Blogging Through the Book of Mormon

134:8 - I think that the concept of obeying the law can be so fickle at times, just like keeping the commandments. Verse 8 is straight forward, “we believe that the commission of crime should be punished according to the nature of the offense.” The IM quotes Elder James E. Talmage as teaching, “Now, the Lord has provided that those in his Church shall live according to the law, and he makes a distinction between the law pertaining to the Church and what we call the secular law, or the law of the land, but he requires obedience to each. My love for my brother in this Church does not mean that I am to… stand between him and righteous judgment. This Church is no organization like that of the secret combinations of old, which the Lord hath said he hates, the members of which were pledged, and bound by oath that they would cover up one another’s crimes, that they would justify one another in theft and murder and in all things that were unclean. It is no such organization at all. It woul...

134:5 - Verse 5 brings up a concept that I hadn’t considered before but it really helped put me in check. It says “We believe that all men are bound to sustain and uphold the respective governments in which they reside… and that sedition and rebellion are unbecoming every citizen thus protected, and should be punished accordingly.” The IM quotes President David O. McKay as teaching, “The three significant words used in the 12 th Article of Faith express the proper attitude of the membership of the Church toward law. These words are- obey, honor, and sustain. They Article does not say we believe in submission to the law. Obedience implies a higher attitude than mere submission, for obedience has its root in good intent; submission may spring from selfishness or meanness of spirit. Though obedience and submission both imply restraint on one’s own will, we are obedient only from a sense of right; submissive from a sense of necessity.” I really struggle with the concept of submission,...

When I listened to the book The Articles of Faith by James E. Talmage, the section that was the most impactful was the chapter that dealt with article 12 which says, “We believe in being subject to kings, presidents, rulers, and magistrates, in obeying, honoring and sustaining the law.” This was powerful for me because I am a rebel, a conspiracy theorist to the max, I do not comply, I’m a fighter, definitely not friendly to authority. But this chapter was very explicit that we need to be compliant to the laws of the land, and I thought “yeah, this country because we are the greatest on earth and our laws of just…” blah blah blah. I thought “but what about all the people in other corrupt countries? What are they supposed to do?” The section in that book that discussed this concept was very helpful in assisting with my understanding of what it means to obey the laws of the land. This section, as well as the accompanying explanations from the IM were also very informative. The IM expl...

133:54-74 - We now come to the concept of the resurrection. The Lord names several of the ancient prophets and comments “who were with Christ is his resurrection.” The IM asks, “Who was resurrected at the time the Savior was?” And answers, “Not only did Christ rise from the dead at that time, but others were seen who had risen from their graces- righteous men and women who died before Christ, and who had the privilege of rising with him. I do not believe that the resurrection then was a general one; I believe it extended to those only who, while upon earth, had proved themselves willing to do all for the kingdom of God, and to whom neither property, honor, nor life itself had been too dear to keep them from carrying out the purposes of God.” There’s an interesting phrase in verse 64 where the Lord describes his dealings with the wicked that he “shall leave them neither root nor branch.” The IM says, “This expression simply means that wicked and indifferent persons who reject the go...

133:26-45 - This next section is quite poetic and descriptive but to me that just means confusing. There is an exceptionally lengthy discourse by the IM about this part of the section, I don’t understand it at all. The IM begins by quoting Elder Bruce R. McConkie explaining “When Shalmanezer overran the Kingdom of Israel (about 721 B.C.), he carried the Ten Tribes comprising the kingdom captive into Assyria. From thence they were led into the lands of the north and have been called the Lost Tribes because they are lost to the knowledge of other people. ‘We have no knowledge of the location or condition of that part of the Ten Tribes who went into the north country.’” I have heard many theories on what “north countries” means. My mom was adamant that these lost ten tribes were taken off of the earth in space ships and that that’s how they will return. In fact when the movie Independence Day was released back in like 1997 or something she believed that it was inspired by the devil so...

Section 133 is very long again and is the Lord’s appendix to the Doctrine and Covenants. Just like when the Lord gave the introduction to the Doctrine and Covenants, it makes sense that he would give the end as well. The IM quotes Elder John A. Widtsoe as explaining “the ‘Appendix’ (D&C 133), supplements the introduction (D&C 1). The two sections together encompass the contents of the book in a condensed form. An appendix is something which the writer thinks should be added to amplify that which is in the book, to emphasize it, to make it stronger or to explain the contents a little more completely.” The IM also adds “Some of the major themes presented by the Lord in this revelation are summarized in the tenth article of faith.” The IM also gives interesting information saying, “The scriptures form a great latticework of gospel concepts. Rather than collect gospel concepts by topic, the Lord chose to scatter them throughout the sacred writings, here a little and there a lit...

132:51-57 - Here we are in the home stretch. The Lord now addresses Emma Smith, Joseph Smith's wife. He presents an interesting situation, commanding her "that she stay herself and partake not of that which I commanded you to offer unto her, for I did it, saith the Lord, to prove you all, as I did Abraham, and that I might require an offering at your hand by covenant and sacrifice." The IM says, "No indication is given here or elsewhere of what the Lord had commanded the Prophet Joseph to offer to his wife, but the context seems to suggest that it was a special test of faith similar to the test of Abraham's faith when the Lord commanded him to sacrifice Isaac." This makes me wonder if there are tests like that in our lives? Interesting. Emma Smith is also commanded: 1. "Receive all those that have been given unto my servant Joseph." I love Emma Smith because she is a ride or die chick, she's hardcore and holds it all down. As an all in, ride ...

132:29-33 - The Lord urges JS to "do the works of Abraham." Abraham was notoriously righteous and the commandment here is not to engage in plural marriage as Abraham did, but to be righteous as Abraham was. The IM quotes an interesting comment from President Spencer W. Kimball asking, "Do you think it was any easier for Abraham to be righteous than it is for you? Do you inwardly suspect that Abraham was given a little extra help by the Lord so that he could become a great and righteous man, or do you feel that ew can all become as Abraham if we will learn to put God first in our lives? I testify to you that we can become as Abraham, who now, as a result of his valiance, 'hath entered into his exaltation and sitteth upon his throne.' Is such exaltation a blessing reserved only for general authorities, or stake presidents, or quorum presidents, or bishops? It is not. It is a blessing reserved for all who will prepare themselves by forsaking their sins, by truly rec...

132:18-25 - I listened to a really interesting general conference talk on the way to work today that gave an interesting perspective on the whole temporal vs eternal perspective. It was funny because it’s an older one, from 1971 called “Ignorance is Expensive,” and when the speaker started by talking about a neighbor who died and he asked the cousin “how much did he leave behind?” And the answer was “all of it.” It was pretty profound and I immediately thought about what we talked about in this section about what is eternal. It occurred to me that the true indication of what’s important is what we take with us. If we are indeed eternal beings, then what stays with us eternally is what matters, and the authority that governs the eternities is the true Supreme Being. The IM makes a chart explaining the covenant of eternal marriage and what it means, the explanation is lengthy but informative. The IM begins saying, “The revelations in the Doctrine and Covenants include all of the laws...

132:13-18 - The Lord continues describing the frailty of temporal things saying that “everything that is in the world… shall be thrown down, and shall not remain after men are dead, neither in nor after the resurrection, saith the Lord your God. For whatsoever things remain are by me; and whatsoever things are not by me shall be shaken and destroyed. Therefore, if a man marry him a wife in the world, and he marry her not by me nor by my word, and he covenant with her so long as he is in the world and she with him, their covenant and marriage are not of force when they are dead, and when they are out of the world; therefore, they are not bound by any law when they are out of the world.” This is a really difficult doctrine for me to understand and I think that it has to do with those who reject the covenant of eternal marriage, not those who had no option. Would it be that for me if I got married to a non-member outside of the temple? Maybe because the Lord said that those who are no...

132:7-12 - Verse 7 is very long and pretty complex but from what I understand the Lord is saying that all contracts, covenants, basically any spiritual agreement “that are not made and entered into and sealed by the Holy Spirit of promise… are of no efficacy, virtue, or force in and after the resurrection from the dead; for all contracts that are not made unto this end have an end when men are dead. Behold, mine house is a house of order, saith the Lord God, and not a house of confusion. Will I accept of an offering, saith the Lord, that is not made in my name? Or will I receive at your hands that which I have not appointed?” The IM has a very extensive explanation by Elder Bruce R. McConkie saying, “The Holy Ghost is the Holy Spirit; he is the Holy Spirit promised the saints at baptism, or in other words the Holy Spirit of Promise, this exalted name-title signifying that the promised receipt of the Holy Spirit, as on the day of Pentecost, is the greatest gift man can receive in mo...

132:1-2 - Verse 1 gives us some insight into why this revelation came up in the first place, and as usual, is the answer to a question. The Lord addresses the question “that inasmuch as your have inquired of my hand to know and understand wherein I, the Lord, justified my servants Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, as also Moses, David and Solomon, my servants, as touching the principle and doctrine of their having many wives and concubines- Behold, and lo, I am the Lord thy God, and will answer thee as touching this matter.” Why did Joseph Smith as the Lord about this? That was my first question. The IM says, “From this introductory statement it is evident that the Prophet had made the question of marriage a subject of earnest prayer, as he did with matters concerning which he was perplexed and desired to know the truth. He did not understand how the Patriarchs, and David and Solomon could find favor with the Lord, while living in a manner contrary to… modern moral standards, and he asked t...

I heard something very poignant about polygamy once, it said “When a man has many mistresses he is considered a stud. The minute he wants to marry and take care of them he is considered a felon.” Continuing on with the concept of polygamy and eternal marriage, I just want to point out a few things. I’m a very logical person, so it A=B and B=C then A=C, if Joseph Smith instituted polygamy because he was a perverted sex fiend (A) and he had several children with Emma (B) and the majority of the women that he married polygamously had several children with other spouses that they later remarried after JS’s death (C) then JS would have TONS of descendants with these other women because they were all very fertile people apparently. However, he doesn’t have several children from his polygamous marriages, as far as I know he *might* have 1 or 2, at most, but I just saw an article posted the other day saying that DNA evidence has disproven his paternity of one of his alleged children....

The issue of polygamy is pretty wild and people get VERY upset about it, but I think it’s important to start out by saying what I do every time I talk about this issue. In Jesus the Christ, James E. Talmage teaches us that Jesus Christ is the ultimate champion of women and womanhood. We know that through the atonement Christ felt all of our pain and sorrow and heart ache, we know that the Lord counts our tears. He knows that deep down every woman wants a man who loves her and is devoted to her and cherishes her, He knows how vital and important that is to women. He feels everything we feel and cries with us, he only wants our absolute happiness, and he doesn’t want us to suffer. He knew what asking his saints to practice polygamy would do to his daughters and it only caused him pain and suffering, so why did he do it? The Lord has told us that it is not his will that polygamy should be practiced unless he commands his people to do it so that he can raise up righteous seed unto hims...

131:6 - Verse 6 is short, but I think that there is a lot of perspective. It says “It is impossible for a man to be saved in ignorance.” The IM says “The Prophet Joseph Smith stated: ‘A man is saved no faster than he gets knowledge, for if he does not gets knowledge, he will brought into captivity by some evil power in the more knowledge, and consequently on the earth. Hence it needs revelation to assist us, and give us knowledge of the things of God.’” This has been a contentious issue for me in the past because I had a discussion with a Christian friend many years ago when I was just coming back to church and one of the doctrines that we discussed was what happened to the people who died without a knowledge of Jesus. She said that all who died without a knowledge of Jesus would be saved based on Jesus knowing their hearts, I didn’t know what to say about this, though it didn’t make sense to me at the time. Jesus does know our hearts, but does that mean that we don’t have to choos...

131:5 - There are several concepts that are covered in the last 4 verses of this section, some of the themes are kind of abstract for me so let’s see how it goes. Verse 5 says, “The more sure word of prophecy means a man’s knowing that he is sealed up unto eternal life, by revelation and the spirit of prophecy, through the power of the Holy Priesthood.” I have absolutely no idea what this means as we’re just going to quote Elder Bruce R. McConkie from the IM as saying, “Those members of the Church who devote themselves wholly to righteousness, living by every word that proceedeth forth from the mouth of God, make their calling and election sure. That is, they receive the more sure word of prophecy, which means that the Lord seals their exaltation upon them while they are yet in this life. Peter summarized the course of righteousness which the saints must pursue to make their calling and election sure and then (referring to his experience on the Mount of Transfiguration with James a...

I have definitely felt, not necessarily a loss of the Spirit, but distant for sure and I’m pretty sure that the reason is because I haven’t been taking my scripture study as seriously as I should have and instead of listening to Church materials while driving to work I’ve been listening to secular audiobooks. It’s my prerogative about what I want to do and listen to and I’m not listening to anything bad, I feel like these books are educational and uplifting and enlightening. So why would I not feel the Spirit in the same way that I would if I listened to Church material? Well, listening to the Ensign or an archived general conference always sets the mood for when I get to work, I usually have a better attitude when I get there than if I listen to something else. I also am usually really enthusiastic about my scripture study for that day and get to it as fast as I can and with great energy and focus. Interestingly, I usually learning something during my ride to work from what I’m listen...

Section 131 is very short, only 8 verses, but there is a lot of content in the IM about it. The IM gives background as follow: "On 16 May 1843 the Prophet Joseph Smith, in company with William Clayton and four others, left Nauvoo for Ramus, Illinois, twenty-two miles to the southeast. The same evening found Joseph Smith and William Clayton in the home of Benjamin F. Johnson, where before retiring the Prophet gave some instructions on the priesthood to Brother and Sister Johnson. During that evening he turned to William Clayton, placed his hand on his knee, and said, 'Your life is hid with Christ in God and so are many others. Nothing but the unpardonable sin can prevent you from inheriting eternal life for you are sealed up by the power of the Priesthood unto eternal life, having taken the step necessary for that purpose.'" I find it interesting that he was given this promise that he will receive eternal life as long as he doesn't deny the Holy Ghost, which I thin...