D&C 132:29-50
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 receiving the Holy Ghost into their lives, and by following the example Abraham has set." I believe that this statement is true but I don't think I've ever heard it preached before, so this is nice. I think many times we think that maybe the general authorities are extra blessed from childhood to groom them for church service and therefore blessings, whereas the rest of us are started out with an unfair spiritual handicap. This isn't true for most of us, and the prophets teach us that here.
132:34-40 - Here we get into the concept of polygamy with the Lord telling JS that Abraham and Sarah were commanded by God to take "Hagar to Abraham to wife. And why did she do it? Because this was the law; and from Hagar sprang many people." The Lord addresses a very interesting topic saying, "Abraham was commanded to offer his son Isaac; nevertheless, it was written: Thou shalt not kill. Abraham, however did not refuse, and it was accounted unto him for righteousness." He also says that Abraham, Jacob, and Isaac took many wives and concubines and that it was accounted to them for righteousness because they "did none other thing than that which they were commanded; ad because they did none other things than that which they were commanded, they have entered into their exaltation." The Lord does ask his people to do somethings that seem to go against his commands, for instance when Nephi was commanded to slay Laban, that was against the "Thou shalt not kill" commandment, but the Lord clarifies here that it is only when HE commands it is it allowed. I think I've come to the personal conclusion that only those who are already the prophet can receive command to seemingly break a commandment, anciently anyways, I mean with Abraham, Nephi, etc. Here's where the Lord makes the distinction against what was authorized and what wasn't so that we can find some closure between the teachings of Jacob, that what David and Solomon did was abominable before the Lord. He says "David also received many wives and concubines, and also Solomon and Moses my servants, as also many others of my servants, from the beginning of creation until this time; and in nothing did they sin save in those things which they received not of me. David's wives and concubines were given unto him of me, by the hand of Nathan, my servants, and others of the prophets who had the keys of this power." This is like having 7 wives and marrying 5 of them in the temple, is this being obedient to the commandments of God? No, because only 5 of those marriages were sealed by those with keys, the other 2 was just being greedy. This happened when the practice of polygamy was reinstituted in early Church history, I learned about it at the Joseph Smith and Polygamy fireside I went to. There was an early elder who had married a wife in the temple, then went back East, I don't know if on a mission or something, but he "married" by his own authority, two more wives and when he got back to Church headquarters he was excommunicated for adultery, He had not been authorized by God to take those other wives. David also did this "in the case of Uriah and his wife." And the consequences were severe. The IM quotes Elder Bruce R. McConkie as reminding us that "the sealing power cannot seal a man up unto eternal life if he thereafter commits murder and thereby sheds innocent blood."
132:41-50 - I'm not going to lie, the Lord sounds pretty harsh against women in the next several verses, but I have to remind myself that he is in fact, the champion of women. The Lord gives an example of adultery "if a man receiveth a wife in the new and everlasting covenant, and if she be with another man, and I have not appointed unto her by the holy anointing, she hath committed adultery and shall be destroyed." I think it's interesting to note that the Lord says that it is possible for him to appoint women to apparently have more than one husband. The Lord points out later that the same actions by a man is also considered adultery. I'm going to rewrite verse 41 but from the perspective of a man, "if a woman receiveth a husband in the new and everlasting covenant, and if he be with another woman, and I have not appointed unto him by the holy anointing, he hath committed adultery and shall be destroyed." Pretty straight forward and completely inline with Jacob's teachings in the Book of Mormon. The Lord also authorizes JS to take the faithful spouse "and give her unto him that hath not committed adultery but hath been faithful; for he shall be made ruler over many." In verse 46 the Lord says "whosesoever sins you remit on earth shall be remitted eternally in the heavens; and whosesoever sins you retain on earth shall be retained in heaven." The IM asks "Can the President of the Church forgive sins?" And answers "Ultimately only God can forgive sins, but under inspiration, a servant of the Lord may announce that God has forgiven sins. A bishop and certain other priesthood leaders can extend forgiveness on behalf of the Church for serious sins, but the Lord's forgiveness can only come from God through revelation." The Lord also tells Joseph Smith "I seal upon you your exaltation and prepare a throne for you in the kingdom of my Father, with Abraham your father. Behold, I have seen your sacrifices, and will forgive all your sins; I have seen your sacrifices in obedience to that which I have told you. Go, therefore, and I make a way for your escape, as I accepted the offering of Abraham of his son Isaac." I really like the IM's explanation of this verse saying, "The Prophet Joseph Smith received the promise of eternal life- he had his calling and election made sure. god will extend the same promise to all of his children if they will obey him. Verse 49 explains why the Prophet Joseph received this promise. He was willing to lay all he had on the altar. He was hunted and persecuted, sued in courts of law, torn from family and loved ones, and all because he had testified that the heavens were not closed and that God speaks to His children. The Prophet Joseph is an example in this dispensation of how children of God should act."
132:34-40 - Here we get into the concept of polygamy with the Lord telling JS that Abraham and Sarah were commanded by God to take "Hagar to Abraham to wife. And why did she do it? Because this was the law; and from Hagar sprang many people." The Lord addresses a very interesting topic saying, "Abraham was commanded to offer his son Isaac; nevertheless, it was written: Thou shalt not kill. Abraham, however did not refuse, and it was accounted unto him for righteousness." He also says that Abraham, Jacob, and Isaac took many wives and concubines and that it was accounted to them for righteousness because they "did none other thing than that which they were commanded; ad because they did none other things than that which they were commanded, they have entered into their exaltation." The Lord does ask his people to do somethings that seem to go against his commands, for instance when Nephi was commanded to slay Laban, that was against the "Thou shalt not kill" commandment, but the Lord clarifies here that it is only when HE commands it is it allowed. I think I've come to the personal conclusion that only those who are already the prophet can receive command to seemingly break a commandment, anciently anyways, I mean with Abraham, Nephi, etc. Here's where the Lord makes the distinction against what was authorized and what wasn't so that we can find some closure between the teachings of Jacob, that what David and Solomon did was abominable before the Lord. He says "David also received many wives and concubines, and also Solomon and Moses my servants, as also many others of my servants, from the beginning of creation until this time; and in nothing did they sin save in those things which they received not of me. David's wives and concubines were given unto him of me, by the hand of Nathan, my servants, and others of the prophets who had the keys of this power." This is like having 7 wives and marrying 5 of them in the temple, is this being obedient to the commandments of God? No, because only 5 of those marriages were sealed by those with keys, the other 2 was just being greedy. This happened when the practice of polygamy was reinstituted in early Church history, I learned about it at the Joseph Smith and Polygamy fireside I went to. There was an early elder who had married a wife in the temple, then went back East, I don't know if on a mission or something, but he "married" by his own authority, two more wives and when he got back to Church headquarters he was excommunicated for adultery, He had not been authorized by God to take those other wives. David also did this "in the case of Uriah and his wife." And the consequences were severe. The IM quotes Elder Bruce R. McConkie as reminding us that "the sealing power cannot seal a man up unto eternal life if he thereafter commits murder and thereby sheds innocent blood."
132:41-50 - I'm not going to lie, the Lord sounds pretty harsh against women in the next several verses, but I have to remind myself that he is in fact, the champion of women. The Lord gives an example of adultery "if a man receiveth a wife in the new and everlasting covenant, and if she be with another man, and I have not appointed unto her by the holy anointing, she hath committed adultery and shall be destroyed." I think it's interesting to note that the Lord says that it is possible for him to appoint women to apparently have more than one husband. The Lord points out later that the same actions by a man is also considered adultery. I'm going to rewrite verse 41 but from the perspective of a man, "if a woman receiveth a husband in the new and everlasting covenant, and if he be with another woman, and I have not appointed unto him by the holy anointing, he hath committed adultery and shall be destroyed." Pretty straight forward and completely inline with Jacob's teachings in the Book of Mormon. The Lord also authorizes JS to take the faithful spouse "and give her unto him that hath not committed adultery but hath been faithful; for he shall be made ruler over many." In verse 46 the Lord says "whosesoever sins you remit on earth shall be remitted eternally in the heavens; and whosesoever sins you retain on earth shall be retained in heaven." The IM asks "Can the President of the Church forgive sins?" And answers "Ultimately only God can forgive sins, but under inspiration, a servant of the Lord may announce that God has forgiven sins. A bishop and certain other priesthood leaders can extend forgiveness on behalf of the Church for serious sins, but the Lord's forgiveness can only come from God through revelation." The Lord also tells Joseph Smith "I seal upon you your exaltation and prepare a throne for you in the kingdom of my Father, with Abraham your father. Behold, I have seen your sacrifices, and will forgive all your sins; I have seen your sacrifices in obedience to that which I have told you. Go, therefore, and I make a way for your escape, as I accepted the offering of Abraham of his son Isaac." I really like the IM's explanation of this verse saying, "The Prophet Joseph Smith received the promise of eternal life- he had his calling and election made sure. god will extend the same promise to all of his children if they will obey him. Verse 49 explains why the Prophet Joseph received this promise. He was willing to lay all he had on the altar. He was hunted and persecuted, sued in courts of law, torn from family and loved ones, and all because he had testified that the heavens were not closed and that God speaks to His children. The Prophet Joseph is an example in this dispensation of how children of God should act."
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