D&C 18-19 CFM with Sam

 I feel like the Doctrine and Covenants subtly changes and enriches as Joseph and his companions enrich in understanding. D&C 18 is one of those turning points. It is the longest section up to this point and covers a myriad of loosely woven ideas.

Section 18

Quick fire thoughts

Vs 2 'Behold, I have manifested unto you, by Spirit in many instances...wherefore you know that they are true.' We discussed last time that certain of Joseph's companions, even after they fell away from the church, never doubted their testimony of things that happened 'because the evidence was overwhelming'. Here is a reminder in  revelation of this to Oliver Cowdery.

Vs. 5 'If you build up my church... the gates of hell shall not prevail against you'. What does it mean by 'the gates of hell'? This is reflective of Nephi's sentiment in 2 Nephi 4:32. In the Egyptian endowment, the gates to heaven and the gates of Hell were the same gates, but they led to different places depending on the candidate. In similar manner both in the Egyptian tradition, and I believe, apocryphal texts, The gates of the Garden of Eden were guarded by cherubim, not just to keep Adam and Eve out, but to guard the way against all evil until Adam and Eve could triumphantly return  through them.

Vs 6 'Behold, the world is ripening in iniquity; and it must needs be that the children of men are stirred up into repentance.' If only Joseph Smith knew what was coming. Karl Marx was alive at the time and in 17 years would publish the manifesto embodying a philosophy directly responsible for hundreds of millions of deaths in the 20th century. The 1920 compromise had already been set in place, but in 2 years, South Carolina would almost spark a war that did eventually happen, according to the revelation Joseph Smith received at that time, 3 decades later in the civil war, which was the opening salvo of the most terrible, bloody wars the world has ever known. The seeds of Modernism were just sprouting in a direct assault against the 'God of miracles' that Moroni and Mormon had exactly warned about in the volume Joseph Smith was about to publish. If only Joseph Smith knew what was coming.

Vs 19 'And if you have not faith, hope, and charity, you can do nothing.' Interesting revelation on the importance of these three virtues

Vs 20 'Contend against no church, save it be the church of the devil.' I like to think of the meaning of 'contend' in this case mean 'harmonize'. We should harmonize with all truth everywhere, except that which is evil. We definitely don't want to sing to that tune.

Vs 21 'Take upon you the name of Christ and speak the truth with Soberness.' Lots to think about here. It is precarious to have a message of such effulgent glory that it surpasses our natural worthiness to transmit. This is one reason why it is so important to humbly, consistently assert what light we have been given, acknowledging all our faults and nevertheless pressing forward with the message.

The worth of souls is great in the sight of God.

Section 18 is home to a very famous verse 'the worth of souls is great in the sight of god'. If you wonder how this works, check the verse right after. 

11 For, behold, the Lord your ^aRedeemer suffered ^bdeath in the flesh; wherefore he ^csuffered the ^dpain of all men, that all men might repent and ^ecome unto him.

If you want to know why that matters, read the verse after that. If you want to know what God feels about the whole situation, read the verse after that. And if you want to know what it means to you, read the verse after that.

14 Wherefore, you are called to ^acry repentance unto this people. 

What I really want to show from all of this is how sacred missionary work is to God. He suffered for all of the sins of those you talk to, and He suffered for yours as well. and so when you join the work, you join a very sacred experience.

The worth of souls is great in the sight of God. Great enough for God, as we learn in Section 19, 'the greatest of all, to tremble because of pain, and to bleed at every pore. The worth of souls is great in the sight of God.

Section 19

Deep doctrine on damnation

Section 19 is unique in that some deep doctrine about damnation comes forth. It isn't the first time that deep doctrine has been taught (frankly just about all of Josephs first experiences would be deep doctrine to him, and in many ways, to us.) but I've always wondered why God revealed this at that moment, and if we will ever hear more on the subject of Hell.

In vs 10, God says he is endless. In the French Louis Segonde, the main title used to reference deity is not 'The Lord' as it is in the King James and most other English versions, but instead l'Eternal, the Eternal. Endless is His name, and literally one of his titles used here on Earth.

In Section 29:29, it says that never at any time has God declared that the damned should return, so I will be careful speculating here, but one significant point we can see from these scriptures is that We think of eternal punishment as a mode of time, but God sees it as a mode of being. We know that the wicked will suffer during the thousand year millennium. This must be the 'eternal punishment' but still only for the thousand year time period. 

I think that while there is still much that is not and cannot be revealed on this subject, one of the main things we can understand from these verses is that the punishment is not like something that comes outward and goes in, like whipping, flogging, or beating; it is something inside of you that radiates out. Perhaps the knowledge that you as a God-in-embryo inflicted such terrible things upon fellow men, and that when Christ suffered all these things for you and for them, you held onto your burden, is what inflicts upon yourself this eternal punishment.

on that happy note...

A tender moment between God and Martin.

The ending of Section 19 is as unique as the beginning

39 Behold, canst thou read this without ^arejoicing and lifting up thy heart for ^bgladness?40 Or canst thou run about longer as a ^ablind guide?41 Or canst thou be ^ahumble and meek, and conduct thyself wisely before me? Yea, ^bcome unto me thy Savior. Amen.

This section was a little bit of a rough go for Martin. First he gets to learn about eternal punishment (not pleasant for sure), then he gets a reminder that his heart needs to get off of his things and back into the right place. This ending hits a very tender spot for me. I feel like Jesus really is talking to Martin, and saying 'this is going to be a fantastic journey with you, I can't wait for what comes next. I know you have some challenges but don't worry, I suffered for all of that, so we can do this. I've known you since before I had you in the prints in My hands, all you need to do is come unto Me.'