D&C 8
There’s some interesting things here in section 8. I know that Jesus is the master psychologist, but I have difficulty following the line of thinking here. The IM gives this background information: “Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery had received from God the gift to translate ancient records. From the beginning of their work together Joseph Smith translated and Oliver Cowdery acted as scribe. Oliver Cowdery desired to have a more active role in the translating process, and so the Prophet inquired of the Lord through the Urim and Thummim and received a revelation. The Prophet Joseph wrote: ‘Whilst continuing the work of translation, during the month of April, Oliver Cowdery became exceedingly anxious to have the power to translate bestowed upon him, and in relation to this desire the following revelations were obtained: (D&C 8-9).” There’s a couple of points here that I think are important, first is that I wonder if I was in Oliver Cowdery’s place if I would want to translate, I’m not sure if I would. Secondly, I think that one of the things that needs to be considered when it comes to Oliver translating is that it might not be the will of the Lord. Thinking about it, it’s hard enough to get people to consider the validity of the Book of Mormon with only one translator, if we were to say that there were two translators, then that causes all types of different dynamics in the mix. JS is torn apart for his role in the translation, Oliver Cowdery would be so even more, considering he did apostatize later on, it can be kind of tricky.
8:1-3 - The Lord promises Oliver “surely shall you receive a knowledge of whatsoever things you shall ask in faith, with an honest heart, believing that you shall receive a knowledge concerning the engraving of old records, which are ancient, which contain those parts of my scripture of which has been spoken by the manifestation of my Spirit.” I don’t really understand this, these records contain parts of scripture which were spoken by the manifestation of my Spirit. There’s a lot of words in there that I don’t really understand. The IM says, “The Lord giveth liberally to the spiritually prepared if they will only ask in faith, nothing wavering. This promise was repeated to Oliver Cowdery, but it is available to all faithful Saints. It was this promise that opened the heavens in the present dispensation. President Joseph Fielding Smith explained that ‘the Lord seemed perfectly willing that Oliver Cowdery as well as Joseph Smith should engage in this labor of translating the plates, and he gave in some detail what qualifications are necessary for the reception of knowledge by revelation and also the procedure necessary in translating ancient records. Oliver was informed that this power could not be received except by the exercise of faith with an honest heart, and by this faith, knowledge of the ancient records and their engravings should be made known… The Lord told him that he was to continue as scribe until the translation of the Book of Mormon was completed, and that there were other ancient records to come forth, and that he might have the privilege of translating these at some future day if he would remain faithful. We learn from the Book of Mormon that there are many records and that at some time, when the people are prepared by faith to receive them, that they shall also be translated and published for the knowledge and salvation of the faithful.” That is in line with what I was talking about earlier, about the importance of there only being one Book of Mormon translator, but giving Oliver Cowdery (OC from now on, this is getting too long) the opportunity to translate other records later. I like this example the Lord being willing to grant our petitions in a way that still allows his will to be done. I think that this could happen more in my own life if I would let it. I'm trying to read this from the point of view of JS and OC as they ask a question and receive an answer, but it's kind of confusing. The Lord continues, "Yea, behold, I will tell you in your mind and in your heart, by the Holy Ghost, which shall come upon you and which shall dwell in your heart." The IM quotes Elder George Q. Cannon as teaching, "the same spirit of revelation that Moses had... rests upon him who hold the presidency as senior apostles in the midst of the people of God. The apostles of this CHurch have all the authority, they have all the keys,.. all the spirit of revelation necessary to lead this people into the presence of the Lamb in the celestial kingdom of our God... You will find it so to your entire satisfaction if you will listen to their counsels and be guided by them." I'm really confused and don't feel like I'm getting as much out of this study as I could be. I got an additional study guide and am going to listen to that and see if I can get some more insight and I'll try this again tomorrow. I’ve listened to a new study guide that I got for the D&C and I think that it can be quite profitable. The first thing that I learned was concerning verse 2 when the Savior said, “Yea, behold, I will tell you in your mind and in your heart, by the Holy Ghost, which shall come upon you and which shall dwell in your heart.” In the study guide entitled “The Doctrine and Covenants Made Easier, Part 1,” David J. Ridges (DJR from now on, this will reference the book too,) says concerning this verse “We are taught two major ways, among others, in which the Holy Ghost communicates with us, namely, in our mind and in our hearts. There is a difference between the two. In a stake presidency training meeting, which I was privileged to attend, in the fall of 2000, Elder Richard G. Scott of the Quorum of the Twelve explained that ‘heart’ deals with general feelings and impressions, whereas ‘mind’ refers to specific thoughts and instruction. In other words, ‘heart’ is general and ‘mind’ is very specific. He went on to teach us that an impression to the heart, when followed, will lead to more specific instruction to the mind. Elder Scott used Enos, in the Book of Mormon, as an example. He pointed out that in Enos 1:3, tender feelings about the words and instructions from his father, over the years, sunk deep into Enos’ heart. Then in Enos 1:4, Enos acted upon these feelings and left his hunting and turned to God in humble prayer. As a result, very specific teaching and instructions came into his mind.” I thought that this was some pretty incredible instruction there. I like that there is a distinct difference. 8:3- - I think it’s interesting that Moses and Aaron are mentioned throughout this section. I don’t really understand how the spirit of revelation is how “Moses brought the children of Israel through the Red Sea on dry ground.” I’d understand if it was the spirit of the Priesthood or something like that, but how and why the spirit of revelation? Because Moses was prompted by the Holy Ghost to part the Red Sea? That makes sense, I guess. I always wondered how Moses knew to do that, but it would make sense if he was led to do so by the Spirit. The Lord continues “Therefore this is thy gift; apply unto it, and blessed are thou, for it shall deliver you out of the hands of your enemies, when, if it were not so, they would slay you and bring your soul to destruction.” I had to read this verse many times over before I understood exactly what the Lord was talking about. OC’s gift is the spirit of revelation, the same that we all have, and it’s the spirit of revelation that will deliver him out of the hands of his enemies, saving him from destruction. Now that I think about it, if we go back to the previous verse, Moses was delivered out of the hands of his enemies and was safe from destruction by the spirit of revelation, so that makes complete sense. But there’s two aspects to verse 4 when it comes to the kind of protection that we receive from the spirit of revelation. OC’s told that “if it were not so, they would slay you,” so physical destruction, “and bring your soul to destruction,” also spiritual damage. The spirit of revelation protects us physically by warning us of danger, by prompting us to be careful or giving us a way of escape. There are innumerable stories of physical protection that has come as a prompting, and there are probably even more stories that we don’t know because if we heed the prompting, then we usually wouldn’t know what danger we avoided. But we are also protected spiritually by the spirit of revelation. Our testimonies grow as we learn and grow in the gospel, as we are obedient, as we are taught from on high, and as we make and keep sacred covenants. All these evens come from the spirit of revelation, and as we build our testimonies on a firm foundation provided by the Holy Ghost, then we become spiritually unshakable, which is our spiritual protection. So that’s some of the ways that we are protected both physically and spiritually by the spirit of revelation. The IM teaches, “Oliver Cowdery was given the gift of understanding the voice of the spirit. If he hearkened to the inspiration of the Holy Ghost, he could protect himself from those who would seek to bring about his physical death and also those who would tempt him to sin and thus bring his soul ‘to destruction.’ Concerning the destruction of the soul, President Joseph Fielding Smith wrote: ‘A soul cannot be destroyed. Every soul born into this world shall receive the resurrection and immortality and shall endure forever. Destruction does not mean, then, annihilation. When the Lord says they shall be destroyed, he means that they shall be banished from his presence, that they shall be cut off from the presence of light and truth, and shall not have the privilege of gaining this exaltation; and that is destruction.” 8:6- - The spirit of revelation is not OC’s only gift, for the Lord says, “Now this is not all thy gift; for you have another gift, which is the gift of Aaron.” When I read this, I automatically assumed that this meant the Aaronic priesthood, which makes sense because he was there with JS when they received the Aaronic Priesthood from John the Baptist, but apparently it means something completely different. The IM teaches, “There was another gift bestowed upon Oliver Cowdery, and that was the gift of Aaron. Like Aaron with his rod in his hand going before Moses as a spokesman, so Oliver Cowdery was to go before Joseph Smith. Whatever he should ask the Lord by power of this gift should be granted is asked in faith and in wisdom. Oliver was blessed with the great honor of holding the keys of this dispensation with Joseph Smith, and, like Aaron, did become a spokesman on numerous occasions. It was Oliver who delivered the first public discourse in this dispensation.’ ‘Oliver Cowdery also had the ‘gift of Aaron.’ Aaron was the elder brother of Moses. Being prompted by the Spirit of the Lord, he met his younger brother in the wilderness and accompanied him to Egypt. He introduced him to the children of Israel in the land of Goshen. He was his spokesman before Pharaoh, and he assisted him in opening up the dispensation which Moses was commissioned to proclaim. This was the gift of Aaron. In some respected Oliver Cowdery was the Aaron of the new and last dispensation.’” The gift of Aaron sounds much like what John the Baptist had, a precursor, a warner, a preparer. I’ve always thought of OC as being pretty insignificant in church history because of his eventual apostasy, but as I learn more, I see that he was incredibly important while he was involved, and I can see the tragedy in his time away from the gospel. DJR comments on sections 8 and 9 saying, “Pay special attention to the tender words used by the Savior in addressing Oliver and encouraging him… We feel His compassion and kindness for this powerful young man who was in rather intense training for the role which he was to play in the restoration of the gospel.” When I heard this, I had to stop and consider what that statement really meant, and if it was true. I think back to what I learned while listened to the CHM and how pivotal and vital OC was to the work in the beginning of the Church. This was uncharted territory for everyone, especially those who were building the kingdom. I really have no context for my comparison to OC’s life and situation, but he did perform a most important work. The Lord finishes up this section saying, “remember that without faith you can do nothing; therefore ask in faith. Trifle not with these things; do not ask for that which you ought not.” This statement, to me, implies that we know what we should ask for and what we should not ask for. I don’t really know a whole lot about this concept. Continuing, the Lord says, “Ask that you may know the mysteries of God… Behold, it is I that have spoken it; and I am the same that spake unto you from the beginning.” The IM quotes President J. Reuben Clark Jr. as teaching, “As I think about faith, this principle of power, I am obliged to believe that it is an intelligent force. Of what kind, I do not know. But it is superior to and overrules all other forces of which we know… (We) have had this great power given unto us, this power of faith. What are we doing about it? Can you, can we, do the mighty things that the Savior did? Yes. They have been done by the members of the Church who had the faith and the righteousness so to do. Think of what is within your power if you but live the Gospel, if you but live so that you may invoke the power which is within you.” Faith as an intelligent force, that’s an interesting concept. What could we do if we have a better understanding of the power of faith, if we were more worthy? I think that we could have absolute peace in our lives, no fear, that’s interesting, I’m going to have to think about that. Finally an incredible insight on verse 12, DJR says, “From verse 12, next, we get a hint that the Savior is much involved in our lives, even though we often don’t realize the extent of his involvement.” This is the incredible part of the gospel yes? This is my favorite part, that Jesus Christ, creator of heaven and earth, my best friend is so invested in me and my daily uneventful life that he’s created all this. My favorite part is that he’s immensely interested and involved in my well-being and happiness, that’s the miracle, that’s the beauty.
8:1-3 - The Lord promises Oliver “surely shall you receive a knowledge of whatsoever things you shall ask in faith, with an honest heart, believing that you shall receive a knowledge concerning the engraving of old records, which are ancient, which contain those parts of my scripture of which has been spoken by the manifestation of my Spirit.” I don’t really understand this, these records contain parts of scripture which were spoken by the manifestation of my Spirit. There’s a lot of words in there that I don’t really understand. The IM says, “The Lord giveth liberally to the spiritually prepared if they will only ask in faith, nothing wavering. This promise was repeated to Oliver Cowdery, but it is available to all faithful Saints. It was this promise that opened the heavens in the present dispensation. President Joseph Fielding Smith explained that ‘the Lord seemed perfectly willing that Oliver Cowdery as well as Joseph Smith should engage in this labor of translating the plates, and he gave in some detail what qualifications are necessary for the reception of knowledge by revelation and also the procedure necessary in translating ancient records. Oliver was informed that this power could not be received except by the exercise of faith with an honest heart, and by this faith, knowledge of the ancient records and their engravings should be made known… The Lord told him that he was to continue as scribe until the translation of the Book of Mormon was completed, and that there were other ancient records to come forth, and that he might have the privilege of translating these at some future day if he would remain faithful. We learn from the Book of Mormon that there are many records and that at some time, when the people are prepared by faith to receive them, that they shall also be translated and published for the knowledge and salvation of the faithful.” That is in line with what I was talking about earlier, about the importance of there only being one Book of Mormon translator, but giving Oliver Cowdery (OC from now on, this is getting too long) the opportunity to translate other records later. I like this example the Lord being willing to grant our petitions in a way that still allows his will to be done. I think that this could happen more in my own life if I would let it. I'm trying to read this from the point of view of JS and OC as they ask a question and receive an answer, but it's kind of confusing. The Lord continues, "Yea, behold, I will tell you in your mind and in your heart, by the Holy Ghost, which shall come upon you and which shall dwell in your heart." The IM quotes Elder George Q. Cannon as teaching, "the same spirit of revelation that Moses had... rests upon him who hold the presidency as senior apostles in the midst of the people of God. The apostles of this CHurch have all the authority, they have all the keys,.. all the spirit of revelation necessary to lead this people into the presence of the Lamb in the celestial kingdom of our God... You will find it so to your entire satisfaction if you will listen to their counsels and be guided by them." I'm really confused and don't feel like I'm getting as much out of this study as I could be. I got an additional study guide and am going to listen to that and see if I can get some more insight and I'll try this again tomorrow. I’ve listened to a new study guide that I got for the D&C and I think that it can be quite profitable. The first thing that I learned was concerning verse 2 when the Savior said, “Yea, behold, I will tell you in your mind and in your heart, by the Holy Ghost, which shall come upon you and which shall dwell in your heart.” In the study guide entitled “The Doctrine and Covenants Made Easier, Part 1,” David J. Ridges (DJR from now on, this will reference the book too,) says concerning this verse “We are taught two major ways, among others, in which the Holy Ghost communicates with us, namely, in our mind and in our hearts. There is a difference between the two. In a stake presidency training meeting, which I was privileged to attend, in the fall of 2000, Elder Richard G. Scott of the Quorum of the Twelve explained that ‘heart’ deals with general feelings and impressions, whereas ‘mind’ refers to specific thoughts and instruction. In other words, ‘heart’ is general and ‘mind’ is very specific. He went on to teach us that an impression to the heart, when followed, will lead to more specific instruction to the mind. Elder Scott used Enos, in the Book of Mormon, as an example. He pointed out that in Enos 1:3, tender feelings about the words and instructions from his father, over the years, sunk deep into Enos’ heart. Then in Enos 1:4, Enos acted upon these feelings and left his hunting and turned to God in humble prayer. As a result, very specific teaching and instructions came into his mind.” I thought that this was some pretty incredible instruction there. I like that there is a distinct difference. 8:3- - I think it’s interesting that Moses and Aaron are mentioned throughout this section. I don’t really understand how the spirit of revelation is how “Moses brought the children of Israel through the Red Sea on dry ground.” I’d understand if it was the spirit of the Priesthood or something like that, but how and why the spirit of revelation? Because Moses was prompted by the Holy Ghost to part the Red Sea? That makes sense, I guess. I always wondered how Moses knew to do that, but it would make sense if he was led to do so by the Spirit. The Lord continues “Therefore this is thy gift; apply unto it, and blessed are thou, for it shall deliver you out of the hands of your enemies, when, if it were not so, they would slay you and bring your soul to destruction.” I had to read this verse many times over before I understood exactly what the Lord was talking about. OC’s gift is the spirit of revelation, the same that we all have, and it’s the spirit of revelation that will deliver him out of the hands of his enemies, saving him from destruction. Now that I think about it, if we go back to the previous verse, Moses was delivered out of the hands of his enemies and was safe from destruction by the spirit of revelation, so that makes complete sense. But there’s two aspects to verse 4 when it comes to the kind of protection that we receive from the spirit of revelation. OC’s told that “if it were not so, they would slay you,” so physical destruction, “and bring your soul to destruction,” also spiritual damage. The spirit of revelation protects us physically by warning us of danger, by prompting us to be careful or giving us a way of escape. There are innumerable stories of physical protection that has come as a prompting, and there are probably even more stories that we don’t know because if we heed the prompting, then we usually wouldn’t know what danger we avoided. But we are also protected spiritually by the spirit of revelation. Our testimonies grow as we learn and grow in the gospel, as we are obedient, as we are taught from on high, and as we make and keep sacred covenants. All these evens come from the spirit of revelation, and as we build our testimonies on a firm foundation provided by the Holy Ghost, then we become spiritually unshakable, which is our spiritual protection. So that’s some of the ways that we are protected both physically and spiritually by the spirit of revelation. The IM teaches, “Oliver Cowdery was given the gift of understanding the voice of the spirit. If he hearkened to the inspiration of the Holy Ghost, he could protect himself from those who would seek to bring about his physical death and also those who would tempt him to sin and thus bring his soul ‘to destruction.’ Concerning the destruction of the soul, President Joseph Fielding Smith wrote: ‘A soul cannot be destroyed. Every soul born into this world shall receive the resurrection and immortality and shall endure forever. Destruction does not mean, then, annihilation. When the Lord says they shall be destroyed, he means that they shall be banished from his presence, that they shall be cut off from the presence of light and truth, and shall not have the privilege of gaining this exaltation; and that is destruction.” 8:6- - The spirit of revelation is not OC’s only gift, for the Lord says, “Now this is not all thy gift; for you have another gift, which is the gift of Aaron.” When I read this, I automatically assumed that this meant the Aaronic priesthood, which makes sense because he was there with JS when they received the Aaronic Priesthood from John the Baptist, but apparently it means something completely different. The IM teaches, “There was another gift bestowed upon Oliver Cowdery, and that was the gift of Aaron. Like Aaron with his rod in his hand going before Moses as a spokesman, so Oliver Cowdery was to go before Joseph Smith. Whatever he should ask the Lord by power of this gift should be granted is asked in faith and in wisdom. Oliver was blessed with the great honor of holding the keys of this dispensation with Joseph Smith, and, like Aaron, did become a spokesman on numerous occasions. It was Oliver who delivered the first public discourse in this dispensation.’ ‘Oliver Cowdery also had the ‘gift of Aaron.’ Aaron was the elder brother of Moses. Being prompted by the Spirit of the Lord, he met his younger brother in the wilderness and accompanied him to Egypt. He introduced him to the children of Israel in the land of Goshen. He was his spokesman before Pharaoh, and he assisted him in opening up the dispensation which Moses was commissioned to proclaim. This was the gift of Aaron. In some respected Oliver Cowdery was the Aaron of the new and last dispensation.’” The gift of Aaron sounds much like what John the Baptist had, a precursor, a warner, a preparer. I’ve always thought of OC as being pretty insignificant in church history because of his eventual apostasy, but as I learn more, I see that he was incredibly important while he was involved, and I can see the tragedy in his time away from the gospel. DJR comments on sections 8 and 9 saying, “Pay special attention to the tender words used by the Savior in addressing Oliver and encouraging him… We feel His compassion and kindness for this powerful young man who was in rather intense training for the role which he was to play in the restoration of the gospel.” When I heard this, I had to stop and consider what that statement really meant, and if it was true. I think back to what I learned while listened to the CHM and how pivotal and vital OC was to the work in the beginning of the Church. This was uncharted territory for everyone, especially those who were building the kingdom. I really have no context for my comparison to OC’s life and situation, but he did perform a most important work. The Lord finishes up this section saying, “remember that without faith you can do nothing; therefore ask in faith. Trifle not with these things; do not ask for that which you ought not.” This statement, to me, implies that we know what we should ask for and what we should not ask for. I don’t really know a whole lot about this concept. Continuing, the Lord says, “Ask that you may know the mysteries of God… Behold, it is I that have spoken it; and I am the same that spake unto you from the beginning.” The IM quotes President J. Reuben Clark Jr. as teaching, “As I think about faith, this principle of power, I am obliged to believe that it is an intelligent force. Of what kind, I do not know. But it is superior to and overrules all other forces of which we know… (We) have had this great power given unto us, this power of faith. What are we doing about it? Can you, can we, do the mighty things that the Savior did? Yes. They have been done by the members of the Church who had the faith and the righteousness so to do. Think of what is within your power if you but live the Gospel, if you but live so that you may invoke the power which is within you.” Faith as an intelligent force, that’s an interesting concept. What could we do if we have a better understanding of the power of faith, if we were more worthy? I think that we could have absolute peace in our lives, no fear, that’s interesting, I’m going to have to think about that. Finally an incredible insight on verse 12, DJR says, “From verse 12, next, we get a hint that the Savior is much involved in our lives, even though we often don’t realize the extent of his involvement.” This is the incredible part of the gospel yes? This is my favorite part, that Jesus Christ, creator of heaven and earth, my best friend is so invested in me and my daily uneventful life that he’s created all this. My favorite part is that he’s immensely interested and involved in my well-being and happiness, that’s the miracle, that’s the beauty.
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