Doctrine and Covenants Lesson 13

Introduction

Imagine you are discussing the doctrines of the Church with a friend who says, “I admire and respect your Church.  I like the doctrines you teach, and can even accept the Book of Mormon.  But I just cannot accept the idea of God calling Joseph Smith as a Prophet.”  How would you respond to this concern?  Which of the Church’s doctrines have not been revealed or directly influenced by the Prophet Joseph Smith?

The Lord’s word comes through Joseph Smith

Speaking to Joseph Smith in D&C 5:10 the Lord says “But this generation shall have my word through you;”

Brigham Young said “What I have received from the Lord, I have received by Joseph Smith” (Discourses of Brigham Young, sel. John A. Widtsoe [1941], 458).

How are these statements true for you?  How are they true for all Latter-day Saints?

Many ancient and latter-day scriptures have come through Joseph Smith

Read Moses 1:40–41.  How are these verses being fulfilled?  (People in both times were in spiritual bondage, not being able to worship properly; both were instrumental in revealing God’s will and recording scriptures.)

Speaking about Joseph Smith, Elder LeGrand Richards of the Quorum of the Twelve said, “As far as our records show, he has given us more revealed truth than any prophet who has ever lived upon the face of the earth” (in Conference Report, Apr. 1981, 43; or Ensign, May 1981, 33).

What scriptures has the Lord revealed through Joseph Smith?  (Book of Mormon, Doctrine and Covenants, Pearl of Great Price, and the Joseph Smith Translation of the Bible.)  Be thinking of a favorite passage or teaching that comes from each of these records of revelation that you would like to share today.

The Book of Mormon

Read the Lord’s words to Joseph in Egypt as contained in 2 Nephi 3:11–15.  These verses speak about the Bible which will have already been made available to God’s children, and the Book of Mormon, which God will bring forth through Joseph Smith.

What are some of the purposes of the Book of Mormon?

• Establish the truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ, and of the teachings from the Bible.
• To establish peace by confounding false doctrines and laying down contention.  (Interesting that these two items go together – often we assume that you have to confront false doctrines contentiously.)
• Bring people to a knowledge of the Lord’s covenants.

How has the Book of Mormon blessed your life?  What are some of your favorite passages?

The Doctrine and Covenants

From 1823 to 1831, Joseph Smith received more than 60 revelations from the Lord. A few handwritten copies of these revelations were given to missionaries and others, but most Church members did not have access to them. At a conference held in Ohio in late 1831, Church leaders decided to publish the revelations in a volume called the Book of Commandments (see the headings to D&C 67 and D&C 69). Oliver Cowdery and John Whitmer were selected to take the revelations to Independence, Missouri, a distance of approximately 1,000 miles, where the book would be printed and bound.

Oliver Cowdery and John Whitmer reached Independence in January 1832, and by July 1833 William W. Phelps had printed the first 160 pages of the Book of Commandments. However, on 20 July 1833 a mob destroyed Brother Phelps’s printing press and many of the unbound pages of the Book of Commandments.

Some of these pages were rescued by Mary Elizabeth and Caroline Rollins.  These young girls grabbed armfuls of the unbound pages and ran from the mob, hiding in a field of dense corn.  Though the mob hunted for the girls, they were not found.  (See Our Heritage, page 41).

The pages that were salvaged were bound into a few copies of the Book of Commandments, but the revelations still were not widely available. In 1835, after 45 more revelations were added, the Book of Commandments was published as the Doctrine and Covenants.

• What doctrines are taught clearly in the Doctrine and Covenants?
• How have you been blessed as you have studied the Doctrine and Covenants?
• What are some of your favorite passages of this book of modern scripture?

The Pearl of Great Price

The Pearl of Great Price is appropriately named. Like a pearl, it is small in size but great in worth. Although it is only 61 pages long, it spans the eternities, including passages about the Grand Council in Heaven, the restoration of the gospel in the dispensation of the fulness of times, the Savior’s Second Coming, the Millennium, and everlasting life. It contains valuable teachings on the Creation, the Fall, the Atonement, and the agency of mankind. This book of scripture has five parts:

1. Selections from the book of Moses
2. The book of Abraham
3. Joseph Smith—Matthew
4. Joseph Smith—History
5. The Articles of Faith

Turn to the Introductory Note at the beginning of the Pearl of Great Price.  The last five paragraphs explain the background of each part of this book of scripture.

• How have the teachings of the Pearl of Great Price blessed you?
• What are your favorite passages from these revelations?

Joseph Smith Translation of the Bible

Recite the Eighth Article of Faith.  What is the significance of this verse?

1. We do believe the Bible.  Sometimes we are accused of not believing the Bible, and sometimes we may not put forth the effort to search this book of scripture as we should.
2. As far as it is translated correctly.  There are errors, omissions, and mistranslations in the Bible.  Some came innocently, and others came maliciously.  Read 1 Nephi 13:24–28.

To restore some of these lost truths, Joseph Smith was instructed to begin a “translation” of the Bible.  This is different from most translations because it was not from one language to another.  Rather it was accomplished through the influence of the Holy Ghost.

The process of translating the Bible not only brought the correction and restoration of doctrines in the Bible. It also helped bring about the restoration of doctrines through the Doctrine and Covenants. Many revelations in the Doctrine and Covenants are responses to questions the Prophet asked while pondering the translation of the Bible. One Church member who spent many years studying the Joseph Smith Translation observed, “The Joseph Smith Translation is not just a better Bible; it was the channel, or the means, of doctrinal restoration in the infancy of this Church” (Robert J. Matthews, in The Capstone of Our Religion: Insights into the Doctrine and Covenants [1989], 64).

Restoration of “Plain and Precious” truths

Through the Prophet Joseph, God restored clarity and truth to many of the doctrines of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  Review the attached list of doctrines and discuss those doctrines that are most meaningful to class members.

 

Doctrine and Covenants Lesson 12

Introduction

Give a class member a piece of paper and ask him to tear it.  Of course, that’s easy.  Then give someone else a phonebook and ask them to tear it in half.  It can’t be done.  What can this activity teach us about the Lord’s purposes in gathering his people?  This lesson focuses on the gathering of Israel and our part in it.

The Lord is gathering His people

The Prophet Joseph Smith said, “All that the prophets … have written, from the days of righteous Abel, down to the last man that has left any testimony on record for our consideration, in speaking of the salvation of Israel in the last days, goes directly to show that it consists in the work of the gathering” (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, sel. Joseph Fielding Smith [1976], 83).

Read the Tenth Article of Faith.  What is the gathering of Israel?

Physical gathering

The physical gathering of Israel occurs as Church members come together in a particular location or in the stakes of Zion throughout the world.

Spiritual gathering

The spiritual gathering of Israel occurs as people learn the gospel, come unto Christ, are baptized into The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and keep their covenants. In this way they are gathered from the world into the Church, or the kingdom of God on earth.

Read D&C 29:8. 

• What is a purpose of the gathering revealed in this verse?  I believe the Lord wants us to “prepare [our] hearts and being prepared in all things.”  Remember that preparation is something that you do before it is needed. 
• How have you been blessed by being gathered into the Lord’s church?

The Saints gather in Ohio

In December 1830, just eight months after the Church was organized, the Lord gave the first call in this dispensation for the Saints to gather physically. He revealed to Joseph Smith that the Saints should leave New York and gather in Ohio (D&C 37:3).

Why did the Lord command the Saints to gather in Ohio?  Read D&C 38:31-32:

• Escape from their enemies
• Be gathered as a righteous people without spot
• Receive the Lord’s law
• Be endowed with power from on high

Read D&C 110:9-10.  What “endowment” was given to the Saints in Ohio?  The temple endowment as we know it today was not introduced until Nauvoo.  The Church and its leaders were endowed with priesthood keys:

·         Verse 11 – Moses returned the keys of the gathering of Israel.

·         Verse 12 – Elias restored the priesthood keys of preaching the gospel of Abraham for the blessing of generations to come.

·         Verses 13-16 – Elijah returned the keys of temple work.

These blessings were truly unknown to the world.  The world really didn’t know what it was missing, but the blessings that have come as a result of the temple in Kirtland will literally save the world.

The Lord had high expectations for the attitude and behavior of the Saints as they gathered.  Read D&C 38:24-27.  What did the Lord require of them?  Why is unity important in the church?  How can we become more unified?

Continuing with these expectations, read verses 34-39.  This was a time of great poverty for the Church, as members left their homes and farms and followed the Prophet’s counsel to gather.  Even in these times, the Lord expected his children to care for each other.  Today we have been blessed with great riches, and endowed even more fully in the temple.  How much greater is our responsibility to administer to the needy, and to beware of pride?

Why were the saints in 1830-31 so willing to sacrifice financially?  How can we improve our lives by following their example?

The Saints gather in Missouri

A few months after the Saints began gathering in Ohio, Joseph Smith traveled to Missouri and received a revelation designating Missouri as the place for the city of Zion (D&C 57:1–3). With this revelation, Missouri became a second gathering place for the Church in this dispensation (D&C 63:24, 36–48). From 1831 to 1838, the Church maintained centers of population in both Ohio and Missouri.

The following time line summarizes the early revelations about the land of Zion and the establishment of the Church in Missouri.

1. June 1831 (in Kirtland, after the first conference there): The Lord called Joseph Smith, Sidney Rigdon, and other elders to go on a mission to Missouri. The Lord also promised to consecrate the land of Missouri to His people as the land of their inheritance (D&C 52:2–5, 42–43).
2. June 1831 (in Kirtland): The Lord revealed that the Saints from the Colesville Branch in New York, who had journeyed to Ohio, should continue on to Missouri (D&C 54:8).  This meant their 360 mile journey was extended by more than 800 miles!
3. July 1831 (after the Prophet had traveled to Missouri): The Lord revealed that the city of Zion would be located in Missouri, with Independence as the center place. A temple would be built in Independence (D&C 57:1–3).

Today saints gather to Zion in our own lands

In the early days of the Church, the gathering served several important purposes:

1. Provide physical safety
2. Provide spiritual safety
3. Provide for the building of temples

Today these functions are accomplished by the stakes.  President Benson taught:

“Presently, Israel is being gathered to the various stakes of Zion. … A stake has at least four purposes:

1. [Stakes are] to unify and perfect the members who live in [their] boundaries by extending to them the Church programs, the ordinances, and gospel instruction.
2. Members of stakes are to be models, or standards, of righteousness.
3. Stakes are to be a defense. They do this as stake members unify under their local priesthood officers and consecrate themselves to do their duty and keep their covenants. …
4. Stakes are a refuge from the storm to be poured out over the earth” (“Strengthen Thy Stakes,” Ensign, Jan. 1991, 2, 4–5).

Conclusion

The Prophet Joseph Smith taught: “What was the object of gathering … the people of God in any age of the world? … The main object was to build unto the Lord a house whereby He could reveal unto His people the ordinances of His house and the glories of His kingdom, and teach the people the way of salvation. … It is for the same purpose that God gathers together His people in the last days, to build unto the Lord a house to prepare them for the ordinances and endowments, washings and anointings” (History of the Church, 5:423–24).

This work of gathering continues today at an accelerated pace.  We are blessed as we work to contribute to this effort.