D&C 84:26-54

84:26 - There is a very subtle underlying theme of section 84 and that is of angels. Verse 26 says that the Aaronic priesthood “holdeth the key of the ministering of angels.” Most 12-18 year olds Aaronic priesthood holders that I know and it’s kind of a leap to think that they could be having “ministering of angels,” surely not because they aren’t promised that, but it’s just interesting to know that at such a young age, that is available to them. It makes me wonder how I can prepare my son for that, so that he can understand and fully utilize that incredible promise. While the IM skips over this phrase, DJR explores it extensively saying, “In reference to ‘ministering of angels,’ in verse 26, we are taught that angels do much behind the scenes to prepare the way for people to join the Church. We also understand that there is much ‘ministering’ by angels in assisting us in our family history work so that our dead ancestors can have the blessings of repentance and baptism. Elder Dallin H. Oaks spoke on the subject of the Aaronic Priesthood and the ministering of angels in the priesthood session of general conference in October 1998, as follows: ‘The scriptures recite numerous instances where an angel appeared personally. Angelic appearances to Zacharias and Mary and to King Benjamin and Nephi, the grandson of Helaman are only a few examples. When I was young, I thought that such personal appearances were the only meaning of the ministering of angels. As a young holder of the Aaronic Priesthood, I didn’t not think I would see an angel, and I wondered what such appearances had to do with the Aaronic Priesthood. But the ministering of angels can also be unseen. Angelic messages can be delivered by a voice or merely by thoughts or feelings communicated to the mind. President John Taylor described ‘the action of the angles, or messengers of God, upon our minds, so that the heart can conceive… revelations from the eternal world.’ Nephi described three manifestations of the ministering of angels when he reminded his rebellious brothers and (1) they had ‘seen an angel,’ (2) they had ‘heard his voice from time to time,’ and (3) also that an angel had ‘spoken unto (them) in a still small voice’ though they were ‘past feeling’ and ‘could not feel his world.’ The scriptures contain many other statements that angels are sent to teach the gospel and bring men to Christ. Most angelic communications are felt or heard rather than seen. How do the Aaronic Priesthood hold the key to the ministering of angels? The answer is the same as for the Spirit of the Lord. In general, the blessings of spiritual companionship and communication are only available to those who are clean. As explained earlier, through the Aaronic Priesthood ordinances of baptism and the sacrament, we are cleansed of our sins and promised that if we keep our covenants we will also have His Spirit to be with us. I believe that promise not only refers to the Holy Ghost but also to the ministering of angels, for ‘angels speak by the power of the Holy Ghost; wherefore, they speak the words of Christ.’ So it is that those who hold the Aaronic Priesthood open the door for all Church members who worthily partake of the sacrament to enjoy the companionship of the Spirit of the Lord and the ministering of angels.’” It seems like angels so a lot of the same things that the Holy Ghost does, or that they do a lot of the work through the Holy Ghost, and that makes sense. They are a part of the work as well, I’m going to look more into angels and how they work and how I can prepare my son to receive the key to the ministering of angels. But like Elder Oaks said, it would be similar to having the gift of the Holy Ghost.

84:27-30 - John the Baptist is a really interesting character in gospel history. I don’t know very much about him at all, and I would like to, I think that I’m going to try and find a book or something about him so that I can learn a little bit more. When the Melchizedek Priesthood was taken away from the Israelites after Moses, the Lord says that there was only the Aaronic Priesthood “until John, whom God raised up being filled with the Holy Ghost from his mother’s womb. For he was baptized while he was yet in his childhood, and was ordained by the angel of God at the time he was eight days old unto this power, to overthrow the kingdom of the Jews, and to make straight the way of the Lord before the face of his people, to prepare them for the coming of the Lord, in whose hand if given all power.” The IM explains further by quoting Elder Bruce R. McConkie saying, “What concerns us above all else as to the coming of John, however, it that he came with power and authority. He first received his errand from the Lord. His was no ordinary message, and he was no unauthorized witness. He was called of God and sent by him, and he represented Deity in the words that he spoke and the baptisms he performed. He was a legal administrator whose words and acts were binding on earth and in heaven, and his hearers were bound, at the peril of their salvation, to believe his words and heed his counsels. Luke says: ‘The word of God came unto God the son of Zacharias in the wilderness.’ Later John is to say: ‘He that sent me to baptize with water, the same said unto me,’ such and such things. Who sent him we do not know. We do know that ‘he was baptized while he was yet in his childhood (meaning, when he was eight years of age), and was ordained by the angel of God at the time he was eight days old unto this power (note it well, not to the Aaronic Priesthood, but) to overthrow the kingdom of the Jews, and to make straight the way of the Lord before the face of his people, to prepare them for the coming of the Lord, in whose hand is given all power.’ We do not know when he received the Aaronic Priesthood, but obviously it came to him after his baptism, at whatever age was proper, and before he was sent by one whom he does not name to preach and baptize with water.” The Lord also notes that the offices of Elder and Bishop are “appendages belonging unto the high priesthood.” And that the offices of teacher and deacon “are necessary appendages to the lesser priesthood.”

84:31-40 - That is the end of the parenthetical verses, “Therefore, as I said concerning the sons of Moses and also the sons of Aaron shall offer an acceptable offering and sacrifice in the house of the Lord.” Thinking back to the times of Moses and Aaron, they had the blood sacrifices, but here when this is being revealed in 1832, we didn’t do blood sacrifices anymore, so I wonder what sacrifices and offerings the Lord is talking about here? It might be that the Lord is referring to “whoso is faithful unto the obtaining these two priesthood of which I have spoken, and the magnifying their callings, are sanctified by the Spirit unto the renewing of their bodies. They become the sons of Moses and of Aaron and the seed of Abraham, and the church and kingdom, and the elect of God.” I love the way that the Lord has a “if A = B and B = C, then A = C” way of explanation because I really respond to that. He says that “all they who receive this priesthood receive me,” and “he that receiveth my servants receiveth me; and he that receiveth me receiveth the Father; And he that receiveth my Father receiveth my Father’s kingdom; therefore all that my Father hath shall be given unto him.” So ultimately, through this flow chart of sorts, we can see that those who receive the priesthood, worthily I would imagine, receives all that God has, that’s a pretty incredible promise. Although it seems like this is just speaking to men because they are the holders of the priesthood, I like DJR’s explanation saying, “while verse 35 is general understood to pertain to men as they accept the call to hold the Melchizedek Priesthood, it can, in a very important sense, pertain to all righteous members, male and female, who enter into or ‘receive’ priesthood covenants. D&C 132:19 makes it clear that when faithful men and women enter into covenants performed by ‘him who is anointed, unto whom I have appointed this power and the keys of this priesthood,’ if they continue to live worthy, they will enter exaltation and become gods.” If we try our best to be worthy and obedient, we get God’s life. I love how DJR sums this up saying, “It doesn’t take much analyzing to see that when we give our ‘all’ and qualify to receive the Father’s ‘all,’ we get the better bargain.” Verse 39 is where we get the phrase “oath and covenant” of the priesthood. “Therefore, all those who receive the priesthood, receive this oath and covenant of my Father, which he cannot break, neither can it be moved.” The IM quotes President Joseph Fielding Smith as teaching about the “oath and covenants of the priesthood,” saying, “As all of us know, a covenant is a contract and an agreement between at least two parties. In the case of gospel covenants, the parties are the Lord in heaven and men on earth. Men agree to keep the commandments and the Lord promises to reward them accordingly. The gospel itself is the new and everlasting covenant and embraces all of the agreements, promises, and rewards which the Lord offers to his people. And so when we receive the Melchizedek Priesthood we do so by covenant. We solemnly promise to receive the priesthood, to magnify our callings in it, and to live by every work that proceedeth forth from the mouth of God. The Lord on his part promises us that if we keep the covenant, we shall receive all that the Father hath, which is life eternal. Can any of us conceive of a greater or more glorious agreement than this?... To swear with an oath is the most solemn and binding form of speech known to the human tongue; and it was this type of language which the Father chose to have used in the great Messianic prophecy about Christ and the priesthood. Of him it says: ‘The Lord hath sworn, and will not repent, Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchizedek.’ In explaining this Messianic prophesy, Paul says that Jesus had ‘an unchangeable priesthood,’ and that through it came ‘the power of an endless life.’ Joseph Smith said that ‘all those who are ordained unto this priesthood are made like unto the Son of God, abiding a priest continually,’ that is, if they are faithful and true. And so Christ is the great prototype where priesthood is concerned, as he is with reference to baptism and all other things. And so, even the Father swears with an oath that his Son shall inherit all things through the priesthood, so he swears with an oath that all of us who magnify our callings in that same priesthood shall receive all that the Father hath.” Let’s think about when they say receiving the priesthood, let’s imagine that for men, and then receiving priesthood ordinances for the women, because like the Lord says, what he says to one he says to all. This puts a lot more weight on the ordinances that we probably take for granted, the sacrament is one for sure, I know that me and the kids usually run in late hoping and praying that we didn’t miss the sacrament yet. That’s not magnifying our priesthood covenants. I’m going to have to work on that. The IM asks “How does one magnify a calling?” And answers saying, “What does it mean to magnify one’s calling? According to Webster’s Third New International Dictionary, ‘to magnify’ is ‘to increase the importance of: cause to be held in greater esteem or respect… to make greater.’ One magnified a calling-

·         By learning one’s duty and executing it fully.

·         By giving one’s best effort in assigned fields of labor.

·         By consecrating one’s time, talents, and means to the Lord’s work as call upon by our leaders and the whisperings of the Spirit…

·         By teaching and exemplifying truth.’

In the words ‘magnifying their calling,’ far more seems to be implied than the mere attending of priesthood meetings, administering to the sacrament and the sick, and serving in Church work. Faithfulness to warrant the reception of the priesthood is a condition that perhaps all men do not meet. And the magnifying of their callings seems to imply a totalness which few, in any, men reach in mortality. Perfection of body and spirit seems to be included here.” I hadn’t considered callings or priesthood ordination as eternal concepts, but I guess it makes sense that they are.

84:41-44 - The priesthood is eternal in nature and has great power and great responsibilities, therefore it is not a covenant to enter into lightly. I’ve noticed that usually the Lord speaks talking about greatness and blessings and then follows that with punishments or consequences of refusing or breaking his word. Basically he follows a “positive, negative, positive” formula, which interestingly is what Dale Carnegie teaches in “How to Win Friends and Influence People,” which is an excellent book that changed much of my view of personal interaction. Anyway, the Lord says that “whoso breaketh this covenant after he hath received it, and altogether turneth therefrom, shall not have forgiveness of sins in this world nor in the world to come.” Pretty serious consequences, almost sons of perdition wording there. The IM says, “The verb received in verses 40-41 may imply much more than just being ordained to the Melchizedek Priesthood. President Marion G. Romney said of this verse: ‘Now, I do not think this means that all who fail to magnify their callings in the priesthood will have committed the unpardonable sin, but I do think that priesthood bearers who have entered into the covenants that we enter into- in the waters of baptism, in connection with the law of tithing, the Word of Wisdom, and the many other covenants we make- and then refuse to live up to these covenants will stand in jeopardy of losing the promise of eternal life.” The wording here is very important, he says “refuse” as in “not even try” and the word refusal has such a negative connotation that, to me, almost implies contempt. He didn’t say “those who try and fall short” because that would mean all of us, he says those who “refuse,” and there’s a big difference in intent there.

84:45-54 - There’s a connection between verses 44 and 45, the subject transition is easier when read continuously. The Lord says, “For you shall live by every word that proceedeth forth from the mouth of God. For the word of the Lord is truth, and whosoever is truth is light, and whatsoever is light is Spirit, even the Spirit of Jesus Christ. And the Spirit giveth light to every man that cometh into the world.” Again we have the “A=C” pattern here, and DJR explains that this means “everyone born into the world is given the Spirit of Christ, sometimes called the Light of Christ.” I’ve heard this before, everyone is born with the light of Christ, that makes sense because if we came from the pre-existence as spirits prepared for this mortal journey, but given no connection to our Heavenly Father, then it would just be a free for all down here, no guidance, no knowledge, no longings, nothing, just straight animalistic survival. The IM teaches, “Satan has power in the earth, and in the exercise of his agency he tempts the children of men… At the same time we have the sweet influence of the Spirit of God pleasing with us to do that which is right, pleading with every human being that does not drive it from him; for every human being has a portion of the Spirit of God given unto him. We sometimes call it conscience; we call it by one name and we call it by another; but it is the Spirit of God that every man and woman possesses that is born on the earth. God has given unto all his children this Spirit. Of course it is not the gift of the Holy Ghost in its fullness; for that is only received by obedience to the commandments of god.” The Lord gives the antithesis of the equation that he taught earlier, and that is basically that those who don’t come to him are “under the bondage of sin” and “by this you may know the righteous from the wicked, and that the whole world groaneth under sin and darkness even now.” DJR comments “Those who are not with Christ are being held captive by sin, whether they know it or not. It is just that simple.” It’s an interesting concept because we consider ideas like “neutral ground” and neutral doesn’t sound unpleasant, or sinning in ignorance, and really it just sounds like a child who pulls the pots and pans out of the cupboard, they didn’t know better and were just doing the best they knew how at the time. So how does that equate to being held captive by sin? Is the baby who makes a mess being held captive by sin? Seems a little bit extreme to me. Let’s consider it another way. Let’s consider that if pulling out stuff from the cupboard is just innocent fun, what if that stuff is bleach? Is it innocent fun then? No because then the baby can get it in their mouths, get sick and possibly die. So did that baby try to commit suicide? No, but the baby’s actions did not lead to its happiness. Another possible way to imagine this is what if the baby just stuck with pulling out cookware, didn’t mess with the chemicals at all, is that still innocent fun? Well, it’s probably fun at the time, but there’s a couple of habits that become ingrained in the baby as it grows up just emptying the cupboards whenever the urge arises. The first lesson is to do whatever you want, if it feels good do it, or if you feel like it, do it. Those are not good lessons to learn in life. Another habit can be messy living because if the baby pulls out all the cookware, someone has to clean it up, and eventually that someone will be the baby who grew up. And finally another habit developed could be a disregard for the feelings and work load of another. A baby doesn’t consider the impact making a mess can have on their mother, who has to clean it up. But when the baby is older, and not even a little bit older, they will be mature enough to learn empathy and compassion and responsibility, but if they aren’t taught it, then they will continue acting in a manner that is not kind. If that baby is allowed to behave in that manner and develops those certain habits, does that make them a bad person? No, they were never taught. But does that make them a happy person? No, because those habits are not conducive to a lifestyle that brings eternal peace and joy. Peace and joy come through keeping the commandments, and if someone doesn’t know to keep those commandments, it doesn’t mean that they are condemned, but it doesn’t mean that they are happy either.