Doctrine and Covenants Lesson 9

Introduction

What do the following events have in common?

• (1973) Pioneer 11 launched toward Jupiter and Saturn
• (1930) Hostess Twinkies invented by bakery executive James Dewar
• (1722) Peter the Great ends tax on men with beards

All these events took place on April 6, the day the Church was organized in Fayette, New York in 1830.  This lesson focuses on this event of eternal significance.  (On a much less trivial note, the first verse of the Qur’an is also believed to have been received on this date in AD 610.)

The Church is organized

Ten years passed between the time of the First Vision and the formal organization of the Church.  What events transpired during that time?

While serving in the Quorum of the Twelve, Elder Gordon B. Hinckley said:

“This day of organization was, in effect, a day of commencement, the graduation for Joseph from ten years of remarkable schooling. It had begun with the incomparable vision in the grove in the spring of 1820, when the Father and the Son appeared to the fourteen-year-old boy. It had continued with the tutoring from Moroni, with both warnings and instructions given on multiple occasions. Then there was the translation of the ancient record, and the inspiration, the knowledge, the revelation that came from that experience. There was the bestowal of divine authority, the ancient priesthood again conferred upon men by those who were its rightful possessors—John the Baptist in the case of the Aaronic Priesthood, and Peter, James, and John in the case of the Melchizedek. There were revelations, a number of them, in which the voice of God was heard again, and the channel of communication opened between man and the Creator. All of these were preliminary to that historic April 6” (“150-Year Drama: A Personal View of Our History,” Ensign, Apr. 1980, 11–12).

Two events were particularly important in preparing for the formal organizing of the Church.  First was the publication of the Book of Mormon.  Read D&C 20:6-12.  How did the Book of Mormon help prepare the way for the Restoration of the Church? 

• I believe the keys are in verses 11-12.  The Book of Mormon proves the truthfulness of the Bible, and that God calls men to witness of Him in all generations.
• Interesting that in verse 7 Joseph was inspired by commandments.  Are we inspired by the commandments we receive?

The second key event was the restoration of the Aaronic and Melchizedek Priesthoods in 1829.  Why did the priesthood have to be restored before the Church could be established?  Read the Fifth Article of Faith.

Follow the Prophet

At this first meeting, the Lord formally introduced Joseph Smith as His chosen Prophet.

Read D&C 21:4-5.

• How does God want us to treat the teachings He gives us through His Prophet?
• Where can we find these teachings?  (By the way, how are you preparing for General Conference in four weeks?)
• What counsel of the latter-day prophets has been especially meaningful to you?

I have personally felt impressed by President Hinckley’s prophetic warnings given in October 1998 to attend to our finances, get out of debt, and set money aside for a rainy day; and by The Family: A Proclamation to the World, specifically the obligation I am under before God to preside in love and righteousness, and provide the necessities of life.

• God instructs us to receive his counsel in patience and faith.  How might following His counsel require patience and faith?

Read D&C 21:6.  What blessings are promised to us as we heed and follow the Prophet?  How might these promises be fulfilled in your life?  What would you be willing to do to receive that blessing?

Read D&C 21:9.  How have you been blessed by serving the Lord?  This verse points out that the Prophet receives the counsel he is to deliver by the power of the Holy Ghost.  We can expect that as we believe and follow those teachings in our service to God, that same power will testify to us that Jesus is indeed our Savior.

Partake of the Sacrament

April 6, 1830 was a Tuesday; this not a day we normally consider as one set aside for worship.  But on this day the Church was organized, the Sacrament was served.  Why was it important for them to do this? 

Read D&C 20:75.  Why is it so important for us to partake of the sacrament often?  (Maybe because we sin so often?)

Read D&C 20:77, 79.  We hear these prayers nearly every week.  What do those promises mean to you personally?  For me, they have the following meaning.

• In the prayer on the bread, among other promises, we covenant to remember Jesus’ body, take upon us His name, and keep His commandments.  This reminds me that I need to remember what Jesus did for others during his life, do my best to be like Him, and keep the commandments he gave.
• In the prayer on the water, we covenant to remember the shedding of his blood.  I promise to remember that he died for me personally.  I find it instructive that in this prayer we do not covenant to follow this example because only He could die for the sins of others.  In most cases, Jesus does not require us to die for Him; instead He wants us to live for Him and bless others in the process.
• In both cases, we are promised with His Spirit to bless us as we do so.

Read D&C 27:2.  How can we follow this counsel to partake of the Sacrament with an eye single to God’s glory?

Conclusion

President Wilford Woodruff told of a meeting in which the Prophet Joseph Smith prophesied of the Church’s growth. The meeting was in “a small house, perhaps 14 feet square. But it held the whole of the Priesthood of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints who were then in the town of Kirtland, and who had gathered together to go off in Zion’s camp.” After several of the men had borne their testimonies of the work, the Prophet said:

“Brethren I have been very much edified and instructed in your testimonies here tonight, but I want to say to you before the Lord, that you know no more concerning the destinies of this Church and kingdom than a babe upon its mother’s lap. You don’t comprehend it. … It is only a little handful of Priesthood you see here tonight, but this Church will fill North and South America—it will fill the world” (in Conference Report, Apr. 1898, 57).