D&C 11:15-30

11:15-20 - The IM gives a pretty comprehensive checklist of how to prepare to “serve the Lord,” saying, “In section 11 ‘the Lord… teaches Hyrum Smith several steps to be followed in preparing for a mission: 1. Desire to serve the Lord. (11:10,17.) 2. Live worthily to receive the Spirit of the Lord so it can ‘enlighten your mind, which shall fill your soul with joy.’ (11:13.) 3. Keep the commandments of the Lord, assisting in the work of the Lord in any way that you might be asked. (11:18-20.) 4. Seek to obtain the work of the Lord through (a) studying the word of the Lord that had already gone forth- the Bible- and (b) studying the word of the Lord that was then being translated- the Book of Mormon. (11:21-22.) 5. Build upon the gospel, denying not either the spirit of revelation nor the spirit of prophecy. (11:24-25.) The Lord indicates further that these suggestions are for ‘all who had good desires’ to serve. (11:27.)’” These seem pretty straight forward, have a desire to share the gospel, live worthy of the Holy Ghost, keep the commandments, study the scriptures. The interesting part is the not denying “either the spirit of revelation nor the spirit of prophecy.” I don’t really understand this but we’ll see again when we get closer. The Lord tells Hyrum “that you need not suppose that you are called to preach until you are called.” Seems kind of harsh, but eh IM says, “the concept of having proper authority from God in order to act for Him is central to Church organization. President Joseph Fielding Smith explained that ‘it is quite the common thing in the world for men to assume authority and to act in the name of the Lord when he has not called them. No man is authorized to act in the name of the Lord, or to officiate in any ordinance, unless he has been properly called. For this reason the Priesthood was restored and the Church organized. When this revelation was given the Church had not been organized. Presumably some of those who sought light and the will of the Lord felt that when the Lord spoke to them, they were authorized to go forth to act in his name. Here he informs Hyrum Smith that he was to wait, yet he was to put his trust in the Holy Spirit and to walk humbly, to judge righteously, ‘and this is my Spirit.’” If we think about that the Lord qualifies those who he calls, then acting in God’s name without being called does not give you the ability to be qualified, then there would be people out there doing whatever they want, saying that it’s sanctioned by God when in fact it definitely is not. History is full of people who say that they are acting in the name of God and commit all types of atrocities, the crusades, the enslavement of native peoples all over the globe, murder, rape, all types of craziness, and surely God didn’t not command those things, in fact he commanded them to NOT do those things. The prophets have taught that there are many people out there who hate religion and will not seek God because of the horrible things that have been done to them in the name of God. In fact, many entire continents as a whole, namely Europe, are atheist because they refuse to buy into a system that has been linked to genocide, and crimes against humanity, and rightly so, but it is to their detriment. The atonement and the gospel is here to make us happy, and by invoking the name of God to justify terror, the perpetrators poison generations against God, and so it makes sense that the Lord would do all that he could to guard his newly restored gospel from that type of association. And it’s not only to protect others from those who would lead the astray intentionally, but it’s also to make sure that those with good intentions are prepared enough or enough in tune with the Holy Ghost to be a positive influence on the work. DJR says, “we understand that Hyrum Smith was anxious to begin preaching the gospel, which was being restored by his brother, Joseph. As we watch what the Lord told him at this time, among other things, we are taught an important lesson, namely, that we need to be prepared before we go out to preach. This certainly can apply to missionaries today. In these verses, Hyrum was told to wait to preach until he was better prepared in several ways.” I’ve seen it many times, especially in business, where someone is so excited about something and has changed their lives for the better that they just want to go out and tell the whole world what an amazing opportunity they have and they want the rest of the world to benefit from it in the same positive manner that they have. But even in those situations, they are warned not to talk to others about it until they are calm, cool, and collected, until they can learn more about the business and can think rationally, not blinded by emotion. God, as the master psychologist, would understand this same principle. I also think that for me, I know that others need the gospel and so I think “the sooner they get taught, the better,” so I assume that pushing fast and hard is the most effective way, but as is my way so very often, what I think and what the Lord thinks are two totally different things. I think that it’s better to get out there and say things, just to start the process, to make sure that no one is left behind, but that’s not the case. The Lord knows each of us individually, he has a plan for our lives and our spiritual growth, and part of that plan is putting the gospel in our path at exactly the right time, for our acceptance. If I tell someone about the gospel, and they aren’t ready, they won’t accept it, but if I listen to what the Lord tells me to do, then I will be able to grow myself, as he says. It’s about our own personal spiritual progress as much as it is about anyone else’s, the Lord’s working on us the same way he is working on everyone else, and we need to listen to him for our optimal growth. DJR says, “we are reminded that God’s kingdom is a kingdom of order, which makes it a kingdom we can trust and understand. Hyrum is taught here that we do not take positions and callings in the Lord’s Church until we are properly called by those in authority… Hyrum is again taught the lesson of ‘first things first.’ In other words, as stated, above, there is order in the way the Lord runs things as we, as workers in the kingdom, must abide by this order. In this case, we must prepare properly before we undertake to do His work… Hyrum is taught the importance of keeping the commandments as a means of personal preparation to serve the Lord. The IM expands on this saying, The Lord often repeated the instruction to keep the commandments. In Moses 1:39 the Lord says, ‘For behold, this is my work and my glory- to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man,’ whereas to Hyrum the Lord says, ‘this is your work, to keep my commandments, yea, with all you might, mind, and strength.’ Similar language was used by the Lord to respond to the questions of the Pharisees about which is the great commandment in the law. Only by keeping the Lord’s commandments can one show long for the Lord and accomplish His work.” I like how those two concepts flow together. God tells us that his only purpose is our eternal salvation, so we can know that his motives are purely selfless when he gives us commandments, and that the commandments are only to make us happy. 11:21-30 – DLR continues, “Verse 21, next, is quite often quoted in lessons and sermons. You may wish to mark it in your own scriptures. It applies wonderfully to missionaries as well as teachers and speakers in church. It again reminds us all that we must study and do our part to qualify for the help of the Spirit in teaching and explaining the gospel. When we do, then the Spirit carries our words into the hearts and souls of others who are ready to hear them.” Part of sharing the gospel is our own insecurity, what if they ask us a question that we don’t know the answer to, what if they are hostile to the church, what if they don’t want to be friends with us anymore? The Lord assures us that as we do our best to be righteous, when the time comes, “you shall have my Spirit and my word, yea, the power of God unto the convincing of men.” He lets us know, that the acceptance or rejection of the gospel by others has nothing to do with us, if we do it according to his Spirit, and only has to do with them. He’s letting us know that he will fill in our inadequacies and that others can still feel the same joy that we have with the gospel regardless of how subpar we feel ourselves to be. The Lord uses some interesting words, Behold thou art Hyrum, my son,” which DJR comments are “terms of tenderness and endearment, used by the Lord.” I hadn’t considered them as such before, but thinking about it, if the Lord said those words to me, it would be endearing to me, it would show that I am special to Him, that I am loved and known. “Behold thou art Amy, my daughter,” that sounds really nice. Hyrum is told to “seek the kingdom of God, and all things shall be added according to that which is just.” God will make up for our imperfections, the work won’t suffer because we aren’t good enough, even though we are trying our hardest, our offerings of best effort are acceptable to him. The Lord continues, “Build upon my rock, which is my gospel.” The IM says, “On several occasions the Lord used the word to refer to the gospel. The word rock also refers to a principle of the gospel as explained by the Prophet Joseph Smith: ‘Jesus in His teachings says, ‘Upon this rock I will build my Church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.’ What rock? Revelation.’ Another use of the word rock in the scriptures applies directly to the Lord Himself.” Now this is an interesting concept because I’ve only heard this phrase, “upon this rock I will build my Church,” as referenced to Peter, as the new leader of the Church after Christ’s death. This doesn’t appear to be the case at all, He wasn’t talking about Peter, he was talking about continuous revelation. Very interesting. Carrying that forward, we come to the part counseling Hyrum to “deny not the spirit of revelation, not the spirit of prophecy, for wo unto him that denieth these things.” DJR gives an introduction into this concept by saying, “As you are no doubt aware, a basic doctrine or teaching of some religions is that revelation has ceased, As we see in verse 25, next, that is a very serious false doctrine.” He continues with a definition of “wo” that changes the meaning of what I thought about this verse altogether. He defines “wo” as meaning “trouble, sadness, misery will come.” Those aren’t the words associated with intentionally denying revelation of prophecy. Intentional denial of those things for the usurping of power and authority and wealth has a host of other terrible consequences much more severe than trouble and sadness. These words tend to indicate to me the results of a desire to do right but not relinquishing control to God of the circumstances. So to me, the Lord isn’t saying, “don’t distort the gospel for your own personal benefit,” because Hyrum probably wouldn’t do that, but he’s saying, “trust revelation and prophecy, as it comes and in its fullness, don’t pick and choose.” The IM quotes President Joseph Fielding Smith as commenting that this counsel is “good counsel for all of us today. There are some members of the Church who seemingly complain because the Lord is not giving revelations to be placed in the Doctrine and Covenants, as in the beginning, and they ask why revelation has ceased in the Church. Usually it is the case that these critics are not faithfully keeping the commandments the Lord has already given and their eyes are blind to the fact that revelation and the guidance of the Lord is being meted out to the Church constantly. No one with the spirit of discernment can fail to see that the hand of the Lord has guided this people from the beginning and this guidance is manifest today as in other times to all who are humble and have a contrite spirit.” This is in line with the counsel to keep the commandments, especially in the context that Hyrum will be preaching the gospel that is very newly known and will have to do so with a great deal of influence from the Holy Ghost. The IM also quotes President Hugh B. Brown as teaching, “the things of God can only be understood by the Spirit of God and the Spirit of God is a revealing spirit, The Master promised before he left the earth to send another Comforter which would lead men into all truth. Divine revelation had always been a characteristic of the living Church- it is absolutely essential to its continued existence in an organized state on the earth.” Finally, the Lord wraps up this revelation with counsel, as explained by DJR as “Hyrum is told to keep studying and learning, until the time is right for him to start preaching the restored gospel. As stated previously, he will be called to go forth and preach, in D&C 23:3, which is about 11 months from the time this revelation was received… Next we are reminded that what the Lord says to specific individuals can often apply to all of us… As the Savior closes this revelation to Hyrum Smith, we are reminded that through Christ, we can receive exaltation in the highest degree of glory within the celestial kingdom.” And really, that’s not only what we want for ourselves, but what we want for others and those we love and that’s why it’s so important to not only desire to share the gospel but to obey the Lord’s counsel as we do so.