6/9/2017 - Section 39:1-24

June 9, 2017

Section 39:1-24

James Covill, Seeking the Lord’s Advice, Prayer, Personal Revelation, If Then Scriptures, If Then Promises, Missionary Work Definition,

This section, and section 40, have much to do about James Covill…and –in scriptural truth-- about all of us. James Covill was a Baptism minister in Ohio. He journeyed from Ohio to New York in January 1831 in order to meet the Prophet Joseph Smith. This is what JS recorded: “There was a man came to me by the name of James Covill, who had been a Baptist minister for about forty years, and covenanted with the Lord that he would obey any command that the Lord would give him through me as His servant, and I received the following...” and then begins D&C 39.

Christ knows James Covill. In v’s 7-9 He says “I have looked upon they works and I know thee….thine heart is now right before me at this time….Nevertheless, thou hast seen great sorrow, for thou hast rejected me many times because of pride and the cares of the world....”

Christ makes sure that James is aware of the choices that are before him, and it is up to him to decide his future: v 5 “…he that receiveth my gospel receiveth me; and he that receiveth not my gospel receiveth not me.”  P 80: Harold B Lee in the Oct 1972 Gen Conf: “I sat in a class in Sunday School in my own ward one day, and the teacher was the son of a patriarch. He said he used to take down the blessing of his father, and he noticed that his father gave what he called ‘iffy’ blessings. He would give a blessing, but it was predicated on…’if you will cease doing that’. And he said, “I watched these men to whom my father gave the ‘iffy’ blessings, and I say that many of them did not heed the warning that my father as a patriarch had given, and the blessings were never received because they did not comply.”   You know, this started me thinking. I went back into the Doctrine and Covenants and began to read the ‘iffy ‘ revelations that have been given to the various brethren in the Church. If you want to have an exercise in something that will startle you, read some of the warnings that were given through the Prophet Joseph Smith to Thomas B Marsh, Martin Harris, some of the Whitmer brothers, William E McLellin—warnings which, had they heeded, some would not have fallen by the wayside. But because they did not heed, and they didn’t clear up their lives, they fell by the wayside….”

Christ explains the possibilities that are open for James: v 4 “to as many as received me, gave I power to become my sons…”; v 10 “…if thou wilt hearken to my voice, which saith unto thee: Arise and be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on my name, and you shall receive my Spirit, and a blessing so great as you never have known.” V 12 “And it shall come to pass that power shall rest upon thee, thou shalt have great faith, and I will be with thee and go before thy face.”

Christ encourages James as He calls him to be a missionary in Ohio and explains how to go about it: v 13: “Thou art called to labor in my vineyard, and to build up my church, and to bring forth Zion that it may rejoice upon the hills and flourish.” And v17 “Wherefore lay to with your might.”. Then there might have been another worry: v 14 clarifies: “thou art not called to go into the eastern countries, but thou art called to go to the Ohio”, and that makes me wonder if James was not happy to return to Ohio, to teach people he had once been minister of. Did James feel that facing these personal fears would not be worth the promises the Lord had placed before him? Did James not understand the power, the strength, the guidance, the comfort, the direction the Lord was promising?

4/16/2021 – D&C 39

A Baptist minister named James Covel attended the January 3rd 1831conference and afterward spoke with Church leaders. It appeared as though he was prepared to convert to the restored gospel. According to John Whitmer, James Covel “covenanted with the Lord that he would obey any commandment that the Lord would give through his servant Joseph” (in The Joseph Smith Papers, Documents, Volume 1: July 1828–June 1831, 233–34).  On January 5th, Joseph Smith received this revelation.

Once again, the words in the synopsis of this section caught my attention: “To receive the gospel is to receive Christ.” In v 4 Christ tells of our rewards for receiving Him: “But to as many as received me, gave I power….” And in v 5 He reinforces: “…he that receiveth my gospel receiveth me…” Then in v 6, He further clarifies His statements: “And this is my gospel—repentance and baptism by water, and then cometh the baptism of the Holy Ghsot, even the Comforter, which showeth all things and teacheth the peaceable things of the kingdom” 

To me receiving Christ is easier than we might think. I read His scriptures and try to ‘liken them unto myself’. I work to follow His two great commandments: love the Lord, and love my neighbor as I would love myself. I’m working to search for the good in others. It’s too easy to look for the flaws in others, and that kind of viewpoint doesn’t help the ‘others’, and it doesn’t help me. But to take the time and effort to look for the good in others lifts me AND them. It brings us closer together. It creates sweet bonds. It helps me to learn from others. It expands my thoughts and feelings, and it expands my joys. 

To receive Christ also means that I can become acquainted with the Holy Ghost. “…and the Holy Ghost, even the Comforter… soweth all things and teacheth the peaceable things of the kingdom”, and that brings peace into my mind and my heart.

In this section, as the Lord speaks directly to James Covil, He reminds James that He knows him: “I have looked upon they works and I know thee. And verily I say unto thee, thine heart is now right before me at this time; and, behold, I have bestowed great blessings upon thy head. (V 7-8) And then the Lord tells him of his weaknesses: “thou hast seen great sorrow, for thou hast rejected me many times because of pride and the cares of the world. But, behold, the days of thy deliverance are come, it thou wilt hearken to my voice…and you shall receive my Spirit, and a blessing so great as you never have known.” (v 9-10)

And then the Lord does for James Covill, what He does for all of us: “And if thou do this, I have prepared thee for a greater work…And it shall come to pass that power shall rest upon thee; thou shalt have great faith, and I will be with thee and go before they face.” (v 12)

Unfortunately, the ending of this story is another example of the rich young ruler who came to Christ. He had truly lived a very good live, but when Christ answered his questions as to what he more he could do, the young ruler felt that the things that Christ asked of him were too much. After receiving this beautiful revelation, James Covel left Fayette without explanation. “The Lord told Joseph it was the fear of persecution and the cares of the world that caused him to walk away.” If we ask, the Lord will help us do the things that will help others, we will often find  that that will make us stronger. These opportunities are rarely easy, but they so often bring great learning and deep joy. He will always give us our choice.  

Elder Dallin H Oaks spoke of this in an Ensign article (June 1986, p 65):  “When is our heart right with God? Our heart is right with God when we truly desire what is righteous, when we desire what God desires.

Our divinely granted willpower gives us control over our desires, but it may take many years for us to be sure that we have willed and educated them to the point that all are entirely righteous. President Joseph F. Smith taught that the ‘education … of our desires is one of far-reaching importance to our happiness in life.’ (Gospel Doctrine, Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1939, p. 297.) How do we educate our desires? We begin, I suppose, with our feelings. The desires of our hearts are deep-seated and fundamental. But our feelings are closer to the surface and easier for us to identify and influence. …In order to have righteous desires, we have to control our thoughts and achieve appropriate feelings. My widowed mother understood that principle. ‘Pray about your feelings,’ she used to say. She taught her three children that we should pray to have the right kind of feelings about our experiences—positive or negative—and about the people we knew. If our feelings were right, we would be more likely to take righteous actions and to act for the right reasons”