4/19/2017 - Section 18:1-21

April 19, 2017

Section 18:1-21

Personal Revelation, Desire, Faith, Action, Spirit Manifestations Of, Gates of Hell, Keep the Commandments, Repentance, Missionary Instructions, Contention None,

This section reinforces the Lord’s instructions of ‘Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you”. The student manual points out that since receiving Section 13 (May 15,1829—and in that visit John the Baptist had said there would also be a restoration of a higher priesthood-- that Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery “now became anxious to have that promise realized, which the angel that conferred upon us, viz., that provided we continued faithful, we should also have the Melchizedek Priesthood, which hold the authority of the laying on of hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost. We had for some time made this matter a subject of humble prayer, and at length we got together  in the chamber of Mr. Whitmer’s house, in order more particularly to seek of the Lord what we earnestly desired;…” This section, and the restoration of the Melchizedek Priesthood occurred June 1829, and it opens with “Now, behold, because of the thing which you, my servant Oliver Cowdery, have desired to know of me, I give unto you these words:” (v1) Desire almost always precedes revelation.

V 2 continues the Lord’s teaching: “Behold, I have manifested unto you, by my spirit in many instances, that the things which you have written are true; [those ‘whooshes’ of the Spirit are communications that should not be taken lightly nor dismissed] wherefore you know that they are true, behold, I give unto you a commandment, that you relay upon the things which are written;” This says to me that knowing truth must change our behavior. That is the essence of faith: we seek answers with desire and with the resolve that once we get those answers, we will adjust our lives to be in accordance with our new found knowledge. Once a question has been answered, we are to accept & remember the answer and not keep asking the Lord for the same information. Remembering is also a part of faith.

V 5 is not the verse my mother read in her first reading of the Book of Mormon, but it contains the phrase ‘the gates of hell shall not prevail against you’ that a voice repeated to my mother as she read & studied the Book of Mormon.

V 8 contains a promise to Joseph Smith which is also applicable to all of us for ‘What I say unto one, I say unto all’: “…if he shall be diligent in keeping my commandments he shall be blessed unto eternal life…” and it is followed in v 13 by a description of how the Savior feels about each one of us individually “And how great is his joy in the soul that repenteth!” (exclamation mark included in this scripture…) And that is why we are all “called to cry repentance unto this people.” (v 14)

V’s 17-21 seem to me to have great significance to missionaries: “Behold, you have my gospel before you, and my rock, and my salvation.   Ask the Father in my name in faith believe that you shall receive, and you shall have the Holy Ghost, which manifesteth all things which are expedient unto the children of men. And if you have not faith, hope, and charity, you can do nothing [I feel I must always add faith, hope and charity to any calling I have…to any impression I act upon—for that is the difference maker] Contend against no church, save it be the church of the devil.   Take upon you the name of Christ, and speak the truth in soberness.”   President Joseph Fielding Smith said: “All who go forth to teach should do so in wisdom and not contend with the churches or engage in profitless debates, but teach in the spirit of kindness and try to persuade people to receive the truth.” (Church History and Modern Revelation, 1:83) I feel this applies to those we meet, those we seek out, those in the wards and branches of the Church, AND those who are our companions in the work—which, for me, includes Bob and our entire family.

P 36 “The word contend carries with it ideas of debate, striving, struggling, and even quarreling and disputing. The Savior taught that such a method of doing missionary work is contrary to the gospel principles (see Nephi 11:28-30). The Prophet Joseph Smith taught the same Principle: “The Elders would go forth, and each must stand for himself…to go forth, and each must stand for himself…to go in all meekness, in sobriety, and preach Jesus Christ and Him crucified; not to contend with others on account of their faith, or systems of religion, but pursue a steady course. This I delivered by way of commandment; and all who observe it not will pull down persecution upon their heads, while those who do, shall always be filled with the Holy Ghost; this I pronounced as a prophecy, and sealed with hosanna and amen.” (History of the Church 2:431)

2/22/2021 – D&C 18: 1-6

When John the Baptist appeared to Joseph and Oliver to give them the Aaronic Priesthood, he also explained that there was a higher priesthood. The Lord takes us forward in steps. He lets us know how we should be living in order to be closer to him, and as we learn to live that way we are preparing ourselves to be able to do more and feel more. They knew that the Melchizedek Priesthood held the keys for the laying on of hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost.

From the History of the Church: “We had for some time made this matter a subject of humble prayer, and at length we got together in the chamber of Mr. Whitmer’s house, in order more particularly to seek of the Lord what we now so earnestly desired;” This revelation did not come out of the blue. It came due to committed work to accomplish the tasks the Lord had given them, and to do this with the proper spirit and behavior. I came because they had been doing their best to follow the Lord, and had strong desires to be able to have the gift of the Holy Ghost, and had prayed for that longed for gift. 

This revelation begins by reminding them of the importance of depth of what there were doing: “Behold, I have manifested unto you, by my Spirit in many instances, that the things which you have written are true; wherefore you know that they are true.” (v2) When the Lord comforts us with that sweet spirit that comes into our hearts and minds, we need to remember the feelings and thoughts that come with those experiences. The Lord asks us—for our own benefit—to remember these sweet times, and to live by faith with those remembrances. Because that is the way faith grows. 

In v 3 the Lord reminds us of that important process: “And if you know that they are true, behold, I give unto you a commandment, that you relay upon the things that are written.” Having these sweet spiritual experiences that allow us, sometimes for just a moment of understanding, will be of such benefit to us IF we work to make those moments of knowing and/or feeling truth sink deeply enough into our minds and hearts to prompt us to make difference –a step up--in our thoughts and in our behavior. The Lord is reminding Joseph and Oliver to read and re-read the scriptures which He has given through them…and through all the prophets of all the scriptures.

 

And then in v 5 he tells us of the benefits of our doing this. Once again, he uses the words my mother heard repeated out loud to her as she read the Book of Mormon in an effort to determine if it was true: “Wherefore, if you shall build up my church, upon the foundation of my gospel and my rock, the gates of hell shall not prevail against you.’ There is so much chaos and sadness in this world. But time and time again, I realize that if I stay close to the Lord on a daily basis, I am guided in my actions, my thoughts, my feelings in a way that lifts me, and keeps me walking forward in His light. 

2/23/2021 – D&C 18:7-24

 In v 9 the Lord tells these men, who are trying their best and giving their all, to the translation of the BofM, that they must repent. And not just them…but He commands all men everywhere to repent! He wants us to grow, and if –when we kneel down at night and thank Him for all the good things that this day has brought, and then speak to Him about the times during our day when we failed to live up to our ideals and His commandment to love others and to lift others—then comes the really important part. We tell Him what we plan to do to live a little higher tomorrow, and ask if the ways we have planned to help us be better are compatible with the ways He knows we can live better and on a higher plane. We’re going to grow so much better, and so much sooner, if we keep the Lord in our daily loop. V 13 tells us what we will receive for these efforts: “And how great is his joy in the soul that repenteth (and I add ‘individually’ to that verse—for the Lord will deal with us individually on a very personal level, if we simply ask and try to do our side of the work a little better every day. That’s living joyfully!

Then come the 3 verses that I have underlined in every reading of the D&C: “Ask the Father in my name, in faith believing that you shall receive, and you shall have the Holy Ghost, which manifesteth all things which are expedient unto the children of me. And if you have not faith, hope, and charity, you can do nothing.” (v’s 18-19)

We may try each day to live up to these verses, and many days we will falter, but there will be days when we’ve risen to the occasion, and handled a difficult situation with love, and kindness, and hope. The Lord reiterates that all we have to do is to keep on keeping on—that’s what He calls enduring to the end. So basically, He is telling us that if we counsel with Him every evening and make our plans on how to do a little better tomorrow, and then wake up with that same commitment in our morning and while we go over our plan for this new day that will help us live at least one step up than how we lived yesterday. That’s growth. That’s development. That brings joy and peace. That’s the plan!