5/12/2018 - Section 96:1--9

May 12, 2018

Section 96:1-9

Contention, Problem Solving, Temple Importance, Book of Mormon Importance, Work Place Importance,

This section was given after the Kirtland council had met to consider how to use the French farm in developing the city. The council could not come to an agreement as to who would oversee this project, BUT they could agree to take the matter to the Lord. That is a great way to work directly toward solutions, and away from conflict and contention!

V 1: We become so used to church terminology, that we can forget the meaning behind that terminology. “To pitch a tent, one drives stakes into the ground to secure it. The deeper the stakes, the stronger and more stable the tent. The revelations of the Lord compare Zion to a great tent, whose stakes are its support and therefore must be strong.” (student manual 227)

The Lord has instructed them to build a building for the presidency of the church, and a building for printing, and a temple. It’s easy to understand the need for the temple, and the Lord has now emphasized the importance of the immediate building of the temple. But he also shows that a place where the presidency can work without distraction, can pray, can counsel together…is also vitally important and would be a great aide to their progress. And then the printing house: what better way to spread the gospel than by having more Book of Mormon’s for people to read and to ponder and to be touched by its spirit and its truth? “…it is most expedient in me, that my word should go forth unto the children of men, for the purpose of subduing the hearts of the children of men for your good….” (v 5) And the Lord also is concerned about taking care of the saints and providing land where they could build their homes, and helping those who do not have the physical or financial resources to do that on their own.

9/1/2021 – D&C 96

It was just 2 days after receiving Section 95 (in which the Lord gave the Saints a real ‘talking to’ in order to get them working on the things he had commanded them to do some time ago) that Joseph received Section 96. They had gotten the high priests together for a conference to determine how they should go forward, but they couldn’t agree on the ways they should go about it. So in the end, the section heading tells us that they “all agreed to inquire of the Lord concerning the matter.”

First the Lord is telling them that the things He is asking them to do will be of great help in their growth: “…this stake that I have set for the strength of Zion should be made strong” (v 1). The Lord first tells them that Newel K. Whitney should take charge, and should use wisdom and should council with the group. The Lord also tells them that building this temple is “for the purpose of bringing forth my word to the children of men” (v4) And he follows up in v 5: “…this is most expedient in me; that my word should go forth unto the children of men, for the purpose of subduing the hearts of the children of men for your good.”  I read those words, and I realize those words as I am in the temple going through those ordinances for those who have died without receiving them. One of the benefits of that for myself is that I am regularly reminded of what I have promised the Lord, and I am able to take time to see the areas where I need to strengthen myself and my ways.

And then in v’s 6-9, the Lord sees to the needs of one person: John Johnson, “whose offering I have accepted, and whose prayers I have heard…”. The Lord tells them exactly how they should help John Johnson. What a powerful and loving answer that was to John Johnson’s pleas to his Father! It is amazing, all the different ways in which the Lord can answer and can direct our prayers and our actions. It’s probably important here to know there is a bit more information about John Johnson. He and his wife, Alice, joined the Church in 1831, during the time the Saints were moving into the Kirtland area. Joseph and Emma actually lived at their home for a while, and in the summer of 1833 John sold his own farm and gave the money to pay for a large portion of the cost of the land where the Kirtland Temple would later be build.  A seminary teacher commented on this, saying that the Lord accepted John’s offering, except that it wasn’t just money that John gave, it was also his heart.

The most important thing to me at this time, is to use these thoughts to direct the way I communicate with my Father, and the way I listen for Him, and my timing in how I follow through on His directions.