11/29/2018 - Section 124:103-145

November 29, 2018

Section 124:103-145

Life Advice from the Lord,

In this part of section 214, starting with v 70, the Lord speaks directly to several of the current leaders of the church by name. And though His advice to each one was meant specifically for each individual, His advice had very common threads for all: 87:’if ye love me, keep my commandments”, 89: “henceforth hearken to the counsel of my servant Joseph [the current prophet]”, 97 “let him be humble before me, and be without guile, and he shall receive of my spirit, even the Comforter, which shall manifest unto him the truth of all things, and shall give him in the very hour what he shall say.” 103 “Arise and come up and stand in the office of his calling and humble himself before me” 110 “if he will hearken unto my voice, it shall be well with him.” 113 “And when he shall prove himself faithful in all things that shall be entrusted unto his care, yea even a few things, he shall be made ruler over many; Let him therefore abase himself that he may be exalted” (I see that as we can prepare ourselves by doing well in small things), 113 “let him repent of all his folly, and clothe himself with charity, and cease to do evil, and lay aside all his hard speeches”.

V 133-37: President Joseph F Smith spoke about the priesthood, but I believe his words can apply to the women of the church also: “…it is the duty of these quorums…to act in their calling, not to sit idly down and be indifferent to the interests of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, not indifferent to the saving of souls of men [and women and children]. "

10/26/2021 – D&C 124:102-124

Some of my favorite verses in this section:

V 103 continues with the Lord explaining the importance, and the how’s, of being humble. Speaking to Sidney Rigdon: “…let him arise and come up and stand in the office of his calling, and humble himself before me.” That was the ‘if”, and here is the ‘then’: “…behold, I, the Lord your God, will heal him… .” And in v 110, the Lord continues: “if he will hearken unto my voice, it shall be well with him.” I love the ‘if-then’ scriptures.

The Lord then speaks to Amos Davies: “And when he shall prove himself faithful in all things that shall be entrusted unto his care, yea, even a few things, he shall be made ruler over many; Let him therefore abase himself that he may be exalted.” We can prepare by doing well in small things.

In v 115, the Lord speaks to Robert D Forster, telling him to “obey my voice….and clothe himself with charity…and lay aside all his hard speeches.”

In v 124, He speaks to Hyrum Smith, who has been called as a patriarch “to hold the sealing blessings of my church, even the Holy Spirit of promise, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption, that ye may no fall notwithstanding the hour of temptation that may come upon you.”  I stopped here to read MY patriarchal blessing. I haven’t read it for some time, and certain phrases stood out to me as they have never stood out to me before. Bob and I have a similar blessing given to both of us in our individual blessings. I have always loved that. The blessing comes in this paragraph: “I bless you with wisdom and with understanding and may you be able to discern good from evil, that you will find the path which leads to eternal life and to help you I seal you up against the influence of the adversary, that his power will be staid for your sake and you will be fee to accomplish the righteous desires of your heart.”

And then my blessing tells me just how to be able to enjoy that blessing: “Seek first the Kingdom of Heaven and its righteousness, and all else will be added. And remember that to be spiritually minded is life eternal Go to your closet in private and pray to our Heavenly Father; open up your heart to Him in righteousness and He will hear and answer your prayers and do this continually and keep open the channel of communication with Him, that he will be able to bless you with every needful blessing.”

My blessings speak of prayer again a bit later in the blessing: “Pray frequently for those things that will be helpful to you and our Father in Heaven will be close by and He will walk by your side and help you to accomplish the righteous desires of your heart.” I read that now, and can tell you that I DO feel a comfort from my Father every day—a comfort that helps me to move forward in those ‘righteous desires of my heart’. That comfort is like an umbrella—I can move forward, even in the midst of rough weather, without getting soaked and having to stop to change my clothes and get warm again. He is my companion. What more could I ask for?

I think I’ll stop here today. Coming back to my patriarchal blessing has given me even more things to ponder---the things that the Lord has given to me. 

10/27/2021 – D&C 124:125-145

It is within these verses that the Lord gives a detailed listing of how the Church is to be organized and led. He gives, not just the offices that need to be filled, but He selects those who should fill those various offices. 

In v 141 the Lord teaches us something by the language He uses as He provides the names of those who are to fill the positions in the church that are needed: “…and Shadrach Roundy, if he will receive, to preside over the bishopric…”  In our days, the bishop of the ward—with the Lord’s help—calls individuals to fill these positions which require time and effort given from those who are called. It is up to us to accept the calling and do our best to carry out our new duties. When we are able to give this our best, we are able to promote love and help and growth in others, and within ourselves.

President John Taylor explained this much better than I can: “The Lord has placed in his church apostles and prophets, high priests, seventies, elders, etc. What for? … These various officers are for perfecting of the Saints. What else? For the work of the ministry, that men might be qualified and informed and be full of intelligence, wisdom, and light, and learn to proclaim the principles of eternal truth and to bring out from the treasury of God things new and old, things calculated to promote the welfare of the people. …God has ordained among you presidents, apostles, prophets, high priests, seventies, bishops and other authorities; they are of his appointment, empowered and directed by him, under his influence, teaching his law, unfolding the principles of life, and are organized and ordained expressly to lead the people in the path of exaltation and eternal glory” (Teachings of Presidents of the Church: John Taylor [2001], 131).