Wednesday, December 1, 2010

Doctrine and Covenants, Section 1 Verses 1-24

http://lds.org/scriptures/dc-testament/dc/1?lang=eng#


Today I have began my challenge with the First Section of the Doctrine and Covenants. For background purposes it was revelation given by the Prophet Joseph Smith on 01 November 1831 in Hiram, Ohio. It is not however the first revelation.

One thing that comes to mind is the call for immediate attention. Verse Two states the following: “For verily the voice of the Lord is unto all men, and there is none to escape; and there is no eye that shall not see, neither ear that shall not hear, neither heart that shall not be penetrated.” This reminded me of Mosiah 27:21 (Book of Mormon) which says: “Every knee shall bow, and every tongue confess before him. Yea, even at the last day, when all men shall stand to be judged of him, then shall they confess that he is God..” I have come to take it as we will all eventually, believers and non believers alike will heed the voice of the Lord.

Verses 3-5 serve as a warning to Zion concerning iniquities and promises of sending those with the keys of Heaven to guide them as the Lord commands. In verse 6, God says the following: “Behold, this is mine authority, and the authority of my servants, and my preface unto the book of my commandments, which I have given them to publish unto you, O inhabitants of the earth.” Is he referring to Prophets? Also which book is being referred to? The Book of Mormon? The Doctrine and Covenants?

The next few verses hit me like a bucket of Ice water: 7 Wherefore, fear and tremble, O ye people, for what I the Lord have decreed in them shall be fulfilled.

8And verily I say unto you, that they who go forth, bearing these tidings unto the inhabitants of the earth, to them is power given to seal both on earth and in heaven, the unbelieving and rebellious;

9Yea, verily, to seal them up unto the day when the wrath of God shall be poured out upon the wicked without measure—

10Unto the day when the Lord shall come to recompense unto every man according to his work, and measure to every man according to the measure which he has measured to his fellow man.

What effects me most about these lines is the obvious call to serious repentance. I couldn't help but wonder what sins the early Saints were guilty of to receive this rebuke from God. Then I took a look at a book of church history. This was shortly after moving to Kirtland; some of the Saints became vain, selfish and began to murmur vigorously. One thing a Latter-Day Saint hears often is that ingratitude is one of the worst sins. Basically, God was telling the Saints to pull it together and humble themselves, because He really is not pleased with how things were going. He also promises them that the keys of Heaven will be restored so the fullness of the Gospel can be put to use.

Then in verses 12 to 16, He instructs them prepare for the Second Coming of Christ is coming and coming fast. Verse 13 actually frightened me a little as it says: “And the anger of the Lord is kindled, and his sword is bathed in heaven, and it shall fall upon the inhabitants of the earth.” I cannot help but wonder, is there something in particular that is displeasing to the Lord? Or is it the world in general? We are sinful creatures but is there a line we crossed somewhere?

In verse 17 the Lord ordains Joseph Smith, Junior as his chosen Prophet and makes it clear that Joseph has the authority to receive revelation from God as His servant. The Saints are commanded to follow the Prophet and heed his words as they come from God Himself.

God commands in verse 23 that Missionary Work is to begin and that it will spread to every corner of the Earth.

I will close this post with a promise from the Lord in verse 24:

Behold, I am God and have spoken it; these commandments are of me, and were given unto my servants in their weakness, after the manner of their language, that they might come to understanding.”



ke7ejx.


2 comments:

  1. Hello, Kristyn,

    I suspect you mean that the revelation was given on 1 November 1831 rather than 1931, yes? ;)

    Re D&C 1:2 - What do you have in mind here, specifically, when you use the phrase "heed the word of the Lord"?

    Re D&C 1:6 - I believe that what's being referred to here is in particular the Doctrine and Covenants, an earlier version of which was initially published under the title Book of Commandments.

    Re D&C 1:7-10 - Your comment about ingratitude really struck me and reminded me of one of my favourite quotations from Seneca: "Homicides, tyrants, thieves, adulterers, robbers, sacrilegious men, and traitors there will always be; but worse than all these is the crime of ingratitude" (De Beneficiis 1.10.4).

    Re D&C 1:13 - I think the key to this might be found in vv. 14-17, where the calamity is said to come upon "the inhabitants of the earth" (D&C 1:17) but is directed toward those who have committed certain offenses, such as refusing the voice of the Lord (which matches with Old Testament language for God's call to repentance), as well as the voice of his servants and of his prophets and apostles, all of whom echo and announce God's summons to repentance. Thus, I take it that the Lord's sword here is falling upon those who refuse to repent of their sins and turn to Christ to be healed and redeemed, and so this is a depiction of Judgment Day, which fits well with the intertextual references to Revelation in D&C 1:16.

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  2. Verse 6: Yep, it's the prophets and apostles and the book is the Doctrine and Covenants. Section 1 is technically a preface to D&C, the only book to have a preface written by the Lord. None of the other standard works has this.

    I think ingratitude is definitely a valid cause for the Lord's rebuke in verses 7-10. But I also think it refers a lot to the rest of the world and how the world will view the prophets, apostles, and additional scripture in the latter-days. I've always kind of seen it as a rebuke for those who actively work against the church now, or persecuted the early saints, or those in open rebellion and wickedness and refuse to hearken to the word of God.

    I think verse 16 is a definitely written for our time--like how so many people come up with their own god and follow the images of the world to reconcile their ideas of goodness with the sins they'd like to commit. 15 as well--so many people breaking covenants and refusing ordinances.

    I love the reference to "the arm of flesh" in verse 19--like how we should not trust in the strength of man, the wisdom of man, etc. but the wisdom and strength of the Lord. We don't have testimonies because we heard someone else have one. We have them because we asked the Lord what was right. The same principle could be applied to a ton of situations we encounter.

    I'm so excited you're doing this challenge--I plan to follow along and respond as best as I can keep up with it!

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