D&C 76:1-19

76:1-12 - Yay! We’re starting section 76! The Lord begins giving some perspective, “rejoice ye inhabitants thereof, for the Lord is God, and beside him there is no Savior.” I think that in our lives we can become overwhelmed or focused on things that ultimately don’t matter, but really, when it all comes down to it, what really matters is the Savior, the atonement, and the plan of salvation. Because really, if there weren’t these things, nothing would matter, we wouldn’t have anything, and our existence would be absolutely pointless and painful. We couldn’t console ourselves to the fact that all things would work out for our good. Pretty awful. The IM teaches, “As do many sections of the Doctrine and Covenants, this vision begins with an affirmation of power, glory, and majesty of Jesus Christ. It is fitting that the Lord would begin this revelation of the various eternal rewards with the reminder that only in Him is there power to save, that none can ‘stay his hand,’ that none can stop Him from accomplishing His work, which is ‘to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man.’” Next is a fitting description, making the subject of the revelation more personal. The Lord says, “I, the Lord, am merciful and gracious unto those who fear me, and delight to honor those who serve me in righteousness and in truth unto the end. Great shall be their reward and eternal shall be their glory.” He says that he will “reveal all mysteries… even the wonders of eternity… their wisdom shall be great, and their understanding reach to heaven… For by my Spirit will I enlighten them, and by my power will I make known unto them the secrets of my will- yea, even those things which eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor yet entered into the heart of man.” I’ve found this to be true in my own life. I don’t mean that I have crazy revelations all the time, but I learn things, I receive understandings about issues that come from the Spirit and things can make sense to me. I feel like it is like having a personal spiritual tutor, it’s pretty incredible. The IM teaches, “In these verses the Lord indicates that if a person fears Him (that is, respects, reverences, and obey Him) and serves Him to the end, He will be delighted to honor that person. The honors include:

1. A great reward (see D&C 76:6).

2. Eternal glory (see v. 5).

3. Revelation of all mysteries of God’s kingdom, both past and present see v. 7).

4. Knowledge of His will concerning all things in the kingdom. (see v. 7).

5. Knowledge of the wonders of eternity (see v 8).

6. Knowledge of many generations (see v. 8).

7. Great wisdom (see v. 9).

8. Understanding that reaches to heaven and which the world cannot equal (see v. 9).

9. Enlightenment by the Spirit and power of God. (see v. 10).

The mention of these promises at the beginning of this revelation is significant, for Joseph Smith and Sidney Rigdon indicated that they were not allowed to write all that they were shown. Not only is it unlawful for man to reveal these things, but it is impossible for him to do so because they are so glorious that man is incapable of making them known. The Savior states, however, that those who will ‘purify themselves before him’ through the power of the Holy Spirit shall have the ‘privilege of seeing and knowing (these things) for themselves.’” Some of these things I’ve learned about since doing a more in depth study of the scriptures, some of the things I have to exercise a little bit of faith about until it comes time for me to learn more about them.

76:13-19 - JS and SR testify that they “saw and with whom we conversed in the heavenly vision.” That’s pretty incredible. JS gives a little background about what prompted these questions, saying that he was wondering about John 5:29 which talked about the resurrection of the just and those who had been evil to the resurrection of the unjust. There’s an interesting concept here, JS says “Now this caused us to marvel, for it was given unto us of the Spirit.” DJR gives some great insight here saying, “Did you notice the wonderful doctrine in verse 18? The Holy Ghost can cause us to wonder about things, to prepare us to be taught, and to receive answers. Perhaps you have had the experience of wondering about something, and them going to church and the sacrament meeting speaker or a teacher in one of your classes answered your question. It may have seemed to you that he or she was talking directly to you! And because you had been wondering about that very thing, the answer meant much more than it otherwise would have because you were prepared by the Spirit to hear it. In fact, you still remember it today. Such is the power of the Holy Ghost to prepare and teach us.” I’ve found this to be the case so many times, especially here in the blog, listening to the Ensign and conference talks and books on my way into work, I learn so much and it almost always seems to apply to exactly what I’m going to be studying in the scriptures that night, it’s really incredible and profitable. JS also comments that this revelation came to him and SR “while we meditated upon these things.” This was an interesting phrase, I thought, and the IM says, “The Prophet and Sidney Rigdon were meditating when this revelation came. President Marion G. Romney said: ‘As I have read the scriptures, I have been challenged by the word ponder, so frequently used in the Book of Mormon. The dictionary says that ponder means ‘to weigh mentally, think deeply about, deliberate, meditate.’… Pondering is, in my feeling, a form of prayer. It has, at least, been an approach to the Spirit of the Lord on many occasions.’ At least two other great visions came as a direct result of pondering. Nephi says that he was ‘pondering in mine heart’ the things of his father’s dream when he was ‘caught away in the Spirit of the Lord, yea into an exceeding high mountain.’ And President Joseph F. Smith said that he received his vision of the spirit world as he sat in his room ‘pondering over the scriptures; and reflecting.’ President David O. McKay taught the value of meditation: ‘I think we pay too little attention to the value of meditation, a principle of devotion… Meditation is one of the most secret, most sacred doors through which we pass into the presence of the Lord. Jesus set the example for us. As soon as he was baptized and received the Father’s approval- ‘This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased’- Jesus repaired to what is now known as the Mount of Temptation where, during forty days of fasting, he communed with himself and his Father and contemplated the responsibility of his own great mission. One result of this spiritual communion was such strength as enabled him to say to the tempter: ‘Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.’” I have been thinking about this for the last few days, and I decided that I’m going to start stretching for 5 minutes every morning and meditating during that time, focus on what I want to get done that day, what I want to pray about, and then actually pray. And do the same thing at night before I go to bed. It’s only 5 minutes, I’ll be fine.