D&C 84:55-76

84:55-59 - The Lord ties in the lesson “and by this you may know the righteous from the wicked… And your minds in times past have been darkened because of unbelief, and because you have treated lightly the things you have received.” There are a couple of points here that I think are important. The first is that the Lord shows us just how easy it is go slide back into wickedness from righteousness, all we have to do is not take seriously the things that He gives us. Even the faithful men to whom the Lord was speaking now, have had their minds “darkened because of unbelief.” It’s not a scourge that we are free from once we get baptized, the quest for spirituality and enlightenment from the Lord is a lifelong pursuit. The second point that is made here is that not all who are “wicked” are bad and not all who are “righteous” are good, there’s both aspects in everyone and it’s our quest to drive the darkness out. He shows us that even those who profess to be saints can engage in wicked behavior, in this case because they must “repent and remember the new covenant, even the Book of Mormon and the former commandments which I have given them, not only to say, but to do according to that which I have written.” We are all in a constant state of flux, we are all fighting the same battles, good vs. evil, and so instead of antagonizing others or judging them or anything like that, we should be helping, encouraging, and lifting each other. This plague of neglect of the Book of Mormon was not just a probably with the early saints, but haunts us today, truly. The IM comments “The compilation and preservation of the Book of Mormon have been carefully guarded and watched over by the Savior and His prophets down through the ages. Its message is of greatest importance to the inhabitants of the earth, and to treat lightly that sacred record is a serious things, as President Ezra Taft Benson explained: ‘Some of the early missionaries, on returning home, were reproved by the Lord in section 84 of the Doctrine and Covenants because they had treated lightly the Book of Mormon. As a result, their minds had been darkened. The Lord said that this kind of treatment of the Book of Mormon brought the whole Church under condemnation, even all of the children of Zion. And then the Lord said, ‘And they shall remained under this condemnation until they repent and remember the new covenant, even the Book of Mormon.’ Are we still under that condemnation?... Grave consequences hang on our response to the Book of Mormon. ‘Those who receive it,’ said the Lord, ‘in faith, and work righteousness, shall receive a crown of eternal life; But those who harden their hearts in unbelief, and reject it, it shall turn to their own condemnation- For the Lord God has spoken it.’ Is the Book of Mormon true? Yes. Who is it for? Us. What is its purpose? To bring men to Christ. How does it do this? By testifying of Christ and revealing his enemies. How are we to use it? We are to get a testimony of it, we are to teach from it, we are to hold it up as a standard and ‘hiss it forth.’ Have we been doing this? Now as we should, nor as we much. Do eternal consequences rest upon our response to this book? Yes, either to our blessing or our condemnation. Every Latter-day Saint should make the study of this book a lifetime pursuit. Otherwise he is placing his soul in jeopardy and neglecting that which could give spiritual and intellectual unity to his whole life.” As I’ve done a more intensive study of the Book of Mormon, it has changed my life. I’ve learned things, seen and understood things with a clarity that I’ve never had before. I know who God is and I know who I am to him and that was a game changer for me. I’m not perfect, I’m not even very good, but I am grateful for the care and energy that the Lord and other put into making the scriptures available to be placed in my hands. I’ve read many books that were incredible, and gave me insight into life in general that have been very valuable, and I’ve shouted their praises from the roof tops, told everyone, but do I do that with the Book of Mormon? Which book has changed my life the most? The Book of Mormon. But I don’t share it like it’s a life changing book, do I? Nope. I’m going to have to work on that. These early saints are admonished to repent and “bring forth fruit meet for their Father’s kingdom; otherwise there remaineth a scourge and judgment to be poured out upon the children of Zion. For shall the children of the kingdom pollute my hold land? Verily, I say unto you, Nay.” DJR comments “The Saints who were settling in Missouri at the time of this revelation fully expected that the Church would be established there, never to be removed, and that it would continue to grow and flourish in Jackson County until the Second Coming. As you can see, in verses 58 and 59, there is a stern warning from the Lord that if they do not ‘bring forth fruit meet for their Father’s kingdom’- in other words, if they do not live in harmony with the celestial laws incorporated in the law of consecration, they will be ‘scourged’ (driven and plundered).” When I first heard that the early saints were not able to stay in Missouri because they weren’t righteous enough, that was a little intimidating to me. I thought “if those who left their family, friends, and all their belongings behind for the sake of the gospel weren’t righteous enough for Zion, then who is?” But as I read through this section I had some thoughts come, and that is that they were supposed to keep the law of consecration, and while I’m sure many did with great intent, many did not, and maybe that’s what it took to keep the city of Zion strong enough to withstand Satan at that time. Another thought that I had was that while they were there in concentration in 1837-1839, many of the top leaders of the Church apostatized and stirred up or at least supported those who were opposed to the gospel in efforts to get the saints out of Missouri, and that would be unacceptable to keep a strong hold in that land. It made a little bit more sense to me after thinking about that, but still tragic though, the way that the whole things went down, because I identify with the faithful who were doing their best and then had to suffer because others were making terrible choices, so that’s hard for me.

84:60-73 - But the Lord is always merciful, while he chastens us for our taking lightly the things that he knows that we need in order to be happy and return to him, he also shows us love saying, “You who now hear my words, which are my voice, blessed are ye inasmuch as you receive these things; For I will forgive you of your sins with the commandment- that you remain steadfast in your minds in solemnity and the spirit of prayer, in bearing testimony to all the world of those things which are communicated unto you.” We have the opportunity to repent, always to repent, and to do better and to be happier. I sometimes like to let my kids stew in their punishment for a while before I let them know that they can “earn” back whatever it is that I took away. I think it makes it so that they can have a more impactful lesson learning, but the Lord doesn’t do that with us, he tells us that we are wrong and that we can change our ways and be happy again. If that’s the standard that the Lord sets, then maybe I need to reevaluate my parenting style. But verse 63 was profoundly moving for me because the Lord says, “you are mine Apostles, even God’s high priests; ye are they whom the Father hath given me; ye are my friends.” When I heard that, I imagined Jesus calling ME his friend and my heart moved. It was incredible. How would I feel if Jesus spoke to me and called me his friend? Does he call me his friend? I believe that he does because he knows me personally and loves me so much. I am Jesus’s friend and that is a feeling in my heart that I can’t describe. I was listening to a general conference talk today in the car and the speaker referenced when Jesus told Simon that “I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not.” I thought “how incredible is it if Jesus were to pray for me?” Thinking about those two ideas, friendship and prayer, is just overwhelming for me and too much to understand. The Lord continues, “Every soul who believeth on your words, and is baptized by water for the remission of sins, shall receive the Holy Ghost.” He gives us everything we need if we just believe in him. He doesn’t ask for anything crazy, even though he’s entitled to do that, he just wants us to believe and try. The Lord commands them to repent and them to go preach the gospel. He uses the term “apostles” is no big deal for us because we hear it every day, but apparently back then, at this time in church history anyway, it was different. The IM gives us some background information about this saying, “The Quorum of the Twelve Apostles was not organized until 1835, yet the Lord refers to these brethren as Apostles. Elder Joseph Fielding Smith explained: ‘An apostle, the dictionary states, is ‘one of the twelve chosen by Christ to proclaim His gospel; also a Christian missionary who first evangelizes a certain nation; any zealous advocate of a doctrine or cause.’… The term apostle is recognized in the Church in the sense in which it is defined in the dictionary. Men have been called apostles who have been sent forth with the gospel message even when they have not been ordained to that particular office… This revelation was given two years and four months before the first men were ordained to that special calling as apostles in the Church, but as they were commissioned to go forth proclaiming the gospel as witnesses for Christ, he designated them as his apostles.” Similar to the promises he made in ancient Israel, the Lord promises “these signs shall follow them that believe-“ DJR comments that while these appear to be physical miracles, there are spiritual components to each of these signs as well, if we choose to look at them that way. Those who believe “shall do many wonderful works; in my name they shall cast out devils; in my name they shall hear the sick; In my name they shall open the eyes of the blind; And the tongue of the dumb shall speak. And if any man administer poison unto them it shall not hurt them; And the poison of a serpent shall not have power to harm them.” I think DJR is right, if we focus too much on how this is executed in our lives physically, that we will not be able to see the beauty of the gospel spiritually. Spiritually the gospel casts the devil out of our hearts, heals our wounds, see the mysteries of God. I believe that there is a definite spiritual aspect to these verses, probably more predominantly than physically. The miracle of the gospel isn’t just that we can be healed and protected physically, but so that we can be changed in our hearts. I believe that this spiritual concept can be further supported in verse 73 which says “but a commandment I give unto them, that they shall not boast themselves of these things, neither speak them before the world; for these things are given unto you for your profit and for salvation.” DJR comments, “Sacred experiences, including miracles, are often for our own private blessing and benefit and are usually best kept to ourselves or within a small number of family or close friends. They are not to be used for building ourselves up in the eyes of others. This is a real danger against which the Lord warns in verse 73.” He’s saying, “I’m going to help you out, but keep quiet about it.” Why would he say that? It’s similar to the time when Jesus healed a man and told him to “tell no man” but the guy did it anyway. I think that the reason the Lord doesn’t want us to tell everyone all our miracles is because miracles don’t convert, only the Holy Ghost does. Miracles are there to strengthen the testimonies for those who already believe, but they don’t serve as the foundation. Specifically concerning the man Jesus healed, perhaps it was for him specifically to be strengthened, he was meant to ponder what had happened, and perhaps share the story of his spiritual healing, but by focusing on the physical healing, the spiritual aspect, which was greater, was ignored.

84:74-76 - It’s important to know what part of the gospel to share with people because the preaching is so very important for the welfare of the souls of our fellow man. The Lord commands these men “from you it must be preached unto them.” They, or we, are the ones responsible for sharing the gospel. Speaking of various church members and to some specifically in the group given this revelation the Lord says, “For they shall repent of their former evil works; for they are to be upbraided for their evil hearts of unbelief, and your brethren  in Zion for their rebellion against you at the time I sent you.” DJR points out a couple of things from this verse. The first is the “word ‘upbraided’ may be familiar to you. ‘Upbraideth not’ is used in James 1:5… It comes from the practice, anciently, of jerking a child’s braid upward, as a means of scolding or disciplining. This, with word came to mean to ‘scold or chastise.’” That’s so sad. He continues, “With respect to the last phrase of verse 76, referring to the ‘rebellion’ of some of the brethren in Missouri against the prophet, you will see a footnote to verse 76 in your Doctrine and Covenants (footnote 76d). We will quote just one paragraph here from the History of the Church, as given in the footnote reference. It is from a letter to the members in Missouri, written by Orson Hyde and Hyrum Smith. ‘At the time Joseph, Sidney, and Newel left Zion (in early May 1832), all matters of hardness and misunderstanding were settled and buried (as they supposed), and you gave them the hand of fellowship; but, afterwards, you brought up all these things again, in a censorious spirit, accusing Brother Joseph in rather an indirect way of seeking after monarchial power and authority. This came to us in Brother Corrill’s letter of June 2^nd. We are sensible that this is not the things Brother Joseph is seeking after, but to magnify the high office and calling whereunto he has been called and appointed by the command of God, and the united voice of the Church. It might not be amiss for you to call to mind the circumstances of the Nephites, and the children of Israel rising up against their Prophets, and accusing them of seeking after kingly power, and see what befell them, and take warning before it is too late.’” This is some of the background that helped me understand a little bit further as to what was meant by the saints not being about to stay in Zion because of wickedness.