D&C 97:1-17

Section 97 brings up a concept that I still feel a disconnect towards, and that is the righteousness and disobedience that was found in Zion, or in Missouri. The IM gives background information saying, “On 20 July 1833 the first open violence against the Saints in Jackson County broke out. The printing press owned by William W. Phelps was destroyed, many of the Saints were turned out of their homes, and Edward Partridge and Charles Allen were tarred and feathered on the public square in Independence, Missouri. The Prophet, unaware of the problems, sent a letter to the leaders of the Church in Missouri on 6 August 1833 in response to questions concerning the School of Zion. The letter contained Doctrine and Covenants 97, given 2 August 1833, and Doctrine and Covenants 98, in which the Lord warned the inhabitants in Zion to observe His commandments or they would be visited ‘with sore affliction, with pestilence, with plague, with sword, with vengeance, with devouring fire.’ As it turned out, the Saints did not fully heed this warning. The promised devastation followed in early November 1833.”

97:1-2 - I think where the disconnect is for me is when the section starts and the Lord extolling “your brethren in the land of Zion, many of whom are truly humble and are seeking diligently to learn wisdom and to find truth.” I get the sense that the Lord is pleased with the people there, but then there’s destruction later because they weren’t obedient enough. I think that this is my lesson today, the Lord can be pleased with my efforts at a certain time, but after he gives me more instructions to follow, if I ignore them, which I am currently doing, then pain and destruction is coming. That’s clearly what the Lord wants me to learn right now, that just because I was doing well with previous instructions, doesn’t mean that I can just blow off everything else, oh yes, this warning is for me, this is my example. The Lord speaks of those who are humble saying, “blessed are such, for they shall obtain; for I, the Lord, show mercy unto all the meek, and upon all whomsoever I will, that I may be justified when I shall bring them unto judgment.” The IM comments, “In these verses the Lord commended those in Zion who ‘are truly humble and are seeking diligently to learn wisdom and to find truth’ and promised that they would be blessed. Even though many of the Saints did not live as required and were eventually driven out, the Lord indicated here that some truly were worthy. Sometimes the wickedness of some individuals brings suffering to all, even those who are righteous.”

97:3-6 - The Lord is also pleased with Parley P. Pratt’s presiding leadership over the school of the prophets, but “to the residue of the school, I, the Lord, am willing to show mercy; nevertheless, there are those that must needs be chastened, and their works shall be made known.” The IM says, “In the summer of 1833, a ‘school of Elders’ began in Zion with Parley P. Pratt as its teacher. Its main purpose was to prepare the brethren living there to go forth as missionaries during the coming winter. Elder Pratt wrote that ‘in the latter part of summer and in the autumn (1833), I devoted almost my entire time in ministering among the churches; holding meetings; visiting the sick; comforting the afflicted, and giving counsel. A school of Elders was also organized, over which I was called to preside. This class, to the number of about sixty, met for instruction once a week. The place of meeting was in the open air, under some tall trees, in a retired place in the wilderness, where we prayed, preached, and prophesied, and exercised ourselves in the gifts of the Holy Spirit. Here great blessings were poured out, and many great and marvelous things were manifested and taught. The Lord have me great wisdom, and enabled me to teach and edify the Elders, and comfort and encourage them in their preparations for the great work which lay before us. I was also much edified and strengthened. To attend this school I had to travel on foot, and sometimes with bare feet at that, about six miles. This I did once a week, besides visiting and preaching in five or six branches a week.’”

97:7- - The Lord compares the different groups of Saints to two types of trees. To those who are not listening, which is me at this point, the Lord warns and “the ax is laid at the root of the trees; and every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit shall be hewn down and cast into the fire.” Concerning the phrase “the ax is laid at the root of the trees” the IM comments, “In Doctrine and Covenants 97:7 the Lord says that His people, Zion, are like fruit trees. People are like trees in that they are known by their fruits, or their works. Good trees bear good fruit and evil trees bear evil fruit. The Lord will cut down ‘every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit.’ The phrase ‘the ax is laid at the root of the trees’ evokes a vivid image. Generally, one touches the ax to the spot chosen for the first blow before delivering the blow. Figuratively speaking, a tree that saw an ax laid at its root might be motivated to change its ways and bring forth good fruit so as not to be hewn down. Even as this revelation was given, the mobs were gathering for their initial blow in Jackson County.” Knowing how slow the Lord is make critical judgment, meaning that he truly desires for us to repent without lasting damage or too much pain on our part, it’s pretty significant when he’s getting ready to “chop down the tree” and even then he warned and counsels and tries to get us to see reason. Those “who know their hearts are honest, and are broken, and their spirits contrite, and are willing to observe by sacrifice yea, every sacrifice which I, the Lord, shall command- they are accepted of me” and they are compared to “a very fruitful tree which is planted in a goodly land, by a pure stream, that yieldeth much precious fruit.” It’s easy for me to imagine the two different scenes, one with a withered up, dry, gnarled tree being cut down and made into fire wood. I think that one of the ways that I’ve always seen the “tree ready to be chopped down” was being over laden with fruit that the owner of the vineyard just didn’t like, but that’s not the case, it’s not the case of personal preference, but a matter of being unable to advance in the current state. As far as I know, trees that are dried and withered and dead, can’t come back to life any more than a human skeleton can spontaneously regenerate. The tree is cut down because it’s time has passed for growth in that manner, it is no longer able to “live.” Whereas the righteous tree is vividly described not only in terms of the tree itself, but also the environment. Surrounding the tree is everything that it needs to grow and thrive, pure water, the best soil, sunlight.

97:10-17 - The Lord now turns his attention to the temple, and more specifically how to fund the building of the temple and the purposes of it. He directs for tithing to be collected among the people that “it by built speedily.” The temple is to be a place of “thanksgiving for all saints, and a place of instruction for all those who are called to the work of the ministry in all their several callings and offices.” What I find absolutely fascinating about the temple is that the same thing is taught every time, verbatim, so that there is no variation in the wording, but the lesson is different every time. Interestingly, the Lord says that the instruction is so that “they may be perfected in the understanding of their ministry, in theory, in principle, and in doctrine, in all things pertaining to the kingdom of God on the earth.” If different lessons were taught at different times, then I could look at my temple experience and say “well it’s different from the one that is supposed to teach me all those things,” but because the messages given in the temple are exactly the same every time, and I assume have been since at least 1842, then this verse is applicable to my temple experiences today. When I go to the temple, it is to be taught, and through the same lesson I hear every time, I am to learn the “all things pertaining to the kingdom of God on the earth” “in theory, in principle, and in doctrine.” Am I getting that out of my experience when I go to the temple? Usually not because I fall asleep almost immediately, so I need to work on that. The IM quotes Elder John A. Widtsoe as teaching, “temple work… gives a wonderful opportunity for keeping alive our spiritual knowledge and strength. … The mighty perspective of eternity is unraveled before us in the holy temples; we see time from its infinite beginning to its endless end; and the drama of eternal life is unfolded before us. Then I see more clearly my place amidst the things of the universe, my place among the purposes of God; I am better able to place myself where I belong, and I am better able to value and to weigh, to separate and to organize the common, ordinary duties of my life, so that the little things shall not oppress me or take away my vision of the greater things that God has given us.” The temple will serve this purpose as long as the “do not suffer any unclean thing to come into it, that it be not defiled, my glory shall rest upon it.” I went to a temple session once where, during the chapel portion, the speaker quoted someone who said something, it must have been a temple president, he said that he’s asked by members to show them exactly where the Savior has stood in that temple. He answered saying something like, “don’t ask me to show you an exact spot that the Lord has stood because he was walked every inch of these halls, and for all you know he’s standing here among us now.” That was a very powerful moment for me, because not only did it show that he’s deeply concerned with what’s going on down here, it also reminded of just how thin the veil can be, how close the Savior and our loved ones can be to us. It also gave the temple a significance and made the gospel feel even more close to home. The saints, and therefore we, were commanded to keep the temple sacred and holy and not defile it. The IM teaches, “A temple of God is a place of purity and holiness. Those who enter it must be worthy, so interviews for temple recommends are held yearly to determine worthiness. The Saints are under the Lord’s command not to ‘suffer any unclean thing to come into it, that it be not defiled.’ If this requirement is met, the Lord promises that He ‘will come into it, and all the pure in heart that shall come into it shall see God.’ Elder Henry D. Taylor commented on the responsibility of the President of the Church: ‘In general terms, and this is something that pertains to all of us, it is the Lord’s plan that no unrepentant sinner enter the temple, for the Lord has declared that he will not abide in temples that have been defiled by any unclean thing. The President of the Church, President Spencer W. Kimball, I directly responsible to the Lord to see that the sacredness of the temples and the ordinances performed therein are maintained. I can assure you that President Kimball takes that stewardship most seriously.’” Again, I go back to the question, if we are all sinners, and no unclean thing can enter the temple, but we are given temple recommends even though we are not perfect, where’s the line between worthy enough to enter the temple without defiling it. I guess it goes back to the temple recommend questions, which are specific in some circumstances such as the law of tithing, the law of chastity, and the word of wisdom, but more broad in instances where there an affirmative answer is not measurable specifically. For instance, “do you have a testimony of Jesus Christ?” I’m not sure if that’s the exact question or if it’s just something similar to that, but there’s not a quantifying answer to that, yes, I have a testimony, but it’s not a perfect testimony and sometime I have questions or doubts, but I do believe and I want my belief to become stronger. That’s a subjective answer. The law of tithing more specific, “do you pay an honest tithe?” That’s a yes or no answer. I struggled with this when I was interviewing for my first temple recommend, when they asked something like “do you feel worthy to enter the house of the Lord?” And I answered honestly, and my answer was no. Even though I qualified for a temple recommend because I was “worthy” by church standards, I didn’t feel that I was worthy because I knew just how deeply flawed I was, at that time I didn’t know who God is or who I am to Him, I didn’t know why he wanted me back after all the terrible things that I had done. I didn’t understand, so I didn’t feel worthy. The stake president asked me to have faith and to go anyway, because I qualified and he knew that by going, even though I didn’t feel like I should, would help strengthen my faith and testimony. I guess it’s all about the way that you’re facing. If you’re facing the tree of life and holding on to the rod, even though the wind has whipped you off of your feet and you’re holding on for dear life, then the temple can bring comfort and peace and joy and instruction. But if you’ve let go of the rod and are taking a look around, if you wouldn’t be able to receive a temple recommend if you answered the recommend questions honestly, and you know this, then maybe you should have a conversation with the bishop. I think that the Lord would probably tell us if we weren’t worthy to go, I don’t know, I hope to never encounter that situation.