2/1/2019 - Section 137:1-10

February 1, 2019

Section 137:1-10

Celestial Kingdom Vision, Works AND Desires, Lord’s Fairness,

This section, and 138, were added to the D&C in April 1976. They were originally in the Pearl of Great Price, but the first presidency and quorum of the 12 decided to move them to the new edition of the D&C.

It describes Joseph Smith’s vision of Jan 21, 1826 in the Kirtland Temple, of the celestial kingdom. He and the presidency and the patriarch and other leaders were gathered in the temple and were “attending to the ordinance of anointing our heads with holy oil”. He speaks of some of the blessing that were pronounced upon those in the temple, and also of the visions that were seen by many who were there that evening.

In v 5 Joseph speaks of some of those he saw in his vision of the celestial kingdom: Father Adam and Abraham, but also his brother Alvin “that had long since slept.” As he marveled that Alvin was there, in the celestial kingdom, but had died at age 23, before baptism was restored on the earth, “Thus came the voice of the Lord unto me saying: All who have died without a knowledge of this gospel, who would have received it if they had been permitted to tarry, shall be heirs of the celestial kingdom of God;    Also all that shall die henceforth without a knowledge of it, who would have received it with all their hears, shall be heirs of that kingdom.” (v 7-8) Joseph also saw his mother and his father in the celestial kingdom, which was a vision of the future, as they were alive at that time…and in fact, his father was in the Kirtland Temple at the time of this vision. This vision was a great source of consolation and joy to Joseph.

V 9 is directly from Christ: “For I, the Lord, will judge all men according to their works, according to the desire of their hearts.” This reminds me that it is not just my WORKS that are important, but also my DESIRE. There are other scriptures that if we give a gift begrudgingly, it is as if we gave no gift at all. This is yet another reason for me to continue to seek and grow in the attribute of charity. That is slowly coming to me here in the mission field. Some of the missionaries’ who call in sick, or call in when really not sick, can cause me to feel not just frustration, but the desire to dismiss their worries that I feel are not all that important. But as I plead in my prayers for kindness and charity to envelop me, I HAVE received some fairly ridiculous calls, and have felt a small and a tender feeling come to me, instead of irritation and a desire to dismiss everything they say. That sweet feeling that I have felt, has to be a gift to me—for it is not what I started out feeling in this role as busy mission nurse. So now, my goal is to recognize those feelings of acceptance and kindness as the Lord’s answers to my prayers, and embrace those feelings and kindly lead those elders and sisters along toward a place were they will feel more comfortable and strong. We really are rewarded for our work AND our desires!

And finally there is v 10 “And I also beheld that all children who die before they arrive at the years of accountability are saved in the celestial kingdom of heaven. “ Elder Bruce R McConkie wrote: “To this question the answer is a thunderous YES, which echoes and re-echoes from one end of heaven to the other. Jesus taught it to his disciples. Mormon said it over and over again. Many of the prophets have spoken about it, and it is implicit in the whole plan of salvation. If it were not so the redemption would not be infinite in its application. And so, as we would expect, Joseph Smith’s vision of the Celestial Kingdom contains this statement” (see D&C 137:10)

President Joseph Fielding Smith wrote: “We were all mature spirits before we were born, and the bodies of little children will grow after the resurrection to the full stature of the spirit, and all the blessings will be theirs through their obedience, the same as if they had lived to maturity and received them on the earth. The Lord is just and will not deprive any person of a blessing, simply because he dies before that blessing can be received. It would be manifestly unfair to deprive a little child of the privilege of receiving all the blessings of exaltation in the world to come simply because it died in infancy…. Children who die in childhood will not be deprived of any blessing. When they grow after the resurrection, to the full maturity of the spirit, they will be entitled to all the blessings which they would have been entitled to had they been privileged to tarry here and receive them.” (Doctrines of Salvation 2:54)

And President Joseph F Smith wrote: “Joseph Smith taught the doctrine that the infant child that was ‘laid away’ in death would come up in the resurrection as a child.” Speaking to a mother who had lost her child, he assured her: “You will have the joy, the pleasure and satisfaction of nurturing this child, after its resurrection, until it reaches the full stature of its spirit.” “There is restitution, there is growth, there is development, after the resurrection from death. I love this truth. It speaks volumes of happiness of joy and gratitude to my soul. Thank the Lord he has revealed these principles to us.” (Gospel Doctrine, pp 455-456.)

There is so much, in this short Section 137.

11/29/2021 – D&C 137

This section comes from a vision given to Joseph Smith in the almost completed Kirkland Temple. In the vision Joseph saw the celestial kingdom: “The heavens were opened upon us, and I beheld the celestial kingdom of God…” (v 1) In v 2 Joseph describes the entrance gate of the celestial kingdom: “I saw the transcendent beauty of the gate through which the heirs of the kingdom will enter, which was like unto circling flames of fire.” That is interesting. For in the scriptures, fire is a symbol for cleansing, purifying, or sanctifying, and it has also served as a symbol of God’s presence.

He tells continues, telling us of the people he saw there: Adam, Abraham, his father and mother, and his brother Alvin. Joseph was surprised, as Alvin had died without being baptized. The Lord then explains: “All who have died without a knowledge of this gospel, who would have received it if they had been permitted to tarry, shall be heirs of the celestial kingdom of God.” (v 7)

The Lord continues in v 9, explaining: “For I, the Lord, will judge all men according to their works, according to the desire of their hearts.” What we accomplish, and what we desire to accomplish, work together to help us build a better life here and in the heavens.

Dallin H. Oaks spoke of this: “The desires of our hearts will be an important consideration in the final judgment. Alma taught that God ‘granteth unto men according to their desire, whether it be unto death or unto life; … according to their wills, whether they be unto salvation or unto destruction. Yea, … he that knoweth good and evil, to him it is given according to his desires.’ (Alma 29:4–5.)

“That is a sobering teaching, but it is also a gratifying one. It means that when we have done all that we can, our desires will carry us the rest of the way. It also means that if our desires are right, we can be forgiven for the mistakes we will inevitably make as we try to carry those desires into effect. What a comfort for our feelings of inadequacy! …We should not assume that the desires of our hearts can serve as a substitute for an ordinance of the gospel. Consider the words of the Lord in commanding two gospel ordinances: ‘Verily, verily, I say unto thee, except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.’ (John 3:5.) And in respect to the three degrees in the celestial glory, modern revelation states, ‘In order to obtain the highest, a man must enter into this order of the priesthood [meaning the new and everlasting covenant of marriage].’ (D&C 131:2.) No exception is implied in these commands or authorized elsewhere in the scriptures. In the justice and mercy of God, these rigid commands pertaining to essential ordinances are tempered by divine authorization to perform those ordinances by proxy for those who did not have them performed in this life. Thus, a person in the spirit world who so desires is credited with participating in the ordinance just as if he or she had done so personally. In this manner, through the loving service of living proxies, departed spirits are also rewarded for the desires of their hearts”

In v 10 the Lord addresses what happens to children who die in their youth. The Lord assures us that they “are saved in the celestial kingdom of heaven.” That one verse brings deep comfort to the hearts of parents whose little children have died. President Joseph Fielding Smith’s teachings brought a little more light to how the heavens work: “Children who die in childhood will not be deprived of any blessing. When they grow, after the resurrection, to the full maturity of the spirit, they will be entitled to all the blessings which they would have been entitled to had they been privileged to tarry here and receive them.”