D&C 41

Section 41 was the first revelation received in Kirtland, so that’s kind of exciting. The IM gives the background information as follows: “Section 41 is the first revelation in the Doctrine and Covenants given in Ohio. The Prophet Joseph Smith and his wife Emma had arrived in Kirtland a few days before this revelation was received, and they found that the Kirtland Branch had grown to nearly one hundred members. Many of the new converts had belonged to a religious society known as ‘Disciples.’ Even after joining the Church, these converts continued to practice what was called ‘common stock,’ or the holding of all property in common. But discord arose among members over the manner in which this system should operate. Some considered that what belonged to one member belonged to anyone in the branch. ‘Therefore,’ wrote John Whitmer, ‘they would take each other’s clothes and other property and use it without leave, which brought on confusion and disappointments, for they did not understand the scripture.’ The Prophet Joseph Smith wrote: ‘The branch of the Church in this part of the Lord’s vineyard, which had increased to nearly one hundred members, were striving to do the will of God, so far as they knew it, though some strange notions and false spirits had crept in among them. With a little caution and some wisdom, I soon assisted the brethren and sisters to overcome them. The plan of ‘common stock,’ which had existed in what was called ‘the family,’ whose members generally had embraced the everlasting Gospel, was readily abandoned for the more perfect law of the Lord; and the false spirits were easily discerned and rejected by the light of revelation. The Lord gave unto the Church the following: (D&C 41).’” The people who were living this quasi- law of consecration are clearly avid students of the scriptures, and wholly dedicated to obeying God by living such a immaterial and abstract lifestyle. They were astute enough to pick out the aspects of the law of consecration left in the Bible and apply it to their own lives in a manner of being the most Christ-like that they could at the time, that’s incredible faith. Just as an aside, DJR gives the following account from Joseph and Emma’s trip from New York to Kirtland, quoting the IM he says, “About the first of February the sleigh pulled up in front of Newel K. Whitney’s store in Kirtland. Joseph sprang from the sleigh and entered the store. ‘Newel K. Whitney! Thou art the man,’ he exclaimed, extending his hand cordially, as if to an old and familiar acquaintance. ‘You have the advantage of me,’ replied the merchant,… ‘I could not call you by name as you have me.’ ‘I am Joseph the Prophet,’ said the stranger smiling. ‘you’ve prayed me here, now what do you want of me?’ Joseph explained to the amazed merchant that back in New York he had seen Newel in a vision praying for him to come to Kirtland. The Whitneys received Joseph and Emma Smith with kindness and invited them to live temporarily with them. During the next several weeks the Smiths ‘received every kindness and attention which could be expected, and especially from Sister Whitney.’” Fun little story there, DJR calls is “another testimony of the prophetic calling of Joseph Smith.” Another point that I find interesting and honestly, a little bit humbling, was that the Smith’s stayed with the Whitneys, just like they had stayed with the Whitmers and Emma’s parents and Joseph’s parents. There weren’t very many times when they had a house to call their own, and I know how hard that it, even just living with your own parents. I think back to the times when I’ve judged someone or myself harshly because they didn’t have the financial stability that I thought that they should have, and really, if I used this measuring stick, the Prophet would not have “measured up,” and clearly he did to the Lord and really that’s all that matters. The Master Himself was homeless during most of his ministry, so I really need to rethink some of my assumptions. 41:1-6 - The Lord begins, obviously pleased with his people, saying “Hearken and hear, O ye my people, saith the Lord and your God, ye whom I delight to bless with the greatest of all blessings, ye that hear me.” The Lord loves to bless us with amazing things, I had a very profound personal lesson on this exact topic this weekend, while I was decompressing from my week of meltdowns. The things that I want are very important to the Lord and he wants to give them to me, but I have to be ready for them before he can. This was a deeply profound lesson for me and I appreciated it. The Lord continues however, “And ye that hear me not will I curse, that have professed my name, with the heaviest of all cursings.” The IM teaches, “Because there were those who had professed the name of the Lord and made covenant to serve him, like James Covill, for instance, and then they showed by their works that they did not act in sincerity, the Lord gave a revelation for the guidance of the members and a warning to those who had professed his name who had not obeyed him. This is one of the most solemn and pointed declarations that can be found in any scripture against the hypocrite and the person who professes in sincerity, and apparently accepts in good faith, a covenants and then departs from the covenant.” DJR gives the comment, “It is a strong contrast between faithful Saints, who do their best to obey the Lord, and others, who claim membership in the Church, but who do not really want to live the gospel.” I’m glad that he said that last part, because I saw myself in all of the things that he said were bad, not keeping the commandments, violating my covenants, even though I try my absolute best, I still fail miserably many times, so I’m glad that he cleared that up. The Lord continuously references his “law” that was coming, it’s mentioned three times in the beginning verses of this section, but what law is he talking about? The IM teaches, “The Prophet Joseph Smith persuaded the members of the Kirtland Branch to abandon the ‘common stock’ plan for the more perfect law of the Lord to be revealed according to the promise given at Fayette, New York (see D&C 38:32). In Doctrine and Covenants 41:2-4 the Lord directed the elders of the Church to assemble in Kirtland to receive this law. The law was given a few days later and is known as the law of consecration (see D&C 42).” It makes sense that those who are already trying to live this principle should be taught the correct order of it so that they can do it correctly and prosper and be happy in it, since it’s obviously a very important commandment to the people already.” The Lord continues in verse 5, “He that receiveth my law and doeth it, the same is my disciple; and he that saith he receiveth it and doeth it not, the same is not my disciple, and shall be cast out from among you.” The IM quotes President Spencer W. Kimball as teaching, “As important as it is to have this vision in mind, defining and describing Zion will not bring it about. That can only be done through consistent and concerted daily effort by every single member of the Church. No matter what the cost in toil or sacrifice, we must do it. That is one of my favorite phrases: ‘Do it.’” Verse 6 is a throwback to the New Testament when he says, “For it is not meet that the things which belong to the children of the kingdom should be given to them that are not worthy, or to dogs, or the pearls to be cast before swine.” I’ve always struggled with this concept because I love dogs, and I never really thought that it was nice to call non-believers “swine” but HN gave the best explanation of this ever, in which he says, “What about these people who won’t accept the gospel? This is not running down dogs or swine. The word he uses in conariun, which means ‘pet doggy.’ You don’t gave all the good on the table to your pet dog. For one thing it would make the little puppy sick. It’s not his food. They are ready to receive it, and they wouldn’t appreciate it. They would just turn again and trample you; they wouldn’t know what they were getting at all. This isn’t holding them in contempt, but things should be distributed where they can be appreciated and used. The dog will bite you, and the swine will just tread on the pearls. They don’t mean anything to him. That’s why things must be done appropriately, of course.” I heard once where he asked, “don’t the dogs want nice things too?” And I couldn’t stop laughing because it was hilarious and true. It goes back to the concept that we talked about yesterday, how the Lord told JS that his command to James Covill was given to him in a an appropriate time, that he was ready to make that commitment. This is also similar to the concept that miracles don’t convert, they only strengthen the testimony of those already converted, the miracles that we see clearly don’t mean anything to others. The IM quotes President Joseph Fielding Smith as teaching, “The things of the kingdom are not for the unworthy, whether they are in or out of the Church. It is the duty of the members to hold in the most solemn and sacred manner every commandments, every covenants, every principle of truth which the Lord has revealed for their salvation. He has given to the members, if they will humbly receive them, covenants and obligations which are not for the world. Things that are most holy and sacred, which are revealed to those who have made covenant to be ‘just and true,’ and who have ‘overcome by faith,’ things which are imparted to them as a means of bringing to pass their exaltation, should not be lightly treated, ridiculed, or spoken of before the world… Yet how often do we see the foolish, the ignorant and those who fail to comprehend the vastness of these sacred principles and covenants, treating them lightly and unworthily even before the world!” A missionary that I knew once said that knowledge received prematurely is the fastest way to apostasy, and as I thought about it, he was right, and this concept tells us that Jesus, as the Master Psychologist, knows how to teach his people in a way that will help them grow and be strengthened. 41:7-12 – The Lord now sees to take care of His Prophet’s temporal needs, telling the members that “it is meet that my servant Joseph Smith, Jun., should have a house built, in which to live and translate.” I wonder how difficult it was for Joseph Smith to give this portion of the revelation, as I’m sure that he wanted to build his own house himself, instead of asking others to do it for him. I wonder if it was both a humbling event for both those workers and for the Prophet himself. The workers because it demonstrated to them that JS’s main purpose in life was spiritual, not temporal, and to the Prophet because it showed him that he was to not care so much as temporal things, and to do what the Lord told him. I only say this because of what I perceive JS’s character to be and any self-respecting man would have wanted to build his own house, farm his own land, and support his own family. The Lord doesn’t put these restrictions on SR though when he says, “It is meet that my servant Sidney Rigdon should live as seemeth him good, inasmuch as he keepeth my commandments.” DJR speculates that this might be the case because “he is from this area,” so he probably already has arrangements made. The Lord now calls Edward Partridge as “a bishop unto the Church, to leave his merchandise and to spend all his time in the labors of the church.” The IM teaches, “In the law of consecration, the bishop was the spiritual and temporal agent who directed the program, assigned inheritances, received properties, and so on. The law was to be revealed shortly, so it was appropriate that Edward Partridge should be called as the first bishop in the Church.” DJR comments that “the Lord pays Edward Partridge a high compliment” when he says, “And this because his heart is pure before me, for he is like unto Nathanael of old, in whom there is no guile.” I hope that one day the Lord can say this same thing about me, that my heart is pure before him and that I have no guile. I’m working on it, slowly but surely.