The Lord authored Section 1 in November, 1831 to be the Preface to the Doctrine and Covenants. While it is not the first revelation chronologically, the Lord intended it to be the revelation that gives context to the others, which is why it was made the first revelation in the book (originally following the seven lectures on faith in the D&C until 1921).
READ D&C 1:1-2
The
Church was barely eighteen months old at the point this revelation was
received, so why was this revelation addressed to the world and not the just to
the Saints?
The Lord’s work is global – to
bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of everyone (see Moses 1:39).
He beckons all to come unto Him
and be saved – House of Israel, Gentiles, and Heathens. The scriptures are
written to all who will “come and see” – all are invited, because at the last
day, every knee will bow and tongue confess that Jesus is the Christ (see
Philippians 2:10-11) but it is better to have sought Him out and accepted Him in
mortality than to wait until that last great day.
Why
does the Lord use the metaphor of “escaping” His eye?
People think that because they
can’t see Christ looking at them, that He isn’t.
People think they can get out of
Christ’s sight; that He’ll “never know” – this comes from unbelief or a belief
that there really is no God in Heaven.
What
do you make of the fact that no one can escape being seen and that no one can
avoid seeing?
We will have to admit, at the last
day, that Christ knows all our works and that we also know of our righteousness
and wickedness.
No one will be able to say, “I
didn’t know that was wrong”; this is because everyone is given the Light of
Christ or Holy Spirit with which to judge (see Moroni 7:16-18).
READ D&C 1:3
Why
does the Lord say “rebellious” here instead of “wicked”?
While “wicked” implies evil or not
being aligned with the Lord, “rebellious” implies knowing that you are not
aligned with the Lord and choosing to behave wickedly anyway.
If we all have the light of Christ
and know good from evil, we are all rebellious (to one degree or another) if we
do not choose good.
How
will the voice of the Lord pierce the rebellious with much sorrow?
There will be sorrow from being publicly
humiliated.
But there will also be sorrow from
knowing what one could have had if one had not rebelled.
When
does hearing the voice of the Lord reveal our secret acts?
We hear the voice of the Lord as
we contemplate an action, sometimes in the very moment.
We hear the voice of the Lord in quiet
moments of reflection.
The humility required of
confession, coming as a result of repentance and forsaking sin, may make us
feel that the whole world knows what we’ve done.
Hearing His voice in our heads and
hearts confirms to us that we are not alone and that God knows; and if He
knows, everyone else could know and eventually will.
READ D&C 1:4-5
Which
disciples has Christ chosen in these last days?
Many are called but few are chosen
(see D&C 121:34); this implies that the Lord continues to reach out to many
more people than we may realize (see 3 Nephi 10:4-7).
Those that are chosen have
self-selected because they are the only ones willing to listen to the Lord’s
call and repent and live the “principles of righteousness” required to be
chosen (see D&C 121:36, 41-42).
READ D&C 1:6-10
What
does the word “this” refer to in the phrase “this is my authority”?
“This” refers to His right to see
and hear all things and penetrate all hearts with the truth.
“This” refers to His right to warn
and to carry out the warning – that He is coming back to the earth as the Lion
clothed in glory to wrap things up.
He has the authority to penetrate
all hearts with the truth, to allow the truth (which is His glory, intelligence
or light) to shine forth in the darkness and destroy those who cannot abide it,
and to give us all adequate warning that this will take place.
His “authority” is not an
arbitrary right to rule like an earthly king who was either born into the role
or won it through violence and coercion; God merely “is” and we either can
abide His glory or we cannot – that is the “authority” He is referring to.
The authority of His servants and
the revelations only extends to the point that they are representing Him in
enabling His work and glory and are true messengers – i.e. they either do what
He would do or say what He would say - were He there in person.
What
is this sealing power that the Lord has given His disciples (remember this is
1831 and a decade before sealing power was offered to the Saints in Nauvoo)?
It is the sealing up of the
unbelieving and rebellious to their fate.
It is an Aaronic “cursing”; the
Aaronic priesthood has the authority to seal people up to their own destruction.
Just as the righteous have their
calling and election made sure by the power of the Melchizedek Priesthood, the
wicked can also be sealed up to their damnation (as the seal applies to both
earth and heaven).
Mankind does not have the power to
seal each other up to eternal life, only God can do that.
READ D&C 1:10-14
What
is the “voice of warning” that all chosen disciples are supposed to raise, and
is the purpose of this book of scripture?
Christ is coming in glory and
mankind will be judged or measured and recompensed for our work (i.e. the Law
of Restoration).
And warn them regarding what will happen to them if they will not
hear the voice of the Lord - they will be cut off; “cut off” doesn’t necessarily mean killed, it means cut off from the
presence of the Lord.
What
is the Lord admonishing us to do to prepare for that which is to come?
Repent of our unbelief and
rebelliousness and come unto Him now (as the Lamb).
Because it will be too late to
prepare when He comes to us in glory as the Lion.
It is another take on the parable
of the ten virgins; collect your “oil” now or come unto Christ when He invites
you to come unto Him, as a hen gathers her chickens; because if you wait until
that opportunity is over and the “bridegroom comes” and you are not ready (you
don’t have oil – you do not know Him, you do not have His Spirit with/in you –
you have not been quickened), you will not be permitted to remain with Him…you
will be utterly wasted by His glory as a natural consequence of who you have
chosen to be vis-à-vis who He truly is.
What
does it mean that the Lord is “nigh”?
Nigh = near, not distant or
remote; easy to be obtained; closely allied by blood; ready to support or
forgive; intimate in relation (1828 Webster’s Dictionary).
He is much nearer to us than we
think.
He supports our lives from moment
to moment, holding this creation together.
His Spirit is within and through
all things, including us.
His presence is close by; whether
we can see Him or not, His ministry is to us today.
His Second Coming or coming in
glory is near.
What is the
standard the Lord will use to judge us?
It is the standard that we individually choose to measure others
against; this is due to His merits and mercy.
Otherwise it would be the
standard of Eternal Law – either we are precisely like He is and nothing else
or we cannot be saved (see Lectures on Faith 7:9).
READ D&C 1:15-16
What have the
people done or not done to warrant being cut off?
Strayed from mine ordinances.
Broken the everlasting covenant.
Sought not the Lord to establish His righteousness but everyone
walks in their own way – worshipping their own God, who does not exist.
Who
is “they” that will be cut off?
Those who will not hear the voice
of the Lord.
Those who were given the true
ordinances and covenants but strayed from them and broke them
In the latter days, this refers to
us, the “Gentile Church” or LDS; in the ancient days, it would refer to the
“Historic Christian Church” and all who came after it (Catholics, Protestants,
etc.).
How
does one “stray” from an ordinance?
Stray = to wander from a path or
safe enclosure or proper limits; to deviate or go out of the way; to rove at
large; to become lost.
To make small changes at first;
then, when the power is gone (which it will if one strays even a little from an
ordinance given by God), and the ordinance has already been changed anyway,
there is more temptation to accommodate the desires of the people (to make the
Church more popular or relevant) or the leaders (to gain more or better
control) by making additional changes.
What
does it mean to “seek the Lord”?
Seeking the Lord means trying to
find Him.
It means seeking to enter into His
presence in mortality so that you might know Him and He might cleanse you and
the Father might seal you up to eternal life (see D&C 132:21-25; D&C
88:75; 3 Nephi 11:14-15).
Why
would Church members and leaders “seek not the Lord”?
They prefer to walk in their own
way.
They would rather control their
own lives than submit to the will of the Lord.
They don’t believe they need to
actually know the Lord personally in this life but that God will save them
regardless because of their dead ordinances – not realizing that the ordinances
are invitations to experience a real thing; ultimately to pierce the veil and
be ushered back into God’s presence.
Who
are they seeking if it is not the Lord?
They have become their own gods by
creating gods of their own design, which are after the image or likeness of the
world or worldly success.
They cannot even comprehend
heaven, so of course their invented god cannot look like He who reigns in the
heavens.
Instead, their gods have the
substance of an idol or a man-made thing that will become corrupted and fall
apart in time; this applies to mankind’s concepts of God as much as a golden
idol or magnificent church building.
READ D&C 1:17-18
So, knowing these
calamities are about to come upon us, the Lord calls Joseph Smith and others to
do what?
Proclaim God’s commandments (“how to be” i.e. “be ye therefore
perfect, even as I am”), directly from heaven (quotes not summaries), so that
we might be safe in the chaos of the destruction that is coming.
To call us to repentance.
To give us knowledge regarding how we must be (i.e. we must have
aligned our behavior with God’s commandments) to be able to survive His coming
in glory.
READ D&C 1:19-23
Why are we not to
counsel our fellows and how can Joseph Smith (and others) speak in the name of
the Lord without it being counseling?
Counseling others means that one individual is inserting
themselves between the other person and God
Counseling others means telling them what you think they should
do; even if it is based on scripture, it is your interpretation unless it is
direct revelation (and why would God reveal something to you that He cannot
reveal directly to them?)
If that counsel is accepted or invited, it means that the arm of
the flesh is being relied on instead of God, with idolatry soon to follow
Joseph Smith was not counseling others with his own wisdom as much
as he was sharing direct revelations from God to them/us; which is what is
meant by “speaking in the name of the Lord”
What are these
commandments intended to do?
So that if we follow them, each of us might “speak in the name of
the Lord” – in other words, each of us might have a direct connection with God
ourselves and know Him personally because we are like Him (aligned with His
commandments and share His mind via His Holy Spirit) so that we aren’t reliant
on each other to know God – we have no need to be.
That faith in Christ might increase.
That the everlasting covenant might be established.
That the fullness of the gospel might be proclaimed.
That there might be a (Zion) people prepared to abide His presence
when He comes in glory.
What is implied
by the fact that it is the weak and simple who proclaim the Fullness of the
Gospel to the world?
The Fullness of the Gospel stretches from faith, repentance and
baptism by water and fire to enduring to the End, who is Christ, or being
sealed up to eternal life in the flesh by the Second Comforter.
It is with great irony that only the weak and simple or “weak
things of the world” will develop the strength and gain the knowledge to be
able to navigate this journey and actually come unto Christ!
Only those who have experienced the Fullness of the Gospel will be
able to proclaim it with power; for all others it is speculative.
READ D&C 1:25-28
Why were the
commandments contained in the Doctrine and Covenants given?
That we might know when we have erred.
That we might receive wisdom, if we seek for it.
That we might be chastened and repent when we have sinned.
That we might receive knowledge from on high, from time to time,
as we humbly read the book and use it as a “Urim and Thummim”; God uses the
scriptures to reveal truth to us, and laboring over them leads to receiving
revelation on the topics at hand or anything else the Lord would have us know,
once He has our attention and our minds are connected to His Holy Spirit.
READ D&C 1:30
How do the
commandments contained in the Doctrine and Covenants give power to lay the
foundation for the true and living Church?
Obedience to God’s commandments fills one with light and truth as
one is aligning their will, mindset and behavior with eternal law (see D&C
93:23-28; Alma 12:9-11; D&C 88:20-22, 36-39; D&C 132:21-25)
Christ’s true and living Church is built upon His gospel and the
commandments He has given – whosoever repents and comes unto Christ by
following His doctrine is His Church (see 3 Nephi 27:10, 19-21; D&C
10:67-69; D&C 11:16; 2 Nephi 31; D&C 43:2, 8-9)
By connecting people with the Powers of Heaven including the Lord
Himself, such that what they do on earth is sealed or continues into heaven and
the eternities; this is what makes a church (of people) true and living – and
the Powers of Heaven cannot be handled except through the Principles of
Righteousness found in the commandments (see D&C 121:36, 41-46; 3 Nephi
12-14; D&C 132:7; D&C 88:75).
What does it mean
to say that a Church is “true”?
The doctrines, principles, commandments and covenants that it
teaches will actually connect you to heaven (i.e. the Powers of Heaven,
including the Lord Himself) in this life.
Church members have received an authorized invitation to come unto
Christ through true or accurate ordinances (which point the way to receiving
the real thing).
And have been given the requisite knowledge to be able to fulfill
the terms of those ordinances, including enough faith in Christ through a
correct knowledge of His existence and attributes, to lay hold on the promises
extended to you in the ordinances (see LoF 3:2-5) and receive an actual
knowledge that the course of life you are pursuing is according to His will.
In other words, the ordinances and teachings of the Church are
true, and if followed will save you (see LoF 2:56).
What does it mean
to say that the Church is “living”?
To be “living” is to be connected to the “living vine” or Christ;
it is to be “alive in Christ” (see John 15:1-6; 1 Corinthians 15:22; 2 Nephi
25:25-26; D&C 88:3-5).
To be “living” is to be spiritually reborn or redeemed or brought
back into God’s presence in the flesh, otherwise you are “spiritually dead” or
separated from God (see John 3:3-7; Ether 3:13; Mosiah 27:25-26; Moses 6:55,
59; D&C 29:39-41; D&C 67:12; 2 Nephi 9:39; Alma 42:9; Helaman 14:16-17).
To say that a church is “living” is to say that it consists of an
association of people, on both sides of the veil, who are spiritually alive
because they are connected to Christ (see D&C 107:19).
How do these
writings bring the Church out of darkness and obscurity?
Knowledge saves a person; we can only be saved as quickly as we
gain knowledge of what is true (things as they really were, are and will be),
because otherwise we will be deceived in the darkness because we will not know who
can save us and what to do to be saved (see 1 Nephi 8:4-12; D&C 84:53-58;
TPJS 246:1).
The knowledge that is most important to gain is the knowledge of
Christ – to know Him is eternal life (see 3 Nephi 11:14-15; John 17:3).
Why does the Lord
add “speaking unto the Church collectively and not individually”?
At this point in history (1831), the members of the church
(collectively) still possessed the “oracles” or revelations of God and access
to the high priesthood needed to help anyone to attain to the same knowledge
and standing before God that Joseph Smith had attained;
But these had been lost by 1841 and were never recovered, as is
evidenced by the cursing the Church received after failing to build the Nauvoo
Temple in time, and the death of Joseph and Hyrum Smith (see D&C 124:28,
31-34, 40-50) which meant the loss of the “living oracles” or continuing
revelations because no one else were receiving any from God.
Note: in the History of the Church,
Joseph Smith called out the experience in June of 1831 at Isaac Morley’s farm where
the highest of the three degrees of priesthood (regardless of what you chose to
call it – some say it is called Patriarchal and others Melchizedek) was first
restored to the earth (see DHC 1:175-177).
The good news is that even if the Church collectively is not “true
and living”, individuals can still receive the knowledge of Christ sufficient
to be sealed up to eternal life and given sealing power, as Hyrum did in 1841
(see D&C 124:91-95; Helaman 10:4-7).
Does the fact
that this verse (as well as from verses 18-30) is written primarily in the
“subjunctive mood” (as indicated by the words “might”, “may”, “inasmuch”,
“should”, and “that”) change the meaning?
Yes, as the subjunctive mood speaks to what “should be” or what is
hoped for, not what “is” (which is what the “indicative mood” speaks to =
statements of fact).
The phrase “the only true and living church” is a delayed
appositive or noun modifier for the word “it,” nine words earlier… the sentence
should be read: “And also those to whom these commandments were given, might
have power…to bring the only true and living church forth out of obscurity and
out of darkness…”.
The Lord’s message is this: the commandments He gave raise hopes
and possibilities; also, He is explaining why He called Joseph Smith and gave
commandments to men – that the rest of us might awake and arise ourselves.
This verse has been uniformly interpreted and used as an
indicative statement of what IS, not a subjunctive statement of what might be.
Part of the reason this verse has been misquoted to mean something
that it does not is that the Lord switches to the indicative mood when He says
“with which I, the Lord, am well pleased”; but a single sentence can
include multiple moods (other moods include the imperative or command mood and
the interrogative or question mood), of which D&C 7:4 is an example; in
verse 30, the Lord was pleased with the collective body of men and women who
were the church of 1831 – but even then, the Lord has never referred to His
church as we do today (as an organized institution) – His church is ONLY those
individuals who have repented and come unto Him (see D&C 10:67-68).
This understanding of the scripture makes sense because less than
a year later God declared that the whole church (again, the people not an
institution) were under condemnation (see D&C 84:51-54); they had not kept
the commandments which would have enabled them to become a “true and
living” church – they had not been “true” to the commandments and covenants or
laws of the celestial kingdom they were given which would have parted the veil
for them, and as a result they were not connected to the true vine because they
had not come unto Christ and been received by Him, and they did not know Him,
or in other words, they were spiritually “dead” or unredeemed because they had
not entered His presence (see 3 Nephi 11:14-15; D&C 105:4-5; D&C 124;
Ether 3:13); that condemnation was reiterated by President Benson in 1986.
But as long as we confuse an invitation from God to come unto
Christ with an endorsement of our current “true and living church”, we will
remain content with the present state and never do what is required to come
unto Him and establish Zion.
READ D&C 1:31
Is there an
absolute standard that God intends to hold us to?
Yes.
God cannot tolerate sin.
We cannot tolerate God in our sinful state (see Mormon 9:2-5).
What does it mean
that the Lord cannot look upon sin with the least degree of allowance and what
is implied?
He is a just and holy being, a personage of spirit, glory and
power, possessing all perfection and fullness (see LoF 5:2).
The glory He possesses is because He is precisely what He is, and
if He was lacking in one attribute or perfection, He could not enjoy that glory
(see LoF 7:15).
Those who are not precisely like Him cannot be saved because being
saved is to enjoy the same level of glory He enjoys (see LoF 7:16).
If those who are not precisely like Him enter His presence, they
would desire to flee or face being utterly wasted by His glory (see Mormon
9:2-5; Malachi 4:1; JSH 1:37).
It means that in our sinful state, we cannot reenter His presence,
as we cannot undo what we have now done (we have all sinned – see Romans 3:23).
It means that we merit outer darkness, as the wages of sin are
death (2 Nephi 9:7-9; Romans 6:23).
Why can’t the
Lord look upon sin with the least degree of allowance?
He must live perfectly aligned with Eternal Law or He would cease
to be God (see Mormon 9:19; Alma 42:13, 22-25).
HE IS (“I am”) a being of light and cannot or will not change from
that state (see Moroni 8:18; D&C 20:17).
READ D&C 1:32-33
How does
forgiveness make our sinful state acceptable to God and enable us to be in His
presence without being perfect like He is?
He is a God of truth and cannot lie; if He declares us clean, we
are clean, as sinful as we have been up to that point.
It is not only forgiveness (justification) but also sanctification
or being made more like Him through accepting the gift of light that He offers
us.
Christ paid the ultimate price for our sins, via His infinite and
eternal sacrifice, such that they were paid for and justice was served for us,
although it was unjust for Him to suffer as He did not merit death and
suffering but merited only life; this gives Him the right to forgive whom He
will forgive, as He has won the victory over sin and death by submitting to it
unjustly.
Christ claims the repentant sinner and covers them in His
perfection, until a time in a far future eternity where they rise up to become precisely
like He is themselves.
How do we repent?
We must confess and forsake our sins (see D&C 58:42-43;
Proverbs 28:13).
There is an attitude that must accompany the action for both
confessing and forsaking – godly sorrow or an awful awareness of one’s
unworthiness and its implications which leads to a complete surrender to God’s
will (confession); and a mighty change of heart and desire to turn from all sin
and only be righteous (forsake).
Our hearts and behaviors must turn from their current direction
(away from God) and turn back to God.
We must keep or perform the commandments; in other words, we must
align ourselves with God’s Eternal Law and become actually like Him.
How does failure
to repent rob us of the light we have?
Repentance is a deep heartfelt realization of sin or incongruence
with Eternal Law, and a forsaking of sin and turning to God to align with His
will and Law (see Alma 36:12-21; Mormon 9:3-5).
Any individual who loves God will seek to please Him by emulating
Him and doing His will (both of which are encapsulated in the phrases “keeping
the commandments” or “aligning themselves with Eternal Law”; see John 14:15; 1
John 5:2-3; Matthew 25:31-40; 1 Thessalonians 4:1-2; John 21:15).
Individuals who do not give heed and diligence to God are showing
Him and themselves that God is far from the thoughts and intents of their
hearts; i.e. they do not really love Him or they love other things more (see
Mosiah 5:13; Alma 12:9; John 14:24).
Those who love other things more than God really love themselves
more than they love God (see Mormon 8:37; Matthew 19:21-30; Matthew 16:25-26).
They prefer to follow their own will and harden their hearts
toward God and His will; they do not trust that God has their best interest at
heart (see Alma 12:10-11; Isaiah 50:10-11).
In His mercy, God gives them less and less of His word; because
they are responsible for what they receive and if they sin against a greater
amount of light, they will receive a greater condemnation (see D&C 82:3).
Meanwhile, Satan takes away light and truth from them when they
follow their own traditions (unbelief or believing things that are wrong) or
are disobedient (fail to align themselves perfectly with Eternal Law) knowingly
(see D&C 93:39).
Instead, he binds them with darkness and lulls them to sleep such
that they do not even realize that they have lost any light at all (see 2 Nephi
28:21-22; Moses 7:26; 2 Nephi 1:23; Isaiah 6:9-10).
If the Lord’s
Spirit won’t always strive with us, what does that imply?
Strive = to make efforts, to endeavor with earnestness, to use
exertions, to labor hard; to contend or contest (1828 Webster’s Dictionary).
He is currently striving with us – that is a message of hope.
It highlights His honoring of our agency – He will not compel us but
will strive or make efforts to persuade (see D&C 121:41-42; Alma 42:27;
Moroni 7:13; Jacob 5:58, 63-66).
We control whether or not the Lord’s Spirit will strive with us by
the degree to which we repent and seek out the Lord (see D&C 88:63; Malachi
3:7); at some point He will cease to strive with us because He is honoring our
agency in rejecting His efforts to persuade us.
When the Lord ceases to strive with us, we are left to ourselves
or cut off from the presence of the Lord to be “driven about as chaff before the
wind” (see Mormon 5:16; Moroni 8:28; Ether 2:15); we will see then how much of
the light we had was a merciful gift.
READ D&C 1:34-36
What does it mean
that the Lord is “no respecter of persons”?
Anyone who complies with the commandments will be saved, forgiven,
and given more light.
The Lord is willing to make these things known unto all; those who
do not comply, regardless of Church calling or other virtues, will lose their
light.
Anyone who lives the Law required of a certain blessing will
receive that blessing (see D&C 130:20-21).
Any knowledge given to one person can be received by another as
soon as they are able to comprehend it – in other words, as soon as they
qualify by doing the same things or becoming filled with the same amount of
light as the one who first received it (see 2 Nephi 26:33; Alma 19:36; TPJS
170:6).
He is saying that ALL can come unto Him in the flesh and be saved;
Church callings are meaningless when it comes to coming unto Christ.
What does the
fact that the Lord is no respecter of persons have to do with the fact that
peace will soon be taken from the earth?
If we choose to harden our hearts, we will lose light, He will
withdraw Himself or His Spirit will cease to strive with us, and we will be
left to ourselves – which will lead to war, famine and disease (see Alma
12:10-11; D&C 121:37-39).
He knows how we will use our agency.
What is the
devil’s dominion and why would he not have power over it (implied is that the
Lord is giving Satan dominion in verse 35)?
We are living in the devil’s temporary dominion, as he likes to
say he is the “god of this world”.
He has constraints to his power that are set which he cannot
cross; so, the only time he is bound or does not have power over “his” dominion
is when our righteousness is such that he can have no power over us (see 1
Nephi 22:26; 2 Nephi 30:18; Alma 48:16-17).
When Christ comes in glory to reign on the earth, Satan will lose
his “dominion”.
READ D&C 1:24, 37-39
What is the Lord
doing here in these verses?
He is bearing testimony of the Doctrine and Covenants
He is owning the revelations as set forth in this first edition as
His words (remember that the Lectures on Faith were included while several
sections, like 132, were not…).
What is the Lord
saying in His testimony?
“Whether you believe it or not, this plan of salvation and
everything that I have caused to be written about this probationary state is
going to happen - so you have a choice: will you believe me and the words I
have given my servants and come unto me in faith or not?”
How
do we go about “searching” the commandments in the D&C?
First, you must prepare yourself
to “see” what is hidden in plain sight by humbling yourself and asking in
mighty prayer for the Spirit to be with you so that you can find the treasure
that the Lord has buried in the pages and comprehend it all by being filled
with more light than you currently have.
You must make time to discover the
commandments by deeply reading the book.
You must ask questions of the book
– what do the words and ideas mean and what else could they mean? How is this doctrine tied to that one and how
does one doctrine enlighten your understanding of the next one, or the last
one? What if my understanding of this is
completely wrong – what paradigms or constraints am I looking at these words
through? How do these words apply to
me? Do they condemn me and if so, what
must I do?
Ask the Lord for your standing
before Him and “what lack I yet?”
You must be prepared to receive
and live whatever the Lord reveals to you, as difficult as that may be to do.
And then you must go forth and
live it – and teach others or testify, as commanded.
How do
commandments contain promises?
Commandments are inherently covenants: if you keep them (the
“law”), you will receive the promised blessing.
The important thing to realize is that these promises are to you
(you are “called” to receive them or He is calling after you, inviting you to
live them), not just to people generally or to specific special “prophets”; if
you will but decide to live them you will gain the promises for yourself
(because you will have “chosen” to rise up and receive them).
Why
will His words not pass away?
As God is eternal and cannot die,
and as the words He speaks are the truth or He would cease to be God, anything
He says will endure forever because all things He says will come to pass or not
“pass away” and their impact will be felt forever.
How
can a word be fulfilled and how can it be fulfilled by a person speaking?
When God speaks, the words He says
are true and will come to pass (see LoF 4:10; 16-17).
God can do all things (see 1 Nephi
7:12).
He waits and watches (in faith)
until the words He says come to fruition (see Abraham 4:14-18; 1 Nephi 17:50).
Who
are His servants who have the power to proclaim words that shall not pass away
in time or eternity?
Only
those who have been sealed up to eternal life as “Sons of God” and given the
sealing power; who are trusted by God to “ask not amiss” (see Helaman 10:4-10;
D&C 77:11; D&C 76:50-70).
If
“abide” means “to live or dwell with”, as well as “to last”, what might the
word abide tell us about our relationship to truth?
God is the truth and He and His
word abides or lasts forever, and to live or dwell with Him is eternal life.
To have that truth within you
(truth = spirit, light, glory, intelligence) or to have God’s Spirit within you
or to be “one” with God, is to be precisely like God and to know God and to be
saved (see LoF 7:9, 15-16).
To last forever we must dwell or
live with He who is the embodiment of truth; and to live with Him we must be
precisely like Him; and to be precisely like Him is to comprehend the truth of
all things.
