4/15/2017 - Section 13:1

April 15, 2017

Section 13:1

John the Baptist, Restoration of Aaronic Priesthood, Angels, Faith, Belief,

This section consists of 1 verse. It is Joseph Smith’s record of the words spoken by John the Baptist when he appeared, as an angel, and restored the Aaronic Priesthood on the earth: “Upon you my fellow servants, in the name of Messiah I confer the Priesthood of Aaron, which holds the keys of the ministering of angels, and of the gospel of repentance, and of baptism by immersion for the remission of sins; and this shall never be taken again from the earth, until the sons of Levi do offer again an offering unto the Lord in righteousness.”

There is a very long quote on p 29 of the student manual from Joseph Smith that was very informative about the sons of Levi offering again their offering to the Lord. That quote can also be found in Doctrines of Salvation 3:94.

This visit, this restoration of the Aaronic Priesthood, was an answer to Joseph’s and Oliver’s prayers. Referring to John’s words of “fellow servant”, Oliver writes “Then his voice, though mild, pierced to the center, and his [introductory] words, ‘I am thy fellow-servant,’ dispelled every fear….’twas a message from the Most High! and as we heard we rejoiced, wile his love enkindled upon our souls….Where was room for doubt? No where; uncertainty had fled, doubt had sunk, no more to rise, while fiction and deception had fled forever!....”

I have not seen an angel—nor do I have to---for I have felt the Lord’s love encompass me. I have felt mourning in my soul erased by repentance, and I thank my Heavenly Father for His holy gift. I speak to my Father every day. I know He hears me for He answers me—and those answers come at the right time for my growth and development. There is no doubt in my mind that the course of the earth will follow what the scriptures have prophesied; that there is life—a greater life that we left for this earthly experience—awaiting us after our death; that we will then remember how we long to be back in His presence.

2/10/2021 – D&C 13

This a very short, very simple and direct, and very important section. It tells of us John the Baptist, as an angel of God, who under the direction of Peter, James and John, conferred the Aaronic Priesthood upon Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery. 

He gave a succinct and wonderful explanation of the Aaronic Priesthood: it “holds the keys of the ministering angels, and of the gospel of repentance, and of baptism by immersion for the remission of sins; and this shall never be taken again from the earth, until the sons of Levi do offer again an offering unto the Lord in righteousness.”

The D&C tells us of the event, but Oliver Cowdery tells us of the feelings of the event: 

“On a sudden, as from the midst of eternity, the voice of the Redeemer spake peace to us, while the vail was parted and the angel of God came down clothed with glory, and delivered the anxiously looked for message, and the keys of the gospel of repentance!—What joy! what wonder! what amazement! While the world was racked and distracted—while millions were groping as the blind for the wall, and while all men were resting upon uncertainty, as a general mass, our eyes beheld—our ears heard. As in the ‘blaze of days;’ yes, more—above the glitter of the May Sun beam, which then shed its brilliancy over the face of nature! Then his voice, though mild, pierced to the center, and his words, ‘I am thy fellow-servant,’ dispelled every fear. We listened—we gazed—we admired! ’Twas the voice of an angel from glory—’twas a message from the Most High! and as we heard we rejoiced, while his love enkindled upon our souls, and we were wrapt in the vision of the Almighty! Where was room for doubt? No where; uncertainty had fled, doubt had sunk, no more to rise, while fiction and deception had fled forever!

“But, dear brother think, further think for a moment, what joy filled our hearts and with what surprise we must have bowed, (for who would not have bowed the knee for such a blessing?) when we received under his hand the holy priesthood.” (Times and Seasons, 1 Nov. 1840, p. 202.)

John the Baptist assured Joseph and Oliver that this priesthood “shall never be taken again from the earth, until the sons of Levi do offer again an offering unto the Lord in righteousness. When Moses and the children of Israel were in the wilderness, Moses received a commandment from the Lord to take Aaron and his sons and ordain them and consecrate them as priests for the people. Since that time it has been known as the Priesthood of Aaron, or the Aaronic Priesthood, including the Levitical Priesthood.

I so appreciate Joseph Smith’s History in the back of our bibles. In v 68 Joseph tells us more about why this revelation was given. “We still continued the work of translation [the ‘we’ is Joseph and Oliver], when, in the ensuing month (May 1829), we on a certain day went into the woods to pray and inquire of the Lord respecting baptism for the reemission of sins, that we found mentioned in the translation of the plates. While we were thus employed, praying and calling upon the Lord, a messenger from heaven descended in a cloud of light…”

This magnificent revelation did not “just happen”. It came from studying the scriptures, and pondering on the things they did not completely understand, and asking the Lord for help. The Lord usually waits until we are truly ready to receive revelation—which is after we had studied it out in our minds, and asked Him for help and better understanding of that which He would have us do. 

There is a lot to be understood here: the ministering of angels, the gospel of repentance, the remission of sins—all of these things will help us draw closer to Heavenly Father—which often involves adjusting our lives to be even more in line with His teachings. 

Carole M Stephens (used to be in the Relief Society General Presidency) taught: “Priesthood ordinances and covenants provide access to the fulness of the blessings promised us by God, which are made possible by the Savior’s Atonement. They arm sons and daughters of God with power, God’s power, and provide us with opportunity to receive eternal life”. Sometimes I think that we fail to realize the powers we do have. 

When we were trying to sell our house in Tulsa, our realtor shared an experience she had had with a couple who had come to look at the house. They were trying to find a house that they could use in creating a home for a few ‘wayward teens’. They explained to the realtor they had already had placed money in escrow previous to completing their purchase of a different house. But they said they were willing to forfeit that escrow and purchase our house. They said it didn’t have quite all the things they had wanted in a house, but they said that there was a “spirit’ in this house that they knew would help these teenagers that would be under their care. That was OUR house. As I thought about this I wondered why I never felt a spirit in our home, and finally I decided that there WAS (for the most part) a sweet spirit in our home, but that is was something we lived with every day and it had become ‘common’ to me. After this experience, I’ve tried to be more spiritually observant—and more careful to ask the Lord, and to thank the Lord for the calmness I have experienced in difficult times, for the comfort I have found in trying to live in a way that would invite that spirit to be with us, and stay with us. 

It is a sweetness. It is the same sweetness I feel when I begin my days with the scriptures. It is a gift of the Holy Ghost that I feel and I never want to part from me.

2/11/2021 – D&C 13

I wanted to know about ministering angels. I found Jeffrey Holland’s November 2009 General Conference talk: “The Ministry of Angels”.  Elder Holland, speaking of the ways Heaven Father watches over us and helps us, s said “in times of special need, He sent angels, divine messengers, to bless His children, reassure them that heaven was always very close and that His help was always very near.” And that “most often it is to comfort, to provide some form of merciful attention, guidance in difficult times.” It is a beautiful talk. And he ends with thoughts that certainly touched my heart: “My beloved brothers and sisters, I testify of angels, both the heavenly and the mortal kind. In doing so I am testifying that God never leaves us alone, never leaves us unaided in the challenges that we face. “[N]or will he, so long as time shall last, or the earth shall stand, or there shall be one man [or woman or child] upon the face thereof to be saved.”13 On occasions, global or personal, we may feel we are distanced from God, shut out from heaven, lost, alone in dark and dreary places. Often enough that distress can be of our own making, but even then the Father of us all is watching and assisting. And always there are those angels who come and go all around us, seen and unseen, known and unknown, mortal and immortal. May we all believe more readily in, and have more gratitude for, the Lord’s promise as contained in one of President Monson’s favorite scriptures: “I will go before your face. I will be on your right hand and on your left, . . . my Spirit shall be in your [heart], and mine angels round about you, to bear you up.”14 In the process of praying for those angels to attend us, may we all try to be a little more angelic ourselves—with a kind word, a strong arm, a declaration of faith and “the covenant wherewith [we] have covenanted.”15 Perhaps then we can be emissaries sent from God when someone, perhaps a Primary child, is crying, “Darkness . . . afraid . . . river . . . alone.” To this end I pray in the sacred name of Jesus Christ, amen”

This section was given to Joseph and Oliver by the ministering of an angel…who spoke to them: “Upon you my fellow servants” (v 1) Elder Holland was so right as he testified of angels,” both the heavenly and the mortal kind”, because the Lord has promised that He will not leave us alone. He, or His helpers,  will come at our request and at the proper time for us.

2/12/2012 – D&C 13

I decided to learn more about John the Baptist’s bestowing the keys of the gospel of repentance. I don’t believe I’ve ever felt the significance of the phrase “the gospel of repentance”. I came across Dale G Renlund’s Nov 2017 General Conference talk: The Priesthood and the Savior’s Atoning Power.

Elder Renlund spoke of an assignment he had been given: to go to a country and organize the first stake of the church, and while he was there, he was to also interview a 30 year old man, and if all was in order—to restore his priesthood and temple blessings. 

“This 30-year-old man had joined the Church in his late teens. He served an honorable mission. But when he returned home, he lost his way, and he lost his membership in the Church. After some years, “he came to himself,”22 and with the help of loving priesthood leaders and kind members, he repented and was readmitted by baptism into the Church. Later, he applied to have his priesthood and temple blessings restored. We set an appointment for Saturday at 10:00 a.m. at the meetinghouse. When I arrived for the earlier interviews, he was already there. He was so anxious to have the priesthood once again, he just could not wait.

During our interview, I showed him the letter explaining that President Thomas S. Monson had personally reviewed his application and authorized the interview. This otherwise stoic young man wept. I then told him that the date of our interview would have no official meaning in his life. He looked puzzled. I informed him that after I restored his blessings, his membership record would show only his original baptism, confirmation, priesthood ordination, and endowment dates. He choked up again. I asked him to read from the Doctrine and Covenants: “Behold, he who has repented of his sins, the same is forgiven, and I, the Lord, remember them no more. “By this ye may know if a man repenteth of his sins—behold, he will confess them and forsake them.”23”

How loving and how compassionate is the Lord. And how tenderly he is involved in our lives, and how he will help us to overcome all odds and come closer to Him and to our original goals for this life!