Blogging Through the Book of Mormon

I can’t believe that I’ve finished with the Doctrine and Covenants. Honestly, working through the Book of Mormon felt like it took years, but with the Doctrine and Covenants I feel like I just started it a few month ago, when in fact it has been a year and a half. The study of the Book of Mormon changed my life, I don’t know if I can say that studying the D&C changed my life to the same extent, but I was a different person when I started that adventure than when I launched in the D&C. I have to be honest, I wasn’t super excited to start into the New Testament because I don’t really get it, and I love the Old Testament, and because I felt like “Jesus the Christ” by Elder James E. Talmage was so incredible that I wouldn’t be able to get anything out of the first section than I already had by listening to it four times. After doing more research and starting on my study, I’m SO excited to get started on this portion of the scriptures for several reasons. First is because, yes,...

Official Declaration 2 is a subject that is near and dear to my heart because my ex-husband is African American, thus making my kids half African American as well. I believe that any self-respecting man of color has to come to terms with the concept of the “priesthood ban” before they can fully accept the gospel. I’ve thought long and hard about this concept and I have a few theories of my own, I’m not sure that I’ll discuss them here, we’ll see. I really like the section heading found in the D&C because I feel that it’s the most comprehensive and the least confrontational. It says, “The Book of Mormon teaches that ‘all are alike unto God,’ including ‘black and white, bond and free, male and female.’ Throughout the history of the Church, people of every race and ethnicity in many countries have been baptized and have lived as faithful members of the Church. During Joseph Smith’s lifetime, a few black male faithful members of the Church were ordained to the priesthood. Early in ...

Back to the concept of polygamy. It’s interesting to me that the idea surrounding polygamy is so widely opposed by men, and this is just the man-hating cynic in me, but I’m pretty confident that their antagonistic view of plural marriage is not held because of their love and devotion to the women in their lives. I think that I’ve said it before but I’ve always found it interesting that in our society and most others, having many girlfriends makes a man respected, but as soon as he tries to commit to and care for all these women, he’s a felon. It makes no sense. When I was younger, I was under the impression that polygamy was ended by the Church in order to become a state in the union. I remember giving a presentation on Mormon pioneers and someone asked me about polygamy and I said “yes, the Church practiced polygamy but then wanted to become a state so they stopped it.” Which is “kind” of true, but not really. That argument never really sat right with me because if the Lord willed...

138:10-31 - President Smith now begins talking about what he saw when "the eyes of my understanding were opened, and the Spirit of the Lord rested upon me, and I saw the hosts of the dead, both small and great. He notes that there is an obvious divide between the "spirits of the jsut, who had been faithful in the testimony of Jesus while they lived in mortality... I beheld that they were filled with joy and gladness, and were rejoicing together because the day of their deliverance was at hand." They are waiting "the advent of the Son of God into the spirit world," they are waiting for the resurrection. While they are waiting "The Son of God appeared, declaring liberty to the captives who had been faithful; and there he preached to them the everlasting godpel, the doctrine of the resurrection and the redemption of manking from the fall, and from individual sins on conditions of repentance." The Lord visited the righteous but he did not visit the wicked...

This section isn’t about what I thought that it was about, but it’s still exceptionally interesting and profitable. There is a lot of doctrine that is covered in this section and much of it is by implication. This section was provided by Joseph F. Smith, Hyrum’s boy and Joseph’s nephew. It’s given as a dictation to his son, Joseph Fielding Smith after this was given as an address in the general conference in October 1918. Then, “During April conference of 1976 it was accepted as scripture and approved for publication in the Pearl of Great Price. In June 1979 the First Presidency announced that it would become section 138 of the Doctrine and Covenants.” The section heading for 138 says, “A vision given to President Joseph F. Smith in Salt Lake City, Utah, on October 3, 1918. In his opening address at the 89 th Semiannual General Conference of the Church, on October 4, 1918, President Smith declared that he had received several divine communications during the previous months. One o...

137:5-10 - Sorry that it’s been a while, I want to say that I’ve been busy at work, and legitimately I have, but I feel like I could have made more of an effort, and I definitely can feel the loss of the Spirit when I take my scripture study so casually. Joseph Smith says that he “saw Father Adam and Abraham; and my father and my mother.” This reminds me of the section that talked about JS’s father sitting with father Abraham. It’s also interesting because at the time this vision was given, JS’s parents were both still alive and his father was in the same room! He also saw his “brother Alvin, that has long since slept; And marveled how it was that he had obtained an inheritance in that kingdom, seeing that he had departed this life before the Lord had set his hand to gather Israel the second time, and had not been baptized for the remission of sins.” I think that this was contrary to the prevailing beliefs at the time, which, I believe, was that all who weren’t baptized go straight...

Section 137 is only 10 verses, and it’s not exactly on track as far as the time line goes. The IM gives a very long introduction quoting Joseph Smith as recording that “at early candle-light” on January 21, 1836, he met with “the Presidency” and with them blessed “Father Smith.” This is Joseph Smith’s father and “I then anointed his head with the consecrated oil, and sealed many blessings upon him.” Then the members of the presidency each performed a blessing for him, “all blessing him to be our Patriarch.” Then each member of the Presidency “took the seat in their turn… and received their anointing and blessing under the hands of Father Smith.” I love the blessing that Joseph Smith’s father gave him, and wonder at what a tender moment it must have been between the two men. “In my turn, my father anointed my head, and sealed upon me the blessings of Moses, to lead Israel in the latter days, even as Moses led him in days of old; also the blessings of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.” This ...