7/17/2017 - Section 50:31-46

July 17, 2017

Section 50:31-46

Missionary Growth and Protection, Wayward Children, Personal Revelation, See the Face of the Lord,

We are almost finished with our mission papers—we have our final doctor’s appointment today. I mention this because every verse I read seems to speak of missionaries. Leading up to v 35, the Lord is speaking about staying close to Him and following the promptings of the Holy Ghost, and maintaining a firm desire to do all that is right—thus growing closer to Him. The promises for that are in v 35: “And by giving heed and doing these things which ye have received, and which ye shall hereafter receive—and the kingdom is given you of the Father, and power to overcome all things which are not ordained of him.” None of us enters…or leaves…our mission perfect. But hopefully, we WILL leave our mission with softer hearts, having worked to help others in their gospel and their temporal lives, having worked to see all people as Christ sees them, and working all the while to overcome our weaknesses and faults. The Lord responds to His missionaries. This verse is a promise of protection and growth for us, and all we have to do is do our best…and when we fall short, we stand right back up, committed to do better and not make the same mistakes again. “Fall down 7 times….Get up 8” There are many on our side—so let’s join them and we will feel their help. The Lord teaches us here that “power’ is fully available to us “to overcome all things not ordained” of God.”

The Lord then goes on to give specific direction: V 37 “…go forth among the churches and strengthen them by word of exhortation” –and let me add—by love unfeigned. V 38: “…labor in the vineyard; and let no man hinder them doing that which I have appointed unto them” and let me add here—‘let no man hinder them’ includes ourselves hindering ourselves or hindering our companion.  And just in case you feel you have fallen short, there is v 39 the Lord says to one who has fallen short of expectations and his own abilities: “nevertheless let him repent and he shall be forgiven”. Being a missionary is a new thing for most of us. The Lord knows that. He also knows that progress takes time: v’s 40-46: “40. Behold, ye are little children and ye cannot bear all things now; ye must grow in grace and in the knowledge of the truth.  41 Fear not, little children, for you are mine, and I have overcome the world, and you are of them that my Father hath given me; 42 And none of them that my Father hath given me shall be lost.  43 And the Father and I are one. I am in the Father and the Father in me; and inasmuch as ye have received me, ye are in me and I in you. 44 Wherefore, I am in your midst, and I am the good shepherd, and the stone of Israel. He that buildeth upon this rock shall never fall. 45. And the day cometh that you shall hear my voice and see me, and know that I am. 46 Watch therefore that ye may be ready. Even so. Amen” Our part is to live worthy of this help, and if we fall short—then make the needed adjustments quickly and surely.

P 109 has a quote from Elder Merriner W. Merrill which touched me deeply. He applied the words in v’s 40-43 to the family: “When we [meet our obligations in the Church and] have fellowship with each other, we have fellowship with the Spirit of the Lord, which will direct us in all our ways, and we will be preserved in the truth with our families. Some of our families perhaps are wayward. They do not do as we would like them to do. Is not this the case in many families? There are sons and daughters whose course does not give satisfaction to their fathers and mothers. What shall we do about it? Do the very best we ca , but see to it that we have not been the cause of their lack of integrity in work of the Lord. I believe through our faithfulness and our entreaties with the Lord we may be the means not only of saving ourselves, but those the Lord has entrusted to us as sons and daughters. The Lord is merciful and He will hear our prayers and grant our desires through our integrity for him and his work. And peradventure, through our faithfulness, our children who are wayward and who perhaps have strayed away, will come back to the fold bye and bye, because the Lord will hear us in their behalf.” (In Conference Report, Apr. 1900, p 29)

Gee—I can’t seem to stop today. But I must record one more quote—this one from Orson F. Whitney. I always remember the woman who bore her testimony in the Wallsburg First Ward, that she didn’t have to see God to know that He was—for she had proved His existence with her faith and efforts to draw near unto him. Here is what Orson Whitney said in Apr Gen Conf 1910: “It is not given to every man to look upon the face of God as did Moses [Moses 1:11], as did Joseph Smith. One must be specially prepared before he can see what Joseph saw….I do not expect the Lord to manifest Himself to me in the same way that he did to Joseph the Prophet. I expect Him to communicate with me through the gifts He has endowed me with, not through those which He has endowed my brother or sister, unless they have the right to receive for me a message from Him. When the Lord speaks to me or to you it will be in a method and manner justified by our preparation, our gifts, our powers; for we have all been endowed in some degree.”

5/15/2021 - D&C 50: 31-46

The Lord continues to explain that there are good spirits and there are false, or evil, intending, spirits. In v’s 34 -35, the Lord explains that having His spirit with us is a protection for us from the Lord: “He that receiveth of God, let him account it of God; and let him rejoice that he is accounted of God worthy to receive. And by giving heed and doing these things which ye have received, and which ye shall hereafter receive—and the kingdom is given you of the Father, and power to overcome all things which are not ordained of him.”

He reminds us that progress takes time, and it takes effort from us: “Behold, ye are little children and ye cannot bear all things now; ye must grow in grace and in knowledge of the truth. Fear not, little children, for you are mine, and I have overcome the world, and you are of them that my father hath given me;” (v’s 40-41) This assures me that the Lord is always there for each of us, and all we have to do is to do our best to keep His commandments, and then ask for His help and direction. It will come to us softly, so softly that we must be looking for it, and then we can be thankful for it, and then we find we are closer to Him. And when I am closer to Him, my life is sweeter, and my heart is fuller.

Christ is so concerned for each one of us. He assures us in v 42 that “…none of them that my Father hath given me shall be lost.” And He reminds us: “…I am in your midst, and I am the good shepherd…He that buildeth upon this rock shall never fall.” (v 44) 

All friendships take time and effort to keep and to enlarge. The same is true of that precious friendship between us and Christ. In v 45 He promises that “…the day cometh that you shall hear my voice and see me, and know that I am.” And then He immediately tells us exactly how we should be living in order to be worthy of His promise: “Watch, therefore, that ye may be ready.” (v 46) I read that as “Look for me. Seek me daily. Live so that I can walk by your side, and steady you when you fall short.” And He will do just that, and do it as a concerned and loving friend and brother.  He has always promised that He will feed His sheep. All we have to do is to be sure we are there, at His table—it is filled with the food that will not just sustain us, but also help us to grow outward and upward.

The following is a quote from Brother A. Roger Merrill (General Sunday School President at the time) in the October 2006 General Conference: He spoke on how we can best receive or learn the gospel by the Spirit:

“We often focus, appropriately, on the importance of teaching by the Spirit. But we need to remember that the Lord has placed equal, if not greater, importance on receiving by the Spirit. (See D&C 50:17–22.) …

“In our Church meetings, in our personal and family scripture study, and … as we listen to the Lord’s prophets and apostles, some of us will receive more than others. Why? I am learning that those who truly receive do at least three things that others may not do. 1) First, they seek. We live in an entertainment world, a spectator world. Without realizing it, we can find ourselves coming to conference or going to church with the attitude, ‘Here I am; now inspire me.’ We become spiritually passive.  2) When we focus instead on seeking and receiving the Spirit, we become less concerned about a teacher or speaker holding our attention and more concerned about giving our attention to the Spirit. Remember, receive is a verb. It is a principle of action. It is a fundamental expression of faith…those who receive, feel. While revelation comes to the mind and heart, it is most often felt. Until we learn to pay attention to these spiritual feelings, we usually do not even recognize the Spirit. …  3) Third, those who receive by the Spirit intend to act. As the prophet Moroni instructed, to receive a witness of the Book of Mormon, we must ask ‘with real intent’ (Moroni 10:4). The Spirit teaches when we honestly intend to do something about what we learn.”