D&C 6:12-37

I’ve been thinking about the concept of preaching repentance first, and there have been a few interesting insights. The first is that while reading the scriptures with my kids, we are to the part where Alma gives up the judgment seat and goes to preach the gospel to the people. The people in Zarahemla weren’t super interested in what he had to say, so his message was very simple. The chapter synopsis for Alma 5 says, “To gain salvation, men must repent and keep the commandments, be born again, cleanse their garments through the blood of Christ, be humble and strip themselves of pride and envy, and do the works of righteousness- the Good Shepherd calls his people- Those who do evil works are children of the devil- Alma testifies of the truth of his doctrine and commands men to repent- The names of the righteous will be written in the book of life.” These are very simple principles that he teaches, basically repentance, baptism, humility, and keeping the commandments. The people in Gideon are remarkably more righteous than those in Zarahemla, and still their message is “Those who repent, are baptized, and keep the commandments will have eternal life- Filthiness cannot inherit the kingdom of God- Humility, faith, hope, and charity are required.” To the very righteous, the requirements and teachings are the same. It’s interesting because the “mysteries of God” are things that cannot be known unless revealed by God, that’s an individual growth thing, that’s something that is hands on tutoring by the Lord. But before the Lord can reveal the mysteries of the gospel, we have to not only have a firm foundation of faith, repentance, and humility but we have to stand firmly on it. The angel who told Alma to go back to Ammonihah “commands him to return and cry repentance unto the people.” The other interesting insight I had was while listening to a book called “Your Endowment” that starts by giving an parable of a woman who received a bunch puzzle pieces in the mail, but without a complete picture to work off of, “this puzzle quickly proved frustrating.” Then she receives a “beautiful picture with no other explanation. Although it was beautiful, she had never seen anything like it before. She didn’t know what to think. So, even though it was a beautiful picture, it meant little to her because it was so different and unfamiliar. As with the package she received earlier, she soon lost interest and put it away.” When I heard this analogy, I thought immediately of what we discussed yesterday, about how something incredible and miraculous could be overlooked and have no impact on someone who doesn’t already believe. I also considered the commandment to preach repentance from the stand point of God being the ultimate psychologist. He knows us better than we know ourselves, he knows the human mind with remarkable clarity, he knows how to teach us and convince us in a way that builds a strong and firm foundation of faith. There are many parts to the puzzle and the book says, “The first lesson to be learned about the temple is that Jesus Christ is the most important piece of the puzzle. He fits right in the middle of the puzzle and extends through every other piece… As we identify and fit the pieces together, they will all point to the Savior and His Atonement. Simply put, coming to the temple is coming to Christ.” I thought about a puzzle like our faith, our testimonies, I thought about the different aspects of faith and the gospel and visualized them in terms of a puzzle and pieces of that puzzle. For instance, if Christ is at the center of the puzzle, that means that He is the most important part of the picture, he’s the one who makes the picture beautiful and gives it purpose, which really is true. Christ and the atonement is what gives us purpose and meaning and beauty in our lives. But when starting with a puzzle, what are the pieces that you put together first? First, you find the corners, then you arrange the edge pieces. So even though the center is the purpose of the picture, it is not necessarily the part that you focus on first. Wait that doesn’t make sense, you focus on Christ in all aspects, because why repent if you don’t have anything to focus that repentance on, like forgiveness, hope, and direction. But like he says in the book, Christ, though the center of the puzzle, also “extends through every other piece,” so by putting all the other corner and edge pieces together, they point to the Savior, and our beginnings of a relationship with him emerges. Very interesting. So the basics of preaching the gospel is repentance, turning from our “natural man” ways and towards Christ-like ways. Baptism, which is an interesting idea also. I know that I’ve talked before about the need for ordinances if the Lord knows our hearts anyway, and it’s not about that at all. The best way I’ve heard it put is in this book, when the author defines the word “temple” from the many different languages that we encounter. The author says, “This root (tem) also symbolizes a ‘cutting’ or ‘dividing’ between an inner and outer region. In this sense, the temple marks a division. However, this division is not between man and God, but between those who enter into covenant and those who do not enter into covenant. It is a selection, and a divine one at that.” This makes sense only in the eternal perspective, with the understanding that everyone who ever has been or ever will be born will all have equal chance of hearing, understanding and accepting the gospel. So I guess the question is, if we are to share the gospel by preaching repentance, then how do I do that by talking with the people with whom I interact every day? That’s the challenge right there, I’m going to have to think about this. 6:13-17 - The Lord teaches that “If thou wilt do good, yea, and hold out faithful to the end, thou shalt be saved in the kingdom of God, which is the greatest of all the gifts of God; for there is no gift greater than the gift of salvation.” The IM teaches, “Salvation in its true and full meaning is synonymous with exaltation or eternal life and consists in gaining and inheritance in the highest of the three heavens within the celestial kingdom. With few exceptions this is the salvation of which the scriptures speak. It is the salvation which the saints seek. It is of this which the Lord says, ‘there is no gift greater than the gift of salvation.’ This full salvation is obtained in and through the continuation of the family unit in eternity, and those who obtain it are gods.” I’m a visual thinker, I see concepts and ideas spread out and organized in different ways. If we take the idea that salvation is the ultimate goal in our existence, then that should be at the top of our pyramid, the crowning point. I know that we’ve talked about this before about exaltation and eternal life, if these are the most important thing for us, then everything we do should be directed towards that yes? Our attitude, our priorities, our work, our family, our habits, every aspect of our daily lives needs to be directed by the perspective of “is this going to help me gain salvation?” If we run our lives with salvation as our foremost thought, our top priority, and we are able to see the way of salvation by the gospel of Christ, then we have our direction, we have our instructions, and motivation. The Lord continues expanding on the “ask and ye shall receive” concept, telling Oliver “for thou hast inquired of me, and behold, as often as thou hast inquired thou hast received instruction of my Spirit. If it had not been so, thou wouldst not have come to the place where thou art at this time.” Interestingly, I think that this goes for all of us. We are where we are spiritually because of what we do or do not ask the Lord, and what we do with that information once we receive it. The Lord assures us that “there is none else save God that knowest thy thoughts and the intents of thy heart.” I love this teaching and there is a huge lie that Satan teaches that he is able to hear our thoughts. When I realized that Satan didn’t hear our thoughts or feel our feelings, I was shocked. I mean, he is very old and very smart, and he knows us very well, however, he can’t be inside our heads at all. The IM comments, “Men’s thoughts are secret and cannot be pried into by other men, or for that matter by devils.” 6:18-37 - The Lord admonishes “therefore be diligent; stand by my servant Joseph, faithfully, in whatsoever difficult circumstances he may be for the word’s sake. Admonish him in his faults, and also receive admonition of him. Be patient; be sober; be temperate; have patience, faith, hope and charity.” I thought it was interesting that the Lord said that he and Joseph were to admonish each other, sort of a checks and balances kind of thing, imagine having the charge to admonish the prophet, talk about pressure. But the counsel is still that to receive guidance and correction from him as well. I love that Oliver is promised that “I will encircle thee in the arms of my love,” if he is faithful and diligent in keeping the commandments. We can be promised blessings and opportunities and protection and salvation and eternal life, but I think that in this life, in our struggle, in our lonely and homesick state of being, encircled about by the loving arms of Jesus is the best thing that I could imagine. He promises all these things, blessings, protection, improvement, comfort, salvation, and so much more, and to have his love as well, that’s incredible, that’s unconditional love and I’m grateful for it. Continuing, the Lord says, “Verily, verily, I say unto you, if you desire a further witness, cast your mind upon the night that you cried unto me in your heart, that you might know concerning the truth of these things. Did I not speak peace to your mind concerning the matter? What greater witness can you have than from God? And now, behold, you have received a witness; for if I have told you things which no man knoweth have you not received a witness?” Concerning this time, the CHM says, “During April significant revelations came to Oliver Cowdery through Joseph Smith. The first one (now D&C 6) commended Oliver for his righteous desires in calling upon the Lord… Apparently, however, Oliver desired a further witness of the truthfulness of the work… Only after this revelation did Oliver tell Joseph that one night while boarding with the Smith family he had called upon God in prayer to know if Joseph Smith was a prophet and had received the peaceful assurance that he was.” Commenting on the phrase “I have told you things which no man knoweth,” the IM says, “After we had received this revelation (D&C 6), Oliver Cowdery states to me that after he had gone to my father’s to board, and after the family had communicated to him concerning my having obtained the plates, that one night after he had retired to bed he called upon the Lord to know if these things were so, and the Lord manifested to him that they were true, but he had kept the circumstance entirely secret, and had mentioned it to no one; so that after this revelation was given, he knew that the work was true, because no being living know the things alluded to in the revelation, but God and himself.” Interesting way to put it. Concerning “Did I not speak peace to your mind?” The IM teaches, “Revelation can come in many ways and in various degrees of directness. In some cases God Himself may appear to a person; in other cases He may send an angel, show a vision, or speak through the whisperings of the still, small voice. Here the Lord bore witness to Oliver Cowdery of one way of giving revelation- a feeling of peace. When one is torn with despair of confusion, the sweet feeling of peace conveyed by the Comforter can instantly dispel the turmoil that reigned in the soul previously. Such a feeling is a real, definable experience, and as much a revelation as a vision, though more subtle and less direct in the way it is given.” This must be part of what it was referring to in the beginning of the section, the Lord’s word being quick and powerful like a double edged sword. Penetrating, true, inspiring or condemning depending on our righteousness. Finally the Lord says, “Verily, verily, I say unto you, if they reject my words, and this part of my gospel and ministry, blessed are ye, for they can do no more unto you then unto me. And even if they do unto you even as they have done unto me, blessed are ye, for you shall dwell with me in glory. But if they reject not my words, which shall be established by the testimony which shall be given, blessed are they, and then shall ye have joy in the fruit of your labors.” The IM teaches, “The wicked people of the Savior’s day had power to bring about the Crucifixion, but they could not stop His work, nor could they destroy His soul so that He would not be exalted in the life hereafter. The Lord said here that the worst thing that could happen to Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery because of their work and their testimonies was death, but that their deaths would not stop the latter-day work of the Lord nor would the wicked have power to destroy their souls. Oliver Cowdery later lost faith and left the Church for a time, but Joseph Smith remained faithful and was eventually killed. President Joseph Fielding Smith wrote the following concerning Oliver Cowdery and the martyrdom of Hyrum Smith: ‘Had Oliver Cowdery remained true, had he been faithful to his testimony and his calling as the ‘Second Elder’ and Assistant President of the Church, I am just as satisfied as I am that I am here that Oliver Cowdery would have gone to Carthage with the Prophet Joseph Smith and laid down his life instead of Hyrum Smith. That would have been his right. Maybe it sounds a little strange to speak of martyrdom as being a right, but it was a right. Oliver Cowdery lost it and Hyrum Smith received it. According to the law of witnesses- and this is a divine law- it had to be.” Very Interesting.