D&C 84:77-120

84:77-97 - This section really flows nicely from one topic to another, to me it seems jumpy just because I’m stopping and starting again with the entries. The Lord tells these men that he wants them to become just like his disciples that were with him during his mortal ministry. I always love when the old church is tied in with the new church because it shows the continuous nature of God, always the same, even when it appears that things may be different. He shows them that when he asks them to go on missions, especially during this time when the early missionaries were generally leaving behind wives and children to serve the Lord, he shows them that he sent his disciples anciently without “purse or scrip, neither two coats… And any man that shall go and preach this gospel of the kingdom, and fail not to continue faithful in all things, shall not be weary in mind, neither darkened, neither in body, limb, nor joint;… And they shall not go hungry, neither athirst.” This makes me wonder about the accounts of missionaries that were hungry or cold on their missions, and I think that there might be a couple of different explanations for this. One, gospel according to Amy, is that they suffer hardships for the same reasons that we do, to bring us closer to the Lord. The IM also gives an explanation saying, “Thousands of missionaries have put this promise to the test and the Lord has kept his promise to all those who have been faithful in their calling. Surely if the Father notices when a sparrow falls, he will not forsake any who in faithful obedience to his will seek his aid. That there have been those who have gone forth and have been weary in body and mind, and who have gone hungry, there is no doubt, for there are missionaries who have not given all their heart to the Lord and they have idled away valuable time when it was needful for them to proclaim the truth.” The Lord tells them to not worry about “what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink, or wherewithal ye shall be clothed.” This requires an incredible amount of faith. I’m a planner, I need to know where I’m going to be in 2 years, 5 years, 10 years, and that’s really frustrating because never would I have guessed at any time during my life that I would be living this life that I am right now. Planning ahead in some things is important, but I think that the way that I do it doesn’t allow me to rely on the Lord. I might not be on a full time mission, but I could definitely free myself from a lot of anxiety by just trusting that the Lord will provide me with a way to feed my family, a feeling of where to go and when. I make plans and plans and plans and they never turn out the way that I planned, I always just end up stressed out about it. There’s definitely a lesson in this for me personally because I need to just let my life and circumstances go and take the next indicated step. The Lord gives excellent counsel on what we should be spending our time on. He says, and I love this, this needs to be the new motto for my life “For, consider the lilies of the field, how they grow, they toil not, neither do they spin; and the kingdoms of the world, in all their glory, are not arrayed like one of these. For your Father, who is in heaven, knoweth that you have need of all these things. Therefore, let the morrow take thought for the things of itself. Neither take ye thought beforehand what ye shall say; but treasure up in your minds continually the words of life, and it shall be given you in the very hour that portion that shall be meted unto every man.” I feel like the Lord is giving me a special message right now, I needed this today, this is my message for today. Prepare myself spiritually, study the gospel, the scriptures, serve others, be helpful and kind. Work on myself, make my own self-improvements, because happiness and contentment don’t come from outside, they come from inside. God will take care of me, he always has, even when I didn’t deserve it. I need to live my life to the fullest, which means take care of myself and my children, strengthen myself spiritually, and be kind and generous to others. To me, at this moment, that’s what living life to the fullest means. The Lord is telling me to focus on that and he will take care of everything else. To the future missionaries specifically in this section he’s telling them to “reprove the world of all their unrighteous deeds, and to teach them of a judgment which is to come. And whoso receiveth you, there will I be also, for I will go before your face. I will be one your right hand and on your left, and my Spirit shall be in your hearts, and mine angels round about you, to bear your up.” I don’t think about this enough, the fact that people need to be prepared to receive the gospel and that the hand of God is in all things. The IM says “’Reprove,’ as stated is to ‘convict.’ God’ messengers, as it were, are lawyers before the bar of God. It is their duty to ‘convict’ the world of sins, and to warn all men of the ‘judgment which is to come.’ They are not sent out to entertain the world with philosophical lectures, or ethical discourses, or flowery oratory, or amusing anecdotes. Their one duty is to secure conviction, and it possible, repentance and salvation.” 84:98-120 - The Lord speaks of the plagues that will come “until I have completed my work.” And after that, during the Millenium, “all shall know me, who remain, even from the least unto the greatest, and shall be filled with the knowledge of the Lord, and shall see eye to eye, and shall lift up their voiced, and with the voice together sing this new song.” DJR makes an interesting comment about everyone joining the church during the Millenium saying, “the reason we don’t say ‘all people’ is that, because of agency, a few will turn to wickedness, even during the Millenium, as stated by Isaiah in Isaiah 65:20.” This was fascinating to me because I always wondered how people were able to be tempted or sin without Satan. We know that Satan will be bound for the 1,000 years of the Millenium, but we also know that there will be agency and some will use it to choose wickedness, so it’s possible to make wrong choices even without Satan in your face. Just gospel ideas according to me. Singing a new song, the IM teaches, “the new song which they shall sing at this great day will be concerning the redemption of Zion and the restoration of Israel. Even now there are those who have set to music these beautiful words, but we may believe that no music has yet been produces that will compare with the music for this song when Zion is redeemed.” The sons that the Lord gives that will be song goes from verse 99 to 103 but is kind of long. The concept of singing a new song for me means that the old song is done away. I imagine the song that I sang when I was rebelling against God was one of misery, with a melancholy beat and depressed lyrics. But now that I’m back and I see the beauty of the gospel and the Savior, I feel much more upbeat, optimistic, hopeful, and that song is much different than the song of misery that I used to sing. The Lord wants everyone involved, the strong missionary with the weak, the “lesser priesthood” to serve and make appointments and “to prepare the way… Let every man stand in his own office, and labor in his own calling… Also the body (the Church, the kingdom of God) hath need of every member, that all may be edified together, that the system may be kept perfect.” We all have our roles in the church, and they are all important. The Lord gives more details about how and who needs to do what, and specifically tells “the bishop go unto the city of New York, also to the city of Albany, and also to the city of Boston, and warn the people of those cities with the sound of the gospel, with a loud voice of the desolation and utter abolishment which await them if they do reject these things. For if they do reject these things the hour of their judgment is nigh, and their house shall be left unto them desolate.” I guess it worked because we now have temples in New York and Boston. The Lord gives a visual description of his power saying that “I will rend their kingdoms; I will not only shale the earth, but the starry heavens shall tremble. For I, the Lord, have put forth my hand to exert the powers of heaven; ye cannot see it now, yet a little while and ye shall see it, and know that I am, and that I will come and reign with my people.”