5/13/2017 - Section 27:1-18

May 13, 2017

Section 27:1-18

Sacrament Emblems, Urim & Thummim, Elias, Heavenly Messengers, Armor of God, Missionary Protection, Missionary Standards, Missionary Success,

V 1-4 indicate that the important thing in partaking of the sacrament is not the emblems used, but that it is done “with an eye single to my glory—remembering unto the Father my body which was laid down for you, and my blood which was shed for the remission of your sins” (v4)

V 5 speaks of Moroni, “whom I have sent unto you to reveal the Book of Mormon, containing the fullness of my everlasting gospel, to whom I have committed the keys of the record of the stick of Ephraim;”.  This particular sentence made me think of the ways that Joseph translated the Book of Mormon. If the Lord, or the angel Moroni, could help Joseph look at hieroglyphics and know the meaning in English, could not they also simply reveal just the words that the BofM prophets wrote so long ago. The Urim & Thummim (also used in Old Testament times) might be a tool or an aide for the beginner—before they became proficient in recognizing communication from the Lord.

Here is what I found about the Urim and Thummim on the web site: bible.org:

“How did the Urim and the Thummim function?

Here’s probably the best word on the Urim and Thummim. It’s a couple of paragraphs from Dr. Bruce Waltke’s excellent book… entitled, “Finding the Will of God” (pp. 62-64):

“The priest could use the urim and thummin to determine God’s will in a particular situation. We are not exactly sure what the urim and thummin were, but the priest carried in his breastplate perhaps two sticks or stones, one white and the other black, that would give a yes or no answer to a specific question. Should Israel be preparing for battle, they would somehow shake or toss the sticks. If they turned up black the Israelites would not go to battle, and if they turned up white they would proceed into battle with the knowledge that they were in the will of God. That is one form of divination that God allowed in the Old Testament. We read in Exodus 28:30, “Also put the Urim and the Thummin in the breastpiece, so they may be over Aaron’s heart whenever he enters the presence of the Lord. Thus Aaron will always bear the means of making decisions for the Israelites over his heart before the Lord.”

Much has been made of the urim and thummin by modern mystics, who want to find in them the key to the divine mind. All sorts of fanciful explanations have been put forward, including that the items may have glowed, that they had secret words engraved on them, or that they were ancient artifacts with magical powers. However, it should be noted that 1 Samuel 28:6 makes clear a definite answer was not always obtainable, so it may not have been as simple as tossing two stones on ground. Moses never used them; they were given for the high priest in aiding those who could not find God’s guidance any other way.

Some translate the words urim and thummin to mean “curse” and “blessing,” others simply “dark” and “light,” although the literal translation seems to be “light” and “perfections.” There is no proof that there were only two items; some early rabbis believed that the urim and thummin were a series of stones with Hebraic characters on them by which the Lord could spell out a message for the high priest. However, most scholars believe them to be two sticks or stones, perhaps precious stones, that God used in a miraculous way to reveal His will. They were used for national decisions like going to war, and for priestly matters.

The Old Testament seems to indicate that the urim and thummin faded from use during the early days of Israel’s monarchy, and are only referred to once after the Babylonian exile. This may be so because the institution of monarchy God inaugurated the office of prophet. The prophets now participated in God’s heavenly court and communicated God’s messages to the courts in Jerusalem and Samaria. Apparently prophets who revealed God’s word to the king replaced the urim and thummin, through which He revealed His mind to the priest. Nevertheless, we still find Ezra using this device to determine the ancestry of the priests who returned from the exile in Ezra 2:63. After this the Bible never mentions the urim and thummin again. God did not preserve it for His people. They are one more allowance from God to assist His people at a certain point in history.”

V 5-13 all speak of additional heavenly messengers that will come to restore keys and create this last dispensation: “…a dispensation of the gospel for the last times; and for the fullness of times, in the which I will gather together in one all things, both which are in heaven, and which are on the earth;”

P 55 says: “Since Elias refers to more than one person, references to him are sometimes confusing. Elder Bruce R McConkie Explained: ‘Correcting the Bible by the spirit of revelation, the Prophet restored a statement of John the Baptist which says that Christ is the Elias who was to restore all things. (JST), John 1:21-28) By revelation we are also informed that the Elias who was to restore all things is the angel Gabriel who was known in mortality as Noah. (D&C 27:6-7; Luke 1:5-25; Teachings, p 157) From the same authentic source we also learn that the promised Elias is John the Revelator. (D&C 77:9, 14) Thus there are three different revelations which name Elias as being three different persons. What are we to conclude?    By finding answer to the question, by whom has the restoration been effected, we shall find who Elias is and find there is no problem in harmonizing these apparently contradictory revelations. Who has restored all things? Was it one man? Certainty not. Many angelic ministrants have been sent from the courts of glory to confer keys and power, to commit their dispensations and glories again to men on earth. At least the following have come: Moroni, John the Baptist, Peter, James, and John, Moses, Elijah, Elias, Gabriel, Raphael, and Michael. (D&C 13:110); 128:19-21) Since it is apparent that no one messenger has carried the whole burden of the restoration, but rather that each has come with a specific endowment from on high, it becomes clear that Elias is a composite personage. The expression must be understood to be a name and a title for those whose mission it was to commit keys and powers to men in this final dispensation: (Mormon Doctrine p211; see also D&C 110:12-16)

And then comes v 14 in which the Lord tells us who else will help: “And also with all those whom my Father hath given me out of the world”…That’s US!

And so the very next verses tells us what we should do with this information: 1)lift up your hearts and rejoice, 2) gird up you loins, 3)take upon you my whole armor (why? “that ye may be able to withstand the evil day, having done all, that ye may be able to stand”

And then, in V’s 16-18, He tells us exactly how to use the armor of God: “Stand therefore, having you loins girt about with truth, having on the breastplate of righteousness, and your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace, which I have sent mine angels to commit unto you;    Taking the shield of faith wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked;    And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of my Spirit, which I will pour out upon you, and my word, which I reveal unto you, and be agreed as touch all things whatsoever ye ask of me, and be faithful until I come, and ye shall be caught up, that where I am ye shall be also. Amen.”

And finally, Harold B Lees beautiful address (Feet Shod with the preparation of the Gospel of Peace given at BYU, Nov 9, 1954) explaining the meaning of the symbolism of this passage: “We have the four parts of the body that…are the most vulnerable to the powers of darkness. The loins, typifying virtue, chastity. The heart typifying our conduct. Our feet, our goals or objectives in life and finally our head, our thoughts…   We should have our loins girt about with truth. What is truth? Truth, the Lord said, was knowledge of things as they are, things as they were and things as they are to come (D&C 93:24) …Our loins shall be girt about with truth,’ the prophet said.    And the heart, what kind of a breastplate shall protect our conduct in life? We shall have over our hearts a breastplate of righteousness. Well, having learned truth we have a measure by which we can judge between right and wrong, and so our conduct will always be gauged by that thing which we know to be true. Our breastplate to cover our conduct shall be the breastplate of righteousness.   [By] what shall we protect our feet, or by what shall we gauge our objectives as our goals in life? ‘Your feet should be shod with the preparations of the gospel of peace.” (Ephesians 6:15)…How fortunate you are if in your childhood in the home of your father and mother you were taught the doctrine of repentance, faith in Christ, the son of the living god, the meaning of baptism and what you gain by the laying on of hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost. Fortunate is the child who has been taught to pray and who has been given those steps to take on through life. Feet shod with the preparations of the gospel of peace!...and then finally the helmet of salvation…What is salvation? Salvation is to be saved. Saved from what? Saved from death and saved from sin.    The apostle Paul had his armoured man holding in his hand a shield and in his other a sword, which were the weapons of those days. That sword of the spirit which is the Word of God. I can’t think of any more powerful weapons than faith and a knowledge of the scriptures in the which are contained the Word of God. One so armoured and one so prepared with these weapons is prepared to go out against the enemy that is more to be feared than the enemies of light…More to be feared than the enemies that come in the daylight that we can see, are the enemies that strike in the darkness of the night that we can’t see with our eyes.”

3/15/2021 – D&C 27

This is the section in which Joseph was warned against purchasing wine from those who were against the Church – this was a caution against those who were insistent upon persecuting those who had joined the Church, and who did much to disrupt and frighten the members. 

This heavenly messenger met with Joseph as Joseph was on his way to purchase wine for the sacrament. The messenger didn’t just warn Joseph of danger, but he went further to explain more about the meaning of the sacrament and where our thoughts should be during the sacrament. V 2:”…I say unto you, that it mattereth not what ye shall eat or what ye shall drink when ye partake of the sacrament, if it so be that ye do it with an eye single to my glory—remembering unto the Father my body which was laid down for you, and my blood which was shed for the remission of your sins.”  

I appreciate the fact that this messenger gave additional, and very helpful, information: “Wherefore, you shall partake of none [wine] except it is made new among you”. The Lord will answer our prayers in spiritual ways, but will also prompt us in very practical ways, and I am deeply thankful for both.

There is much yet to come for us here on the earth, and much yet to come, in Heavenly Father’s grand plan. In v 5 the Lord promises Joseph (just as He had promised his apostles on the night he ate the Passover with them, that he would not drink of the “fruit of the vine’ with them again until he should “drink it new with them in the Kingdom of God” (Matthew 26, 29)  The Lord goes further in v’s 6-12) to tell us many of those who will be there. He mentions prophets from the Old and New Testament, and the BofM, Christ speaks of this as “the fulness of times, in the which I will gather together in one all things, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth.” And after mentioning the great prophets of this earth, the Lord then adds in v 14: “And also with all those whom my Father hath given me out of the world.”—that can be US! This will be one of the joys of the final dispensation!

And then Christ ends this section with vital instruction to US and will allow US to join with Him—this is the same thing He has told everyone throughout the ages. He has called it ‘taking upon ourselves the whole armor of God.’ V 15-18 “lift up your hearts and rejoice…gird up your loins…take upon you my whole armor…in order that we will be “able to withstand the evil day, having done all, that ye may be able to stand….having truth and righteousness, and being shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace…using the shield of faith which he promises will allow us to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. We are to have the helmet of salvation (which I feel is knowing and understanding and believing in the Lord’s Plan of Salvation), and finally we are not to forget the Sword of my Spirit…which he promises that He will pour it our upon us along with His word ‘which I reveal unto you’ (isn’t that our scriptures?)  And all this so that we might be “faithful until He comes”. 

I love the way Harold B. Lee explained the meaning of this symbolism: “We have the four parts of the body that … [are] the most vulnerable to the powers of darkness. The loins, typifying virtue, chastity. The heart typifying our conduct. Our feet, our goals or objectives in life and finally our head, our thoughts. …We should have our loins girt about with truth. What is truth? Truth, the Lord said, was knowledge of things as they are, things as they were and things as they are to come. [D&C 93:24.] … ‘Our loins shall be girt about with truth,’ ...

And the heart, what kind of a breastplate shall protect our conduct in life? We shall have over our hearts a breastplate of righteousness. Well, having learned truth we have a measure by which we can judge between right and wrong and so our conduct will always be gauged by that thing which we know to be true. Our breastplate to cover our conduct shall be the breastplate of righteousness. [By] what shall we protect our feet, or by what shall we gauge our objectives or our goals in life? … ‘Your feet should be shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace.’ (Ephesians 6:15) …How fortunate are you if in your childhood in the home of your father and mother you were taught the doctrine of repentance, faith in Christ, the son of the living God, the meaning of baptism and what you gain by the laying on of hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost. Fortunate is the child who has been taught to pray and who has been given those steps to take on through life. Feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace! …And then finally the helmet of salvation. … What is salvation? Salvation is to be saved. Saved from what? Saved from death and saved from sin. …[The Apostle Paul] had his armoured man holding in his hand a shield and in his other hand a sword, which were the weapons of those days. That shield was the shield of faith and the sword was the sword of the spirit which is the Word of God. I can’t think of any more powerful weapons than faith and a knowledge of the scriptures in the which are contained the Word of God. One so armoured and one so prepared with those weapons is prepared to go out against the enemy that is more to be feared than the enemies of the light. … More to be feared than the enemies that come in the daylight that we can see are the enemies that strike in the darkness of the night that we can’t see with our eyes.” (Feet Shod with the Preparation of the Gospel of Peace, Brigham Young University Speeches of the Year [Provo, 9 Nov. 1954], pp. 3–7.)

That’s the entire blueprint…all we have to do is to follow it and show our gratitude for the blessings that it brings to our hearts and our minds. WOW!