7/29/2018 - Section 106:1-8

July 29, 2018

Section 106:1-8

Second Coming, Lord’s Payments, Apostasy of 1837, Children of Light, Lord’s Work is Hard Work, Lord’s Promises

This section is to Warren Cowdery. He is Oliver Cowdery’s eldest brother. Oliver was the youngest of 8 children and Warren was the oldest. Joseph Smith visited in his home. Warren is called as a ‘local presiding officer’. He is to work with the saints in his town, and in quite a few other towns in adjoining counties. The Lord has requested that he “devote his whole time to the this high and holy calling, which I now give unto him seeking diligently the kingdom of heaven and its righteousness, and all things necessary shall be added thereunto; for the laborer is worth of his hire.” When we do our best in what we have been called to do, and add to that doing our best in what we are impressed to do, then the Lord has promised us all ‘necessities’, for we are “worthy of our hire”. His work truly is WORK, and his ‘necessities”, I believe, are the things that make life worth living and the things that bring us comfort and joy.

Then in the next verse (5) he tells us how it is done: “Therefore, gird up your loins [lift up your robes and tuck them into your belt so you can do strenuous work…to prepare ourselves…—and the promise for that is….] that you may be the children of light…” The student manual on page 261 says “The people of the world are the one who will be surprised at the sudden coming of the Lord. The Saints, on the other hand, should be prepared, expectant, and joyful. Paul wrote to the Saints that I looking forward to the Second Come, “ye brethren are not in darkness, that the day should overtake you as a thief. Ye are al the children of light, and the children of the day.” (1 Thessalonians 5:4-5; see also 1 Peter 3:10) There are times I have felt as one of the ‘children of light’. It is at those times that I am contented, I am happy, I find I am patient with others, and patient with myself. It is when I am staying close to Heavenly Father. It is at those times that I do feel light…in two ways: 1) light in spirit and 2) walking in the light , knowing and seeing the right direction.

The Lord give wonderful promises to Warren Cowdrey. He KNOWS Warren—he knows his potential, he knows his weaknesses and he knows his strengths. Listen to the Lord’s promises and instructions to Warren: “…verily I say unto you, there was joy in heaven when my servant Warren bowed to my scepter, and separated himself from the crafts of e; therefore, blessed is my servant Warren, for I will have mercy on him, and notwithstanding the vanity of his heart [yes, he needs to work on humility]I will lift him up inasmuch as he will humble himself before me. And I will give him grace and assurance wherewith he may stand and if he continue to be a faithful witness and a light unto the church I have prepared a crown for him in the mansions of my Father.”  The Lord has given him a huge job, and has promised him wonderful blessings—the same as he does for and with us. But the rest of the story here is that this revelation was given in November 25, 1834. Warren went to work. He eventually went to Kirland Ohio and was given a joy in the printing office, later becoming the editor of the ‘Messenger and Advocate.” In Kirtland there was the “apostasy of 1837”. There was a small group of men who disagreed with Joseph Smith. They were influential and well spoken and they worked to bring others into their way of thinking. April 1989 Ensign has a very good article on this. But as far as section 105 goes, Warren had become close with the dissidents and he left the church. We all have our agency. We will all go through good times and bad times. We can all stay close to Heavenly Father and HE will direct our paths. This is the path, and I have proved it time and time again, where I find peace. I want to be a with the “children of light”. I want to have the Holy Ghost to be with me and to direct my actions and thoughts. And when I recognize his direction, I want to follow that direction immediately.

9/20/1920 – D&C 106

Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery, during their journey to New York early in 1834, visited at the Cowdery house. Warren Cowdery was the oldest of the eight Cowdery children, and Oliver was the youngest. Since moving to Kirtland, Oliver had been corresponding with this family in New York. There were others in the neighborhood who were interested in the gospel, and eventually they created a branch of the Church there in Freedom New York. Warren Cowdery was called to preside of the that branch. 

Section 106 was given on November 1834, and was directed to Warren Cowdery, calling him to be a ‘local presiding officer’ in the Freedom NY branch. He is to speak of the gospel in Freedom (the town where he lived), AND in the areas round about Freedom. The Lord’s other instructions to him were about his work of “seeking diligently the Kingdom of heaven and it’s righteousness, and all things necessary shall be added thereunto; for the laborer is worthy of his hire.” (v 3) In v 5 the Lord tells Warren to “gird up your loins, that you may be the children of light”, and in v 6 the Lord tells them that “there was joy in heaven when my servant Warren bowed to my scepter, and separated himself from the crafts of men;” And then in v’s 7 & 8,  the Lord tells Warren what He has in store for him: “Therefore, blessed is my servant Warren, for I will have mercy on him; and, notwithstanding the vanity of his heart [the lack of humility], I will lift him up inasmuch as he will humble himself before me. And I will give him grace and assurance wherewith he may stand; and if he continue to be a faithful witness and a light unto the church I have prepared a crown for him in the mansions of my Father.”

The Lord spent much time, telling Warren how He was going to bless him and help him, and giving Warren directions on how he should act. “Unfortunately, Warren A. Cowdery did not remain a faithful witness. He eventually went to Kirtland, Ohio, and was given a job in the printing office, later becoming the editor of the Messenger and Advocate. In the apostasy of 1837 he became associated with such dissidents as Warren Parrish, John F. Boynton, Leonard Rich, Luke Johnson, and Stephen Burnett. Like many, he grew rebellious against the Prophet and fell away from the Church.” (“That Ye May Be the Children of Light” Section 106 -2)

This is a good reminder to me of how setting aside daily time in the scriptures helps me see things more as the Lord sees them. It also helps me to ‘stabilize’ myself in His gospel. That’s where I feel best.