Blogging Through the Book of Mormon

Section 55 is really short as well and written to WW Phelps and the IM gives background as follows: “William Wines Phelps was born at Hanover, Morris County, New Jersey, on 17 February 1792. He worked as editor of a newspaper called the Western Courier and later established anti-Masonic papers known as the Lake Light and Ontario Phoenix, both in New York. He was nominated by his friends for the office of lieutenant governor of New York, and although he did not receive the nomination, he did gain much valuable experience. On March 26 1830, W.W. Phelps read an announcement that the Book of Mormon was about to come off the press. He later met Parley P. Pratt, who sold him a copy. After he read the Book of Mormon, he went to Kirtland, Ohio, where he met Joseph Smith. When Phelps inquired what the Lord desired of him, he was directed to be baptized and take his family to Missouri (see D&C 55, which was received shortly after W.W. Phelps and his family arrived in Kirtland in June 1831.)...

54:1-6 - The Lord begins by introducing himself as “Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, even he who was crucified for the sins of the world.” I wonder why sometimes the Lord introduces himself and sometimes not. As far as I know, Newel Knight had received revelation from the Lord before, but then again, maybe not. Newel Knight is commanded to “stand fast in the office whereunto I have appointed you,” which the IM reminds us that “Newel Knight had been appointed to lead the Colesville Saints according to the instructions given in Doctrine and Covenants 38:34-36.” The Lord continues, that “if your brethren desire to escape their enemies, let them repent of all their sins, and become truly humble before me and contrite.” I think it’s interesting that the Lord doesn’t say to prepare for battle or combine forces or come up with an attack plan, he says to be safe from their enemies, the best thing they can do is repent. It’s kind of like when Alma knew that war was imminent for the ...

Section 54 is a revelation to Newel Knight through Joseph Smith because Newel had come to inquire of the Lord concerning a problem that was occurring in the newly settled parts of Kirtland and surrounding areas. Basically, Leman Copley had agreed by covenant and under contract to donate his large farm to the use of the Church in settling the new saints there, but then once the saints got there, he changed his mind. Among his encouragers was Ezra Thayre, who we can remember being called on a mission just a couple of sections ago. Not having a place to settle, the Saints asked Newel Knight to ask the Lord what they were to do, and section 54 was the result. I don’t think I’m going to get very much into it more than that tonight, I’ve decided that along with blogging through the scriptures, I’m going to do a little bit of personal journaling on here as well, what I face and how I feel as I move forward and stuff. I have to be honest, I’ve had a really bad attitude today, lots of sweari...

Section 53 was given through Joseph Smith to Algernon Sidney Gilbert, who is apparently a really great guy, faithful and interesting. The IM gives the background information as follows: “He was then the senior partner in the successful mercantile firm of Gilbert and Whitney in Kirtland, Ohio. Sometime after he joined the Church, he was ordained an elder and sent to Missouri to buy land and operate a small store. When mob violence broke loose, Sidney Gilbert closed his store upon request and helped appease the mob temporarily. On 23 July 1833 he, with others, offered himself as a ransom for the Saints. He was a devoted and faithful and sacrificed all of his goods during the persecutions in Missouri. He lacked confidence in his ability to preach, however, and, according to some reports, he said he ‘would rather die than go forth to preach the Gospel to the Gentiles.’ Ironically, he later contracted cholera and died. Heber C. Kimball recorded in his journal that ‘the Lord took him at his...

51:21-34 - The Lord now begins calling specific people and DJR gives us some interesting insight into the background of some of them. He calls: Thomas B. Marsh, Ezra Thayre, Isaac Morley, Ezra Booth, Edward Partridge and Martin Harris are companions with Sidney Rigdon and Joseph Smith, which I think is interesting. David Whitmer and Harvey Whitlock, Parley P. Pratt and Orson Pratt are companions and brothers. Solomon Hancock, Simeon Carter, Edson Fuller, Jacob Scott, Levi W. Hancock, Zebedee Coltrin, Reynolds Cahoon and Samuel H. Smith. DJR gives an interesting account about Reynolds Cahoon saying, “in 1834 he and his wife will have their seventh child, a boy. They will ask the Prophet Joseph Smith to give him a name and a blessing. As the Prophet prepared to do their bidding, he asked them what name they wanted him to give the infant. They declined to give one, instead asking Joseph to choose one. During the blessing, the Prophet named the baby ‘Mahonri Moriancumer.’ You can perhaps ...

Section 52 is a new one, kind of a random topic, everything put together that was pertinent at the time, kind of revelation. DJR gives the background as follows: “This revelation was given on June 7, 1831, in Kirtland, Ohio, through the Prophet Joseph Smith. The Church had just finished holding a four-day conference in Kirtland, which began on June 3 and finished on June 6. During this conference, several of the brethren were ordained to the office of high priest, the first time this specific office was conferred upon men in this dispensation. It was also during this conference that Joseph Smith revealed that John the Revelator (the Apostle who had served with Peter and James in the First Presidency and who was translated) was, at that time (1831) working with the lost ten tribes, preparing them for their return.” 52:1-10 - The Lord begins by telling the Saints that the next conference will be “held in Missouri, upon the land which I will consecrate unto my people.” I think that it’...

51:3 - Now we get into the law of consecration part of this revelation, with the Lord assigning Edward Partridge “in whom I am well pleased” to assign “unto this people their portions, every man equal according to his family, according to his circumstances and his wants and needs.” So does this mean that every person is going to get the same amount of land or animals or resources regardless of individual circumstances? The IM teaches, “the law of consecration was designed to make us equal in temporal things, but as President J. Reuben Clark Jr. pointed out, this equality is of a special kind. ‘One of the places in which some of the brethren are going astray is this: There is continuous reference in the revelations to equality among the brethren, but I think you will find only one place where that equality is really described, though it is referred to in other revelations. That revelation (D&C 51:3) affirms that every man is to be ‘equal according to his family, according to his ci...

Section 51 brings us back to the Law of Consecration, even though we had a pretty in depth coverage in section 42, since it’s implementation there has been some specific scenarios that Bishop Edward Partridge needed guidance on. DJR gives some interesting insight saying, “Perhaps you have attended a class or heard a discussion in which the ‘united order’ or ‘law of consecration’ was said to be basically similar to communism. Nothing could be further from the truth. As we study this revelation, we will see foundational principles upon which the law of consecration is based. Among other things, we will see that the individual is the top priority (opposite of communism), allowances are made to accommodate and foster individual talents and personalities (opposite of communism), and that private ownership of property is an integral part (opposite of communism).” I want to look, in this section, as we go through and see just how the Law of consecration is designed for the benefit of the ind...

50:37-42 - The Lord now begins speaking about certain individuals. He calls Joseph Wake-field, Parley P. Pratt, and John Cor-rill to “labor in the vineyard; and let no man hinder them doing that which I have appointed unto them. The Lord also chastens Edward Partridge saying that he “is not justified; nevertheless let him repent and he shall be forgiven.” I think that it’s so important to note here how the Lord always tells us that we will be forgiven if we repent. I can’t help but contrast this to my own parenting style, if my children do something wrong, I usually let them wallow in the prospect that their lives are going to be changed forever because of their bad behavior, knowing full well that short of doing something horrific, everything will return to normal after they fix whatever mistake they’ve made. Looking at how God deals with us when we make mistakes, he tells us to fix them and he will forgive us, otherwise, if we didn’t know for sure that we would be forgiven, we might...

50:26-30 - The Lord now talks about the “first is last and the last is first” concept, saying, “He that is ordained of God and sent forth, the same is appointed to be the greatest, notwithstanding he is the least and the servant of all. Wherefore, he is possessor of all things; for all things are subject unto him, both in heaven and on the earth, the life and the light, the Spirit and the power, sent forth by the will of the Father through Jesus Christ, his Son. But no man is possess of all things except he be purified and cleansed from all sin. And if ye are purified and cleansed from all sin, ye shall ask whatsoever you will in the name of Jesus and it shall be done.” When hearing this I think of Nephi, son of Nephi, son of Helaman, who prayed that a famine would replace the war that was ravishing the land, or Elisha who told Naaman to go wash in the river 7 times to be cured from his leprosy, or Lorenzo Snow who brought a boy back from the dead. In order to do all these things they...

50:10-21 - The Lord explains that they will “reason together, that ye may understand; Let us reason even as a man reasoneth one with another face to face. Now, when a man reasoneth he is understood of man, because he reasoneth as a man; even so will I, the Lord, reason with you that you may understand.”   The IM says, “the Lord sometimes reasons with us in the same way we reason with each other. His purpose in reasoning with us is the same as His reason for speaking to us in our own language: He wants them to ‘come to understanding.’” The Lord does a question and answer forum for the next several verses, asking “unto what were ye ordained? To preach my gospel by the Spirit, even the Comforter which was sent forth to teach the truth.” He asks them is they were “justified”   in believing that the “spirits which   ye could not understand” came from God. He answers that they can answer this question for themselves, “nevertheless, I will be merciful unto you; he that is weak ...

50:4-9 - Here’s an interesting part of this section, not really about false spirits, but the Lord says “Behold, I, the Lord, have looked upon you, and have seen abominations in the church that profess my name… Behold, Verily I say unto you, there are hypocrites among you, who have deceived some, which has given the adversary power; but behold such shall be reclaimed. But the hypocrites shall be detected and shall be cut off, either in life or in death, even as I will; and wo unto them who are cut off from my church, for the same are overcome of the world. Wherefore, let every man beware lest he do that which is not in truth and righteousness before me.” I really like this part, in fact I just had a conversation with a friend last night who said that he didn’t believe in God because of how the “believers” live their lives, full of hypocrisy and hate and anger and violence and fear and pain, all of that put together was enough to make him very averse to religion, but he’s a super nice g...

Section 50 gives some interesting insight into a topic that we’ve already talked about, the difference between the influence of the Holy Ghost and false spirits. The IM gives background as follows: “During all dispensations when the gospel has been on the earth, Satan has devised ways to counterfeit revelation. The Prophet Joseph Smith observed: ‘Soon after the Gospel was established in Kirtland, and during the absence of the authorities of the Church, many false spirits were introduced, many strange visions were seen, and wild, enthusiastic notions were entertained: men ran out of doors under the influence of this spirit, and some of them got upon the stumps of trees and shouted, and all kinds of extravagances were entered into by them; one man pursued a ball that he said he saw flying in the air, until he came to a precipice, when he jumped into the top of a tree, which saved his life; and many ridiculous things were entered into, calculated to bring disgrace upon the Church of God,...

49:5-10 - The Lord continues by giving a little bit of background on Himself, saying, “for I am God, and have sent mine Only Begotten Son into the world for the redemption of the world, and have decreed that he that receiveth him shall be saved, and he that receiveth him not shall be damned- And they have done unto the Son of Man even as they listed; and he has taken his power on the right hand of his glory, and now reigneth in the heavens, and will reign till he descend on the earth to put all enemies under his feet, which time is nigh at hand- I, the Lord God, have spoken it; but the hour and the day no man knoweth, neither the angels in heaven, nor shall they know until he comes.” The IM comments “The Shakers did not believe Christ to be divine and therefore were not looking forward to His Second Coming. What they were looking for was the return of the ‘Christ spirit,’ a spirit that would infuse their leader and make him or her spiritual and not carnal. They believed four persons h...