Watch the video presentation on YouTube at: https://youtu.be/PUaFpVzCrnA
To purchase slides or handouts, go to: https://www.etsy.com/shop/TeachingWithPower
NOTE:
I’d like to begin this week’s lesson with a bit of an observation. There is a lot of church history that takes place during the time these sections are received. You’ll notice that Joseph doesn’t receive many revelations during this time. If you turn to the beginning of your copy of the Doctrine and Covenants, you’ll find the section entitled the “Chronological order of contents”. And what you’ll notice is that there is only one revelation received during the entire year of 1837. And then in 1838 you have only eight revelations received. And most of them are fairly short. It’s not until we find Joseph in Liberty Jail that we begin to see some revelations with more depth and length to them. There’s a reason for that. Joseph is really preoccupied at this time with a lot of challenges and issues. The church and the prophet are going to go through a real rough patch here in both Ohio and Missouri. There are so many stories, and characters, and significant events that you could cover in a classroom setting here. But as a teacher, the question we need to answer is, “Where am I going to place my general focus? Church history, or the scriptures? Am I going to teach the scriptures supplemented by church history, OR teach church history supplemented by the scriptures? Both have incredible value to offer. And there’s no right or wrong answer to that question, either. Personally, in this lesson, I happen to choose to the former—to focus more on the text of the Doctrine & Covenants than the historical background.
Context is important however, and a brief explanation of the historical setting can be helpful in better understanding the scripture’s message.
So here’s just a brief rundown of some of the things going on in church history at this time.
In 1837, the Saints in Kirtland are really struggling financially. To help the church to recover from this, Joseph Smith and other church leaders establish what’s known as the Kirtland Safety Society, a type of bank. Now it was never considered a church bank, but many members viewed it as an inspired institution since Joseph was the founder of it. There are a lot of different factors that contribute to what happens next, but sufficeth to say the Kirtland Safety Society fails and many investors lose their money, with Joseph himself losing the greatest amount. Well, this proves to be a great trial of faith, and unfortunately, many members lose their commitment to the church and Joseph Smith because of it. Word begins to spread through Kirtland that Joseph Smith is a fallen prophet. What’s worse, is that much of the criticism is coming from the leadership.
It even gets to the point where members of the quorum of the twelve vote to remove Joseph as prophet and sustain David Whitmer in his place. A great period of apostasy and slander and persecution from within will plague the church for a time and a substantial number of leaders are going to leave the church, including all of the three witnesses, four apostles and one member of the first presidency. There will be several breakoff churches that will form at this time, although none are really going to survive. Things get so bad that eventually Joseph Smith and Sidney Rigdon will have to flee the city for their lives as some of the apostates vow to kill the prophet. And that’s how they will eventually end up in Far West with the rest of the Missouri Saints. A contingent of the faithful Kirtland since will later join them. Once in Far West, things don’t go well for long either. Apostasy and pride continue to afflict the church. David Whitmer, W. W. Phelps, Lyman Johnson, Thomas B. Marsh, will all end up apostatizing and leaving the church for various reasons in Far West. And is if that wasn’t enough, persecution and tensions with the Missourians is going to continue to be a problem.
So, you can see, these are very dark days for the church.
A very relevant way of approaching this section of the scriptures, then, is to look for principles that can help us to remain strong in the faith, even when things get tough. When our faith is challenged, or we feel tempted to abandon our beliefs or the church as a whole as so many church members did at this time. During this ordeal, God continued to work with Joseph and the Saints and provided them with revelation that helped a majority of them to weather the storm. It can do the same for us as well. So let’s take each revelation in turn and see how they can help us in this way.
111-NOTWITHSTANDING YOUR FOLLIES
ICEBREAKER
For the icebreaker I might ask the following. What is one of the biggest mistakes you’ve ever made? We’re not talking about sins here. We’re talking about foolish mistakes or times where you did something that was just kind of silly, reckless, or unwise. As a teacher, it might be kind of fun to tell a story of a time when you made a foolish error—an embarrassing moment where you did something kind of ridiculous. These kinds of stories can often be very entertaining. For example, when I was in college, I went caving with a number of my roommates in the Nutty Putty cave system near Utah Lake. I was having a blast with these friends as we explored deeper and deeper into the cave. At one point, though, my headlamp eventually started to go dim, and I thought to myself, uh oh, I didn’t bring any extra batteries. So I called out to one my roommates, “Hey, did any of you happen to bring any extra batteries?” and of course, being the geniuses that we were, nobody had. It was at that point, that another one of the headlamps started to go dim. We all decided that we should probably start to head back to the surface before we ended up in the dark. Well, if you’ve ever been caving, you know that everything looks completely different when you’re going back through a cave, and we ended up horribly lost. None of us could agree as to which way was the right way back. There were so many different corridors and side caves and intersections that we just got completely turned around. All of the headlamps were going dim at this point and so we decided to stop for a while, turn them off, and try to figure out what we were going to do. As I sat there in the darkness, I remember feeling so stupid. How did let myself get into this situation? I know better! I was an Eagle Scout for heaven’s sake. Had I not learned the lesson of being prepared? No extra batteries, no map, no way of keeping track of the path we’d taken. And as we sat there wondering what we were going to do, somebody suggested that we pray and ask for help. I was selected to say it, and I remember that as soon as I said Amen, and this is 100% true, I know prayers aren’t always answered like this, but I said Amen, and we immediately heard voices in the cave. We called out to them to stay in one place so that we could locate them and that we needed help. Well, we eventually ran into that group, and they had extra batteries, they had a map, and they were able to show us the correct way to the surface. Now, here’s the most embarrassing part. It was a troop of cub scouts. So here we were, these big return missionary college boys, and we had to be rescued by the cub scouts. Now that was pretty dumb of us. That was foolish. But God helped us out anyway. Have you ever had something like that happen? A lapse in judgment? Kids these days may call it a face-palm moment or a “FAIL”.
TRANSITION
Well, section 111 describes an instance where Joseph and some of the other church leaders did something kind of foolish. They had a “FAIL”. But the Lord doesn’t refer to these as “FAILS”. He uses another word that starts with the same letter. Can you find it in section 111?
The word is “FOLLIES” and it’s found in verse 1.
1 I, the Lord your God, am not displeased with your coming this journey, notwithstanding your follies.
We are all probably going to be guilty of a few follies in our lives. Even Joseph Smith had follies.
What was the nature of those follies in this section? Have a student read the section heading, which tells us that this is a:
Revelation given through Joseph Smith the Prophet, at Salem, Massachusetts, August 6, 1836. At this time the leaders of the Church were heavily in debt due to their labors in the ministry. Hearing that a large amount of money would be available to them in Salem, the Prophet, Sidney Rigdon, Hyrum Smith, and Oliver Cowdery traveled there from Kirtland, Ohio, to investigate this claim, along with preaching the gospel. The brethren transacted several items of Church business and did some preaching. When it became apparent that no money was to be forthcoming, they returned to Kirtland. Several of the factors prominent in the background are reflected in the wording of this revelation.
So, the folly is that Joseph is looking for an alleged treasure. There was a man by the name of William Burgess who comes to Joseph and tells him that there was a large amount of money deposited in the cellar of the home of a deceased widow in Salem, Massachusetts, (yes, that Salem) and that he was the only living person that knew about it and where it was. Now, was William Burgess sincere in this? Or was he just a bit of a conman? I don’t know for sure, but Joseph jumps at the chance to get this money and he and a number of the other brethren, including Oliver Cowdery, make the journey to Massachusetts. When they arrive, however, it turns out that their source is less than reliable. William Burgess says that things had changed so much in the city that he couldn’t remember where the house was, and he ends up leaving a few days later. Joseph finally comes to the sad realization that their journey is not going to produce a financial windfall for the church.
Now I kind of have to laugh at the first thing the Lord says to Joseph in this section. He says, I am not displeased with your coming. That’s a double negative there. He could have said he was pleased, but he doesn’t. It’s “I’m not displeased” with this, notwithstanding your follies. In other words, “Joseph, this was kind of silly thing, to get taken in by this story”. It’s like believing there’s a treasure map on the back of the Declaration of Independence.
So I’m sure that Joseph is feeling a little foolish at this point for looking for treasure. But, you know, I totally get it. Just this year, a couple of guys here on the Wasatch Front, buried a 10,000$ treasure in the mountains near Salt Lake and released a cryptic poem that would lead you to the treasure. I have to admit that I was taken in by this. I actually did make a few trips to different locations, looking for this treasure. I didn’t find anything, of course, but I felt that lure and excitement of easy money, so I totally understand why Joseph does this and I don’t fault him in the least for it. At least in his case he wasn’t looking for it out of a sense of greed or speculation, but because he’s worried about the future of the church. The church is in heavy debt, and he was looking for some way, any way, to get out of it. Oftentimes, I think it’s when we’re anxious or concerned about something, that we are more apt to commit follies. So, just like me in the cave, Joseph prays. He goes to the Lord and receives this revelation.
SEARCH
Section 111 has a great message for those that are guilty of follies. What’s that message in verse 11? “Be wise and yet without sin, and I will order all things for your good, as fast as ye are able to receive them”. That’s a phrase we’ve heard before. The message is that God can make something good out of our follies. That’s the kind of power He has. Whatever we put into God’s hands, He can make it good, in some way. As long as we’re wise and without sin.
So how did God make good on this foolish journey of Joseph’s? The rest of the section holds the answer. The Lord says in verse 2 that he did indeed have “much treasure” in that city for him. Verse 10 promises that “there are more treasures than one for you in this city”. So in other words, “Joseph, I know you came all this way looking for treasure. And you know what? I’m going to make sure that you leave with some. Now it may not be the kind of treasure you were expecting, but remember, I can order all things for your good. So I’m going to make this journey worthwhile to you in some way.”
What were the treasures that the Lord is talking about here? We’re going to do a little treasure hunt of our own in section 111 to see if you can find them. What was the true treasure of Salem? Read verses 2-9 and see if you can find any hints as to what those might be.
If you did that little exercise, you may have found immediately in verse 2 that the Lord says he has “many people in this city, whom I will gather out in due time for the benefit of Zion, through your instrumentality.” What was the true treasure of Salem then? People. People were the treasure of the city. The Lord promises that there would be people gathered out of Salem “in due time”. And then later in verse 4 he promises, that:
4 And it shall come to pass in due time that I will give this city into your hands, that you shall have power over it, insomuch that they shall not discover your secret parts; and its wealth pertaining to gold and silver shall be yours.
That’s a significant promise. Did it come true? Yes, but in due time. In 1841, Joseph sends Erastus Snow back to Salem on a mission. While there, he converts and organizes a branch of 120 members. Aren’t converts a far more valuable treasure to the church than money? Remember what the Lord taught us in section 18: The worth of souls is great in the sight of God. They were the great treasure of Salem. Verse 4 told us that Salem would also produce monetary gain for the church though. Well, many of those members will later travel to Nauvoo, bringing with them their wealth and means which do indeed help to enrich the entire church.
But remember, more treasures than one. Did you find any others? I like verse 8. The Lord says: “8 And the place where it is my will that you should tarry, for the main, shall be signalized unto you by the peace and power of my Spirit, that shall flow unto you.”
I love that as a description of how the Spirit can guide and influence us. We can receive signals in the form of peace and power from the Spirit that will flow into us. Joseph was probably being driven and guided by forces other than the Spirit when he traveled to Salem—worry, anxiety for the church, excitement, need? Hence, the Lord used this instance as an opportunity to teach Joseph something about the Spirit. “Joseph, this is how you’re supposed to be led. You need to follow the Spirit to know where to go. In fact, let’s practice that right now, right here. Follow the Spirit to discover where you should stay while you’re here”. That may be one of the greatest treasures God can provide to us in our follies. Experience. The wisdom and learning we gain from our mistakes. Following the spirit can help us to avoid a lot of the follies of our lives.
But wait, there’s more. Verse 9. The Lord instructs them to inquire diligently concerning the more ancient inhabitants and founders of the city. What’s that all about? Well, if you’re an American, you probably know what Salem is famous for. The ancient inhabitants of that city were responsible for the Salem witch trials. 19 innocent people were killed and many more accused of witchcraft over the course of a few years in the 1690’s. Suspicion, greed, fear, false accusation, and hysteria are going to tear that community apart. Gallows hill, where the executions took place overlooked where the brethren were staying. Oliver Cowdery even commented on this saying:
“I viewed the hill, immediately to the north-west of the town, on which they used, in olden times when they were very righteous, to hang people for the alleged crime of witchcraft— it still bears the name of ‘witch hill,’ and looks down upon this ancient town like a monument set up to remind after generations of the folly of their fathers.” Oliver Cowdery, “Prospectus,” Latter Day Saints’ Messenger and Advocate, (October 1836), 388.
They also visited the ruins of a Catholic convent in the area that had been burned down by Protestants in 1834 in an act of religious persecution. Joseph was affected by this and wrote:
“Well did the Savior say concerning such, “by their fruits you shall know them.” And if the wicked mob who destroyed the convent, and the cool, calculating religious lookers on, who inspired their hearts with deeds of infamy, do not arise, and redress the wrong, and restore the injured four-fold, they in turn, will receive of the measure they have meted out till the just indignation of a righteous God is satisfied. When will man cease to war with man, and wrest from him his sacred rights of worshiping his God according as his conscience dictates? Holy Father, hasten the day”. (History of the Church, 2:465)
Now, how could looking into these things be a treasure to Joseph and the others? Was there anything relevant about these historical events that might benefit the early church? Well, let’s think. These were examples of early American Christian communities being torn apart by suspicion, accusation, fear, and religious intolerance. Hmmm. Could those have been applicable or helpful in any way? I imagine you can make the connection. It’s at this very time that the seeds of Kirtland’s fall are being sown by some of these very same problems. The importance of tolerance, prudence, trust, brotherly kindness, and fairness must have made an impression on their minds. No doubt the Lord was preparing or warning Joseph when he asked him to inquire of the ancient inhabitants of the city.
More treasures than one indeed!
TRUTH
So the truth of section 111: God can turn even our “follies” into good. Think back to my story. Yes, that was a foolish position to get myself into. But God took that folly of mine and turned it into an answer to a prayer—a faith building experience not only for me but for those that I’ve been able to share that story with over the years, like my children and my students.
LIKEN THE SCRIPTURES
Can you think of any of your own “follies”?
Some of the follies we may find ourselves in: Being taken in by a scam, saying something unwise at the wrong moment, allowing another person to manipulate us, procrastinating an important duty, getting into a bad relationship, overreacting with emotion, taking an unnecessary risk to show off. You know, none of these things are sins, per se, just follies. The kinds of things that we look back at and we just can’t believe what we did or said.
Now: Have you ever seen God make good on one of your follies? Can you look back at one of those situations now and see something good that came of it? Something you learned? Experience you gained? An unexpected positive outcome?
CONCLUSION
Well, to err is human, but God is divine, and when we place our trust in Him, he can turn anything into good, in some way. So don’t get too discouraged by your mistakes, and fails, and follies. Just place them into God’s hands and wait to see the amazing things that he can do with them.
112-HAVING HINDS FEET
ICEBREAKER
To introduce section 112, I like to show a short video from YouTube. I can’t show it directly here on my channel, but I can provide you with the link here above and in the video description and encourage you to watch it before you continue. Link to Ibex video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RG9TMn1FJzc And if you did that, you saw an incredible video of Ibexes scaling the almost vertical face of the Cingino dam in Italy. The question I would ask my students before they watched it would be, “Why are the ibex doing this? Do they have a death wish? Are they doing it for fun?” And the reason they do it is because there is a mineral that their bodies need in the rocks that they lick on the dam. Therefore, in order to get that strength, they are obliged to walk the tiny ledges of the dam and face the dizzying heights. I believe that this can be a great analogy for faith. There will be times in every single one of our lives where our faith will be tried. When the straight and narrow path will truly narrow to tiny ledges and will test our resolve and spiritual dexterity. I don’t believe that the path of faith always has to be like this, but there will be times when it is. I believe the Lord allows it to be so. He knows that strength comes through testing. Strength comes through trust. Strength comes through trial. But granted, those times of faith testing can be scary and precarious. A little-known Old Testament prophet named Habakkuk used this very image of ibex walking on tiny ledges to describe his journey of faith. He too, in his day, struggled with questions about God and faith. In the midst of that challenge he cries out “
19 The Lord God is my strength, and he will make my feet like hinds' feet, and he will make me to walk upon mine high places . . .
(Habakkuk 3:19)
A hind is a type of ibex. In the holy land, there are desert ibex that also seem to defy gravity as they run along the cliffs of the Judean wilderness. Habakkuk no doubt had experience in watching these natural rock climbers bound across the crags of the desert with nimble accuracy. He wished to be able to do the same across the cliffs of his life and his own precarious spiritual moments. We too might pray Habakkuk’s prayer when WE are called to walk upon the high places of OUR lives. Those times when our faith is challenged and our way unclear. We live in a time when many are questioning their faith in God and in the church. There are any number of things that can act as spiritual cliffs. Sometimes people are challenged by issues in church history. Some are challenged by anti-church literature or criticism online. Sometimes the challenges and painfulness of life cause individuals to question their belief in a loving and caring God. There are certain social or political positions that the church takes that are difficult for many to accept. Sometimes people get offended by a church leader. And then sometimes, we just simply face times of doubt and darkness and despair. It is more than likely than not that we are all going to experience some kind of faith challenging time in our lives. These are the times when the path of faith narrows and climbs.
TRANSITION
Section 112 can help. It’s going to come in the midst of that dark time in Church History I spoke about earlier. This section is directed to Thomas B. Marsh, then the president of the quorum of the twelve apostles. Knowing what we know about Thomas B. Marsh makes this counsel all the more prophetic. He does struggle in his faith at this time and will eventually leave the church. Perhaps this was the Lord’s way of warning him and giving him counsel to hopefully help him weather the storm. This section, then, is going to teach us how to have hind’s feet. In it we’ll find advice, warnings, and promises that can help us to walk the high places of our lives and not fall.
SEARCH
You could approach this section with a handout that can help guide your students to some of these truths. You could have them examine some or all of the following sets of verses to see if they can find principles that can help them to have hinds feet. Then, encourage them to pick at least one of them and answer how that truth or counsel could help them to walk their own high places of faith.
· :3, :10, :15, :22
· :5-7
· :11
· :13, :15, :27
· :22
· :31-32
:3, :10, :15, :22
One of the recurring themes and clear messages of this section is the charge to remain humble.
3 Nevertheless, inasmuch as thou hast abased thyself thou shalt be exalted; therefore, all thy sins are forgiven thee.
10 Be thou humble; and the Lord thy God shall lead thee by the hand, and give thee answer to thy prayers.
(There’s an entire hymn in the hymnbook based on that verse)
15 Exalt not yourselves; rebel not against my servant Joseph; for verily I say unto you, I am with him, and my hand shall be over him; and the keys which I have given unto him, and also to youward, shall not be taken from him till I come.
22 Inasmuch as they shall humble themselves before me, and abide in my word, and hearken to the voice of my Spirit.
Pride can cause us to fall off our ledges of faith quicker than almost anything else. It is spiritually dangerous to think that we know better than God, or church leaders, or the scriptures or everybody else. There is a seductive vanity that comes from thinking that we understand something at a higher level than all of the deceived masses. We need to be humble enough to recognize our own fallibility and weakness. Peter thought he was strong enough not to deny his association with the Savior. He found out otherwise. I’m sure that David would have said you were crazy if you told him that one day he would be guilty of adultery and indirect murder. He found out otherwise. The people of Limhi felt they were strong enough to beat back their Lamanite aggressors through force. They found out otherwise. In the case of Thomas B. Marsh here, that’s exactly what got the best of him eventually. His pride. I’m not going to take the time to go over the very famous “milk strippings” story from the life of Thomas B. Marsh, but you might consider telling it here. His pride leads to his downfall.
The words of Isaiah come to mind here and can be helpful when we find ourselves starting to get lifted up in pride. He said:
8For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD.
9For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts. (Isaiah 55:8-9)
I think that’s just God’s way of saying. “Hey, you don’t have my perspective. I’m on a different level here. So please, trust me!”
:5-7
These verses are just fantastic. They really radiate the majesty and urgency of proclaiming the gospel. Let me just read them to you.
5 Contend thou, therefore, morning by morning; and day after day let thy warning voice go forth; and when the night cometh let not the inhabitants of the earth slumber, because of thy speech.
What a great verb. Contend for the gospel. This is a fight. This is a battle against evil and ignorance. It’s a fight that requires our consistent vigilance and dedication. A morning by morning, day after day, night after night, endure to the end kind of fight. We’re got to put on the whole armor of God and take up our cross daily. There’s no time for slumber.
6 Let thy habitation be known in Zion, and remove not thy house;
There’s some great advice. Be active in the gospel. Be engaged. Let your habitation be known. We want people to know us in Zion. Sometimes I go through the ward list and I have to admit that there are some names and families that I just don’t know or remember well because I hardly ever or never see them. Perhaps we can ask ourselves if the general membership of our ward knows us? Have we done what we can to be seen and heard and known? Also, we don’t want to remove our house from Zion. One of the saddest things I’ve had to do as a bishop is to remove people’s records from the church. It hasn’t happened that often but there have been a few occasions where members within my ward boundaries have officially requested to have their “houses removed” from the records of the church. Which is so unfortunate, because, continuing:
for I, the Lord, have a great work for thee to do, in publishing my name among the children of men.
7 Therefore, gird up thy loins for the work. Let thy feet be shod also, for thou art chosen, and thy path lieth among the mountains, and among many nations.
How does this give us hind’s feet? Engagement in the work keeps us strong. No wonder God has given us, as members, so much to do. Temple and family history work, missionary work, the work of our callings, work within our families and marriages. It’s when we detach from that work that we begin to lose momentum and faith. I recently read a book where social researchers have found that people are happier when engaged in meaningful effort than when they are engaged in passive entertainment. So, stay busy in the work, and you will be much more able to walk your high places.
:11
11 I know thy heart, and have heard thy prayers concerning thy brethren. Be not partial towards them in love above many others, but let thy love be for them as for thyself; and let thy love abound unto all men, and unto all who love my name.
This is some great advice. I know of individuals who have either removed their membership or have become less active in the church because of the way they have been treated by church leaders or their fellow members. They don’t feel like they belong or are welcome. They’ve been offended by the words or actions of someone in a position of church authority or that others have been partial in their love above many others. This is something we need to be careful of. Our wards and branches and communities will function much better and bless more lives if we are eager to share our love and friendship with all. This cuts both ways though. We will stay stronger ourselves if we are not partial in our love for our fellowman and church leaders. What happens to our engagement in the gospel when the ward splits, or a beloved leader is released, or our closest friends move away? If we’ve been partial in our love above others, we may find it difficult to continue faithful. BUT, if we love all in Zion, we will always have an abundance of friends and fellow saints. It won’t matter who’s in charge, or what ward we’re in, or when people move away. We’ve also got to be careful about our judgment of church leadership. Hopefully we’re not partial in our love towards them. This was a major factor in the apostasy of many members during the fall of Kirtland. Joseph Smith wasn’t perfect. He was a man and was subject to mortal errors. We just saw that in section 111. He had his fair share of follies. As we examine the lives and words and actions of both early and current, general, and local church leaders, may we be forgiving and understanding of their mortality and shortcomings. Sometimes we need to allow people to be people and not cast out the baby with the bathwater. Some good advice in dealing with people and church leadership: Celebrate the good and forgive the rest.
:13, :15, :27
This section contains all the don’ts. Did you find them all?
:13 harden not their hearts, and stiffen not their necks against me
:15 rebel not against my servant Joseph; for verily I say unto you, I am with him, and my hand shall be over him; and the keys which I have given unto him, and also to youward, shall not be taken from him till I come.
:27 Therefore, see to it that ye trouble not yourselves concerning the affairs of my church in this place, saith the Lord.
Hardened hearts, stiff necks, rebellion, troubling yourself with things that have nothing to do with you can all lead to falling from our high places. The hard hearts of Laman and Lemuel eventually caused them to be separated from the people of God. The stiff necks of the Pharisees drew the harshest criticism and condemnation from the Savior. Satan’s rebellion in the premortal world caused him to fall. Uzzah’s steadying of the ark, or troubling himself with something that was not his place, caused him to fall. May all these stories serve as warnings to us. Disobedience may be one of the greatest destabilizing factors in our efforts to walk the straight and narrow path. Once again, humility is key in recognizing God’s wisdom over man’s.
:22
Here’s a great source of strength for our high places. Abiding in his word and hearkening to the Spirit. One of the best ways to keep your faith strong is daily contact with the word of God. Now you all know just how much I love the scriptures. One of the reasons why is because I know they work! They keep me strong and my faith intact. Do you remember the miracle of manna in the Old Testament? It was bread that rained from heaven to help feed the Israelites as they traveled to the promised land. Manna was God’s way of teaching the children of Israel an important truth about his word. Manna, it turns out, was a symbol. Yes, it fed them physically for a time, but later Moses taught them:
3 And he humbled thee, and suffered thee to hunger, and fed thee with manna, which thou knewest not, neither did thy fathers know; that he might make thee know that man doth not live by bread only, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of the Lord doth man live.
Manna was a symbol for the word of God. The Israelites had to gather manna daily in order to stay nourished and healthy and alive. It’s the same with us! Our faith cannot remain strong if we neglect to feast on God’s words and the promptings of the Holy Ghost daily. I don’t believe it’s likely that anyone will lose their faith when they are consistently and prayerfully studying the scriptures. It’s when we stop, that we fall. If all we do is subject ourselves to the questions, and accusations, and theories of the world, we are going to severely weaken our faith and resolve. Questions are good, doubts are to be expected, and we don’t have to run in fear from difficult questions or issues in the church. But we’ve got to make sure that we balance those things with God’s words through the scriptures, and living prophets, and promptings of the Spirit. I’ve found that when I face doubts, or faith shaking experiences, if I immerse myself in the scriptures, or consider the character and counsels of our living prophets, that my assurance returns and my doubts dissolve.
Elder Ballard told the following story about a young man that came to his office with some doubts and questions.
One of my fine missionaries who served with me when I was the mission president in Toronto came to see me some years later. I asked him, “Elder, how can I help you?”
“President,” he said, “I think I’m losing my testimony.”
I couldn’t believe it. I asked him how that could be possible.
“For the first time I have read some anti-Mormon literature,” he said. “I have some questions, and nobody will answer them for me. I am confused, and I think I am losing my testimony.”
I asked him what his questions were, and he told me. They were the standard anti-Church issues, but I wanted a little time to gather materials so I could provide meaningful answers. So we set up an appointment 10 days later, at which time I told him I would answer every one of his questions. As he started to leave, I stopped him.
“Elder, you’ve asked me several questions here today,” I said. “Now I have one for you.”
“Yes, President?”
“How long has it been since you read from the Book of Mormon?” I asked.
His eyes dropped. He looked at the floor for a while. Then he looked at me. “It’s been a long time, President,” he confessed.
“All right,” I said. “You have given me my assignment. It’s only fair that I give you yours. I want you to promise me that you will read in the Book of Mormon for at least one hour every day between now and our next appointment.” He agreed that he would do that.
Ten days later he returned to my office, and I was ready. I pulled out my papers to start answering his questions, but he stopped me.
“President,” he said, “that isn’t going to be necessary.” Then he explained: “I know that the Book of Mormon is true. I know Joseph Smith is a prophet of God.”
“Well, that’s great,” I said. “But you’re going to get answers to your questions anyway. I worked a long time on this, so you just sit there and listen.”
Our final suggestion here:
:31-32
31 Which power you hold, in connection with all those who have received a dispensation at any time from the beginning of the creation;
32 For verily I say unto you, the keys of the dispensation, which ye have received, have come down from the fathers, and last of all, being sent down from heaven unto you.
This part speaks of priesthood keys that had been handed down to the quorum of the twelve from previous dispensations and generations. In those verses, I think the Lord is trying to give them a sense of their connection to the past—that this power they held as members of the quorum of the twelve apostles, was the same power and authority that Adam had, and Enoch, and Abraham, and Moses, and Elijah, and Peter, and Paul—that they were a part of that long line of faithful disciples and priesthood leaders. What can give us hinds feet here? Understanding and honoring our spiritual heritage. We have an incredible legacy of faith to live up to and be inspired by! We can walk our high places by drawing strength from the faith of past generations. I find strength in considering the sacrifices of my pioneer ancestors. I find strength in studying the stories of the scriptures and the faithful saints of church history. I find strength in the experiences of my parents and grandparents. I find strength in examining my priesthood line of authority and seeing that link and connection all the way back to Jesus Christ himself. I don’t want to be the one responsible for breaking that chain of faith and sacrifice. All those previous links can give me something firm to connect to. I want to be welded to that chain and pass that legacy on to my children and my children’s children.
TRUTH
So here is the complete list of things that can help us to have hinds feet.
· Be Thou Humble
· Contend day by day. Work!
· Be not Partial in Love.
· Rebel Not
· Abide in His Word
· Connect with your Heritage of Faith
LIKEN THE SCRIPTURES
Which of these things have helped you keep your faith strong in challenging times? Which have helped to give you hinds feet?
CONCLUSION
Well, my friends, I’m fairly certain that all of us are going to face some dark days in our journey of faith, just like the early church did in Kirtland. That is to be expected. We’re all going to have to walk the cliffs of life at times on tiny ledges of faith. There are going to be times when we question, and doubt, and falter, and worry. But we need not let those times destroy us or cast us down. It is possible to walk the high places with hinds feet and pass over our trials of faith with spiritual dexterity and come out stronger and healthier on the other side. May that be the case with all of you!
113-QUESTIONSANSWERS
I won’t spend much time in this section. It’s similar to section 77 in that it documents a number of questions that were asked of the Lord regarding scriptural writings. I’m not going to go into detail on the answers to these questions as I would be much more likely to focus on these verses if I were teaching the book of Isaiah or the Isaiah chapters in the Book of Mormon. That’s where I find them more useful, where they can be taught in context with the rest of those chapters in Isaiah.
Still, there is a big picture principle that I like to teach with this section, and it has to do with scripture study. When you study the scriptures, be sure to ask questions. That may be some of the greatest advice I could give you on getting more out of your scripture study experiences. Sometimes I like to shock my students a little by telling them at the beginning of the school year that I want them to stop reading their scriptures and that I think that reading the scriptures is a terrible habit. They start to look at me with really confused expressions. But then I remind them that the scriptures almost never tell us to read them. They use better terms, such as, study, meditate on them, search them, lay hold upon them, ponder them, liken them, treasure them up, and feast upon them, but never read them. We’re not meant to engage with the word of God like we would a novel, a magazine article, or a blogpost. We are meant to study them.
Here in section 113, Joseph and another man named Elias Higbee are giving us a perfect example of how to study the scriptures. They’re reading Isaiah and they come to some difficult passages about the stem of Jesse, and some symbolic phrases regarding Zion. So what do they do? Do they just skip over them? Do they zoom by them without a thought or pause? Do they throw up their hands and say “Well, nobody understands Isaiah.” No, they ask a question, and the Lord helps provide them with some answers. That’s how it should be. When we slow down and ask questions and ponder during our study, we provide the Spirit with an opportunity to teach us. The answers may not always come immediately, but with time, and prayer, and searching, and study, they will come.
TRUTH
When you study the scriptures, slow down and ask questions, and the answers will come!
114-CAPTAIN FEAR NOT
This final section is very short and is directed to a man named David Patten. A little background on him. David Patten was a very stalwart member of the early church and was ordained as one of the original twelve apostles in 1835. He actually had a nickname. They called him “Captain Fear Not” because of his incredible courage in standing up for the church and defending it from the mobs of Missouri. At one point, David Patten even expressed to Joseph Smith that he had a desire to die for Zion—to be a martyr. Joseph was quoted as responding with great sadness, “David, when a man of your faith asks the Lord for anything, he generally gets it”. Well, unfortunately, David Patten did get his wish and became the first martyr of the latter-day church, though he wouldn’t be the last. In what’s known as the Battle of Crooked River, David is shot by enemy fire and dies shortly thereafter. Some of his dying words were:
“I feel that I have kept the faith, I have finished my course, henceforth there is laid up for me a crown, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give me.” And then he said to is wife, Phoebe, “Whatever you do else, O do not deny the faith.” (David W. Patten: Apostle and Martyr. Springville, Utah: Cedar Fort, Inc., 2003, p. 169–75)
Well, knowing what we now know would happen to David Patten, it makes what the Lord says to him in verse 1 all the more interesting. He’s told to settle up all his business as soon as he possibly can. Now that verse continues with a call to serve a mission the next spring, which, he never will serve, at least not here on earth. I’m certain that he bore and continues to bear glad tidings unto all in the spirit world.
Perhaps the message of David Patten’s life is best summed up by Doctrine & Covenants 103:27:
27 Let no man be afraid to lay down his life for my sake; for whoso layeth down his life for my sake shall find it again.
Surely Elder Patten found eternal life in the laying down of his mortal life for the cause of Zion.
There is another message in 114:2 worth mentioning. It reads:
“inasmuch as there are those among you who deny my name, others shall be planted in their stead and receive their bishopric. Amen.”
I think the message is pretty clear and should keep anyone that is in a position of authority humble. No one is indispensable in God’s kingdom. No one. Mortal man cannot stop God’s work from progressing. We talked earlier about Thomas B. Marsh who left the church thinking that it would suffer greatly without him. Years later, he does decide to return to the church and will eventually die in full fellowship, but not before admitting the following:
“The Lord could get along very well without me and He has lost nothing by my falling out of the ranks; But O what have I lost?!” (Thomas B. Marsh letter to Heber C. Kimball, May 5, 1857, Church History Library, Salt Lake City; see also Lyndon W. Cook, “‘I Have Sinned Against Heaven, and Am Unworthy of Your Confidence, But I Cannot Live without a Reconciliation’: Thomas B. Marsh Returns to the Church,” BYU Studies, vol. 20, no. 4 (Summer 1980), 389–400.)
Now a number of those early apostates eventually do come back to the church: Martin Harris, Oliver Cowdery, Frederick G. Williams, W. W. Phelps all make their way back, but the church went on without them while they were gone. One of the scriptural symbols for the latter-day church is a rolling stone that gathers in size and momentum as it rolls forward. There are only two possible outcomes when interacting with that stone. Either we are gathered into it and become a part of it, or we’re crushed. The choice is ours.
I love Brigham Young’s statement to those that rebelled against Joseph in those dark days of Kirtland. He said ““You cannot destroy the appointment of a prophet of God, but you can cut the thread that binds you to the prophet of God, and sink yourselves to hell” (in Conference Report, May 1963, p. 81). Ah Brigham, he never minced words. Many of those early brethren did cut the thread, and what did God do? He planted others in their stead, and the church rolled on. God will not force anyone to remain.
Some have expressed worry and concern over the numbers of individuals that are losing their faith leaving the church nowadays. To those individuals that have left, we regret their decision, we wish them all our love and stand with open arms to receive them again in full fellowship. But, those that remain need not feel any anxiety about the future of the Church. It’s destiny is certain no matter who may choose to leave.
コメント