravery in defense of the faith and the prophet:

"While Brother Wight served in the Adam-Ondi-Ahman stake presidency, he was taken captive by the mob militia and charged with treason and murder.  The leader of the mob, General Wilson, said to him, 'Colonel Wight, we have nothing against you, only that you are associated with Joe Smith.  He is our enemy and a damned rascal.  If you will come out and swear against him, we will spare your life.'

"Lyman defiantly replied, 'Joseph Smith is not an enemy to mankind, he is not your enemy, and is as good a friend as you have got.  Had it not been for him, you would have been in hell long ago, for I should have sent you there, by cutting your throat, and no other man but Joseph Smith could have prevented me, and you may thank him for your life.'

"Wilson responded, 'Wight, you are a strange man; but if you will not accept my proposal, you will be shot tomorrow morning at 8.' 

"Lyman said, 'Shoot and be damned.'” (Susan Easton Black, Who’s Who in the Doctrine & Covenants, Bookcraft, 342-3).

He was not killed, but he was imprisoned for about a year, first chained to the prophet in the squalor of Richmond Jail, and then present in the horrible confinement of Liberty Jail.

In 1841, he was ordained an apostle.  In this capacity, his assignments were to help build the Nauvoo Temple and the Nauvoo House hotel.  He successfully carried out these assignments, and in the process, baptized 200 individuals in Kirtland and brought them to Nauvoo.

10 years earlier, when Brother Wight was called on a mission, the Lord gave him some counsel.  Read D&C 52:7-9.  The Lord knew this would be an especial problem for Brother Wight, for he underlined his statement in verse 12.  Read D&C 52:12.  Brother Wight had a lot of difficulty with false doctrine, especially later in his life.  He tended to be extremely outspoken, as we have seen illustrated in the story above, and sometimes caused great difficulties for the Saints with the opposition because of his outbursts. After the death of the prophet, he lead a splinter group of the Church (150 people) to Texas where he expected to convert many Lamanites and establish Zion.  Eventually, his fellowship was withdrawn from the Church in order to stop what was being called “The Texas Epidemic.”  He ended up aligning himself with the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (now known as the Community of Christ), believing Joseph Smith III to be the proper successor to his father.  He died of a sudden epileptic seizure in 1858.

Fortunately, Brother Wight is still alive on the other side of the veil, with more opportunities to learn about the power of godliness, and may well have advanced beyond any of us here.  The difficulties that those early Saints went through are impossible for us to imagine, but we might do well to learn from Brother Wight’s mistakes, as well as from his good works. Despite all the spiritual experiences and leadership opportunities we may have had, it is still possible for us to lose our commitment to the Church of Jesus Christ if we don't take care to follow the prophet.

CLASS SHARING

Ask the questions in “Invitation to Participate” again, and let class members share their feelings and stories.  If they do not take all the time, you can share the following story.

CHARLES W. ALLEN, A MODERN-DAY HIGH PRIEST

Brother Chuck Allen’s trade was woodworking, and his specialty antique reproduction.  He worked on Mark Twain’s boyhood home, among other places.  He was asked to build the 126 windows and the doors for the Nauvoo Temple in the original style.

When he was asked to do this, he was overjoyed; tears filled his eyes, and he rushed home to tell his family.  But the task was overwhelming.  He had to create windows that look historic, with the wavy glass and the square wooden pegs, while at the same time meeting the present-day building code.  There was no one for Brother Allen to ask for advice.  As he worked, he was enlightened, taught, and moved upon in so many small ways that he came to declare, “The Spirit knows woodworking.”

An example: One day, so overburdened and exhausted he had to clear his mind – he left the wood shop to drive to Keokuk to get some dog food.  He had been mulling over how to create the star-patterned windows at the top of the temple.  “And suddenly, in 1/100^th of a second, I saw it,” he said, “the picture of a poly wood ring about four inches wide that slips over five posts that I could use to mark the ends of my star points.” For the one interior and 126 exterior windows, 16,000 pieces were required with each piece taking an average of 25 steps.  These steps had to be accomplished in a tight, unyielding time frame.

One day, as he entered his wood shop, the enormity of the task hit him.  “Can I pull this thing off?”  he asked himself.  The Spirit answered, “You’re not pulling anything off.  You’re just a tool in the process.  This is the Lord’s program.”

This was not the first time in Brother Allen's life that he had to rely upon the Lord to tell him how to navigate an overwhelming mission. When Brother Allen and his wife were a young married couple with two babies, they discovered that their oldest, their first-born son who was 18 months old, had cystic fibrosis.  This is a horrible disease which coats the lungs in fibers.  The suffering is intense, and the expectation was that the baby would not live to see his fourth birthday.  It is a genetically-transmitted disease which Brother and Sister Allen had not been aware they carried.  They immediately made a decision not to have any more children, since there was the distinct possibility that they might pass on to them suffering and early death.

Brother Allen wrote, “Yet, as time passed, I came to realize that this mortal life is the time that my wife and I have been given to organize our eternal family, and we needed to reconsider our initial feelings and decision.  I felt that we needed to go forward with trust and accept whatever challenges the Lord had in store for us … I presented this priesthood understanding to my sweetheart and she readily agreed.”

Over the years, they had a total of six children.  The fifth one, a daughter, also was born with the disease.  For a 30-year period, they cared for and prepared their two terminally ill children for their passing. (See Charles W. Allen, Children of Promise, Allyn House Publishing)

 “That responsibility created an environment in our home that was unlike any I had ever known or been acquainted with.  Your normal and petty concerns don’t seem important … Every day in those thirty years that I left home for work, I wondered if a child would be gone by the time I returned that evening.  These experiences tend to get your attention…

“Our son progressed long past his fourth year with the blessings of new techniques and medication and passed away a few days short of his sixteenth birthday … Not long after my son’s passing, I was fearful that our sweet little six-year-old daughter would be passing away soon, so I felt that our family would be better off moving from Missouri, where we lived at the time, to the valley east of Spokane where I was raised and had numerous long-time family friends.  I made the trip to my boyhood area to check things out and felt convinced that we needed to make the move … Our [family] decision was unanimous [to move at the end of the school year].

“A little more than a month later, the stake president, Dell E. Johnson, called to say he wanted to meet with me after church the following Sunday … [He told me that he had heard about the pending move and thought it would be a mistake.  I replied that I was confident in my family’s decision, that I knew that I could serve the Lord wherever he lived.  [President Johnson] hesitated and looked down at the floor momentarily as I sat there with my arms folded, feeling good about the firmness of my stand and decision.  He then looked up and into my eyes and said, ‘Sometimes we make decisions that remove us from the blessings of our foreordination.’  I instantly realized that this visit went to a different level and it was a shock to my understanding.  I asked him, ‘Are you telling me by the authority you hold as the stake president and my High Priest Quorum president that it is the Lord’s will that I not move?’

“He softly answered, ‘Yes, I am.’  When he said that, I knew immediately there was no room for questions.”

The early Saints were often told where to move and what to do by their Priesthood leaders.  This seldom happens to us in the 21st century.

To continue in Brother Allen’s words, “I have my free agency, that is true, but the greatest thing I can do with my free agency is to make choices that will place me and my family in line for the greater blessings and to conform with the will of the Lord.”

Brother Allen was called as branch president, and later as bishop, and was able to help members with terminal conditions because of his experiences. The Allens’ daughter had the advantage of additional research, and lived to the age of 19.  Although it was difficult, Brother Allen chose to speak at her funeral so that he could teach his remaining children.  “I wanted them to know that when they are confronted with a choice, that they could not consider taking the path of least resistance, for there are no character-building opportunities and celestial rewards down that road.” (From an article by Meridian Magazine at ldsmag.com. The original article is no longer online.) Brother Allen passed away in 2013 (Obituary, Hancock County Journal-Pilot, April 17, 2013).

CONCLUSION

Joseph Smith might have been the only one of his day who actually viewed the enormity of the task that faced the early church.  He saw the vision, the whole scope of the project.  But he also saw the majesty of the Priesthood, the greatest tool that ever was.

It doesn’t matter whether we are men or women, we function in the church under the power of the Priesthood.  Through the Priesthood, all of us have the opportunity to be forgiven, all of us have access to the Holy Ghost, all of us fulfill our callings, all of us can make temple covenants.  All the blessings of the Priesthood are available to all of us, and as the Priesthood enhances our efforts, we become the most powerful tools in the Lord’s hands, able to accomplish anything, if we only remember, as Brother Allen stated, “This is the Lord’s program.”

For more on women's role in relation to the priesthood, see my sacrament meeting talk.

For more on Blacks and the priesthood, see my blog post and this BYU Studies article.

Doctrine and Covenants 10-11

Hearing the Voice of the Lord

It’s time to play “Jeopardy” again!  It will be like the American TV game show, except the questions are not trivial.  Here's how the game goes: You give an answer, and your family members or class members have to guess what the question is. If they can't figure it out, give them the reference so they can look it up. The first answer tells us our topic.

Answer: According to the Bible Dictionary, without it, all would be guesswork, darkness, and confusion.

Question: What is revelation?

“Continuous revelation from God to his saints…makes possible daily guidance along true paths and leads the faithful soul to complete and eternal salvation in the celestial kingdom… Without revelation, all would be guesswork, darkness, and confusion.”  (Bible Dictionary, p. 762)

Answer: Quoting Joseph Smith, “God hath not revealed anything to Joseph, but what He will make known unto the Twelve, and even [this person] may know all things as he is able to bear them.”  (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, p. 149)

Question: Who is the least saint?

You and I are the least saints.  We are able to receive as much revelation as we can prepare for.  The topic of this game is one that we need to understand or we really will be in spiritual jeopardy! That topic is how to prepare to receive revelation.

Answer: In 1991, he said, “No one of us can survive in the world of today, much less in what it soon will become, without personal inspiration.”  (Conference, Oct ’91)

Question: Who is Boyd K. Packer?

Our lesson outlines six steps to take us from confusion to revelation.

1. Study the matter in your mind

Answer: According to Joseph Smith, this man became “exceedingly anxious to have the power to translate bestowed upon him.”

Question: Who is Oliver Cowdery?

Section 8 is the Lord’s answer to Oliver’s request to translate.  He said yes.  Read aloud D&C 8:1, 10-11.  What happened with Oliver Cowdery and his desire to translate?  (He was not able to do so immediately, so he gave up and went back to being scribe.  The Lord then took away the gift from him, without his ever having learned how to exercise it.  The Lord did not criticize him, but used the incident to teach him about revelation.)

The Lord had told him that according to his faith it would be done.

Oliver had faith!  Oliver Cowdery had a testimony of Joseph Smith as a prophet.  He knew that God had answered the question in a glorious way.  He had the faith to inquire of God himself.

He went to Pennsylvania to meet Joseph and found himself immediately acting as a scribe for him, having only known Joseph for a matter of days.  What he did not know about was the other half of faith: all the work Joseph had exercised along with his belief. 

In Joseph Smith-History, Joseph describes the prayer that initiated the Restoration in 2 verses (JS-H 1:15-16).  In 4 verses he describes the answer he received – the First Vision (JS-H 1:17-20).  But he spends 8 verses describing the time spent studying the problem in his mind (JS-H 1:8-15). 

Point out these words: serious reflection, great uneasiness, I attended…as often as occasion would permit, in process of time, at length…he even thought ahead about what place would be the best place to offer his prayer.

When it came to translating the golden plates, Oliver came into the picture at the point where Joseph was translating so fast that Oliver hardly had time to dip his pen in the ink.  It looked so easy.  But he had not been there to see the months that Joseph had spent learning to translate, poring over the characters, looking for similar ones, doodling with them on paper, struggling to learn what they meant. (More on that below.)  It’s like going to a concert and hearing a great violinist play a masterwork.  We may say, “I’d give half my life to play like that,” when that, in fact, is what the violinist has done.  We don’t see the preparation, the work, the frustration, the years of lessons.  We just see how easy it looks now.

Write THINK-STUDY-WORK. 

Read aloud D&C 9:7-10.

The Lord kindly took away the gift from him without his having learned how to use it, and left in its place a great lesson for him and for all of us.

The scripture said,“If you had known this…”  So why didn’t the Lord tell him when he started to translate?

To answer this question, I'll tell a story. When our daughter, Camille, was six, she wanted to use a Bible flannel board kit we had bought for her part of family night.  However, she wanted to use some of the pictures that had not been cut out yet.  And she wanted to cut them out herself.  I knew that those flannel board figures were really hard to cut out.  But I also knew Camille.  I knew that it would do no good to tell her that it was too hard for her.  So I just let go ahead and try.

She cut out about two or three little pieces and discovered for herself that it was really hard.  She was no longer anxious to do it.

When Oliver saw how hard it was, like Camille with the flannel board figures, like us with a great concerto, he decided he really didn’t want to do it that badly, and he went back to being a scribe.

Our manual tells us the Lord expects us to be active, not passive, as we seek revelation from Him.  We grow as we use the gifts and resources he has provided to help us study matters out in our minds.

2. Ponder on the scriptures and words of prophets

Answer: Dallin H Oaks said, “[It] may … lead to current revelation on whatever [subject] the Lord wishes to communicate to the reader at that time.”

Question: What is scripture reading?

Elder Oaks says further, “We do not overstate that point when we say that the scriptures can be a Urim and Thummim to assist each of us to receive personal revelation.

“Because we believe that scripture reading can help us receive revelation, we are encouraged to read the scriptures again and again.  By this means, we obtain access to what our Heavenly Father would have us know and do in our personal lives today.  That is one reason Latter-day Saints believe in daily scripture study” (Dallin H. Oaks, "Scripture Reading and Revelation," Ensign, Jan. 1995, 8).

Answer: If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given unto him.

Question: What is James 1:5?

Elder Boyd K. Packer says, “No message appears in scriptures more times, in more ways than, ‘Ask, and ye shall receive.’”  (Conference, Oct. ’91)

3. Inquire of the Lord in faith

Answer: The act by which the will of the Father and the will of the child are brought into correspondence with each other (Bible Dictionary, 752).

Question: What is prayer?

“The object of prayer is not to change the will of God, but to secure for ourselves and for others blessings that God is already willing to grant, but that are made conditional on our asking for them.  Blessings require some work or effort on our part before we can obtain them.  Prayer is a form of work” (BD, 753).

4. Be obedient and serve God

Answer: Elder Dallin H. Oaks taught that this is the way to revelation.

Question: What is righteousness?

He also said, “We cannot have the companionship of the Holy Ghost – the medium of individual revelation – if we are in transgression or if we are angry or if we are in rebellion against God’s chosen authorities” (Dallin H. Oaks, "Teaching and Learning by the Spirit," Ensign, Mar. 1997, 9).

5. Be meek and humble

Answer: The state of mind in which Joseph found he could not translate “a single syllable.”

Question: What is anger (or pride)?

David Whitmer recalled that one morning when Joseph Smith was getting ready to resume translating the Book of Mormon, “something went wrong about the house and he was put out about it.  Something that Emma, his wife, had done.  Oliver and I went upstairs and Joseph came up soon after to continue the translation but he could not do anything.  He could not translate a single syllable.  He went downstairs, out into the orchard, and made supplication to the Lord; was gone about an hour – came back to the house, and asked Emma’s forgiveness and then came upstairs where we were and then the translation went on all right.  He could do nothing save he was humble and faithful” (B. H. Roberts, Comprehensive History of the Church, 1:131).

6. Focus on the things of God rather than the things of the world

Answer: According to Elder Boyd K. Packer, inspiration comes more easily in this type of setting.

Question: What is peaceful?

“[The] trend to more noise, more excitement, more contention, less restraint, less dignity, less formality is not coincidental nor innocent nor harmless …

“The first order issued by a commander mounting a military invasion is the jamming of the channels of communication of those he intends to conquer.

“Irreverence suits the purposes of the adversary by obstructing the delicate channels of revelation in both mind and spirit” (Conference, Oct. 1991).

Elder Neal A. Maxwell said, “Divine guidance is so crucial … that we need to go out of our way to put ourselves in a situation in which such special help can be given” (Neal A. Maxwell, Wherefore Ye Must Press Forward, Deseret Book, 121).

A Timeline of the Marvelous Translation of the Book of Mormon

(Follow this link for a painting of Joseph Smith Translating by Anthony Sweat)

Joseph Smith had the spiritual gift of translation of an unknown language in order to give the world the gift of the Book of Mormon.  He was given the gift of translation when he was given the plates, but he had to develop that gift.  It is a fascinating and instructive example of the work required by the Lord of one who receives a spiritual gift. Oliver Cowdery came into the process of translation near the end. He didn't observe the year and a half of time and effort that had gone into the training of Joseph Smith's gift. Hence, he was surprised when he could not translate as easily.


Draw a timeline dating from September 1827 to June 1829, with individual months marked above the timeline.  As you read about each event below, mark an X on the timeline.

• Sept. 27, 1827: Joseph Smith received the plates.  For three months he almost daily dug them up and reburied them to keep them hidden from his enemies until he found a safe situation.
• Dec. 1827:  For the next three months, he practiced translating, until he finally had some characters figured out.
• Feb. 1828:  Martin Harris took the finished characters to Professor Charles Anthon in New York City for verification of the translation.
• Apr. 12, 1828:  The translation began in earnest with Martin as the scribe.  In two months and two days, the Book of Lehi was completed.
• June 14, 1828:  Martin Harris took the Book of Lehi (116 pages) to show his wife. They were stolen.  The gift of translation was removed from Joseph Smith, as were the plates themselves and the Urim and Thummim.
• Sept. 22, 1828:  After a three month period of repentance, all was restored to Joseph Smith, but there were no fruits to the effort so far.  Joseph started back at ground zero re-developing and relearning the gift for six months (twice as long as before).
• Apr. 7, 1829:  Oliver Cowdery began as scribe and translation once again began in earnest, probably at the Book of 1 Nephi. (Alternatively, he could have picked up at the Book of Mosiah, where he left off. Mosiah is obviously missing the first couple of chapters of the original record, since it does not start with a heading or an introduction, as do all the other books. This alternative chronology is noted in parentheses.)
• May 15, 1829:  Mosiah 18:8-10 (or 3 Nephi 11) was reached, and in answer to prayer regarding the passage, John the Baptist appeared to Joseph and Oliver and they were baptized.
• June 1, 1829:  Joseph had moved to Fayette, NY and reached Ether 5 (or if he started over, 2 Nephi 27) where he read about the importance of three witnesses, whereupon he prayed for witnesses to the Book of Mormon, and his prayer was answered.
• June 11, 1829:  The Book of Mormon was finished and the copyright was obtained.  Joseph had translated the entire book in 60-65 days, a rate of 3,100 words per day!  Although Oliver Cowdery had excellent penmanship, you can see from the photograph below that he had to write sloppily because of the great speed required as Joseph dictated.

Joseph Smith asked Oliver Cowdery to make him a copy.  It took Oliver three times as long to copy it as it took for Joseph Smith to dictate it.

(Sources: Bruce Woolley, lecture, Campus Education Week, Brigham Young University, August 19, 1999, personal notes 4:31; John W. Welch, Opening the Heavens: Accounts of Divine Manifestations 1820-1844, chapter 3; Paul Wheeler, personal study notes given to author.)

We, Too, Can Hear the Voice of the Lord

12 And now, verily, verily, I say unto thee, put your trust in that Spirit which leadeth to do good—yea, to do justly, to walk humbly, to judge righteously; and this is my Spirit.

13 Verily, verily, I say unto you, I will impart unto you of my Spirit, which shall enlighten your mind, which shall fill your soul with joy;

14 And then shall ye know, or by this shall you know, all things whatsoever you desire of me, which are pertaining unto things of righteousness, in faith believing in me that you shall receive.

Quoting Pres. Gordon B. Hinckley, “Of all the great and wonderful and inspiring promises I have read, the most reassuring to me are the words of the Savior: ‘Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and you shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you.’ (Matthew 7:7) … Let us never forget to pray.  God lives.  He is near.  He is real.  He is our Father.  He is accessible to us’” (Ensign, Jan. 1994, p. 2).

President Russell M. Nelson has made the clarion call in his time as prophet to be that we learn to hear the voice of the Lord in our own lives. Here is his personal message to all of us: Hear Him!

Bonus Story: “Turn Here!”

This story from the February 2001 Ensign, pp. 35-37, illustrates how each of the steps (except scripture reading) were used by a police officer who was a member of the Church in his amazing rescue of an accidentally kidnapped infant.