12/9/2018 - Section 128:20-25

December 9, 2018

Section 128:20-25

Gospel Learning and Understanding, Missionary Work Proselyting and Genealogy, Family History Importance Of, Genealogy,

In v’s 20-21, Joseph Smith goes back over a few of his experiences with heavenly beings, and then he tells us how he was taught…how all of us are probably taught: “...all declaring their dispensation, their rights, their keys, their honors, their majesty and glory, and the power of their priesthood; giving line upon line, precept upon precept; here a little and there a little; giving us consolation by holding forth that which is to come, confirming our hope!”  That’s how we are to learn. I just need to grab those nuggets and make them part of my knowledge and my understanding.

V 22 Joseph glories in all that has occurred and says: “…shall we not go on in so great a cause? Go forward and not backward. Courage, brethren: and on, on to victory! Let your hearts rejoice and be exceedingly glad…”  President Spencer Kimball in the April  1978 Gen Conf: “Most members of the Church are aware of our intense interest in the missionary work in the Church and the appeals we have made in many lands for the rededication to preaching the gospel and preparing missionaries to carry the good news of the restoration to the people everywhere. I feel the same sense of urgency about temple work for the dead as I do about the missionary work for the living, since they are basically one and the same. I have told my brethren of the General Authorities that this work for the dead is constantly on my mind.”

11/5/2021 – D&C 128:18-25

In v 18 Joseph speaks not of details, but of the overall plan of Heavenly Father—and as he does this, he reinforces the tremendous importance of both genealogy and temple work: “It is sufficient to know, in this case, that the earth will be smitten with a curse unless there is a welding link of some kind or other between the fathers and the children… .For we without them cannot be made perfect; neither can they without us be made perfect. Neither can they nor we be made perfect without those who have died in the gospel also; for it is necessary in the ushering in of the dispensation of the fulness of times…”

From my study guide: “The process of linking generations begins with the ordinance of baptism for the dead, but it also requires that our deceased ancestors receive the other ordinances of salvation by proxy. These saving ordinances, which must also be performed in temples, include confirmation and the receipt of the gift of the Holy Ghost, ordination of men to the Melchizedek Priesthood, the temple endowment, and family sealings. Church members did not begin performing endowment and sealing ordinances for their deceased ancestors until after they relocated to Utah (see Richard O. Cowan, “The Unfolding Restoration of Temple Work,” Ensign, Dec. 2001, 39). Elder Quentin L. Cook explained: “The essential doctrine of uniting families came forth line upon line and precept upon precept. Vicarious ordinances are at the heart of welding together eternal families” (“Roots and Branches,” 45).

Then in v 19, Joseph describes what this knowledge is to us: “Now, what do we hear in the gospel which we have received? A voice of gladness! A voice of mercy from heaven; and a voice of truth out of the earth; glad tidings for the dead; a voice of gladness for the living and the dead; glad tidings of great joy.”

There is much work for us to do. We need to do more than merely take care of ourselves. We need to reach out to those who need our help---those who we see every day, and those we cannot see as they have finished their time on earth. One of the purposes of the Restoration of the gospel is to prepare Heavenly Father’s children for the Second Coming of Jesus Christ. Malachi spoke of the day of the Lord’s coming asking who will abide the day of the Lord’s coming? And then he says that we will make “an offering in righteousness to Christ—“a book containing the records of their dead”---meaning a record showing the ordinances of salvation that have been performed on behalf of their deceased ancestor.

Elder Allen F. Packer spoke of our work in gathering our family histories: “Like partaking of the sacrament, attending meetings, reading the scriptures, and saying personal prayers, doing family history and temple work should be a regular part of our personal worship.”

These are the things Joseph speaks about in v 22: “…shall we not go on in so great a cause? Go Forward and not backward. Courage…and on, on to victory! Let your hearts rejoice, and be exceedingly glad. Let the earth break forth into singing. Let the dad speak forth anthems of eternal praise to the King Immanuel, who hath ordained, before the world was, that which would enable us to redeem them out of their prison, for the prisoners shall go free.”

And then Joseph ends this section explaining that genealogy is our gift to the Lord: “Let us, therefore, as a church and a people, and as Latter-day Saints, offer unto the Lord an offering in righteousness; and let us present in is holy temple, when it is finished, a book containing the records of our dead, which shall be worthy of all acceptation.” (v 24)