READ D&C 38:32 and D&C 42:2-3
Why
is God giving the Saints His Law?
Because they asked for it, that
they might be endowed with power from heaven.
Power from heaven is given to men
through association with angels and Gods (the “Powers of Heaven”) through the
veil (see D&C 121:36, 41-46).
An endowment is a gift which
provides a permanent source of income or “blessing”.
An “endowment from on high” can
refer to a permanent association with heaven (via adoption into the family of
God or membership in the Church of the Firstborn), or to a blessing of light,
glory, intelligence, spirit, etc. which will last beyond this life but is
contingent upon adherence to eternal law to obtain and retain it (see D&C
130:18-21).
The Lord’s First Commandment:
Missionary Work to the Lamanites
READ D&C 42:4-9
Why
is the Lord’s first commandment that the Saints go spread the gospel?
God’s work and glory is our
immortality and eternal life and man cannot be saved without knowledge, so the
duty of those who have been warned to is go warn others.
To prepare a Zion people to build
the New Jerusalem to welcome (also to survive…) the Second Coming of the Lord –
i.e. “fruit” from the labors of the Lord and His servants.
Those
preaching the gospel are commanded to lift up their voices “as with the sound
of a trump;” what is the trumpet a symbol of in scripture?
A warning that a curse is coming
to mankind (see Revelation 9:1-15).
A call to gathering, like of
Israel or the elect (see Matthew 24:31).
A signal of the beginning or
ending of an epoch, like the resurrection of the dead (see 1 Corinthians 15:
51-53; 1 Thessalonians 4: 16).
READ D&C 28:8-9, D&C
45:64-71 and Ether 13:6-12
Who
is to build the New Jerusalem in America?
The “remnant of the seed of
Joseph” or the Lamanites.
Where
is the New Jerusalem to be built?
“Among” the Lamanites; where
today’s D&C 28:9 says “on the borders by the Lamanites” the Joseph Smith
Papers shows that the original revelation from Joseph Smith said “among the
Lamanites” but Sydney Rigdon had crossed that out and written “on the borders
by” instead because the early missionaries were turned back from going among
the Lamanites by the US Federal agents and had to settle in Missouri instead.
The missionaries were going to the
Lamanite country, in the far West, to find the Remnant and assist them in
building the New Jerusalem.
Incidentally,
the location has Zion has never been moved and it will be built where it was
always prophesied that it would be established: “in the tops of the mountains”
(see 1 Nephi 13:37; Isaiah 52:7; Psalms 133:3; 3 Nephi 20:40; D&C 101:17;
D&C 97:19) – there are no mountains in Independence, Missouri.
READ D&C 42:11-17
Why
is authority to teach so important?
The Church is administered by the
common consent of all members.
So, the membership is collectively
responsible for the teaching they receive and for the leadership of those they
have sustained to teach or lead them.
If they are not teaching the
Doctrine of Christ and the Fullness of the Gospel but are adding to or taking
away from what has been commanded by Christ to teach, the whole church will be
under condemnation (see D&C 84: 49-58; D&C 93:24-25).
This is why we must choose our
teachers and leaders carefully.
True “authority to teach” is
really only determined by the authenticity or truth of the message – if it is
God’s word from His own mouth, the “authority” is inherent and a vote is
unnecessary, except to possibly damn a people who refuse to accept an authentic
message from God as true.
What
is the alternative if a teacher or leader has not received the Spirit?
They should completely refrain
from teaching.
So that they avoid teaching with
their learning, and denying the Holy Ghost, which giveth utterance; denying the
power of God in the process (see 2 Nephi 28: 4).
The office or calling someone
holds never entitles them to power or influence, only the Spirit with which
they teach has power.
Why
were the missionaries unsuccessful in converting or even finding the Remnant?
They did not have the Spirit so
they could not teach with power.
They took lightly the covenants in
the Book of Mormon, including the Doctrine of Christ and the Fullness of the
Gospel, so they did not know and had not experienced the fullness themselves
(so how could they teach it).
They were arrogant and prideful
about what they had (“we are called!”) and what they thought their role should
be in leading the Church and building the New Jerusalem.
They were not one with each other
– there were jarrings and contentions as to who was the greatest.
They were not one with God – none
of them had entered His presence in mortality.
So, they gave up and settled for
Jackson County, Missouri, which was as close to the Lamanites (although perhaps
not the correct remnant) as the US Government Indian Agents allowed them to get
and they lacked the faith and diligence to get past them and into the Indian
Territory and to continue their journey west.
The Law of Consecration
READ D&C 42:29-34, 38-39,
53-55
What
does consecrate mean?
Set something apart from the
“profane” (the common or everyday use).
To dedicate something to the
service of the Lord or to give something to God; to devote something to a holy
purpose.
To denote or identify something as
sacred.
To make something holy.
To
whom do our resources belong?
To God who created, redeemed and
maintains them from moment to moment.
The Lord owns everything but your
will; that includes your physical body and the air you breathe – it is all on
loan to us to see how we will use it; we are God’s agent or steward to use His
resources according to our judgement, but always for His purposes and always
with the anticipation of accounting to Him for what we have done with it (see
Luke 19:12-27),
What
does the Lord ask us to consecrate?
It is to explicitly commit to use
all of one’s time, talents, resources and energy for God’s purposes – at all
times and in all places,
It is to offer oneself up as a
holy thing or “temple” (see 1 Corinthians 3:16-17; 1 Corinthians 6:19-20),
It is the pinnacle covenant we can
make (see LoF 6:2-7) and leads to the most glorious discoveries and eternal
certainty (see LoF 2:55-56),
Your will is the only thing you
have to consecrate that is really yours to give.
What
is the purpose of consecration?
Care for the poor and needy (see
D&C 42:30).
Help the Saints overcome pride and
idleness (see D&C 42:40, 42).
To enable the Saints to be equal
in earthly things (see D&C 78:5-6) - equal claims on the properties to meet
their needs (see D&C 82:17).
So that all might improve on their
talents for the good of the whole Church (see D&C 82:18-19).
Enable the Saints to be one (see
D&C 51:9).
To learn how to sacrifice all
worldly things (see D&C 78:7).
To qualify themselves for the
blessings that one receives when they are living the law of consecration:
establishing and living in Zion.
How
was the Law of Consecration instituted in the 1830s?
Member participants voluntarily
consecrated their possessions to the Church by legal deed (see D&C 42:30).
The Bishop granted the member a
stewardship back - depending on their needs (see D&C 42:32; 51:3).
This stewardship came with a deed
of ownership (see D&C 51:4; D&C 72:3-4; D&C 104:11-13) and was
treated as private property, despite the fact that all property ultimately
belongs to God.
Surplus was given to the Bishop
(see D&C 42:33; 51:13) and used to care for the poor and other purposes
(see D&C 42:34-35).
Tithing
took the place of the law of consecration; when do you think the Church will
reinstitute consecration in our day?
It was never repealed! It is still in effect as it cannot be broken
(see D&C 42:30).
If we have been commanded to build
Zion, we have been commanded to live this law (see Moses 7:18).
There are temple covenant
implications to this law today.
So,
how should we live the law of consecration today?
Realize that everything we have
belongs to the Lord already (see D&C 104:13-14).
Succor those in need of your
succor and not turn the beggar out to perish (see Mosiah 4:16-19).
Tithing and fast offering; serve
willingly in the church; missionary service and teaching others – this is the
“explicit” 10% offering.
Offer our whole souls as an
offering (see Omni 1:26) and follow His Spirit in all things, including any
additional offerings and service to whomever He directs (see 2 Nephi 32:6) –
this is the “implicit” 90% offering.
What
is the relationship between the Law of Consecration, the “Golden Rule” (see
Matthew 7:12) and the “Second Great Commandment” (see Mark 12:29-31)?
Golden Rule = Do unto others as
you would have them do unto you.
Second Great Commandment = Love
your neighbor as yourself.
These are the principles of love
and equity that underlie the Law of Consecration when it is lived effectively.
We love all those around us
EXACTLY as we love ourselves and we provide for them and treat them as we do
ourselves; i.e. we feed ourselves when we are hungry, we decide what to do with
the resources that are ours, we protect ourselves physically and emotionally,
etc.
Who
is our “neighbor”; who should we be consecrating our substance and time to
help?
Not just our family, extended
family, friends, fellow-church members but also to the homeless, the poor and
destitute in front of us and all around the world, as technology has made it
much easier to impact everyone.
In other words, there is really no
excuse to have a surplus.
To
whom do we make such consecrations, as the Church will not currently use them
in the way laid out in these scriptures?
We consecrate them to God not to
the Church. The Church cannot save you and dedicating your life to it is a form
of idolatry – it has always been to God that we must consecrate all things.
We understand our role is that of
a steward for God’s resources – He has given them to us only for the reason
that He intended that we must give them to others who could not obtain them
otherwise, but God intends to bless. We
must use our agency to be tools in God’s hand in the way that an organization
(whether it be a Church or a political party) can’t because it is too
bureaucratic, by nature.
Why
is it important that what we give for the support of the poor be consecrated?
Because if it remains ours, the
temptation to control how another may use “our” resources (even after we have
given them away) is just too strong.
We cannot constrain others to do
what we want (“for their own good”) in exchange for life-sustaining or quality
of life improving resources – those gifts must be given freely with no strings
attached (i.e. “you’ve got to go to church or change or behavior or I won’t
give this to you”); they must have the ability to use their agency with regards
to what has been given them, as we would want for ourselves.
Because if we don’t consecrate it
to God, the resource might still “own us”.
What
is a surplus; how much of your resources should you righteously use for
yourself/family and how much should you dedicate to helping others?
10% of your income is not your
surplus – a tithe is a broad, generalized proxy for a surplus – it is a flat
tax, a carnal commandment or preparatory law.
Doing (only) what is asked of you
by Church authorities is not your surplus (see D&C 58:27).
Earnings minus expenditures (which
make one comfortable) is not your surplus.
We are not to run faster than we
have strength (see D&C 10:4) but that does not mean that anything that
causes discomfort or inconvenience is off the table.
Surplus is everything in excess of
the Lord’s explicit expectations (i.e. necessities of life, parental/familial
responsibilities, resources needed to fulfill one’s errand from the Lord,
regenerative or health promoting activities).
Surplus is everything you can give
and nothing you can’t; the Lord will reveal to you what is “surplus” if you go
to Him in mighty prayer with the expectation of laying everything on His altar.
How
do we consecrate our surplus to support others?
First, we must love them (see
Matthew 5:40-42).
Second, we must cease to be owned
by our resources or time.
Third, we must seek the Lord’s
counsel regarding who and how to serve, balancing the command to not let the
beggar put up his cup in vain (see Mosiah 4:16; James 2:14-18) with the need to
structure one’s assistance such that it does not create dependence but actually
helps the one in need by providing opportunities for advancement but does so
without compelling the individual to do something against their will, even if
it be for their “own good” (see John 6:26-27; D&C 59:20-21; D&C 78:3-8). This MUST be done through revelation from God
– our “wisdom” is not nearly enough to be able to navigate this path on our
own.
Fourth, we must minister with the
Word, in addition to giving money, resources and time, such that we teach the
poor how to be rich (see D&C 6:6-7; 2 Nephi 9:50-51); the Lord came and
offered His atoning sacrifice so that we could all learn through our experience
how to work out our own salvation and become gods ourselves through obedience
to the principles established for that purpose – of which sacrifice for others
out of our love for them is preeminent. “Let
us here observe, that a religion that does not require the sacrifice of all
things never has power sufficient to produce the faith necessary unto life and
salvation.” (Lectures on Faith 6).
Why
does the Lord want us to sacrifice all things?
Sacrifice is not intended to teach
you to sacrifice – instead, it asks you the question “what do you treasure?”
It is an opportunity to prove to
yourself and to God that you treasure Him above all the things of this world.
It is a tool given to us to enable
us to lose our lives (give our lives - possessions, time, talents) to God - to
lose our self-will and pride - to “sacrifice” ourselves on His altar in a very
real way.
To test (and grow in) our faith – to
stop trusting in the arm of the flesh and trust in God - again, in a very real
way.
It is an opportunity to take
spiritual things into the realm of the physical, temporal or mortal, to prove
to Him that we are willing to follow Him in all hazards.
Why
would we want to consecrate all things?
Because we love God with our whole
souls (see Matthew 22:37-39).
And if we love Him, we will keep
His commandments (see John 14:15).
If we love Him, we will sacrifice
all things for Him.
If we love Him, we will become one
with Him because His purposes (and His mind, the Holy Spirit) will become our
own.
If we love Him, we will
(literally) feed His sheep (see John 21:16; Matthew 25:31-40).
If we love Him, we will do
everything we can to help everyone else come unto Him and be saved (see Moses
1:39; 2 Nephi 26:24).
READ D&C 4:2-7
What
is the “work” to which we are called?
The work is not “missionary work”
but the “service of God”.
What
do these verses describe?
What we must do and what we must
seek to be if we are to consecrate ourselves to the service of God.
READ D&C 42:42
What
does this verse imply about those who receive support?
They should contribute whatever
they can to a) their own support or livelihood, and/or b) the Zion community in
which they live.
Before
the twentieth century, there was no such thing as the “idle poor” because they
would not have been able to survive without some kind of labor (i.e. begging
would count as labor in this instance), so what did “idle” refer to when this
revelation was given in the 1830’s?
Capitalism – those who own land,
capital and other resources that “laborers” use to produce goods that they (the
“owners”) are able to create a profit off the backs of those who work for them
without working themselves.
Thievery – those who engage in
criminal behavior as a substitute for work (while resorting to criminal
behavior to augment work is still a sin, D&C 56:17 seems to condemn the
occupational thief much more).
Wastefulness – those who have
enough and to spare so they waste what could be given to others in need or used
by others to produce for themselves.
Selfishness – those who work to
provide for themselves only but do not work for the welfare of Zion or their
fellows; our abilities can be the difference between life and death for others
– we should do all we can to accumulate talents, wisdom, resources, knowledge
and be prepared to distribute them to those who lack what we have gained –
these things are a sacred trust fund for others’ use.
The Laws of God
READ D&C 42:18-26
These
verses mention three sins: lying, lust, and adultery; what is the relationship
between these three sins?
There is a natural progression
across these sins.
Adultery begins with lying – to
oneself, to the Lord and to one’s spouse – that what they are thinking about is
not really bad or is otherwise rationalized.
Lust is what they are thinking
about; it is selfish in nature; one lies to oneself, one’s spouse and even the
new partner when one is lusting after them.
Adultery is the culmination of
lustful thoughts and lies told to enable and hide the sin.
READ D&C 42:43-52
Does
the Lord wish that everyone had the faith to be healed?
Yes. He says here “all the rest of what I have to
say is for those who lack the faith to be healed; if you have the faith and
this is not your appointed time to die, you will be healed, end of story!”
The faith to be healed is an
indication of a person’s overall faith in Christ as being healed requires the
individual to believe that Christ can, very literally, intervene in the lives
of people in general and them specifically, in a very temporal way; and if He
can heal sicknesses, He can intervene and bless in a great many other ways; this
is the kind of person the Lord can reveal Himself to and redeem (see Ether
3:13).
What
promises does the believing person who lacks faith (in this case, to be
healed), but receives a blessing from the elders, have from the Lord?
That if they die, they die “unto
the Lord”.
And if they live, they live “unto
the Lord”.
The Lord has a hand in their
living or dying because of the blessing that was given and will do according to
His will, which they should take some comfort in.
However, this promise is not as
strong as the one given to those who have faith to be healed – to them He says,
“unless it is your time to die, you will live” while to the believers that lack
faith He does not make it that emphatic – implied is that they could die
prematurely.
They can still become His Sons or
they have the “power” to become His Sons, but this will require that they
obtain the faith they are now lacking, which they will gain through obedience
to eternal law (v52).
What
does it mean to die “in me” and is that different than dying “unto me”?
“Unto” implies movement that still
needs to happen while “in” implies that the destination has already been
accomplished.
Dying “in Christ” means dying
after one has truly taken on Christ’s name, through covenant, and have become
His Sons and Daughters – they are “in” His family because they are “in” the
covenant.
Dying “unto Christ” means that
they lack the faith to have become His family but that they are still blessed,
to some degree, in their death.
What
does it mean that those who die “in Christ” shall not “taste of death, for it
shall be sweet unto them”?
The bitterness of death is
swallowed up in the joy of Christ (see Acts 7:54-60).
This is what Joseph meant by
having an “anchor to the soul” through the hope of a glorious resurrection in
Christ.
This is the result of having made
your calling and election sure.
Implied is that if you have not
made your calling and election sure, death introduces some bitter doubts
regarding your current and future standing before God and all that entails.
READ D&C 42:61
What
is the relationship between revelation and eternal law?
We receive eternal law through
revelation from heaven.
Mankind cannot figure out eternal
law on their own as they lack the light to comprehend it or its implications –
so we understand eternal law through revelation as well.
Why
must we ask to receive these things?
When we receive revelations about
His law and commandments, we are bound to obey (and thus qualify for the
associated blessing), but if we don’t obey, we will be cursed because we now
know what is expected of us.
The Lord will not violate our
agency, so as not to damn us prematurely but give us every opportunity to
repent and receive the mighty change of heart.
READ D&C 42:59-60, 65-66
What
is the relationship between obedience to eternal law and salvation?
Obedience to eternal law or
aligning ones’ behavior with God’s behavior is the way that light,
intelligence, glory, spirit and truth are gained (see D&C 130:19-21; Alma
13:3-5).
Any light gained in mortality will
stay with that individual into eternity (see D&C 130:18).
Each kingdom has a law given to
it, which must be abided by in order to gain the glory which would allow a
person to reside there (see D&C 88:34,36,38).
Salvation consists in being
precisely like God and Christ are and nothing else (see LoF 7:9, 15-16); those
who cannot abide by the laws They live, cannot abide the glory that emanates
from Them, because that glory comes as a result of Their obedience to those
eternal laws (see D&C 88:21-29, 35).
READ D&C 42:78-93
What
is the punishment for those who break the commandments?
To the extent it is appropriate,
they are to be dealt with via the laws of the land. Implied is that God’s commandments are
mirrored in government’s laws (i.e. murder, robbery, etc).
But, in addition, for “any manner
of iniquity”, the individual is to be “delivered up” unto the Law of God; sometimes
this means Church discipline (see v81-83) but it always it means losing light
and intelligence (see D&C 93:39; Alma 12:10-11) – this is the natural
consequence of sin.
What
is the relationship between the Law of Consecration and the other Laws of God
laid out here?
Obedience to the other laws
enables you to gain enough light and knowledge that you will desire to receive
and be capable of living the Law of Consecration.
Consecration ultimately requires
the sacrifice of all things – it is the pinnacle of the Law of the Lord for us
in this life as it most closely emulates His own behavior.
