096 The Lord's Preface - Doctrine & Covenants 1 - Come Follow Me - E2 - Jan 6-12

Summary

Podcast Summary: Church History Matters – Episode 096: "The Lord's Preface - Doctrine & Covenants 1 - Come Follow Me - E2 - Jan 6-12"

Release Date: December 31, 2024
Hosts: Scott and Casey
Produced by: Scripture Central

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Introduction

In Episode 096 of the Church History Matters podcast, hosts Scott and Casey delve into the first section of the Doctrine and Covenants (D&C1), titled "The Lord's Preface." This episode serves as an extensive exploration of the historical context, content, controversies, and lasting consequences of D&C1, setting the stage for the "Come Follow Me" study cycle for January 6-12, 2025.

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Historical Context

Scott and Casey begin by outlining the origins of the Doctrine and Covenants. Initially published in 1835 as the "Book of Commandments," the sections were numbered by importance rather than chronology. By 1876, they were reorganized chronologically, though D&C1 remains the opening section despite its chronological placement between sections 67 and 68.

Casey (00:27): "The Doctrine and Covenants is chronological. It hasn't always been that way."

D&C1 was intended to serve as an introduction, outlining the purposes of the revelations and the Restoration's role in the latter days. In November 1831, Joseph Smith relocated to Hiram, Ohio, where significant events occurred, including the first visions and the portending of persecution against church leaders.

Casey (02:05): "This is one of those church history sites. The original house is still there."

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Content of Doctrine & Covenants Section 1

Audience

The discussion highlights that D&C1 is addressed to all mankind, not just members of the Church.

Scott (06:04): "Would you say that the Doctrine and Covenants is the only book in the world that has a preface written by the Lord himself?"

Casey (08:25): "The message is coming to the church, but it's intended for every single person that's out there."

The Warning

The Lord issues a stern warning about impending wrath upon the wicked, which is inferred to coincide with the second coming of Christ.

Casey (08:58): "All mankind need to know that God's wrath is coming upon the wicked."

The Problem

Stone emphasis is placed on the apostasy characterized by unbelief, rebellion, and idolatry.

Casey (10:03): "The problem seems to be idolatry... choose to selectively follow [God's] commands."

The Solution

A pivot occurs at verse 17, introducing the Lord's solution: the Restoration through Joseph Smith and other "weak and simple" servants.

Casey (13:30): "The Lord mercifully called upon and gave revelations to Joseph Smith and others."

The Purposes ("So that...")

Verses 19 through 23 outline five key purposes of the Restoration:

1. Trust in God over Flesh: Encouraging reliance on divine will rather than human reason.
2. Universal Priesthood: Every person may speak in God's name.
3. Increased Faith: Strengthening faith across the earth.
4. Establishment of the Everlasting Covenant: Facilitating the reception of God's full glory.
5. Proclamation of the Fullness of the Gospel: Inviting all into the safety of the everlasting covenant.

Casey (15:17): "This is the mission statement of the restoration... five purposes."

The Fulfillment and Invitation

Verses 34 to 39 summarize the dual nature of the second coming—both judgment and redemption—and extend an invitation to all to search the revelations within the Doctrine and Covenants.

Casey (22:29): "The Lord's emphatic in verse 38 that none of his words in the D&C will pass away or go unfulfilled."

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Controversies Discussed

Interpretation of Language: King James English

Scott and Casey explore why the Restoration scriptures utilize the archaic language of the King James Bible, addressing concerns about its relevance and comprehensibility.

Casey (25:07): "Why does scripture use King James English? The Lord speaks in the vernacular of the time."

"Only True and Living Church" (Verse 30)

A significant point of debate centers around the interpretation of D&C1:30, where the Lord refers to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints as "the only true and living church upon the face of the whole earth." The hosts discuss differing perspectives:

• Scott's Approach: Advocates for an ecumenical interpretation, suggesting the phrase emphasizes the Church's unique stewardship and covenantal role rather than exclusivism.

  Scott (40:14): "Joseph Smith didn’t say, you have only one true and living creature friend. He said, you have one true and living friend."

• Casey's Counterpoint: Emphasizes traditional interpretations within the Church, where the phrase underscores the Church’s unique position without negating truth or goodness in other faiths.

  Casey (32:55): "We're the only true and living church because we can receive further revelations that add to the canon of scripture."

"Whether by my own voice or by the voice of my servants" (Verses 37-38)

The discussion addresses how these verses are often proof-texted to imply that all Church leaders speak with divine authority, which Scott and Casey argue is a misinterpretation. They emphasize the importance of contextual reading to avoid equating all statements by Church leaders directly with the Lord's voice.

Scott (47:21): "Verse 38 is often used to mean whatever the apostles say is as if Jesus is saying it, which is not the case."

Casey (50:51): "Prophets and apostles are important, but their statements aren’t infallible or directly equated with the Savior’s words."

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Consequences and Fulfillment

Scott and Casey reflect on how D&C1 has functioned as a mission statement for the Church, guiding its expansion and doctrinal development over nearly two centuries. They highlight accomplishments such as:

• Temple Building: From the first temples in Kirtland and Nauvoo to present-day temples worldwide, underscoring the establishment of the everlasting covenant.

  Casey (55:33): "With each temple comes the everlasting covenant that makes these blessings more freely available."

• Global Influence: Missions, interactions with world leaders, and cultural impacts align with the prophetic vision outlined in D&C1.

  Casey (55:33): "Members of the church play a significant role in the success of nations."

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Conclusion

The episode concludes with Scott and Casey affirming the enduring relevance of D&C1 as both a historical document and a living guide for the Church's ongoing mission. They encourage listeners to engage deeply with the Doctrine and Covenants, understanding its foundational role in preparing for the second coming of Jesus Christ.

Casey (59:46): "The Doctrine and Covenants and the weak servants us, we can now play a role in helping people make that crucial choice."

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Final Thoughts

Episode 096 serves as a comprehensive examination of the Doctrine and Covenants' opening section, balancing historical insights with doctrinal analysis. Scott and Casey effectively address complex theological points and controversies, making the content accessible and engaging for both Church members and those interested in Latter-day Saint history.

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For more detailed discussions and future episodes, subscribe to Church History Matters through Scripture Central. Explore additional resources at scripturecentral.org, where all content is freely available thanks to generous donations.

Transcript

[A]

Welcome to Church History Matters. Come follow me. Edition, where we are systematically diving into every section of the Doctrine and Covenants throughout the year 2025. We have a lot to talk about today, so let's get into it.

[B]

Hello, Scott.

[A]

Hi, Casey.

[B]

We're back.

[A]

We are back and ready to dive into Doctrine and Covenants one that is correct.

[B]

We've done the preliminaries, and now it's time to get to the meat. This is where we're starting the study of one of the holy books of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. So a couple things. This is popularly known as the preface to the Doctrine and Covenants. For the most part, the Doctrine and Covenants is chronological. It hasn't always been that way. When it was first published in 1835, they kind of numbered the sections by order of importance, but since about 1876, it's been chronological. This is the exception. This one actually is not section one. If we were going by strict chronology, this would probably be published between section 67 and section 68. And the reason why it's section one is because they intended for it to be the first section of the Doctrine and Covenants. They wanted it to be the opening. And it really does do a beautiful job kind of outlining the purposes of the work in the latter days and the reasons why this marvelous work had to be carried out by the Lord. Also at this point, I mean, we're talking November 1831, and Joseph Smith has relocated his family to Ohio. He's already traveled to Missouri and identified the location for the city of Zion. And now he's decided to move down to stay with John and Nelson Johnson, planning to work on his biblical translation project and also spend time with him and Emma's children. They've lost three children at this point, but they adopted the Murdoch twins and they wanted a little family time, I think. And the Johnsons have this comfortable little.

[A]

Setting that's there out in Hiram, Ohio.

[B]

Yeah, Hiram, Ohio, yeah. And this is one of those church history sites. The original house is still there. You can stand in the room where these discussions took place. A lot of great things happen here. Like they see the vision of the three degrees of glory. Some pretty harrowing things happen here, too. Like this is where Joseph Smith is attacked by a mob, tarred and feathered. Sidney Rigdon's almost killed. But this is right around the time that they get there. And Joseph Smith at this point has received around 60 or so revelations. And the question is, what are these revelations going to do in the Church, we already had elders that were copying them down and carrying them out with them, especially revelations like Section 20, which provided vital instruction on how to operate and run the church. But the question was, are we ready to commit to another book of Scripture? And we're talking, you know, it hasn't been two years since the Book of Mormon was published. So do we want to publish another book? And should it include these Revelations? And are we going to go through the labors of producing another book of Scripture? So there's a council that happens at the John Johnson home in Hiram, Ohio, and Joseph Smith proposes that they print the Revelations in form and that it would be titled the Book of Commandments. So that's the earliest name of the Doctrine and Covenants. A few Years later, in 1835, they change it to Doctrine Covenants. And there's some back and forth. We have the minutes of the meeting. David Whitmer was probably the one who was least in favor of printing the Revelations. He felt like the Revelations were private and that they didn't belong to the world. That's why it's not surprising that section one specifies. No, they are meant for the world. They, for the most part, support Joseph Smith's proposal and decide to print 10,000 copies, which is pretty ambitious. 5,000 copies of the Book of Mormon was what they went for. They later reduced this to 3,000. And then they recruit W.W. phelps, who's an experienced printer, to oversee the printing process. He's going to print the Revelations in Missouri, which is the eyed. They're looking at Independence, Missouri, right now as the headquarters of the church, because they're going to build. So they made the decision they want to have a preface to the book that kind of explains what the book is and what its purpose is. And according to William McClellan, who's one of the attendees at this conference, they actually appointed a committee. The committee consisted of William McClellan, who's one of the more learned people there. He's a former school teacher, Oliver Cowdery, who's another one of the smart guys in the room, and Sidney Rigdon, who's an experienced churchman. And According to William McClellan, they composed on their own these three preface, and they presented it to the conference, and McClellan said they picked it all the pieces, that it didn't go over super well.

[A]

Wait, so this committee was appointed to write the preface to the Book of Commandments? Yes. And nobody liked it when it was presented.

[B]

Yeah. And we don't. We don't have their preface that they wrote and so we don't know how good or bad it was. But McClellan seems to think that the conference was not. They picked it all the pieces is what he said.

[A]

All the pieces. Okay.

[B]

So McClellan then adds, the conference then requested Joseph to inquire of the Lord about it. And he said that he would if the people would bow in prayer with him. This they did, and Joseph prayed. When they rose, Joseph dictated by the Spirit the preface found in the Book of Doctrine and Covenants while sitting by a window of the room in which the conference was sitting. And Sidney Rigdon wrote it down. Joseph would deliver a few sentences, and Sidney would write them down, then read them aloud. And if correct, then Joseph would proceed and deliver more. And by this process, the preface was given. So it's kind of an elegant solution. You've got a book of revelations from the Lord. The preface should be a revelation from the Lord and allows the Savior basically to have his say in what the book is for, what the main problem is that they're trying to solve, and what the purposes of the restoration are supposed to be.

[A]

Would you say that the Doctrine and Covenants is the only book in the world that has a preface written by the Lord himself?

[B]

I can't think of any others. It feels like that's a pretty good get to have a guy write preface by Jesus Christ, all red letter.

[A]

Okay, excellent context. So DNC1 was always intended to be at the beginning of the Book of Commandments as the first one to kind of set the stage for what's coming.

[B]

Yeah, and I know of no edition of the Doctrine and Covenants that hasn't included this as the very first section. It's intended to be the introduction. It outlines the purposes of the revelations and in a larger sense, the purpose of the restoration of the work of the latter days.

[A]

Well, let's get into the actual content itself, then. Foreign. What did the Lord actually say in this preface? And let's kind of walk through this here. I think section one can most easily be outlined with the questions who, what, when, why, wherefore, so that, and hence. So let's walk through each of these again, the Lord's actual message. What's he saying here? So when it comes to who, by who, we mean who is the intended audience of doctrine and covenants? 1. And the answer is actually found in several verses here at the very beginning. And we see here the Lord says that it's to the people of my church in verse one, and to the people from afar and on the islands of the sea. There in verse one as well, verse two, the voice of the Lord is unto all men. In this case, it's a voice of warning. He says to all people. Verse four, it's a voice of warning to all people. And so he says, this book is going to be published to all the inhabitants of the earth. Because he goes on to say, the voice of the Lord is unto the ends of the earth. And then once again near the end, the Lord reiterates that this message is to all the inhabitants of the earth, that his message is for, again quote, all men. So to summarize here, the Lord's voice of warning in D&C1 is to all mankind. All mankind. So audience, everybody, message, It's a voice of warning.

[B]

And that's a good point to distinguish a little bit, because sometimes we act like the Book of Mormon is intended for all people, but the Doctrine Covenants is really for the Church. And in section one, you know, verse four, the voice of warning shall be unto all people by the mouths of my disciples kind of captures that. Hey, yep, the message is coming to the church, but it's intended for every single person that's out there, everybody that that will listen should hear this warning. And so there's universal applicability in the Doctrine Covenants. It's intended for everybody to read, not just the Church.

[A]

The next question is, what is the warning? Exactly? And in answer to this, the Lord is quite straightforward. The Lord says the people of earth should fear and tremble because the day is coming when God's wrath will be poured out upon the wicked without measure. His anger is kindled and his sword will fall upon the inhabitants of the earth. The day is coming when those who will not hear the voice of the Lord shall be cut off. So this is the warning in essence, right? To summarize, all mankind need to know that God's wrath is coming upon the wicked. When is it coming upon the wicked? He answers that the straightforward answer is that this coming will be poured out at the time of the second coming of Jesus is the inference here. The time is at hand, the day of the Lord is coming. And so those who are wicked, when he comes, it will not be well with them. Basically, we have from now to the second Coming to get our act together. Cayce. So then the next question is, why is this going to happen? In other words, what have the people of the world done which qualify them for God's wrath?

[B]

This is kind of a significant passage because this is where the Savior Himself kind of outlines the apostasy and defines what it is, we often talk about an apostasy that necessitated a restoration. But the language the Savior uses here is both past tense but also present tense, like it's a problem that's ongoing. For instance, in verse 14, he says, the day cometh that they who will not hear the voice of the Lord, neither the voice of his servants, neither give heed to the words of the prophets and apostles, shall be cut off from among my people. So people aren't listening to the messengers that God sends. Then he tends to talk about things that we might frame in more historical terms, like verse 15. They strayed from mine ordinances, they broke mine everlasting covenant. And I think here we're defining the everlasting covenant as the equivalent to the fullness of the gospel, that it's the system of all the gospel laws and rituals that people are not doing things like expressing faith in Jesus Christ or going through the process of repentance. Or they may have changed or altered the ordinances when he says they strayed. They did things like alter the ordinances or the rituals that existed, or the covenants made in the temple. But then it seems like the big, big problem is in verse 16, he says, they seek not the Lord to establish his righteousness, but every man walketh in his own way and after the image of his own God, whose image is in the likeness of the world and whose substance is that of an idol which waxeth old and shall perish in Babylon, even Babylon the great, which shall fall. So it's an old classic, but the problem seems to be idolatry. And you're not listening to what God is really like. You're ignoring his words and just kind of choosing to selectively follow the ones that appeal to you, if you're following them at all.

[A]

Okay, so to summarize the why the wrath is coming here, it's because of this idolatry, this modern Babylonian tendency to worship gods in your own making, in your own image.

[B]

And following the God means that you read the Scriptures and you become familiar with his voice. It's so common to hear people even inside the church say things like, well, I heard, heard. And they're not actually quoting from the scriptures or using the voice of Christ to explain their teachings and beliefs.

[A]

I would also go to verse eight and grab two other words. The last part of the verse talks about this generation being unbelieving and rebellious. We got those words are helpful. Unbelief, rebellion. And then add to that what you're saying, idolatry. And I think we could summarize the first, really, 16 verses. We hear the Lord's warning voice to a people that are descending headlong what will surely end in disastrous consequences at his second coming because of unbelief, rebellion and idolatry. And Casey, if we were going to graph section one, I think we would start in verse one. This voice to all people, this warning. And then he starts talking about the world kind of spiraling down until we get to verse 17. So it's down all the way to verse 16. And then there's a pivot which helps us answer the next question, which is the wherefore question, meaning wherefore what did the Lord do to help our situation? If the world's all headed downhill, how does God intervene? Like, wherefore what? Verse 17, I think, is the beginning of good news, wouldn't you say?

[B]

Yeah, that seems to be the place where we stop talking about problems and we start introducing solutions to the problem. Because this could be a pretty depressing chapter, right? If you just here's what's wrong with everything. So here's the Savior's plan. Here's how he's going to fix things. Here's how we're going to bring back what was lost.

[A]

Yeah. So verse 17 is this great pivot toward the solution. I like how he said that. Let me read it here. The Lord says, wherefore I the Lord, knowing the calamity which should come upon the inhabitants of the earth, knowing the calamity that's coming, the Lord says, I called upon my servant Joseph Smith Jr. And spake unto him from heaven and gave him commandments, which in this context means revelations. And also gave commandments to others that they should proclaim these things unto the Lord world. So knowing the future of modern Babylon and those within it, the Lord is saying here that he mercifully called upon and gave revelations to Joseph Smith and others that we're going to read and we're going to encounter in the Doctrine and Covenants. And he commands them to then go out and warn the world of this coming calamity upon the wicked. That's a merciful move. Verse 17 starts to give a little glimmer of hope and solution. We have this problem. Solution. I called the prophet of God and gave him some revelations. And then we pivot to the next question, which is the so that why warn the wicked? So that what might happen? What does God hope to accomplish by inspiring his servants by calling upon Joseph Smith and his other servants to proclaim these things out to the world, to warn the world in verse 17 and 18 are about what God does to help the situation. Then verses 19 through 23 offer five reasons why God does it. All right, the. So that. Here's the so that's. Each one is a desired outcome, starting with the word that. Do you want to walk us through the so that's.

[B]

Yeah, because this is kind of the mission statement of the restoration. Right. This is the preface. Here's what we intend to accomplish. So verses 19 through 23. The first hoped for outcome is that man stops trusting in the arm of flesh, of human reason alone, without regard to God's will. Second is that every man might speak in the name of God. This is hinting at a much broader application of priesthood of truth, that everybody's going to be recruited. Third hope for outcome is that faith might increase in the earth. The fourth is that the everlasting covenant might be established, making it possible for mankind to receive the fullness of God's glory. And the fifth hoped for outcome is that the fullness of Christ's gospel will be proclaimed by the weak and the simple unto all the ends of the world to invite them into the safety of the everlasting covenant. So we're putting it all together because of the coming wrath upon the wicked. The Lord called upon Joseph Smith and gave him and others. He's setting up the idea that this is going to be continuous, to go out and warn mankind of the coming calamity, preach the fullness of the gospel so that faith can increase to establish the everlasting covenant and that everyone on earth can be invited into its safety by God's weak and simple servants. And I love the idea that right here he's drafting the reader into the saga, basically. I mean, we're the weak and simple ones and he's saying that's who's going to carry this thing out. The weak things of the world shall come forth and break down the mighty and strong ones. That man should not counsel his fellow man, neither trust in the arm of flesh.

[A]

And verse, verse 23 too right, that the fullness of my gospel might be proclaimed by the weak and the simple unto the ends of the world. He keeps talking about the weakness of his servants. And I think verse 19 is hitting at the why, right? So that we don't trust in the arm of. Of flesh. If it was just brilliant, talented, remarkable, you know, demigod servants out there that are doing God's work, then of course it would succeed. And it seems like that's the point of verse 19, right? Saying that so that we won't trust in the arm of flesh. If God's servants were out there as like nearly flawless, brilliant, talented, strong, almost demigods, then we would say, of course this work's going to succeed. Those that are weak and simple like us, we can sit back and kind of watch this happen. But I think you're right. The Lord's saying, I'm drafting weak and simple people in. In fact, he started in verse 17 drafting a weak and simple servant. His name's Joseph Smith. And that's all we're going to get in the Doctrine and Covenants, Casey. We're just going to get weak and simple servants that God is reaching out to. We're going to see the revelations as he mentioned in verse 18. He gave commandments to others as well. Revelations to Oliver Cowdery and W.W. phelps and Martin Harris, and we're going to read all about this year. These are weak and simple servants through whom God works to bring about those five purposes that you just mentioned. And it's just absolutely remarkable. Like you said, it draws all of us in. We all qualify under those two terms, weak and simple. And so the Lord wants us to help too, and he'll get to that.

[B]

It does feel like in this preface, the Lord is trying to set us up to say, I've got huge expectations for what's going to happen. We're going to break down the mighty and strong ones, but also, you know, measure your expectations about these people and.

[A]

Get instruction from them. Like you said, some of these revelations, and this is David Whitmer's concern, these are two individuals who are vulnerable and God's going to be counseling them through some weakness. But the Lord's saying here, I actually want you to see that. I think all of you can benefit from seeing what I said to David, from seeing what I said to Martin, etc. In fact, that's where he goes next. And this, this kind of answers the hints question, hence, with a question mark. He says, well, hence we have these revelations of the Doctrine and Covenants. That's what this book is about, is bringing about those five purposes. It's kind of that in action. You can see it throughout the Doctrine and Covenants. You're going to find revelations that were given to God's weak servants. Verse 24 says, in their language, according to their understanding, in their weakness, in order to help them in one way or another to understand. Verse 25 says, Their errors. If they made errors, it could be made known. And Casey, we're going to Encounter a lot of errors, aren't we this year of God's servants trying to do God's work and just messing it up. We're going to hit it and we're going to hit it early and we're going to watch the Lord correcting his servants all along the way. In as much as they err, it could be made known. Others of these revelations were for those who sought wisdom so they could be instructed. And in as much as they sinned, they might be chastened, that they might repent. And as much as they were humble, they might be made strong and blessed from on high and receive knowledge from time to time. You're going to see humble people seeking the Lord, seeking help, seeking knowledge. And some of these revelations are to people in that state of mind, in that state of heart who just need help and guidance. And he says, so you're going to see all of that here in the Doctrine and Covenants. You're also going to find verse 29. Revelations that were given to Joseph Smith have power to translate the Book of Mormon and to empower his other servants, verse 30, to lay the foundation of this church and bring it out of obscurity. In other words, the Doctrine and Covenants itself is a compilation of revelations intended to help God's weak servants succeed in this salvific latter day work. And we're going to encounter all kinds of help. Doctrine. Covenants is a book of help to those who want to do what the Lord's saying here. To help increase faith in the world, to help establish the everlasting covenant, to help proclaim the fullness of the gospel everywhere, to speak in the name of the Lord. This is the manual. These are the evidences of the revelations God gave to his servants that were trying to do just that as they weakly and simply and error pronely stumbled. This is where he's going to be helping them as humble people are seeking to participate in God's work. So what a cool way to frame what the Doctrine and Covenants is.

[B]

It's sort of an incredible introduction, right? Because just as an academic, I'm looking at it kind of as a thesis and it's so elegant in the sense that it states the problem, okay, here's what's going wrong. Then it offers solutions and then it introduces kind of the qualifiers, okay, so things are going sideways. He summarizes, but here's the good news, here's what we're going to do to fix it. But then he qualifies and says, but understand, we're working with imperfect people here, the weak and the simple, and we're going to allow them to make mistakes, but it won't deter the work of God.

[A]

And that's going to characterize the work of the Lord from the beginning to the end. It's just people like us, Casey. It's just weak and simple people whose heart is dedicated to trying to help God's work. And the good news of the Doctrine and Covenants that declares it really, really well is I can work with you. I want people like you actually, so that you don't trust in the arm of the flesh and that you know that it's me working through you to do this great work that's going to actually have an effect in the world, in helping prepare people to not experience the oncoming calamity that's pending at the second coming of Jesus. Like you can actually make a difference in helping people, even if you're weak and simple. Like the whole Doctrine and Covenants is evidence of that. And so what a cool message right out the chute.

[B]

So the Lord concludes this preface, this book of his revelations. In verses 34 to 39, he issues a summary, an invitation, and a promise. So verses 34 to 36 is the summary. The Lord repeats that he wants everybody on the earth, no matter who they are, to know what's coming. And again, you could divide this into the good news and the bad news. The bad news is that what's coming is a day of little to no peace when the devil will have great power over those who yield to him. The good news is that the day is also coming when the Lord will have power over all those who come unto him. And when he returns, he'll come to reign in the midst of his saints and to come in judgment upon the worldly. It's the great and terrible aspects of the second coming. In verses 37 to 38, the Lord then gives the invitation and the promise to all. His invitation is for all to search the revelations found in the doctrine covenants because they're true and faithful. It says, it will be time. It will be worth it. And then he gives this promise that all the prophecies and promises contained herein will be fulfilled. The Lord's emphatic in verse 38 that none of his words in the DNC will pass away or go unfulfilled. All of them will be fulfilled. And whether you hear one of the prophecies or promises directly from the Lord or secondhand from one of his servants, it's still going to happen.

[A]

And there's a lot of prophecies in the Doctrine and Covenants. Casey, that's a pretty bold statement. Every single prophecy in this book will.

[B]

Be fulfilled, and some of them fulfilled and some of them still in process even in our time, but that will be fulfilled eventually.

[A]

And then I love how verse 39 ends. He says, for behold, and lo, the Lord is God and the Spirit bears record, and the record is true, and the truth abides forever and ever. Amen. That is the content of what the Lord had to say. Our second C. As far as prefaces go, Casey, very good clarity. Sets up the problem, introduces the solution, talks about the justification, even having a Doctrine and Covenants. Why do we even have this book? And what can we expect as we study it? What are we going to find in here? What kind of revelations? And then a great summary, invitation and promise at the end.

[B]

It's an incredible mission statement. Right. And one that we'll refer back to again and again as we go through the contents of the book, because he really does do a good job kind of laying it all out out here.

[A]

So, controversies in D&C1. Casey, do we have any in this section?

[B]

Yeah. First one, the controversy here is on the language used in the Scriptures. So I'll read the verse, 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 an understanding. And so it seems like the controversy he's addressing here is the language used in the Scriptures. And we could get as specific as, why does the Book of Mormon and the Doctrine and Covenants use King James English? How come they don't sound a little bit more modern?

[A]

I have wondered that before. Yeah, like this isn't how they talk in Joseph Smith's day. Right. They don't say, for behold, and yea, verily, stuff like this is very King James language. So why would scripture produced in Joseph Smith's day, take on the language, that more ancient language and vibe of King James?

[B]

Yeah, and I mean, they did talk a little bit more in King James language than we do now. But you're right, that was as far removed from them as we are from the early Restoration. But the answer seems to be that the Lord is saying, hey, King James English is the language of Scripture in Joseph Smith's day. And so the Lord speaks to them in their language. And according to their understanding, he's deliberately using scriptural language the way they would have thought of it to communicate according to their understanding.

[A]

So verse 24 is more like an answer to the controversy. Kind of sounds like. Right. It kind of responds to that question of why is restoration scripture in the language of king james and the lord saying, because that's the vernacular of your scripture. That's the model of sacred scripture that exists in your day. And so I'm going to use that. I'm going to lean into the king james language, because that's your language for scripture.

[B]

Yeah. And it seems like he's also addressing something we should have mentioned as part of the context of this section, which is. It seems like some of the brethren at the conference were questioning the language used in the revelations, because section 67, which is received around this time, actually addresses this idea. William mcclellan and apparently some other people had said, well, how do we know you're not just making up these revelations? And the lord kind of gives a challenge to William mcclellan where he basically says, if you think that you can do this, then why don't you see if you can replicate it? In fact, here's the language from section 67. Seek ye out of the book of commandments, even the least that is among them, and appoint him that is most wise among you, or if there be any among you that shall make one like unto it, then you're justified in saying that you do not know that they're true. But if you cannot make one like unto it, you're under condemnation if you do bear record that they are true. So the lord basically says, okay, why don't you give it a shot and see if you can do this? And the history, which we should note, was written after William mcclellan had left the church, says, william mcclellan, having more learning than sense, attempted to recreate the revelations, and he fails, basically. And it's kind of a situation where mcclellan becomes one of the people that eventually affixes his name to the book, testifying to it its truth. But the lord is basically saying, hey, I'm speaking to you in your language. Don't expect it to be perfect because it's coming through mortal people, but it's designed and specifically given so that you can come to an understanding. I love this verse, Scott. Honestly, this is one of my favorite verses in all of scripture because I see it as not only applying to the doctrine and covenants, but like all scripture, that when the savior says, I speak unto my servants in their weakness and after the manner of their language that they might come to understanding, he's giving us a key to not only get the Doctrine and covenants, but to sort of understand all scripture, that when the Lord gives us scripture, he's considering his people. He's considering their linguistic, their cultural, their scientific, their intellectual background. And that helps us maybe understand why passages like the book of Genesis, which are describing the creation of the earth, aren't scientific texts. There's creation accounts of Genesis and Moses and Abraham in the temple. And they're not, according to the Savior's definition of scripture here, intended specifically to explain exactly what happened, but to bring us to understanding, help us understand the purposes of the designs of God. So revelations given to Joseph Smith and other modern prophets could take on a different tone. They reflect the scriptural language, knowledge, and cultural background of the saints in the early American Republic. And that's something we should keep in mind. And when the Lord gives revelations to us in our time, the tone and message remain consistent, but the Lord accounts for our weaknesses and speaks after the manner of our understanding. So I really think verse 24 is a good key to all scripture to understand, for lack of a better way of saying, is that the Savior kind of meets us where we're at and gives it in language that has broad application, that can reach the most number of people. He's not writing a science textbook. He's trying to explain why things exist and not necessarily what, when, how, or any of those other questions. He wants us to know the why.

[A]

I love that. So verse 24 actually answers a few different controversies.

[B]

Yeah, that Scripture is adjusted to meet the needs of the people that the.

[A]

Savior's talking to and in some ways to measure up to their expectations of what they think Scripture is. He'll often lean into that, and he typically won't answer questions they're not asking. He's trying to help them come to understanding themselves with the issues that they're facing. The issues of the ancient Israelites. They were not asking scientific questions about the creation of the earth, as you mentioned. They are asking very different questions. And so he does not answer those questions, scientific ones in the creation accounts, for instance. Totally different intention, speaking to their understanding in their context for their day. Let me introduce our next controversy. It's a few verses later, verse 24, verse 30, has kind of a sizable controversy. Let me read it. And then let's talk about the controversy. And also those to whom these commandments were given might have power to lay the foundation of this church and to bring it forth out of obscurity and out of darkness, the only true and living church upon the face of the whole earth with which I the Lord am well pleased speaking unto the church collectively and not individually. So the controversy here is that this verse sounds kind of harsh to people outside the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. It can sound harsh in the same way that it would sound harsh to announce in front of your five children that your second oldest is your favorite. What is intended to be a compliment to the one sometimes feels like hopeless criticism to all the others. Right. And we could ask here in response to this verse, we could say, well, what about all the other good people and all the other churches? What about all the truth in all those other churches? Because there's a lot. How can the Lord speak of the only true and living church in verse 30, but then only five verses later? Cayce, the Lord speaks of himself as being no respecter of persons. Is this a contradiction or no? What's going on here? I don't know that we're going to solve this one today, Casey, but we do want to weigh in a few thoughts. Is that fair to say?

[B]

Yeah. And I'll just add, I mean, when I read this, I never took it that way. You kind of phrased it as, you know, a parent saying I love this child or this child's prettier than the other. And I've always taken it to be more like I'm appointing this person to be the executor of my estate sort of thing. I mean, I wouldn't necessarily be offended if a parent came and did that. Like, I know that my sister is more responsible and I might not want the responsibility of managing my parents estate or anything like that. So I don't necessarily take it as a sign of favoritism as much as you're putting responsibility on one group of people. But that doesn't mean that you disfavor or don't like other people.

[A]

Yeah, I think different people hear this verse differently. And I know, you know, from those outside the church. You and I both have friends outside of our church and they're aware of this verse and it doesn't come across super great to their ears. Right. Not very good pr, this verse.

[B]

Yeah, this, this verse is challenging for our friends of other faiths, but we've got to reckon with it. I mean, it's there and it gets quoted with a lot of frequency.

[A]

It's Jesus speaking. This is not just some random, you know, statement that was said early on in the Journal of Discourses. And maybe we can, you know, wiggle out of it. Like Jesus says this in the preface to the Doctrine and covenants and we should talk about it. So let me throw out a few preliminary thoughts and then Casey push back and let's just kind of have a little dialogue here. So my first thought is a statement from President Harold B. Lee. It's actually a warning about interpreting Scripture. And he says this with respect to doctrines and meanings of Scriptures. Let me give you a safe counsel. It is usually not well to use a single passage of Scripture in proof of a point of doctrine. To single out a passage of Scripture to prove a point is always a hazardous thing. This verse is kind of a one off statement here. We don't have any other verses that use this exact kind of language of the only true and living church upon the face of the whole earth. There's other passages where the Lord talks about my church, My church shall be called people of my church. There's some ambiguities with this that we'll talk about here. And there's not other verses where we can triangulate. So maybe we should be really careful about not being too dogmatic about our interpretations on this verse, especially in light of some of the ambiguities that are present in the text that I want to talk about here. So the truth is there's a few things in this verse that we need to be really, really careful about. And I would recommend that we read verse 30 in light of verse 24 that we just talked about where the Lord says he's speaking to Joseph in his own language and vernacular of that time. So a fruitful line of inquiry is to ask, what did the phrase true and living mean in Joseph Smith's day and how was it used? Let me give you an example. There's a letter that Joseph Smith wrote to his wife Emma. Emma, this is in 1832. I feel for you, for I know your state and that others do not. But you must comfort yourself knowing that God is your friend in heaven and that you have one true and living friend on earth. Your husband, Joseph Smith Jr. So we see in Joseph Smith's own kind of vernacular how he's using the phrase true and living. He says that Emma has only one true and living friend, which is her husband. If we take that literally, that means that Emma has no friends except for Joseph Smith, right? Which we know is not true. The phrase true and living here means something a little more endearing the way Joseph's using this. To Emma, it means something like faithfully devoted or fully committed or totally reliable. In fact, the phrase true and living is used in connection to God in the Book of Mormon, six times the phrase true and living God, right? This idea of a God who's fully committed, fully devoted, totally reliable Bible. So this can easily be used to characterize the relationship between husband and wife, as we see in Joseph and Emma's case. And there's a phrase here in verse 30 that actually invokes husband and wife language. Casey. And this is really interesting. And Bible nerds will recognize the reference I'm about to share. And the Lord actually will piggyback on this idea of the Bible in talking about the church being established in the season of the restoration, and that is that in the Book of Revelation, the Lord refers to his church as his bride, and he refers to himself as the bridegroom, underscoring their covenantal connectedness and their loyalty to each other, right? And then in chapter 12 of the book of Revelation, this beloved bride, the Lord's church, flees into the wilderness. This phrase into the wilderness is important in order to be protected and nurtured for a season, protected from Satan and nurtured for the future, some future event. That's Revelation chapter 12. And then at the beginning of the era of the restoration, the Lord says that this is the season of the quote, beginning of the rising up and the coming forth of my church out of the wilderness. A clear reference to the image of Revelation 12. He says it a few other times in the Doctrine and Covenants, referring to the church as this Woman of Revelation 12, the church being symbolized by this bride whom the Lord is nurturing and bringing out of the wilderness to establish the church in the latter days. And so let me read verse 30 again here. This idea, he says, and also those to whom these commandments were given might have power to lay the foundation of this church and to bring it forth out of obscurity and out of darkness, the only true and living church upon the face of the whole earth, with which I, the Lord, am well pleased. This phrasing of bringing the church forth out of obscurity and out of darkness tracks with the language of bringing the church out of the wilderness. This woman, this beloved, true and living, the way Joseph and Emma are speaking here, true and living, beloved, faithful, devoted, totally committed. And so I think we got to just read it in the language of the day. The Lord seems to be using Joseph's language here, true and faithful. And he's also using a biblically rich image of the woman in the wilderness, which he continues to do to characterize the restoration as this bride of the Lord's who's coming out of the church the faithful wife. Again, this is not a dogmatic interpretation, but the Lord seems to be saying here something like, I gave people power to lay the foundation to bring my beloved church out of the wilderness, out of obscurity, and out of darkness. As he say in verse 31, I, the Lord cannot look upon sin with the least degree of allowance. I'm not excusing your sins, but I'm pleased with you. I love you. I'm devoted to you, my covenantal bride. Something like that.

[B]

Okay, can I push back? Is that okay?

[A]

Yes, definitely. This is our. This is our controversy question.

[B]

No, it wouldn't be controversy without a few sparks flying. What you're saying is beautiful and ecumenical, and I honor you for it, but you're ignoring the word only, which is kind of the hardest thing to deal with there. Right. Like in Joseph Smith's letter, he didn't say, you have only one true and living creature friend. He said, you have one true and living friend, which is broader than this here. The other thing I would push back is, you know, in one of our earlier podcasts, we introduced the three lenses of scripture and modern prophets and then the Holy Ghost, as we use all three of those, and we align all three of those to find truth. And while your arguments are good, I did a little search. There's a little app called the Scripture Citation Index, which notes how many times a general conference, a scripture is cited. And this verse has been cited in General Conference 91 times. And almost every time that they use it, it's in the context of saying this is the only true and living church upon the face of the earth, meaning the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. And so, I mean, I know that that's really difficult. And, you know, I'm very ecumenical, and I believe in interfaith dialogue, and I see a ton of good around us. But I just don't know if this is one thing that we can back away from or that I want to soften quite as much as you're doing right now. Okay.

[A]

Yeah. And I don't know if I'm softening it. I'm just trying to understand what did these words and phrases mean in Joseph Smith's day and what might that have originally meant? And I think what you're saying is a good thing. You're saying, over time, we see that leaders in the church have come to interpret this a certain way, and I think that's important to the conversation as well. Yeah, but.

[B]

But let me. Let me add a couple wrinkles into the conversation too. I don't think the church teaches that we're. We have the monopoly on truth, that we're the we all. We're the only church that possesses truth. For instance, Paul taught, God hath made of one blood all nations of the earth. They should seek the Lord, if happily they feel after him, and find him, though he be not far from every one of us. That's Acts 17, 26, 27, which seems to indicate Paul is saying, hey, everybody on earth, wherever they are, can truth and seek after him. A statement made by the First Presidency, this was around 1980 or so, when President Kimball was the leader of the church, actually noted that God has provided inspiration, revelation and truth to other people. The statement reads in part, the great religious leaders of the world, such as Muhammad, Confucius and the Reformers, as well as philosophers including Socrates, Plato and others, received a portion of God's light. Moral truths were given to them by God to enlighten whole nations and to bring to a higher level of understanding to individuals. And so there's truth to be found all over the world and in almost every philosophy that's out there. I think the church acts as a custodian of truth.

[A]

Hold on, hold on, hold on. Okay, I gotta. I gotta push back on that just for a second. What does that mean? That the church is a custodian of truth, like other places clearly have truth. As you just read, like God inspired Muhammad, other world religion leaders and gave them truth. I think that statement says he gave them moral truths. Right? That would elevate the people of their day. So I'm just curious what you mean by we are the custodians of truth.

[B]

When I say that the church acts as custodian of truths. Like Elder Christofferson gave a talk in General Conference a few years ago called why the Church? Where he goes through and basically says, you know, why do we have a church? Why. Why don't we just, you know, tell everybody to be spiritual but not religious? You know, why do we have structure? He teaches this. He says, with the keys of the kingdom, the Lord's servants can identify both truth and falsehood and once again authoritatively state, thus saith the Lord. Regrettably, some resent the church because they want to define their own truth. But in reality, it is a surpassing blessing to receive a knowledge of things as they truly are and as they were, and as they are to come. Insofar as the Lord wills to reveal, the church safeguards and publishes God's revelations. The canon of Scripture So when I say the church is the custodian of truth, we mean the canon of scripture, that we protect it, we try to maintain it in its purity.

[A]

So you think that's what Jesus is saying in verse 30?

[B]

I think so, yeah. The church acts as that custodian, and in that sense, it's the only true and living because we can receive further revelations that add to the canon of scripture.

[A]

Scripture.

[B]

So he's establishing, I think here, this idea of open canon. And that's traditionally how leaders of the church have interpreted this passage.

[A]

Yeah. So I like what you're saying in terms of this, that this passage is definitely not saying that we have a monopoly on truth, Right?

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

It's not saying we have a monopoly on how to live happy, peaceful lives. It's not saying we have a monopoly on good people. Even true scripture. We don't have a monopoly on true scripture. There's other people who believe the Bible. There's other people who believe the Book of Mormon. There's other people who believe several parts of our Doctrine and Covenants and Pearl, Great price, and all of that is good. And we're not saying we have a monopoly on that. If I can restate your point is that we have the keys of the kingdom. We have those who are authorized by God to canonize Scripture.

[B]

We don't want to take that idea so far that we say there aren't good people in other churches or there isn't truth in other religions or philosophies. We just believe that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints plays a special role and helps people with powers that other churches don't possess.

[A]

I really like what you're saying, Casey. And one of those statements of our church leaders that I think says it really clean and clear and crisp in terms of, like, I think what we mean when. When we say this today. This is from President Henry B. Eyring, and he said it like this. This is the true church, the only true church, because in it are the keys of the priesthood. Only in this church has the Lord lodged the power to seal on earth and to seal in heaven, as he did in the time of the Apostle Peter. Those keys were restored to Joseph Smith, who then was authorized to confer them upon the members of the quorum of the 12. I like that interpretation a lot because this avoids all the controversies about is there truth in other churches? Of course there is. Are there good people in other churches? Of course there is. But is there. Is there anything unique in what we have to offer the world? And the answer is. There actually is. Yeah. The keys of the priesthood and the sealing power is actually pretty darn unique to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. This is something that we have to offer. We're going to do the ordinances. We're the stewards over the ordinances that we're going to do for the living. And if we can't get to you while you're alive, alive, we're going to come for you when you're dead. That's why we build temples to exercise these keys to bless all mankind, to invite them in. And so it's an interesting, like, what can seem kind of exclusive right to say the only true and living church sounds really exclusive, but it seems to be the way that we're interpreting it now is that we have been given a very unique stewardship over the ordinances, these keys of the sealing power in order to bless all mankind and invite everybody in. It kind of reminds me of the Abrahamic covenant that God chose one family, Abraham's family, to bless all the nations of the earth and invite them into that family. And this kind of feels like that's kind of what's happening here. Right. It's not exclusivism. It's a vehicle to bless all mankind.

[B]

Yeah. And it's open to membership to anybody that chooses to enter into those covenants, basically. So I guess the way of looking at it is rather than saying that we're exalted above everybody else, it's that we've been given a huge responsibility.

[A]

So I don't know if we solved verse 30, but I think what you've done a good job at is showing us how this verse has been interpreted over a long time by church leaders.

[B]

I think this is a thread we're going to follow through the entire Doctrine and Covenants is what is the church and who is authorized and what special and unique about the Church. Okay, next controversy. Verses 37 and 38, which read, Search these commandments for they are true and faithful, and the prophecies and promises which are in them shall all be fulfilled. What I, the Lord have spoken, I have spoken, and I excuse not myself. And though the heavens and the earth pass away, my word shall not pass away, but shall all be fulfilled, whether by my own voice or by the voice of my servants. It is the same. Same. So, Scott, what's controversial about that?

[A]

So there's a term that the pros use for when a verse is interpreted to mean something that its context doesn't support. That term is proof Texting and proof texting is not a good thing. So responsible interpretation of a text generally requires you to take into account the context of the verse. And when you don't account for the context, you're much more likely to misinterpret the meaning of a text. And so that's proof texting. In fact, there's a saying, Casey, that we scripture nerds like, that says a text without a context is a pretext for a proof text. It's especially easy to prove text when you really badly want a verse to support a position that you hold, and it's where you basically read it as saying what you want it to say rather than what it originally meant. So we just want to be on guard against that tendency. And verse 38 here in the Doctrine and Covenants is one of the most often in proof text verses in D and C, one maybe in the whole Doctrine and Covenants, I don't know. But we often culturally quote this in the Church to mean something that the context not only doesn't support, but actually contradicts. So there's actually one phrase that we use a lot culturally, whether by my own voice or by the voice of my servants, it is the same, Casey, that sounds like what he's saying is that whether you hear my servant say something or me, it's exactly the same. I've heard it taught like that, that whatever my servants say, it's as if I'm saying it. And that would be an example of proof texting, because that is not the context. Right? You read verse 37, where Jesus actually gives us the immediate context where he's saying, search these commandments, search the revelations of the doctrine and covenants. They are true and faithful, and the prophecies and promises that are in them shall all be fulfilled. Would I, the Lord have spoken, I have spoken, and I excuse not myself. And though the heavens and the earth shall pass away my word, these prophecies in the doctrine and covenants shall all be fulfilled, whether by my own voice, by the voice of my servants, it's the same. So in context, we hear the Lord saying, whether you read these prophecies directly or whether they're declared to you by the voice of one of my weak servants that I've been talking about, about throughout this section, it's the same. They're still going to be fulfilled, right? This is only talking about the prophecies and promises of the doctrine and covenants, nothing more, nothing less. Which is a far cry from the idea that whatever you hear my servant say, it's basically as if I, the Lord am saying it. That can lead to some problems pretty quick.

[B]

I mean, it does place maybe too much pressure on church leaders or, you know, servants. In this section is everybody in the church. And we all know that people from the church say things that are wrong or that are maybe phrased poorly. And so I like this. And if we're going to, you know, contextualize it, maybe let's, let's triangulate it with a couple other verses. For instance, in a later revelation, the Lord says, he that receiveth my servants, receiveth me. I like that a lot better because it's not implying that everything that the Lord's servants say is going to be perfect or exactly what the Savior would say, but that when you choose to accept his servant servants, you're accepting Him. And that could be accepting them and their imperfections and their flaws in their weakness. And that seems to fit better with the spirit of the section where the Lord's saying, I'm going to use weak and simple things to do my work rather than placing so much pressure to say when they talk, it's like I'm talking. He's basically saying, yeah, they're my representatives and they're going to bring my word.

[A]

So there's a kind of a two part move that seems to happen here, right? The phrase servants, my servants tends to be associated only with the prophets and apostles. Whatever my servants say, that means prophets and apostles. But you're right, the context of this whole section is not just about prophets and apostles. Right. Verse four talked about the voice of warning unto all people. By the mouth of my disciples, he said, whom I have chosen in these last days. Verse 6 again talks about my servants. Verse 14. Those who will not hear the voice of the Lord, neither the voice of his servants, neither give heed to the words of the prophets and apostles. He puts the prophets and apostles in and a category alongside servants, but not exclusively. Of course apostles and prophets are his servants, but they're not his only servants. He calls Joseph Smith in verse 17 My servant. And then verse 24 again reiterates that this book of Doctrine and Covenants, these revelations were given unto my servants in their weakness, which by the way, he says I needed to correct sometimes. Verse 25, Sometimes they make errors, sometimes they sin. And I've needed to correct them. You'll find my corrections in the Doctrine and Covenants. Covenants, you'll see me doing that. These are my weak and simple servants through whom I'm working to do this work. And so, man, the context is just totally bears out what you're saying that this is. The servants is much a broader category than the prophets and apostles. And even the prophets and apostles themselves are clumped into this group of weak and simple servants. Like I'm thinking Brigham Young, he once said, can a prophet be mistaken? I'll acknowledge that all the time. He said, I know that many times I've preached wrong. Elder Christofferson said it's not to be thought that every word, word spoken by general authority is doctrine. It's commonly understood in a church that a statement by a single leader sometimes represents his own thoughtful opinion and it's not meant to be binding on members of the church. Even More recently, in 2018, President Oaks said this. He said, it is a great comfort to me to know that I don't have to take the statement or actions of one particular leader as expressive of the doctrine and expectations of the church. We don't believe in the infallibility of our leaders. Elder Ballard's talked about the pressure that sometimes general authorities feel. He says there's this expectation upon general authorities to be experts in everything. He said, that's not true. I'm a general authority, but that doesn't make me an authority in general. Apostles are called to bear witness of Christ and invite everybody to come unto him, not to be experts in all biblical theology and church history and everything. Right. If we could just kind of tone down verse 38 and put it in the context, I think we're going to see this, this a lot more clear and clean and we won't prove textive. The Lord is only talking about the Doctrine and Covenants. He's talking about the revelations and prophecies in them. And he's telling us that whether we hear them by his own voice, by reading it, I assume, or by hearing one of his weak and simple servants declare it to us, it's going to happen. Nothing's going to stop the prophecies of the Doctrine and Covenants from coming to pass. I think that's all he's really saying here.

[B]

And that takes a little bit of the pressure off that sometimes comes from the high expectations we have for our local and our general leaders. They're doing the best that they can.

[A]

If you hear one of those weak servants quote a prophecy from the Doctrine and Covenants, take it to the bank. It's going to happen. The Lord is saying, doesn't matter who you hear this from. These prophecies are coming to pass. That's the point. He's making. And I do want to make it really clear here that what we're not saying about what verse 38 is not saying thing is that you shouldn't listen to prophets and apostles or that prophets and apostles aren't really important. Like verse 14 nails it right. He says, those who will not hear the voice of the Lord, neither the voice of his servants, neither give heed to the words of the prophets and apostles shall be cut off from among the people. It is very important that we listen to the prophets and apostles. It is crucial to what section one is saying. And so all we're saying here is what the prophets and apostles, apostles themselves have told us on multiple occasions. And that is not everything they say should be equated with what Jesus is saying. That's not what verse 38 is saying. But when they speak and invite us to come unto Christ, like Elder Ballard said, when they're in their prophetic role doing what they do to warn and to invite, we better pay heed. So both things are true, right? Both things are true. That verse 38 is not saying what we often say, that it means that everything the apostles say is as if Jesus was speaking. It's not saying that. But on the other hand, section one is saying that we better darn well pay heed to the words of the prophets and apostles if we don't want to be cut off at the day when the Lord comes again. So, yeah, I think just keeping those two truths, intention is important here. All right, on to our final C. Casey the consequences of the Doctrine and Covenants.

[B]

We've talked about how this section is the preface that it's setting the stakes. Just like in any good book, a preface would explain what the book is trying to do, what the stakes are, the problems that the teachings in the book are trying to solve, and the solutions that are offered there. And so this revelation kind of frames the entire work of the Restoration as a time in which Joseph Smith and other weak and simple servants are called by God to prepare the world for the second coming of Christ. They invite all people to come out of Babylon and into the safety of the everlasting covenant. Everybody deserves a chance to choose. So the role of these servants is to present people with the stakes, help them understand, and then let them make a decision. The Lord is saying the Doctrine and Covenants is going to play an important role in helping us make that crucial choice. And so doctrine, covenants, one basically explains the apostasy, why a restoration is necessary. And then here's what the goals are of the restoration. And to be honest with you, it's another one of those remarkable examples of, you know, if you're saying Joseph Smith is making this up as he goes, look at the goals that are set here and were they accomplished. Again, he's a prophet. But the idea that, that the world is going to change and you look at these statements and how they've been fulfilled is pretty remarkable. For instance, the plan to rescue humankind before the last great calamities. The weak things of the world will break down, the mighty and strong ones. When you think about how this prophecy has been fulfilled since it was given in 1831, it's pretty remarkable. The empires that sort of dominated the world for the most part have broken down and collapsed in the centuries since and laid the groundwork for a more equitable form of government around the world. Like we talk about all the bad in the last days, but not all the good. The Lord also says that every person can speak in the name of God the Lord predicting a kind of universal priesthood that will be available to all believers with ordinances extended all, even people that have passed away and people gaining the ability to enter into these covenants. And the stated purpose that he gives here is that faith might increase in the earth which allows people to have greater faith unto life and salvation because they know the true character, attributes and perfections of God. In addition, the Lord talks about re establishing the everlasting covenant, giving the introductory ordinances of the gospel, and then through the more higher ordinances administered in temples. This promise of the restoration is still our major project that we're working on and something that Joseph Smith had mixed success with. I mean, two temples are dedicated during his lifetime. The first temple in Kirtland falls into desecration and ruin. The second temple in Nauvoo is destroyed by an arsonist. But the saints persist. Over the course of decades, they build temples in St. George and Logan and Manti and Salt Lake, and today other temples and places as diverse as Ghana and Taiwan and Ukraine and Brazil and China. And the list could go on and on. With each temple comes the everlasting covenant that makes these blessings more freely available. Some of the weak and simple that the Lord is talking about in this revelation are in the room when the revelation was given. Only a few years after this revelation is given, Joseph Smith meets with the president of the United States. It says, the weak and simple will go before the kings and rulers parley. P. Pratt is going to go to England and he's going to present a letter to Queen Victoria about the restoration of the gospel two centuries later. It's a really common occurrence for the heads of nations, these kings and rulers to meet with the leaders of the Church and for the members of the church to play a big role in the success of their countries. And so if you look at Doctrine and Covenants one as kind of a declaratory statement of mission for the Church, coming up on two centuries after it was given, it's pretty remarkable how it's been fulfilled. The mighty and the strong things of the world, the systems that were oppressing and pushing down the people of the world, world in large measure have been overthrown. Now have we got a ways to go? Yes, absolutely. But when you look at this as a statement of mission, what's been accomplished in the last two centuries is pretty neat to think about.

[A]

So this revelation really frames the Lord's entire latter day work. We've seen some of it fulfilled and yet it seems to span into the future where in previous generations it was Joseph Smith and other weak and simple servants that have been trying to prepare the world for the second coming. And today day, it's our day, Casey. Members of the church get to do this. I think most recently we heard in our last General Conference, President Nelson, I think he did a great job of this saying the second coming is coming and we need to prepare. It's the same message of Doctrine and Covenants one, if you're on the fence, it's time to get off the fence. It's time to start to prepare for the second coming of Jesus. Because if you don't get out of modern Babylon while you can, that thing's going to fall. And only those that are in the safety of the Lord's everlasting covenant are going to be okay. And everyone on earth deserves a chance to choose the Lord. And so the Doctrine and Covenants and the weak servants us, we can now play a role in helping people make that crucial choice by receiving the Lord and coming into his everlasting covenant. And that's the invitation of DNC1. From the beginning and still ongoing, the.

[B]

Hour is growing late. Messages this same.

[A]

Well, awesome. What a Fun run through DNC1.

[B]

And we'll look forward to next week as we continue to walk through the Doctrine and Covenants with you. So thanks for joining us.

[A]

Thank you for joining us on this episode of Church History Matters. Our new episodes drop every Tuesday, so please join us next week as we continue to dig into the context, content, controversies and consequences of the revelations of the Doctrine and Covenants. If you're enjoying or gaining value from Church History Matters, we would love it if you could pay it forward by telling your friends about it or by taking a moment to subscribe, rate, review and comment on the podcast that makes us easier to find. Today's episode was produced by Scott Woodward and edited by Daniel Sorensen with show notes and transcript by Gabe Davis. Church History Matters is a podcast of Scripture Central, a non profit which exists to help build enduring faith in Jesus Christ by making Latter Day Saints Scripture and church history accessible, comprehensible and defensible to people everywhere. For more resources to enhance your Gospel study, go to scripturecentral.org where everything is available for free because because of the generous donations of people like you. Let me say that again, all of our content is free because people like you donate to make it possible. So if you're in a position where you're both willing and able to make a one time or ongoing donation, be assured that your contribution will help us here at Scripture Central to produce and disseminate more quality content to combat false and faith eroding material out there in the digital marketplace of ideas. While Casey and I try try very hard to be historically and doctrinally accurate in what we say on this podcast, please remember that all views expressed in this and every episode are our views alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of Scripture Central or the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Thank you so much for being a part of this with us.