Doctrine and Covenants Lesson 26

The Lord poured out great blessings during the Kirtland period

Most of the last 13 lessons have focused on the doctrines that were revealed and the events that occurred while the Saints were in Kirtland, Ohio. During this time the Lord blessed His people greatly. Highlights from the Kirtland period include the law of consecration, the law of tithing, the kingdoms of glory, the Word of Wisdom, the Second Coming, and the priesthood.

Of these doctrines, principles, or blessings, which have special meaning for you?  What would you be willing to give up to have and understand them?  What would you be willing to give up so that someone you love had them?

In the spring of 1836, Erastus Snow left Kirtland to serve a mission in western Pennsylvania.  He brought with him all his worldly possessions: a set of scriptures, a pair of socks, and five cents.

Which is easier – to sacrifice little when we only have little, or to sacrifice much when we have much?  In the end it really doesn’t matter.  God asks the same from each of us – all that we have.

The Saints in Kirtland made great sacrifices to share the gospel

Read D&C 42:6 and D&C 88:81.  What message does the Lord deliver in these verses?  Read the following stories, watching for answers to the following questions:

• How did the Lord bless these Elders as they worked to share the gospel? 
• What challenges did they have to overcome?

In 1836 Elder Parley P. Pratt, a member of the Quorum of the Twelve, was called to serve a mission to Canada. On his way to Toronto, Canada, “a stranger gave him a letter of introduction to John Taylor, a Methodist lay preacher in Toronto. Taylor was affiliated with a group who believed existing churches did not correspond with New Testament Christianity. For two years this group had met several times a week for the ‘purpose of seeking truth, independent of any sectarian organization.’ In Toronto, Elder Pratt was courteously received by the Taylors, but they were not at first enthusiastic about his message.

“Discouraged at being unable to secure a place to preach, Parley decided to leave Toronto. Before going he stopped at the Taylors to get some of his luggage and to say goodbye. While he was there, Leonora Taylor told her friend Mrs. Isabella Walton about Parley’s problem and said she was sorry he was leaving. ‘He may be a man of God,’ she said. Mrs. Walton replied that she had been inspired by the Spirit to visit the Taylors that morning because she was willing to let Elder Pratt stay at her home and preach. He did so and was eventually invited to attend a meeting of John Taylor’s group, in which John read the New Testament account of Philip’s preaching in Samaria. ‘Now,’ said he, ‘where is our Philip? Where is our receiving the Word with joy, and being baptized when we believed? Where is our Peter and John? Our apostles? Where is our Holy Ghost by the laying on of hands? …’ When Parley was invited to speak, he declared that he had answers to John Taylor’s questions.

“For three weeks John Taylor attended Elder Pratt’s meetings, making detailed notes of his sermons and carefully comparing them with the scriptures. Gradually he became convinced that the true gospel of Jesus Christ was restored. He and his wife, Leonora, were baptized on 9 May 1836” (Church History in the Fulness of Times [Church Educational System manual, 1993], 157; see also Parley P. Pratt, Autobiography of Parley P. Pratt [1975], 134–40, 151).

Levi Hancock was baptized in November 1830, and soon afterward he was called to leave Kirtland and serve a mission in Missouri. The journey involved walking hundreds of miles, and he and his companion, Zebedee Coltrin, had success in preaching the gospel as they traveled. “But they also suffered hardships on their journey. Levi fell ill because of an infection in his feet and had to spend time recuperating with a family who took him in while Zebedee went on without him. Later, in Missouri, he continued to struggle with illness and chafed at times because of his inability to do all he wanted. But grateful to serve, he wrote: ‘I have to be honest before God and do all the good I can for his kingdom or woe is me. I care not for the world nor what they say. They have to meet my Testimony at the Judgement seat. I mean that my conduct shall be such that my words will be believed, the Lord being my helper.’ ”

What sacrifices are required of us today for full-time missionary service?  How about in our efforts to share the gospel with those around us?

Members of the Quorum of the Twelve taught thousands in England

During the Kirtland period, opposition to the Church became more intense, even as great blessings and revelations were being poured out upon the Saints.  Because of these attacks from without and the apostasy of many members of the Church, the Lord revealed to the Prophet Joseph Smith that “something new must be done for the salvation of His Church” (History of the Church, 2:489).  What was that “new thing” that the Lord directed?

I believe there is great instruction here: The Lord’s solutions to the world’s problems rarely make sense to the mortal mind. 

• The Church faced a financial crisis and there was a drought in Southern Utah when President Lorenzo Snow was the Prophet.  The Lord’s solution to both these problems was to remind the Saints of the law of tithing.
• The Lord counsels us to love our enemies.  (see Matt. 5: 43-44)
• He tells us that he gave us weaknesses so that we can be strong.  (see Ether 12: 27)

As we deal with challenges in our lives and work to overcome problems, remember these experiences from the past.  “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord” (Isaiah 55:8).

So eager was Heber C. Kimball to preach the gospel on foreign soil that as the boat approached the landing at Liverpool, England, he leaped from the boat to the dock before it was moored, proclaiming that he was the first to reach a land overseas with the message of the Restoration. By 23 July the missionaries were preaching to congregations of overflow crowds and the first baptisms were scheduled for 30 July. George D. Watt won a footrace to the River Ribble in Preston, which determined the honor of being the first to be baptized in Britain.

Within eight months, hundreds of converts had joined the Church and many branches had been organized. Reflecting on this great harvest of souls, Heber recalled that the Prophet and his Counselors “laid their hands on me and … said that God would make me mighty in that nation in winning souls unto Him: angels should accompany me and bear me up, that my feet should never slip; that I should be mightily blessed and prove a source of salvation to thousands.” 15

Read D&C 112:19–22. What promises did the Lord make to the Twelve Apostles in these verses?

The promise given in D&C 112:19 was fulfilled quickly. Within eight months, 2,000 people had joined the Church through the efforts of these missionaries, and 26 branches had been organized.

The Lord continues to support His work throughout the nations of the earth:

“In 1968 when I made my first visit to the German Democratic Republic, tensions were high. Trust and understanding did not exist. No diplomatic relations had been established. On a cloudy and rain-filled day I journeyed to the city of Görlitz, situated deep in the German Democratic Republic. … I attended my first meeting with the Saints. We assembled in a small and ancient building. As the members sang the hymns of Zion, they literally filled the hall with their faith and devotion.

“My heart was filled with sorrow when I realized the members had no patriarch, no wards or stakes—just branches. They could not receive temple blessings—either endowment or sealing. No official visitor had come from Church headquarters in a long time. The members could not leave their country. Yet they trusted in the Lord with all their hearts.

“I stood at the pulpit, and with tear-filled eyes and a voice choked with emotion, I made a promise to the people: ‘If you will remain true and faithful to the commandments of God, every blessing any member of the Church enjoys in any other country will be yours.’ Then I realized what I had said. That night, I dropped to my knees and pleaded with my Heavenly Father, ‘Father, I’m on Thy errand; this is Thy Church. I have spoken words that came not from me but from Thee and Thy Son. Wilt Thou fulfill the promise in the lives of this noble people.’ Thus concluded my first visit to the German Democratic Republic.”

Eight years later, Elder Monson offered a dedicatory prayer on the land:

“On a Sunday morning, April 27, 1975, I stood on an outcropping of rock situated between the cities of Dresden and Meissen, high above the Elbe River, and offered a prayer on the land and its people. That prayer noted the faith of the members. It emphasized the tender feelings of many hearts filled with an overwhelming desire to obtain temple blessings. A plea for peace was expressed. Divine help was requested. I spoke the words: ‘Dear Father, let this be the beginning of a new day for the members of Thy Church in this land.’

“Suddenly, from far below in the valley, a bell in a church steeple began to chime and the shrill crow of a rooster broke the morning silence, each heralding the commencement of a new day. Though my eyes were closed, I felt a warmth from the sun’s rays reaching my face, my hands, my arms. How could this be? An incessant rain had been falling all morning.

“At the conclusion of the prayer, I gazed heavenward. I noted a ray of sunshine which streamed from an opening in the heavy clouds, a ray which engulfed the spot where our small group stood. From that moment I knew divine help was at hand.”

Following this inspired prayer, the Church grew rapidly in the land. District councils were organized, followed by the creation of stakes. Priesthood leaders and patriarchs were called. The Freiberg Germany temple was dedicated in 1985. And in 1989 the government permitted the Church to send full-time missionaries to the country. (In Conference Report, Apr. 1989, 66–69; or Ensign, May 1989, 50–53.)

Conclusion

As we consider the responsibility the Church has always been under to “warn our neighbors” (see D&C 88:81), we can take strength and comfort from the fact that this is the Lord’s work.  We are responsible to do everything we can and sacrifice those things the Lord requires of us.  Then we can “be still and know that [the Lord] is God” (see Psalms 46: 10 and D&C 101: 16) and that He will go before our face and will be on our right hand and on our left, and His angels will bear us up (see D&C 84:88).