D&C 112:11-34

112:11 - The concept of loving others has always been pretty difficult for me because I don’t really feel love most of the time. It’s really easy for me to decide to cut someone out of my life or to not love them anymore, really easy. But it’s interesting because I’ve prayed to be able to love people, and almost immediately the Lord made that possible for me. I’m able to love people now, I feel a greater obligation to them, I actually feel for them, in my heart and that’s relatively new. The Lord made that happen. The Lord tells Thomas B. Marsh “Be not partial towards them in love above many others, but let thy love be for them as for thyself; and let thy love abound unto all men, and unto all who love my name.” There is such a division between Christians and Mormons or Catholics or this or that, we might differ on some points of doctrine but we all love Jesus and should use that commonality to build a relationship of love.  

112:12 – He is also counseled to “pray for thy brethren of the Twelve. Admonish them sharply for my name’s sake, and let them be admonished for all their sins, and be ye faithful before me unto my name. And after their temptations, and much tribulation, behold, I, the Lord, will feel after them, and if they harden not their hearts, and stiffen not their necks against me, they shall be converted, and I will heal them.” I didn’t think much about this verse until I read the IM’s explanations which quoted Smith and Sjodahl as teaching, “Our Lord instructs the President of the Council to continue to pray for the members, and also to admonish them ‘sharply.’ Admonition without prayer is barren of results. He promised to feel after them, when they had passed through the tribulations awaiting them because they had yielded to temptations. And then, if they would not harden their hearts, they would be converted and healed.” I always associate “rebuking” or “sharply counseling” with the verse that says that afterwards to show an increase in love to that person. That seems to imply that it is a process, because to think otherwise is to believe that it’s a onetime incident but really if we think about it, that’s not how the Lord deals with us. The Lord doesn’t just pop in and out of our lives at random shouting commands and criticisms at us then taking off. Having no knowledge of what’s going on previously and no intention of sticking around afterwards makes that type of rebuke about us and our power and control over other people, whereas making it part of a process shifts the focus from us to the person that we are dealing with and making their wellbeing the main point of our interactions. I thought that “admonition without prayer is barren of results,” was quite powerful. Why is admonition without prayer barren of results? Without prayer we lack guidance from the Holy Ghost meaning that we rely on ourselves to decide what, when, and how to rebuke. We are flawed individuals, meaning that we need rebuke and counsel often and so we cannot see how best be helpful, what people need to hear, how they will respond to certain words or phrases or even energy. I think that this is for me because I can be quite hostile, and when I feel the need to confront someone or to “take care” of something, I need to implore prayer and the Holy Ghost more. It’s like the Bible says, how can you see your brother’s faults clearly when you yourself are seeing through evil eyes.

112:15 – The Lord makes a statement that is similar to others he has made counseling them to “rebel not against my servant Joseph; for verily I say unto you, I am with him, and my hand shall be over him; and the keys which I have given unto him, and also to youward, shall not be taken from him till I come.” At the time, this might be read to mean that Christ would be coming in the next few decades, in the space of an average man’s lifetime. But the IM quotes President Joseph Fielding Smith as teaching, “At the time this revelation was given some of the members of the council of the apostles were in open rebellion and had displayed a very bitter spirit towards the Prophet. The Lord endeavored to impress upon them the fact that the Prophet was the one who held the keys of this dispensation and that he would hold them constantly until the Lord should come. In a former revelation the Lord had said that the keys were in the hands of Joseph Smith and that if he should transgress and lose them they would be given to another. At that day the Prophet had not been tested and proved by tribulation and suffering, but now in July 1837, the Prophet having shown his integrity in all kinds of difficulties and tribulation the Lord declared that the keys shall never be taken from him. The Lord wished to impress upon the apostles and others in the councils of the Church that he had not forsaken his prophet and would be with him to the end.” The IM also quotes Brigham Young as teaching, “The keys of the Priesthood were committed to Joseph, to build up the Kingdom of God on the earth, and were not to be taken from him in time or in eternity.” This gives us insight into the eternal perspective, because if Joseph Smith is dead but still holds priesthood keys, that implies that there has to be gospel work on the other side of the veil.

112:19-22 – There is a promise of the Lord’s companionship if Thomas will go “whithersoever they shall send you, go ye, and I will be with you.” If we accept callings and do our best, then we will be blessed with the Holy Ghost, guidance and comfort. Power is promised to those who “shall humble themselves before me, and abide in my word, and hearken to the voice of my Spirit.” It seems kind of counterintuitive that power comes with humility because it’s so uncommon to see that combination in our world today, but it’s what the Lord promises and that’s what he embodies as well, power and humility. Very interesting.

112:23-26 – Speaking of the last days, the day of “vengeance, a day of wrath, a day of burning, a day of desolation, or weeping, of mourning, and of lamentation… upon my house shall it begin, and from my house shall it got forth… First among those among you, saith the Lord, who have professed to know my name and have nor known me, and have blasphemed against me in the midst of my house.” The IM quotes President Wilford Woodruff as saying, “I do not pretend to tell you how much sorrow you or I are going to meet with before the coming of the Son of Man. That will depend upon our conduct.” I heard something from either an Ensign article or a general conference talk saying something to the effect of, if those who don’t know the gospel, sin against it then it will be painful for them. But if someone knows and accepts the gospel and still rebels against it, it will be much worse for them because they already know the difference, they already know the truth.