D&C 60

Section 60 is pretty instructive about how those who had gone on a mission from Kirtland to Missouri should return home, but there are some excellent points we can glean from it. The IM gives the background information saying, “On 3 June 1831 a conference was held at Kirtland, Ohio, at which twenty-eight missionaries were called to go to the land of Missouri, preaching the gospel as they journeyed. Having completed their mission, ‘on the 8^th day of August, 1831, at the close of the first conference held in Missouri, the elders inquired what they were to do. The Prophet inquired of the Lord and received a revelation giving them direction in relation to their return journey.” DJR gives some info saying, “by the way, if you look at a map, you will see that much of the journey between Missouri and Ohio could be made by river (particularly the Missouri, Mississippi, and Ohio rivers). This helps understand the use of the ‘craft’ (boat) mentioned in verse 5. Waterways were indeed the preferred mode of travel for many in that day.”

60:1-6 - The Lord is pleased that these missionaries have come to Missouri, but now it’s time to go home. But it’s not all rainbows and sunshine, the Lord says, “But with some I am not well pleased, for they will not open their mouths, but they hide the talent which I have given unto them, because of the fear of man. Wo unto such, for mine anger is kindled against them.” I think that one aspect we have to remember is the level of violence that threatened the missionaries, so it’s not just a matter of nervousness in public speaking, but there’s a legitimate concern for their safety. It would be very daunting to “preach” the gospel, I mean, if I was called to “preach” the gospel, I wouldn’t know what that meant, so it’s not as clear cut as we might look at it today, when we think of missionaries. The IM teaches, “it was pleasing to the Lord that the elders had traveled to Missouri, and now they were to return speedily to Ohio. But the Lord was not pleased with some of them. President Joseph Fielding Smith noted: ‘They had been commanded to preach the Gospel along the way and bear testimony among the people, but some had failed to magnify this commandment because of their fear of man. It is true that not every man is a natural missionary, and there are those who shrink from the responsibility of raising their voices in proclamation of the Gospel, and yet this is an obligation that we owe to this fallen world. The elders in the very beginning had been commanded to serve the Lord with all their ‘heart, might, mind and strength,’ for the field is white and ready for the harvest. A penalty was to be inflicted upon those who failed and they were not to stand blameless at the last day. The preaching of the Gospel was to be a means to them by which they were not to perish, but bring salvation to their souls. There are many who have been sent forth who have had a fear of man, yet the Lord has promised to support them in their labors if they will trust in him.” This is similar to Moses and Elijah, Moses who was so paralyzed with fear of speaking in the beginning had Aaron as a mouth piece, then Elijah was able to be tutored by the Lord so that his weakness in speaking became a strength to him. The Lord is able to mold us into amazing things, we just have to let him. I guess I need to take my own advice on that. Interestingly, the Lord tells them that the way to get home is really up to them, “let there be a craft made, or bough, as seemeth you good, it mattereth not unto me.” DJR gives the best explanation of this saying, “the phrase ‘it mattereth not unto me’ may be a bit of a surprise to some who believe that there is always a right and wrong for every situation we face. Similar verses are found in D&C 61:22, 62:5, 63:44, and 80:3. In this case, the Lord is saying that it makes no difference to Him whether there brethren buy a boat or build one themselves. In applying this principle to our lives, there may be situations and decisions we face in which we seek an answer from the Lord but can’t seem to get one. For example, suppose you had two job offers, one for a position with a company in Rochester, New York, and one in San Diego, California. You pray and receive a peaceful feeling about the job in Rochester. Therefore, you assume that you should get a negative feeling when praying about the opportunity in San Diego. You pray and get a peaceful feeling. Confused, you try again, with the same results. You must make a decision soon, and in an attempt to draw closer to the Spirit, you turn to the scriptures, opening your Doctrine and Covenants to a random page. It is section 60. As you read, ‘it mattereth not unto me’ jumps out at you, and you now realize that either job would be fine with the Lord. He will use you in the Church no matter which location you settle in. With great relief, you offer a prayer of gratitude and proceed with making your choice.” I’ve always struggled with the idea that everything must be approved by the Lord or that he has a plan for every single aspect of our lives, but that’s not really the case all the time. I know that looking at my own personal life that when the Lord means for a certain thing to happen, everything works together to accomplish that purpose, but we are not always meant to do some specific great work to a certain person or something like that, sometimes we are meant to do specific things, but other times we are just meant to strengthen ourselves.

60:7-16 - I love that the Lord says that he is “able to make you holy.” I think that this goes hand in hand with allowing the Lord to strengthen our weak places. We start out as deeply flawed people and through the atonement and grace of God, we are able to become stronger and perfected and become holy, but it’s a team effort between us and the Lord. This is definitely the lesson I needed to learn tonight. There is an interesting phrase in verse 8 when the Lord tells the returning missionaries to take their times going home and to preach “among the congregations of the wicked.” That’s a pretty interesting phrase. DJR gives some good explanations saying, “We have to be a bit careful with the phrase ‘congregations of the wicked’ as used in verse 8, above. It is clear that many wicked, riotous, and rebellious people had come west and settled on the fringes of society, where they could live their chosen lifestyle in relative freedom. However, there were many good people also, with Christian standards and virtues, who had settled in these western lands. The term ‘wicked’ is sometimes used to mean those who do not have the gospel.” So not as bad as we thought. There is some instruction to Edwards Partridge and finally they, and us, are commanded to “not idle away thy time, neither shalt thou bury thy talent that it may not be known.” I think that this is where a good relationship with the Holy Ghost is so essential because there has to be a fine balance between working yourself to death and laziness. I feel that, for me, the best way to know if I’m filling my time wisely, is to listen to the Holy Ghost. If He’s telling me that I should be doing something and I just don’t want to do it, then I’m being lazy, if there’s no push or guilty feelings that I should be doing something, then I know it’s time to rest.