Come Follow Me D&C with Sam: D&C 1, Heralds of a New Dispensation
Welcome to the first blog post for 2021 Come Follow Me!!!!!!!!!!!!
2021 is the Doctrine and Covenants. I'm going to take some time below to introduce the Doctrine and Covenants and then we will break down D&C 1. I am reading through the D&C with commentary by Hyrum M. Smith (Not to be confused with Hyrum Smith, Joseph Smith's brother) and Janne Sjodahl (heretoafter refered to HnJ), so you will see me referencing their commentary. They originally compiled the notes in 1913-1916 but the copy I have is a revised edition that was printed later.
Introduction to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latterday Saints
Many of my readers are already members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latterday Saints. Many are Converts or not members yet with varying knowledge. I recently came across a world religions book that I thought did a fair job until I got to the section on 'Mormonism'. I couldn't believe what he was saying! I'm not going to go through that here, but wow, I really hope what he wrote is not the impression most people get.
While you can always go to the Church Website to learn more, I'd like to share a few important points of how I understand the church. I will do my best to be comprehensive but brief. The events we are about to explore are so separated from our normal day to day existence that it is hard to understand how these things could be true, but they really happened. There really is a God, a literal Heavenly Father, who begot our spirits and knows us! Its so crazy, but remember, while our own experience is what we've been given to understand the world, there are many things beyond what our experience is today. It is up to us to reach for those things beyond our current experience to understand the greater things. This is life and growth.
God has always watched over us on earth. He gave his only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, to perform the atonement and make a path back to Him. When in various circumstances, we are put in a place where we desire to learn more about Him, He will send true messengers; angels, prophets, and the Holy Spirit to teach us a better way and a higher calling than what we have now. While it is difficult to understand these greater things, they are the most wonderful, purposeful things we could have on earth. They challenge everything we think we know and the history of mankind has been a struggle to reach beyond mere bitter existence to God in any way they find. In many ways the history of religion is the chronicles of man's relative success and failure to reaching this goal.
There is a way and an order to reach back to God. All the holy prophets who spoke the words of Christ, and all the holy apostles, established this way and order exactly as God commanded it. Genesis is a history of the prophets establishing His holy order in antediluvian times down to the children of Israel during Moses' time. The old testament follows the prophets from Moses until the 400 year dearth who established this order in ancient times. The New Testament is the witness of the fulfillment of all the words of the old Testament prophets concerning the coming of the God they worshipped, Jesus Christ Himself, to earth to fulfill in turn the promises and covenants God made to help us become like Him. It is the story of His twelve apostles and the fledgling church who established the order and way under Jesus Christ himself. The Book of Mormon is a history of a break-off branch of the tribes of Israel and their prophets establishing this same order and way. There are doubtless many other records that are either hidden from knowledge today, or perhaps destroyed, that show how other civilizations followed this same pattern. Reading these different accounts, you will find differences on how this same order and way was carried out, but you will also find the continuation of core principles across cultures where these prophets, whatever their time and background, would live by every word spoken by God through the Holy Spirit, and by so doing could worship is truth and in faith in every time and place.
Well, just as in all of these times past, God has moved the hearts of men and given them the power and authority to establish that order today. By studying Church and other historical documents, you will find that in the early nineteenth century, a young boy named Joseph Smith really wanted to know what church to join. He speaks in his record (one of which we will read next week) of faith, repentance, and seeking knowledge. He was born into a religious society and a religious awakening and a place where people believed you should be free to speak, to believe, and to gather together in unity. Over a period of several decades and countless miraculous events, God inspired this boy, and later man, to once again establish His holy order according to the ancient way. These works continue today in continuation under apostles and prophets who can trace their authority back to those early days of restoration and back to Jesus Christ himself.
Periods of Church History
In my first post to Come Follow Me for the Book of Mormon, I laid out a conceptual framework for breaking down cultural and spiritual phases of the book of mormon. HnJ divides the early history into 7 sections but I couldn't find their explanation for the divisions. While there are infinite ways to divide the church's history, I think the following will be a helpful model for both cultural and spiritual purposes.
Phase 1: Pre church. ~1820-1830 The opening of the heavens in 1820 with the first vision marked the beginning of nascent re-establishment and dispensation of the organized gospel of Jesus Christ on the earth. Joseph Smith, like a child, was to slowly learn about how God worked. The people 'converted' (not actually baptized yet into the formal church) were people who were to directly play apart in the unfolding events of the church. Persecution began almost immediately with the commensurate light. The major work was translating and publishing the Book of Mormon to the world and establishing the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day saints again on the earth.
Phase 2: The early growth, Ohio/Missouri period~1830-1840. The Church, barely established, grew at a fantastic rate with people with backgrounds from different countries, ethnicities, cultures and religious ideas. It was up to Joseph Smith to organize them in a way resembling the blueprint God had given them, teaching the gospel to everyone as though they were a convert (because they were!), laying down the basics of church organization and guiding them through the impossible muddle of false doctrine and sectarian notions and teaching them a new way of being. This included Joseph learning, as God taught him and through experience, the same lessons as the people he led. The worst persecution of the church also happened here, including extermination orders, murder, torture, rape, and the church being driven completely from the state of Missouri. Oliver cowdery said 'those were the days never to be forgot!...' in Phase 1. He left the church (although he never denied the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon) in Phase 2. The sacrifice and faith of people wholly new to the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Phase 3: The consolidation, Illinois period ~1840-1844. After Missouri, almost anything would look like a respite, even a swamp, and that was what Nauvoo was before early members of the Church of Jesus Christ drained it, and built upon it a beautiful place, worthy of its title. The church was able to gather and grow here for a brief season. The first temple we would recognize as a common modern temple was built here, and the richness of the doctrine was taught. Unfortunately, the lawlessness in Hancock County (the muncipality containing Nauvoo) began to verge on civil war. Joseph Smith was killed in cold blood at this time, and the hopes of the lawless were that the work would end with that. Spoiler alert, it didn't.
Phase 4: the migration, Utah, ~1844-1869. With the prophet dead, I think it became how apparent the Church of Jesus Christ was justifiably leaning on him. Brigham Young, it seems, felt wholly inadequate most of the time of the charge he had been given, but he also seemed inexhorably compelled by the responsibility that he felt to God to fulfill his calling on earth to the best of his ability, and I may add, the enormous blessing of millions of millions of past and present members of the church. This was the Leadership taking upon them the burden of, leadership, of the great migration to the Mexican/Utah Territory and the establishing of organizational tools that would help the church grow where ever a stake could be planted in the world. Just as the mobs had sobered the saints before, crossing the plains by horse and cart would sober them again, changing the dynamic of their testimony and of their meetings. I chose the date 1869 to coincide with the building of the railroad, ending the pioneer migration.
Phase 5: ~1869-1920 Finally far enough from crippling persecution, and in spite of rumors, errors, and bias (and even a 'utah war') the church grew in the Utah area and around the world. Missionary work has always been the work of the church and has accompanied every part. Some of the common patterns and traditions were set during this time.
Phase 6: ~1920 - 1970 The beginnings of the Church playing on the world stage, as it went through the great depression and accompanying welfare relief efforts, World War II, and the subsequent welfare and reconstruction of the church around the world. David O. McKay is possibly the most striking figure of this phase.
Phase 7: ~1970-2008 The church grew at this time to become what the rest of the world would consider a major world religion. There was an interesting excitement of scholarship at around this time, of which, Hugh Nibley is probably the most celebrated. The church looked to embrace new technologies, to spread past the iron curtain, to renew their commitment to welfare during the great recession, and their commitment to temples. This was also the time period that contained major social issues such as the Blacks receiving the priesthood and the proclamation to the world of the sanctity of the family.
Phase 8: ~2008-??? The story of phase 8 hasn't yet been fully written. It is the time that we are now living in! We have had a member of the church become the nominee for President of the United States which is very exciting and heralds increased integration into the mainstream of society, with the accompanying rewards and perils. We also have the extreme challenges to work through of gender issues, of the continuing sanctity of the family, and of a world that is more separated from the presence of God, yet trying to get closer to his presence than ever before. While the church has never been stronger, it is also dealing now with the age of the internet and cheap-to-acquire information. Much of the research of the 1970's has been slow to keep up with the accusations against the church on the public platform, and I believe this is the time when we can more fully invest ourselves to make that research more public, and also reach back through our complacency to understand the long history of faithful children of God in their choice to follow Him fully by making all covenants in His church in the the dispensation of the fullness of times.
You can use these phases as a simple tool to understand what is happening and what forces are at play. The Doctrine and Covenants was written primarily during the first 3 phases, so that will be the subject of this Come Follow Me blog, but I invite you to understand our rich legacy including both our successes and our mistakes through all phases.
Introduction to the Doctrine and Covenants
You can read a Doctrine and Covenants overview from the church here. I see two principles and one historical point that made the Doctrine and Covenants the sacred book of scripture that it is today.
The first principle is that when God speaks and tells us to write those words, they are sacred. They are holy. They need to be studied and cherished lest we make light of our connection to God (plenty of that in D&C 84, and coming up sooner as well in one of these early sections). So the fact that these revelations came from God qualify them as holy scripture.
The second principle is that God guides the church, and the church leaders who are inspired will guide their stewardships. This qualifies this scripture as cannon to be distributed.
The Historical point is that these revelations came at the beginning of the church, at a time when the people were looking for guidance and understanding. Now, I obviously didn't create D&C, but that is what I think triangulated these sections to become part of the Doctrine and Covenants. There are many other revelations but they were missing this tripartite, or disqualified for a lesser reason.
The Doctrine and Covenants is unique in several ways. It is the only book of scripture that is not ancient. It is very frank. It has no historical accounts (every other book has at least a little, even the Pearl of Great Price) although every revelation accounts for a small slice of church history.
The Doctrine and Covenants is like the New testament in the frankness that God speaks to Joseph. It is like Christ or God the Father was right there speaking to him, not casually, but not as if they are strangers.
The Doctrine and Covenants is like the Old testament in its (arguably) stronger call to repentance, and its strict admonitions.
I have noticed a different feel when I read each book of scripture. Each book has their mission that they fulfill. As you read the Doctrine and Covenants, I hope you can feel how close heaven is if we can only understand a few things. While the teachings, are invaluable, perhaps the greatest value of the Doctrine and Covenants is its evidence that God speaks to man today as he did in other ages of the world.
Introduction to Doctrine and Covenants Section 1
Whew! Finally made it to the beginning of the Doctrine and Covenants :D. The first section of D&C (Doctrine and Covenants) was not the first to be written. It is actually an inspired revelation as an introduction to the work. then called the book of commandments.
Side note, notice how similar it is that Nephi sees commandments as a living command from God, whereas I was raised to think of commandments as the 10 commandments, or rules to live by. The Doctrine and Covenants is closer to the 'living commandment' thought, and the fact that it was previously called the Book of Commandments reflects that. God gave a revelation, there was a commandment in there, the people did it (or in some cases didn't do it :( ).
We can place most of DnC 1 into 3 themes: A warning of coming calamity, a commandment and instruction of the work that God is doing and how to overcome, and a commandment for any reader to take heed and study so that they can navigate the first two themes. We can use these three themes as a metaphor to understand what is happening in the world today. The world is in a most precarious position, coming out of a truly brutal century of the worst wars that have covered the earth in terms of contested territory and lives lost. At the same time, the world is at a place of indescribably beautiful progression from people lifted to starvation to technical achievement to spiritual progress in the dispensation of the fullness of times. You are the third theme here. The call goes to you, literally by God in this revelation and metaphorically by your very nature of existence, to turn from the destruction that could be unleashed and toward making the earth a place ready for the millennium.
A Warning of Calamity.
9 Yea, verily, to seal them up unto the aday when the bwrath of God shall be poured out upon the cwicked without measure
Check out my post on 2 Nephi 15/Isaiah 5 where this phrase 'without measure' pops up. There are a lot of additional elements that Isaiah mentions happens in our day, so take some time over there to understand what Isaiah is trying to say.
The Book of Mormon itself is a massive in-your-face warning of what 'without measure' can mean. The Book was written to warn us to not end up in a massive fratricidal war with no limits to barbarity or suffering.
Unfortunately, there seems to be no limits in our day to this either. I don't care if you believe in this revelation as God's word or not, there is undeniably wrath without measure that has come upon the earth since this prophesy. Read about the Civil and Crimean wars, and, on a global front, try to wrap your mind around the WWI western Front, the WWII Ostfront, the rape of Nanking, and the holocausts in Germany, Ukraine, and China. If Joseph Smith was right about nothing else, he was right about wrath without measure pouring out at a global level on the earth.
God says that this happens because the people 'have strayed from mine ordinances, and have broken mine everlasting covenant'. There is a lot in there but I think what we can certainly say is that the ordinances are not cake decoration, they are as serious as life and death. The everlasting covenant refers to the sealing power, including marriage, and more importantly what it represents, the gospel of Jesus Christ (namely, following Christ through faith, repentance, Baptism with exactness, and reception of the gift of the Holy Ghost), and the Atonement and sacrifice of Jesus Christ to make this possible.
God goes on to say that
- they seek not the Lord to establish his righteousness
- every man walketh his own way,
- they walk after the image of his own God, whos image is in the likeness of the world
- because of this they shall perish in Babylon
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