8/25/2017 - Section 65:1-6

August 25, 2017

Section 65:1- 6

Prayer Importance of, Prayer How To, Prayer Way of Life, Prayer Leads to Strength,

Joseph Smith said that this section is a prayer: “In the fore part of October, I received the following prayer [D&C 65] through revelation” (History of the Church 1:218)

Smith and Sjodahl, Commentary, P 397: “At Hiram [Ohio] several important conferences were held. There [sixteen] Revelations were received, including the memorable vision recorded in Section 76. There a mob, excited by the agitation of Ezra Booth, who had denied the faith and become an enemy, tried to take the life of the Prophet and Sidney Rigdon. No doubt, this revelation came to strengthen them for the work and experiences before them.”

 And as I read these verses, I feel it is a prayer of the Savior to His Father. In that prayer, Christ goes over what has happened, and what will happen. He makes clear what actions would be the most important to perform. He gives honor and glory to His Father, and asks that His Father’s goals may be accomplished. The way Christ prays gives us such a wonderful example for the way we should pray. Short prayers are certainly important and very useful to us. But to establish the strongest relationship, more is needed than just asking for help. To establish the strongest relationship, we must share how we think and feel, and why we think and feel that way. We must share our goals, our joys, our successes. We must seek guidance and be committed to follow that guidance when it is given. We must remember always, and let Heavenly Father know, that we are grateful for His plan and His help. We must acknowledge His help in our lives and ask to be able to recognize that help more quickly and with greater clarity. We must be mindful of His commandments, and keep tract of how we are doing in following those commandments and when we find we are struggling, then seek His help immediately. We should spend time with Him, and that time should be more than quick ‘help me please’ and the occasional ‘thanks so much’. We should put thoughtful effort into this relationship. And we will know when we are improving in these efforts, for we will see that our life is improving in oh-so-many ways.

Praying is always good. Praying FULLY takes us to another level.

I love Christ’s instructions: “Pray unto the Lord, call upon his holy name, make known his wonderful works among the people.    Call upon the Lord, that his kingdom may go forth upon the earth, that the inhabitants thereof may receive it, and be prepared for the days to come, in the which the Son of Man shall come down in heaven, clothed in the brightness of his glory, to meet the kingdom of God which is set up on the earth.”  V4-5

6/16/2021 – D&C 65

The study manual suggested that I read this section looking for some of the things that the Lord would like us to pray for.

In this section, the Lord declares that the gospel will fill the whole earth. Joseph Smith, and the people who have embraced the restored gospel are at the very beginning of an amazing result---that of the gospel filling the whole earth. The Lord describes this growth as that of “the stone which is cut out of the mountain without hands shall roll forth, until it has filled the whole earth.” (v2)

In v 3, the Lord tells us to “prepare ye the supper of the Lamb, make ready for the Bridegroom.” As I read this, I thought of the parable of the 10 virgins. They all came together to wait for the arrival of the Bridegroom, but His arrival took longer than they had thought. It was the women who had come prepared for a longer wait than they had expected who were, in the end, invited into the wedding. All of them had come ready to greet the Bridegroom, but only half of them had the patience and perseverance and resources -- which they had gathered beforehand, and had taken the trouble to bring with them, and to continue to wait when the event took longer to start than they had expected. 

In April 1834, Wilford Woodruff participated in a priesthood meeting in Kirtland, Ohio, where the Prophet Joseph Smith prophesied about the destiny of the kingdom of God. President Woodruff later spoke about what transpired during the time that God’s kingdom grows as the gospel rolls forth “until it has filled the whole earth” (D&C 65:2). meeting: “The Prophet called on all who held the Priesthood to gather into the little log school house they had there. It was a small house, perhaps 14 feet square. But it held the whole of the Priesthood of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints who were then in the town of Kirtland. … When we got together the Prophet called upon the Elders of Israel with him to bear testimony of this work. … When they got through the Prophet said, ‘Brethren I have been very much edified and instructed in your testimonies here tonight, but I want to say to you before the Lord, that you know no more concerning the destinies of this Church and kingdom than a babe upon its mother’s lap. You don’t comprehend it.’ I was rather surprised. He said, ‘It is only a little handful of Priesthood you see here tonight, but this Church will fill North and South America—it will fill the world.” (Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: Joseph Smith [2007], 137)

Then in the October 2007 General Conference, President Hinckley stated: “The Church has become one large family scattered across the earth. … The Lord is fulfilling His promise that His gospel shall be as the stone cut out of the mountain without hands which would roll forth and fill the whole earth, as Daniel saw in vision (see Daniel 2:31–45; D&C 65:2). A great miracle is taking place right before our eyes. …”

It is as if we are all small children in the backseat of the car, who are asking every so often: “Are we there yet?” The driver knows where we are going. It’s up to us in the back seat to enjoy the ride – and hopefully, help others enjoy the ride also.

In verse 4, the Lord tells us to pray, and to “make known his wonderful works among the people.” We are not to be selfish, keeping the gospel to ourselves. In v 5 He tells us to pray that the gospel can “go forth upon the earth, and the inhabitants thereof may receive it” and He tells us to be prepared for the day when Christ will return to earth “in the brightness of his glory”. In v 6 He tells us to pray that His kingdom may grow, and that the kingdom of heaven may come, and that the enemies of the Lord may be subdued.

In my small life, I pray for things close to me: testimony, health, strength, charity, and a greater ability to hear Him, and most importantly to follow Him. But the Lord prays for the entire earth and that the people on the earth may work for the end of the world as we know it, and the glory of the coming of Christ---that we ALL may glory as the purpose of our earthly life is completed….and hopefully completed in the most positive ways.