D&C 93:1-14

Section 93 is pretty awesome, I have to be honest, one of my favorites and I just discovered that this morning, so that’s pretty exciting. There are a ton of topics covered and DJR calls this a “high mountain” revelation because it “gives us knowledge and perspective that enable us to make better decisions and draw closer to the Lord in our daily living, especially when we are faced with opposition.” The IM says, “The spring of 1833 was a time of joy but also a time of trials for the Saints. In Kirtland the lord revealed many things in the School of the Prophets, and the Saints prepared for a stake of Zion to be established there. In Zion, in Jackson County, Missouri, a special conference was held on 6 April to commemorate the organization of the Church. ‘It was an early spring, and the leaves and blossoms enlivened and gratified the soul of man like a glimpse of Paradise. The day was spent in a very agreeable manner, in giving and receiving knowledge which appertained to this last kingdom- it being just 1800 years since the Savior laid down His life that men might have everlasting life, and only three years since the Church had come out of the wilderness, preparatory for the last dispensation. The Saints had great reason to rejoice.’ But in April 1833 mobs gathered to persecute the Saints in Missouri. In both Kirtland and Independence members of the Church apostatized and turned against their former brethren, and Joseph was faced with the possibility of a schism between the Church in Missouri and in Ohio. One 6 May 1833 the Prophet received the revelation in Doctrine and Covenants 93, which comforted the Saints and gave instruction on several gospel themes.” DJR quotes the Prophet Joseph Smith as describing the persecution at the time saying, “In the month of April, the first regular mob rushed together, in Independence, to consult upon a plan, for the removal, or immediate destruction of the Church in Jackson County. The number of the mob was about three hundred. A few of the first Elders met in secret, and prayed to Him who said to the wind, ‘Be still,’ to frustrate them in their wicked designs. The mob, therefore, after spending the day in a fruitless endeavor to unite upon a general scheme for ‘moving the Mormons out of the diggings’ (as they asserted), became a little the worse for liquor and broke up in a regular Missouri ‘row,’ showing a determined resolution that every man would ‘carry his own head.’” The reason that these “high mountain” revelations are so critical to us, especially during times of opposition and trail is explained perfectly by President Spencer W. Kimball as quoted later in the IM. He says, “If we live in such a way that the considerations of eternity press upon us, we will make better decisions… The more clearly we see eternity, the more obvious it becomes that the Lord’s work in which we are engaged is one vast and grand work with striking similarities on each side of the veil.”

93:1-5 - DJR comments that in “verses 1-5, the Savior bears witness of His existence, and the fact that the faithful can know, without doubt, that He exists.” The Lord beings, “it shall come to pass that every soul who forsaketh his sins and cometh unto me, and calleth on my name, and obeyeth my voice, and keepeth my commandments, shall see my face and know that I am.” DJR has some interesting insight saying, “regarding the privilege of literally seeing the Savior, D&C 88:68 reminds us that it will be ‘in his own time, and in his own way, and according to his own will.’ Thus, it could be during this life or in the next. The most powerful witness of all, that the Savior exists, comes not by literally seeing Him but rather through the witness of the Holy Ghost. Thus, all who fulfill the requirements spelled out in verse 1, can ‘see’ the Savior and ‘know’ now by the power of the Holy Ghost that He is.” The IM quotes Elder Francis M. Lyman taught: “Latter-day Saints is entitled to this witness and testimony. If we have not received (it)… the fault is ours, and not the Lord’s; for every one is entitled to that witness through faith and repentance, forsaking all sin, baptism by immersion for the remission of sins, and the reception of the Holy Ghost through the laying on of hands. Now, if any of our brethren and sisters have lived for years without really knowing, being thoroughly satisfied and thoroughly convinced, just as positive as of anything in life, that this work is of God, if they have lacked that witness and testimony it is their fault, for it is not possible for a man to do the will of the Father and not know the doctrine.” The IM also quotes Elder Bruce R. McConkie as teaching, “We have the power-and it is our privilege- so to live, that becoming pure in heart, we shall see the face of God while we yet dwell as mortals in a world of sin or sorrow. This is the crowning blessing of mortality. It is offered by that God who is no respecter of persons to all the faithful in his kingdom.” And Finally the IM quotes President Spencer W. Kimball as saying, “I have learned that where there is a prayerful heart, a hungering after righteousness, a forsaking of sins, and obedience to the commandments of God, the Lord pours out more and more light until there is finally power to pierce the heavenly veil and to know more than man knows. A person of such righteousness has the priceless promise that one day he shall see the Lord’s face and know that he is.” I also think that it’s important to remember that not all witnesses of the truth of God or the gospel are grand and extravagant like Paul or Alma the Younger. Most witnesses of the truth comes slowly, gradually, and progressively so that one day we realize that we now know and believe more than we did before, things make sense that didn’t before and we have a peace and comfort in our hearts more consistently than we had previously. The Lord continues “”I am the true light that lighteth every man that cometh into the world; And that I am in the Father, and the Father in me, and the Father and I are one- The Father because he gave me of his fullness, and the Son because I was in the world and made flesh my tabernacle, and dwelt among the sons of men.” DJR gives some interesting insights about Jesus being the Father and the Son saying, “You may wish to read Mosiah 15:1-5 before going on. In effect, Jesus is the ‘Father’ of our salvation. He is the ‘Father’ of our being ‘born again.’ We are his ‘children’ because He is the ‘Father of our salvation,’ because He carried out the Atonement in our behalf. He is the Father of our salvation in the same sense that George Washington is the father of our country. He is the ‘Son’ because He is literally the Son of God the Father.” This was an excellent analogy for me, and I like the one “who is a father, but one who gives life,” and Christ gives us eternal life.

93:6-11 - This next part is something I haven’t seen before and something that is really interesting to me. The IM sets this up nicely by quoting Elder Bruce R. McConkie as teaching, “John the Baptist (was) destined to write of the gospel of that Lord whose witness he is, but his account, perhaps because it contains truths and concepts that the saints and the world are not yet prepared to receive, has so far not been given to men. On May 6, 1833, however, the Lord did reveal to Joseph Smith eleven verses of the Baptist’s writings, and promised that ‘the fullness of the record of John’ would be revealed when the faith of men entitled them to receive it. From what has been revealed of the writings of the Baptist, and from what John the Apostle has written in his Gospel, it is clear that John the Apostle had before him the writings of John the Baptist when he wrote his Gospel. John 1:1-38 and John 3:23-36 are quoted or paraphrased from that which was first written by the Baptist.” I know hardly anything about John the Baptist and he’s such a fascinating character in the scriptures because Christ himself saying “among them that are born of women there bath not risen a greater than John the Baptist.” But yet the scriptures say so little about him, and as far as I know the Book of Mormon doesn’t say very much either. How is it that this man is so great that even Jesus says it, yet I know almost nothing about him. He comes out of the wilderness with the priesthood and an incredible understanding of the gospel and a calling from God to open the way for the Savior of the world, I mean, that’s pretty incredible. I’d love to know more about him and how he came to be who he was, but I’m afraid that that might have to wait until the next life. The Lord introduces the next part saying, “And John saw and bore record of the fullness of my glory, and the fullness of John’s record is hereafter to be revealed.” I wonder what came about the indicate that this John is John the Baptist and not John the Beloved or another John. Kind of like when the WoW says “hot drinks” and JS says that it means coffee and tea specifically, I wonder how “John” was known to be the Baptist. There are a lot of concepts covered, hopefully I’ll do it justice. John bears record that Christ was from the beginning, that he’s “the light and the Redeemer of the world; the Spirit of truth, who came into the world, because the world was made by him, and in him was the life of men and the light of men. The worlds were made by him; men were made by him; all things were made by him, and through him, and of him.” The IM further explains by saying, “Section 93 teaches that this world and other worlds were not made directly by the Father but by the Lord Jesus Christ under His direction. In the New Testament, John the Apostles says, ‘All things were made by him; and without him was not anything made that was made.’ The Epistle to the Hebrews states that Christ, God’s ‘heir of all things,’ is the one by whom God ‘made the worlds.’ Jesus is creator of ‘worlds without number’- innumerable to man, but numbered unto God.”

93:12-14 - This is where we cover one of the questions that I’ve had my whole life. I’ve always wondered if Jesus was born knowing his mission on earth, his place in the universe, I’ve always thought that it wasn’t fair that He could be born with all that knowledge and we couldn’t. But here we learn that Jesus’s story is the same as John the Baptist’s story, the same as our story. John says, “And I, John, saw that he received not the fullness at the first, but received grace for grace; And he received not of the fullness at first, but continued from grace to grace, until he received a fullness.” DJR quotes Elder James E. Talmage as teaching, “Over His mind had fallen the veil of forgetfulness common to all who are born to earth, by which the remembrance of primeval existence is shut off. The Child grew, and with growth there came to Him expansion of mind, development of faculties, and progression in power and understanding. His advancement was from one grace to another, not from gracelessness to grace; from good to greater good, not from evil to good, from favor with God to greater favor, not from estrangement because of sin to reconciliation through repentance and propitiation.” The IM teaches, “President Lorenzo Snow said: ‘When Jesus lay in the manger, a helpless infant, He knew not that He was the Son of God, and that formerly He created the earth. When the edict of Herod was issued, He knew nothing of it; He had not power to save Himself; and His father and mother had to take Him and fly into Egypt to preserve Him from the effects of that edict. Well, He grew up to manhood, and during His progress it was revealed unto Him who He was, and for what purpose He was in the world. The glory and power He possessed before He came into the world was made known unto Him.’ Jesus grew until He had a fullness of grace, truth, glory, and power. John saw that Jesus ‘received a fullness of glory of the Father.’ Verse 17 of section 93 says that ‘he received all power both in heaven and on earth, and the glory of the Father was with him, for he dwelt in him.’ Verses 19 and 20 indicated that all people may grow to the point of receiving a fullness if they will follow the example of the Savior. President Ezra Taft Benson taught: ‘God the Father has given Jesus Christ a name above all others, so that eventually every knee will bow and every tongue confess that Jesus is the Christ. He is the way, the truth, and the light, and no one can come back into the presence of our Father in Father in heaven except through him. Christ is God the Son and possesses every virtue in its perfection. Therefore, the only measure of true greatness is how close a man can become like Jesus. That man is greatest who is most like Christ, and those who love him most will be most like him.’ If that goal seems unachievable, we should remember that even Jesus did not have the fullness at first but achieved it by receiving ‘grace for grace.’ The word grace is a translation of the Greek word charis, which has the basic meaning of ‘sweetness, charm, loveliness,’ but which the New Testament uses in the sense of ‘good-will, loving-kindness, favor.’ The grace of God is ‘the merciful kindness by which God, exerting his holy influence upon souls, turns them to Christ, keeps, strengthens, increases them in Christian faith, knowledge, affection, and kindles them to the exercise of Christian virtues.’ In short, grace refers to the gifts and power of God by which we can be brought to perfection. To come to a fullness by moving from grace to grace means that as we obey the commandments, the Father gives us more and more power until we receive a fullness of power. The Lord taught Moroni this same principle and added that Hs grace (or gifts and powers) are ‘sufficient,’ that is, fully capable of doing what it required. ‘I give unto men weakness that they may be humble; and my grace is sufficient for all men that humble themselves before me; for if they humble themselves before me, and have faith in me, then will I make weak things become strong unto them.’ To receive these gifts and power, we must submit to God’s will and obey His commandments. None of us can become perfect through our own efforts alone. Moroni shows how our personal efforts can bring the grace of God and move us step by step, from grace to grace, to perfection.” This is the best example of how we can become like the Savior by one step at a time. As we do better, we come one step closer, and I think that it’s important to note that by the age of 12 the Savior knew that he was of divine parentage, and had a command of the scriptures and the gospel that most don’t achieve in their lifetimes, as demonstrated by the conversations that he was having with the scholars in the temple, where he was clearly the spiritual authority. From infancy to 12 years old, let’s assume that his cognitive ability started around age 4, that’s 8 years when he learned all that, from nothing to a great deal. Also noting that because He was sinless and good natured, he had no impediment to his learning and spiritual growth, it’s incredible how fast he learned and became spiritually. Looking at my own life, I believe that that’s not unique to him, I believe that that can be our experience as well. We won’t be sinless of course, but as we strive to keep the commandments, as we strive to become more like Him, the more rapidly we will become like him. It’s kind of like a river, the current might start out slowly, maybe even a trickle, but once the righteousness catches onto us, the quicker we travel down the river of knowledge and transformation until we are a raging river of righteous force. It starts slowly, then gains momentum, and it can happen as slowly or as quickly as we decide, it’s up to us and our personal efforts at righteousness.