Doctrine and Covenants 106-108

Rather than focus specifically on the verses and history of Sections 106-108, which are about priesthood and its order, I am going to focus this post on how to use priesthood in our everyday lives as women and men of God. (Also because I spent all my time this week preparing this for a sacrament meeting talk in the married student ward in which I serve and received a great deal of enlightenment personally as I did so.)

THE ORDER OF THE PRIESTHOOD

The oath and covenant of the priesthood can be found in Doctrine and Covenants 84:33-44. Here is the first part of it.

“For whoso is faithful unto the obtaining these two priesthoods of which I have spoken [Melchizedek and Aaronic], and the magnifying their calling, are sanctified by the Spirit unto the renewing of their bodies.

“They become the sons [and daughters—the present temple ceremony shows us this term is neutral] of Moses and of Aaron and the seed of Abraham, and the church and kingdom, and the elect of God.

“And also all they who receive this priesthood receive me, saith the Lord;

“For he that receiveth my servants receiveth me;

“And he that receiveth me receiveth my Father;

“And he that receiveth my Father receiveth my Father’s kingdom; therefore all that my Father hath shall be given unto him.

“And this is according to the oath and covenant which belongeth to the priesthood.

“Therefore, all those who receive the priesthood, receive this oath and covenant of my Father, which he cannot break, neither can it be moved” (D&C 84:33-41).

Elder M. Russell Ballard has told us, “The blessings and promises of the oath and covenant of the priesthood pertain to both men and women” (M. Russell Ballard, Visiting Teaching Message, Ensign, April 2014).

SO WHAT IS THE OATH?

The oath comes from God our Father, an immutable promise that the ordinances that issue from the Melchizedek Priesthood will save and exalt us. (See Heb. 7:21.)

THE COVENANT

The covenant is the promise we make with God to use priesthood power to gather, unite, and sanctify our family and His entire family through the saving ordinances offered through His Restored Church. This is the New and Everlasting Covenant of the Gospel, the highest order of which is the New and Everlasting Covenant of Marriage.

President Ezra Taft Benson said, “Adam and his posterity were commanded by God to be baptized, to receive the Holy Ghost, and to enter into the order of the Son of God… This order is…an order of family government where a man and woman enter into a covenant with God—just as did Adam and Eve—to be sealed for eternity, to have posterity, and to do the will and work of God throughout their mortality” (ETB, August 1985 Ensign).

President Oaks tell us, “The Church exists to provide the doctrine, the authority, and the ordinances necessary to perpetuate family relationships into the eternities” (DHO, April 2020 General Conference).

My husband created this visual of the scaffolding currently around the Salt Lake Temple which illustrates this idea perfectly. The scaffolding is like the Church priesthood organization that supports and strengthens the family priesthood organization.

Please feel free to copy or print this.

FAMILIAL PRIESTHOOD

When we enter into the Fulness of the Melchizedek Priesthood in the temple, we enter into a Family Priesthood and we covenant, with our temple sealing, to bring spirit sons and daughters to earth and nurture them to return to our Heavenly Parents.

Elder Oaks said, “The greatest power God has given to His sons cannot be exercised without the companionship of one of His daughters, because only to His daughters has God given the power ‘to be a creator of bodies’” (General Conference April 2014). But His daughters also cannot do it without His sons.

In the conception of a child, a mother and a father are the conductors of priesthood power, connecting heaven and earth and physically facilitating the entry of a spirit child into an earthly body. In pregnancy, childbirth, and infancy, ideally, a mother’s body creates an environment of safety and nourishes the baby as it grows through the power of God.

My husband and I have had the marvelous privilege of being parents through biology, through adoption, and through guardianships. In every instance, we can testify that priesthood power accompanied the entrance of that child into our family.

ECCLESIASTICAL PRIESTHOOD

Just as priesthood power in the family brings spirit children to earth and ideally into family life, priesthood power in the Church brings humans back to God. As there is only one way to enter earth life—in a family—there is only one way to enter the Celestial Kingdom: being reborn into the Family of God, the House of Israel. We do this by entering into the New and Everlasting Covenant of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and accepting all the ordinances carried out by those authorized and ordained with priesthood authority. After this life (which includes earth life and spirit world life), Christ’s ultimate priesthood power allows the spirit to re-enter a now glorified resurrected physical body.

PRIESTHOOD AUTHORITY

Priesthood authority is an order of stewardships that helps you know who you can trust as authorized leaders to receive revelation for the Church or for you. It also makes sure that everyone has a link to priesthood blessings.

Priesthood keys are the authority to give authority. “Whoever functions in an office or calling received from one who holds priesthood keys exercises priesthood authority in performing her or his assigned duties” (DHO 2014).

For example, our ward chorister can receive revelation by virtue of priesthood authority about which hymn to sing when it is particularly important. Last week in our ward, the speaker had hoped and prayed that “Have I Done Any Good in the World Today?” might be sung in the meeting to emphasize the message of her talk, but asking for a hymn change at the last minute is insensitive to the practice efforts of the organist. The chorister, however, had previously been inspired to choose that very hymn. This is priesthood authority exercised in a Church calling.

As spouses and parents, we also have familial priesthood authority. We can receive revelation for our family members and the spirit can ratify it to them. Can you think of times in your life that those in stewardship over you have guided you through revelation?

HOW PRIESTHOOD OPERATES

To the woman at the well in Samaria, Jesus Christ offered living water. Water was the greatest force known to ancient Israel. They didn’t know about electricity or jet propulsion. But they knew about water and its mighty power—to heal, to give and sustain life, and to change the shape of the land.

The Priesthood is a living power, a flow from God through humans to other humans, linking them back to God. A person ordained to the priesthood is not really a priesthood “holder” but a priesthood bearer, a conductor through which God’s power can flow to others. Knowing this is essential to understanding how to call upon this power. You have never heard anyone—not even a prophet of the Lord—say, “I was terribly sick, but fortunately I hold the Priesthood so I gave myself a blessing.”

The key to using priesthood power is the desire to bless others. It’s an inverted pyramid scheme, with Christ at the point on the bottom serving everyone who ever lived. In our ward, the Bishop and the Relief Society president are at the bottom. In the home, it’s the parents, forgoing their wants for their children’s needs. You are more like Christ when you are at the bottom, washing feet and faces, stopping issues of blood, looking for those on the fringes, watching for prodigals to return, giving even your body for others. This is where the real joy is: in helping others to progress. This is God’s work and His glory.

The rules for using priesthood power are clearly laid out in D&C 121:

The short version is to:

“Let thy bowels also be full of charity towards all men, and to the household of faith, and let virtue garnish thy thoughts unceasingly;

“THEN shall thy confidence wax strong in the presence of God; and the doctrine of the priesthood shall distil upon thy soul as the dews from heaven. The Holy Ghost shall be thy constant companion, and thy scepter an unchanging scepter of righteousness and truth; and thy dominion shall be an everlasting dominion, and without compulsory means it shall FLOW unto thee forever and ever” (D&C 121:45-46).

PRIESTCRAFT

Satan will try to influence you into abandoning your covenants, your priesthood power. I guarantee it. He will do this through priestcraft. Priestcraft is not a flow of power to others but a hoarding of power to oneself. This is contrary to the nature of God. Study the Book of Mormon carefully to recognize priestcraft. Never give up your covenants, no matter what!

Signs that you are being influenced by priestcraft include desires that are focused on yourself.

• The desire to have more authority.
• The desire to refute, negate, or counter those authorized by Christ
• The desire to keep autonomy rather than basing your life’s purpose on the growth of your family.
• The desire to be negative: cynical, critical, sarcastic, pessimistic.
• The desire to be seen in a positive “light” by those of the world, rather than by the light of Christ.
• The desire to think in terms of “us” and “them.”
• The desire to rush revelation rather than study, prepare, and wait for it to come in the Lord’s time.
• The desire to avoid forgiving offense and hold onto pain instead of handing it to Christ. 

Rather than being shocked by new information that challenges your viewpoint of the Church or the gospel, get excited! Revelation comes in response to questions. This is your chance to “level up!” If you are interested enough to ask and motivated enough to study and trusting enough to wait for answers, God knows you have the capacity to receive and be responsible for the answers.

In a similar vein, do not think there is something wrong when you have problems. You will have lots of big problems! Our purpose on earth is to solve problems as we covenant with God, receive priesthood power, use it to bless others, and draw heaven and earth together in one eternal family. This brings great joy (eventually if not immediately).

CHALLENGE

General Relief Society President Linda K. Burton issued this call to every female member of the Church through the Visiting Teaching Message in April 2014: “I invite you to memorize the oath and covenant of the priesthood, which can be found in Doctrine and Covenants 84:33-44. By doing so, I promise you that the Holy Ghost will expand your understanding of the priesthood and inspire and uplift you in wonderful ways” (Visiting Teaching Message, Ensign, April 2014).

President Linda K. Burton

To ensure that this call reached every woman in the Church, President Burton’s invitation and promise was quoted in General Conference that month by Elder Oaks (April 2014).

President Nelson restated the call to women to study the Oath and Covenant of the Priesthood in the October 2019 General Conference. You men, of course, have also been encouraged to memorize the Oath and Covenant of the Priesthood. If we have the oath and covenant memorized, we can take it to the temple with us and learn more from the blessings there.

Recently President Nelson has said, “The heavens are just as open to women who are endowed with God’s power flowing from their priesthood covenants as they are to men who bear the priesthood. I pray that truth will register upon each of your hearts because I believe it will change your life” (RMN, “Spiritual Treasures,” October 2019 General Conference).

THE MELCHIZEDEK FAMILIAL PRIESTHOOD IN THE NEW TESTAMENT

After his resurrection, Jesus Christ appeared to his followers and invited them to accept “the promise [the oath] of the Father” if they would tarry in Jerusalem until they were “endued with power from on high” (Luke 24:49).

“[The 11 remaining disciples then] went up into an upper room [and] continued with one accord in prayer and supplication, with the women, and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brethren” (Acts 1:13-15). The congregation numbered about 120. They kept their sacramental covenant to meet together to worship and remember Christ.

At the day of Pentecost, 50 days after the Passover during which Jesus was crucified, this same group “were all with one accord in one place.” (Acts 2:1). The sound of the power of God came as a rushing wind and filled the house where they were sitting and “cloven tongues like as of fire…sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance” (Acts 2:2-4). Word of this spread and many came to see.

Peter announced to them, “This is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel; and it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams: and on my servants and on my handmaidens I will pour out in those days of my Spirit…” (Acts 2:16-18).

“Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added about 3,000 souls” (Acts 2:41). Notice the genderless term “souls” instead of “men.”

TESTIMONY

I add my testimony to President Nelson’s, President Oaks’, and President Burton’s that an ongoing effort to better understand and experience priesthood power in our families and in our callings will change our lives and the lives of those we influence. It will insulate us against the power of the Adversary and fortify us to meet the challenges life will hold for us with faith and confidence in the Lord. If we cling to our covenants, we will experience the incredible joy of union with our Heavenly Parents and family.

Additional source: Barbara Gardner, The Priesthood Power of Women: In the Temple, Church, and Family, Deseret Book, 2019

Doctrine and Covenants 102-105

 ZION'S CAMP

Parley P. Pratt and Lyman Wight took an arduous journey from Jackson to Kirtland to report the persecutions to Joseph Smith, arriving on February 22, 1834.  The Prophet said he would go to redeem Zion and the High Council ratified this decision.  30-40 of the men present volunteered.  "That same day Joseph Smith received a revelation concerning the recruitment and size of this army...They were to recruit a company of 500 men if possible--but no fewer than 100...(see D&C 103:11,15,22,29-40)"  Pairs of missionaries headed off to the branches in the eastern states to recruit.  The result was not favorable.  Joseph was displeased.  Better success was found in Kirtland.  On the appointed day, May 1, only 20 people were ready to go on the 1,000-mile march.  They started off.  May 5, over 80 joined them with Joseph Smith as commander.  They mustered a few more recruits on the way, and by the time the various camps joined on June 8th, there was a total of 207 men, 11 women, 11 children and 25 baggage wagons.

The march was as challenging as most army marches:  The men walked beside the wagons carrying packs and guns.  They often marched 35 miles a day in the oppressive heat and humidity.  They suffered hunger, thirst and blisters.  They woke at 4:00 a.m. to the bugle call.  Feeding and watering the group was very challenging.  Sometimes the best they had was rancid butter, maggot-infested bacon, rotten ham, cornmeal mush...Sometimes they had to drive swamp water full of mosquito larvae, which they strained with their teeth.  (Ewww!)  Although they drank milk while marching through an area that was infected with "milk sickness" and "puking fever," the Prophet promised they would not get the sicknesses and they didn't.

Often they were frightened by the threats of enemies around them.  They tried to keep their identity and purpose a secret.  When marching through Indianapolis under great threat, the Prophet promised they would be safe.  They divided into small groups and all got through the city undetected.

"Potential enemies notwithstanding, quarreling and contention within the camp became its most vexing problem..."  (Church History in the Fulness of Times, p. 141-145)

The following are some notes on the bickering and fighting that occurred within the camp:

"Sylvester [Smith] is remembered for his quarrelsome spirit on the march with Zion’s Camp. His criticism of camp leaders for the way in which they prepared for the journey, and his complaints about the strain on the men and teams pulling the heavy wagons, sparked dissension."  (Susan Easton Black, Who's Who in the Doctrine and Covenants, Sylvester Smith entry.)

Levi Hancock, Wilford Woodruff: The Prophet confronted him about it…[and] Sylvester defiantly replied that “even if Joseph Smith was a prophet he was not afraid and would contradict him in the face of all present.” (Autobiography of Levi Hancock, and journal of Wilford Woodruff, quoted in Black, Who’s Who in the Doctrine and Covenants, p. 298)

George A. Smith: On Wednesday, 14^th of May, we had been unable to obtain sufficient baking and cooking utensils, and as our commissary had been disappointed in getting a supply of bread…we began to be straitened for the staff of life. Men were sent on to Bellefontaine to have a supply baked by the time we should arrive, and although every measure practicable had been taken, Sylvester Smith  murmured against the Prophet because the Camp was not supplied with bread…

May 16^th: During the day being very much fatigued with carrying my musket I put it into the baggage wagon, which was customary, and when I arrived at camp in the evening my gun could not be found. This circumstance was exceedingly mortifying to me and many of the brethren accused me of carelessness, and ridiculed me about loading my gun. Jenkins Salisbury took the most pleasure in ridiculing me for my carelessness. I afterwards learned…that the gun was pawned for whiskey by one of our company, and have always believed that Jenkins Salisbury, who was very fond of the good creature, disposed of it in that way. (George A. Smith, “My Journal,” The Instructor, 81, [1946] 78, 95)

Wilford Woodruff: We were followed by spies hundreds of miles to find out the object of our mission. We had some boys in the camp. George A. Smith was among the youngest. When they could get him alone they would question him, thinking that he looked green enough for them to get what they wanted out of him. (Smith, History of the Church, 2:67)

Joseph Smith: The 17^th of May we crossed the state line of Ohio, and encamped for the Sabbath just within the limits of Indiana, having traveled about forty miles that day…We had our sentinels posted every night, on account of spies who were continually striving to harass us, steal our horses, etc.

This evening there was a difficulty between some of the brethren and Sylvester Smith…Finding a rebellious spirit in Sylvester Smith, and to some extent in others, I told them they would meet with misfortunes, difficulties and hindrances and said, “and you will know it before you leave this place,” exhorting them to humble themselves before the Lord and become united, that they might not be scourged… On Sunday morning [the following], when we arose, we found almost every horse in the camp so badly foundered that we could scarcely lead them a few rods to the water. The brethren then deeply realized the effects of discord. When I learned the fact, I exclaimed to the brethren, that for a witness that God overruled and had His eye upon them, all those who would humble themselves before the Lord should know that the hand of God was in this misfortune, and their horses would be restored to health immediately; and by twelve o’clock the same day the horses were as nimble as ever, with the exception of one of Sylvester Smith’s, which soon afterwards died. (HC 2:68-69)

George A. Smith: The Prophet Joseph took a full share of the fatigues of the entire journey…While most of the men in the camp complained to him of sore toes, blistered feet, long drives, scanty supply and provisions, poor quality of bread, bad corndodger, frozen butter, strong honey, maggoty bacon and cheese, etc., even a dog could not bark at some men without their murmuring at Joseph. If they had to camp with bad water, it would nearly cause a rebellion, yet we were in the Camp of Zion, and many of us were prayerless, thoughtless, careless, heedless, foolish or devilish, and yet we did not know it. Joseph had to bear with us, and tutor us, his children. (Memoirs of George A. Smith, p. 25)

Heber C. Kimball: June 3rd: While we were refreshing ourselves and teams, about the middle of the day, Brother Joseph got up in a wagon and said that he would deliver a prophecy…the Lord had told him that there would be a scourge come upon the camp in consequence of the fractious and unruly spirits that appeared among them, and they would die like sheep with the rot; still if they would repent and humble themselves before the Lord, the scourge in a great measure might be turned away, “but, as the Lord lives, this camp will suffer for giving way to their unruly temper.” (Whitney, Life of Heber C. Kimball, p. 47-48)

Joseph Smith: At the commencement [of the cholera attack], I attempted to lay on hands for their recovery, but I quickly learned by painful experience, that when the great Jehovah decrees destruction on any people, and makes known His determination, man must not attempt to stay His hand. The moment I attempted to rebuke the disease I was attacked, and had I not desisted in my attempt to save the life of a brother, I would have sacrificed my own. (HC 2:114)

BIRTH OF LEADERSHIP

Although Zion was not redeemed, because the Saints clearly were not ready, and Zion's Camp returned home apparently unsuccessful, the future leadership of the Church was refined and purified through the march.  Nine of the Twelve Apostles and all of the Seventy were chosen from Zion's Camp.

As Joseph Smith said, "Brethren, some of you are angry with me, because you did not fight in Missouri; but let me tell you, God did not want you to fight.  He could not organize His kingdom with twelve men to open the Gospel door to the nations of the earth, and with seventy men under the direction to follow in their tracks, unless He took them from a body of men who had offered their lives, and who had made as great a sacrifice as did Abraham"  (HC 2:182)

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.

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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.)