1/11/2018 - Section 76:54-80

January 11, 2018

Section 76:54-80

Faith, Pride Overcoming, Perfection Growing Toward, Just Men Made Perfect, Valiant in the Testimony of Christ, Spiritual Growth,

My eyes kept going back to v 53 and the phrase: “And those who overcome by faith….”—The Lord is describing characteristics of those who will come forth in the first resurrection. The wonderful part of faith is that when we rely on faith…when we walk by faith…we find that our faith has grown stronger. In short: Faith Works!

V 61, to me, is a direct route to overcoming selfish pride: “Wherefore, let no man glory in man but rather let him glory in God, who shall subdue all enemies under his feet.” If my intentions are to serve the Lord—and I do can often do that by serving His children—then I should not worry about what others think of me. The Lord’s opinion of me is the important thing. And besides, if I am serving the Lord, I am doing so in love, and thus greater love—in myself and in those I work with-- will be the outcome of my work.

V 69 speaks of ‘Just men made perfect through Jesus…’ If we strive to live to be just, and work to do better after those times we fail in our efforts, perfection WILL come through Christ’s atonement. Perhaps that is our graduation present for successfully completing all we promised to do when we came down to start-and then finish- this earth life education.

Then, v 79 speaks of being ‘valiant in the testimony of Jesus’. In the Oct 1974 General Conference, Elder Bruce R McConkie spoke on this subject: “It is to be courageous and bold; to use all our strength, energy, and ability in the warfare with the world; to fight the good fight of faith….The great cornerstone of valiance in the cause of righteousness is obedience to the whole law of the whole gospel.   To be valiant in the testimony of Jesus is to ‘come unto Christ, and be perfect in him’, it is to deny ourselves  ‘of all ungodliness,’ and ‘love God’ with all our ‘might, mind and strength.’ (Moro 10:32)   To be valiant in the testimony of Jesus is to believe in Christ and his gospel with unshakable conviction. It is to know of the verity and divinity of the Lord’s work on earth.   But this is not all. It is more than believing, and knowing. We must be doers of the word and not hearers only. It is more than lip service; it is not simply confessing with the mouth the divine Sonship of the Savior. It is obedience and conformity and personal righteousness. “Not everyone that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.’ (Matt 7:210   To be valiant in the testimony of Jesus is to ‘press forward with a steadfastness in Christ, having a perfect brightness of hope, and a love of God and of all men.’ It is to ‘endure to the end.” (2 Ne 31:20) It is to live our religion, to practice what we preach, to keep the commandments. It is the manifestation of ‘pure religion’ in the lives of men; it is visiting ‘the fatherless and widows in the affliction’  and keeping ourselves ‘unspotted from the world.” )James 1:27)   To be valiant in the testimony of Jesus is to bridle our passions, control our appetites, and rise above carnal and evil things It is to overcome the world as did he who is our prototype and who himself was the most valiant of all our Father’s children. It is to be morally clean, to pay our tithes and offerings, to honor the Sabbath day, to pray with full purpose of heart, to lay our all upon the alter if called upon to do so.   To be valiant in the testimony of Jesus is to take the Lord’s side on every issue. It is to vote as he would vote. It is to think what he thinks, to believe what he believes, to say what he would say and do what he would do in the same situation. It is to have the mind of Christ and be one with him as he is one with his father.”   This may seem impossible—but I remind myself we have eternity in which to achieve all these goals. The important thing is that we get up each morning, we give our very best, we try to do what the Lord would have us do in the way He would have us do it, and as we look back on our day of effort, we speak with the Lord and thank Him for our growth opportunities. We look to see where we were successful—and thank him for those experiences, and examine where we fell short and we make a plan as to how to do a little better the next time. That is going forward step by step in faith. That is all the Lord has asked us to do. A baby doesn’t grow to be an adult overnight. Let us enjoy the growth process, Let us celebrate our triumphs just as we celebrate when our baby learns to sit by himself, or walk, or begin to talk, or learns to smile or learns to hug….It is a long process, but it is a most glorious process.

7/7/2021 – D&C 76:62-89

This is what the student manual said about verses 63-65. I appreciated how they gathered similar scriptures from the Bible, the Book of Mormon, and the D&C, and brought them all together: “The Prophet Joseph Smith and Sidney Rigdon received the vision recorded in Doctrine and Covenants 76 as they pondered the doctrine of the Resurrection. The inspired changes that were revealed concerning John 5:29 helped them understand that there would be an order to the Resurrection: “They who have done good [will come forth] in the resurrection of the just; and they who have done evil [will come forth] in the resurrection of the unjust” (D&C 76:17). The Resurrection of the just is also known as the “first resurrection” (D&C 76:64) and includes all those who will inherit the celestial and terrestrial kingdoms (see D&C 88:96–99). The First Resurrection began when the graves of the righteous were opened after the Resurrection of Jesus Christ (see Matthew 27:52–53; Mosiah 15:21–24; 3 Nephi 23:9–10). The Doctrine and Covenants refers to the First Resurrection as the time when the just will come forth from their graves at the Second Coming of Jesus Christ (see D&C 29:13; 45:54; 88:96–99). The Resurrection of the unjust, or the “last resurrection” (D&C 76:85), will include those who will inherit the telestial kingdom and those who are sons of perdition, and it will occur at the end of the Millennium (see D&C 76:85; 88:32, 100–102). 

 

The verses from v 51 on through v 68, describe some of the characteristics and some of the blessing that will be given to them by Christ. And then comes v 69: “These are they who are just men made perfect through Jesus…” To me that means that if we are working to live just lives as the scriptures describe: following the Savior’s teachings as closely as we can, always with love and compassion for others—then we will, through Christ’s atonement, truly become “just men made perfect”. 

The Lord has defined what ‘being just’ means: it refers to individuals who conform their lives in obedience to the laws and ordinances of the gospel. That is in the Articles of Faith, and Matt 1:19, and Enos 1:1, and Mosiah 2”4, and Moses 8:27. All these are explaining that through the atonement of Jesus Christ, just men are sanctified and made perfect. That is part of the grace of Christ. It doesn’t happen all at once, it comes to us as we work each day to bring ourselves just a little closer to Heavenly Father

This section goes on describing how the heavens will be structured: The terrestrial kingdom will consist of those “who received not the testimony of Jesus in the flesh, but afterwards received it. These are they who are honorable men of the earth, who were blinded by the craftiness of men…These are they who are not valiant in the testimony of Jesus…”  (v’s 74-75, 79) This kingdom will enjoy the presence of Christ.

The telestial kingdom is also described: “These are they who receive not of his fulness in the eternal world…” (v 86) This kingdom is described in v 89: “And thus we saw, in the heavenly vision, the glory of the telestial, which surpasses all understanding.” 

This is my understanding: Unless we are Sons of Perdition (and I think that requires the deepest meanness and evil ways and knowingly denying God), we will return to our heavenly home. That home has always been a time of education and growth for us, and I do not think that will change. We, now with our spiritual AND physical bodies, will be able to learn and grow further. I am so sure that we live here on this earth with a veil over our heavenly memories—for I have once been able to peek through that veil, and I found that my understanding was much larger and deeper and full of loving instruction--greater than I have ever felt in my human condition. The Lord always loves us and always stands ready to lift us up, but we must come to Him and let Him know the desires of our hearts.