D&C 29:1-7

Section 29 is pretty interesting, I have to be honest, I’m not quite sure about some of it, or to what it is referencing some times. The best explanation that I can find is given by DJR when he says, “This revelation was given through the Prophet Joseph Smith at Fayette, New York, in September 1830, some days before the conference mentioned in section 28, verse 10. This next conference would be the second conference of the Church, since its organization on April 6, 1830, and was to be held in the Whitmer home. It would last for three days. As already mentioned, this revelation, known now as section 29, was given some days prior to the conference. It was given through the Prophet in the presence of six elders, Oliver Cowdery, David Whitmer, John Whitmer, Peter Whitmer, Samuel H. Smith, and Thomas B. Marsh. It is filled with specific doctrines of the gospel. Perhaps you remember that the Lord showed Nephi in vision that he was going to restore many ‘plain and precious things’ through ‘other books.’ One of these ‘other books’ is the Doctrine and Covenants, in which the Lord said that He would ‘bring to light the true points of my doctrine.’ Section 29 brings together many of these ‘points of doctrine.’” It seems to me that this revelation might have a few parts that needed to be put out there, but weren’t necessarily brought about by a certain question. The first point that DJR makes, and this is covered later in the IM as well, is that of “divine investiture,” in which he says “perhaps you’ve been confused occasionally as to who is speaking in scripture, the Father or the Son.” I have definitely felt this confusion before. He continues, “Some of this confusion comes from the fact that Jesus often quotes His Father without first telling us that He is going to do so. This is called, ‘divine investiture.’ In other words, Christ is authorized or ‘invested’ with the right to speak for the Father, when He does so, it is binding on us, just the same as if the Father had spoken it. There is nothing strange about His doing this, because He and His Father are ‘one.’ It just sometimes throws us off a bit. ‘Divine investiture’ can also refer to when the Holy Ghost is speaking for Christ, as in Moses 5:9, or when an angel is speaking for Christ, as if He were speaking, as is the case in Judges 2:1-3.” He then goes on to quote verses 1,42, and 46 consecutively, which says, “Listen to the voice of Jesus Christ, your Redeemer, the great I AM, whose arm of mercy hath atoned for your sins; But, behold, I say unto you that I, the lord god, gave unto Adam and unto his seen, that they should not die as to the temporal death, until I, the Lord god, should send forth angels to declare unto them repentance and redemption, through faith on the name of mind Only Begotten Son. But behold, I say unto you, that little children are redeemed from the foundation of the world through mine Only Begotten.” This can seem pretty difficult to follow, but President Joseph Fielding Smith is quoted as saying, “Christ may speak as the Father. In giving revelations our Savior speaks at times for himself; at other times for the Father, and in the Father’s name, as though he were the Father, and yet it is Jesus Christ, our Redeemer who gives the message. So, we see, in Doctrine and Covenants 29:1, that he introduces himself as ‘Jesus Christ, your Redeemer,’ but in the closing part of the revelation he speaks for the Father, and in the Father’s names as though he were the Father, and yet it is still Jesus who is speaking, for the Father has put his name on him for that purpose.” The IM quotes Elder Bruce R. McConkie as saying, “Since he (Christ) is one with the Father in all of the attributes of perfection, and since he exercises the power and authority of the Father, it follows that everything he says or does is and would be exactly and precisely what the Father would say and do under the same circumstances. Accordingly, the Father puts his own name on the Son and authorizes him to speak in the first person as though he were the Father… Thus it is that our Lord can begin a revelation by saying, ‘Listen to the voice of Jesus Christ,’ and shortly thereafter speak of ‘mine Only Begotten,’ such latter expression being made by Christ, but under that divine investiture of authority which permits him to speak as though he were the Father.” With that, let’s get into the revelation. 29:1-7 - The Lord begins by introducing Himself, which seems to be a running theme in most of the revelations. DJR points out that the doctrine established in verse 1 is that “Jesus Christ is the God of the Old Testament, the God who gave commandments to Abraham, Moses, etc.” This is because the Lord acknowledged that he is Jesus Christ and “the Great I AM.” The Lord promises to “gather his people even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings.” I know that I’ve talked about this before in the Book of Mormon study but I love the fact that the all-powerful, all-mighty God of the whole universe explains his role to us by likening himself to a female animal. He doesn’t invoke the imagery of flesh eating terror monkeys, or roaring predatory lions, or all-seeing all-swopping eagles. He doesn’t feel his role is to attack in order to protect, he doesn’t need to be large in size to get the job done, his assumption of this imagery is very telling. The IM teaches, “This expression is used three times in the Doctrine and Covenants and echoes similar phrasing in Matthew 23:37 and 3 Nephi 10:4-6. It evokes the vivid picture of a mother hen who, when danger appears to threaten her chicks, raises her wings and clucks excitedly. The chicks although they may be scattered over the barnyard, instantly obey that call and scurry under the protection of her wings. In this passage the Lord describes those who will come to him for protection as having three characteristics: (1) they hearken to his voice, (2) they humble themselves, and (3) they call upon him in mighty prayer. The Jewish nation and the Nephite people in America refused to heed that call and meet those conditions, and as a result they suffered great tragedy and destruction.” We’ve only been through 29 sections of the D&C so far, but verse 3 is the third time that I can remember that the Lord has freely forgiven the sins of the recipient. One of the reasons that this might have been important is given by DJR when he says, “One of the great blessings of the Atonement is that we don’t have to wait until Judgment Day to find out if our sins are forgiven. As illustrated in verse 3, next, as well as elsewhere in the scriptures, through proper repentance, we can receive forgiveness en route. This means that we are clean, but we are obviously not yet perfect. Doctrine: Verse 3. Sins can be and are forgiven, as we go through life. It is a merciful way of giving us encouragement en route to exaltation.” The Lord doesn’t usually give us revelations like JS received telling us that our sins are forgiven, so how do we know ourselves in this life? This is a good question and one that I would like to think about and come back to later. The Lord continues giving a mission statement kind of thing saying, “Verily, I say unto you that ye are chosen out of the world to declare my gospel with the sound of rejoicing, as with the voice of a trump. Lift up your hearts and be glad, for I am in your midst, and am your advocate with the Father; and it is his good will to give you the kingdom. And, as it is written- Whatsoever ye shall ask in faith, being united in prayer according to my command, ye shall receive. And ye are called to bring to pass the gathering of mine elect; for mine elect hear my voice and harden not their hearts.” DJR states that some of the doctrine contained in these verses are that “we are to be primarily upbeat and pleasant about preaching the gospel… The Savior is not an ‘absentee’ God; rather, He spend much time in our midst… There is much power in working together in harmony, as far as influencing the powers of heaven is concerned… The ‘elect,’ those whose hearts are pure, recognize the gospel message when they hear it.” I asked myself why I thought that it was important for the Savior to emphasize happiness when it comes to preaching the gospel, and I guess it might be because the other option would be the gloom and doom, death and damnation aspect of the unrepentant. That is important to know about as well, but we probably shouldn’t lead with that as a general rule, people don’t usually respond well with threats, especially if they are trying their best to be good people. People want things that are going to make their lives better, and approaching the gospel as “do this or you’re going to suffer” isn’t going to be very appealing to many, especially those who are trying. But to know that the gospel brings peace and joy and love and comfort and guidance and miracles and more, that it what people usually respond best to. Those who are trying to be good people, the “elect” will respond to that. Concerning the “elect” the IM teaches, “The elect of God comprise a very select group, an inner circle of faithful members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. They are the portion of church members who are striving with all their hearts to keep the fullness of the gospel law in this life so that they can become inheritors of the fullness of gospel rewards in the life to come.’ Elder George Q. Cannon explained: ‘Where people are pure and chaste in their thoughts and actions, the Spirit of God has such power with them that they readily perceive and comprehend the truth. It is by this means that the best among the children of God are being gathered out from the various nations. Truth cleaves to truth, light to light and purity to purity. The gospel gathers with its influence those who love its principles; and if any should be gathered in who cannot abide its requirements, they pass off and mingle with the elements that are congenial to the spirit they possess.’”