D&C 37-40: Come Follow me with Sam
Welcome! This is an exciting week because the tone of D&C seems to change starting with section 38. H&S consider Section 38 the beginning of the second period of these revelations, starting in 1831. this period ends with Section 72, just before some of the very well known sections are written.
Section 37
Skipping comments on this one. If you have a good note for any of the 4 verses that comprise this section, let me know in the comments :)
Section 38
A glorious introduction
The first 5 verses are fast and furious, a little too fast for me to completely unravel. What I find most important about these verses is their reflection on the nature. Sometimes All the time, it feels impossible to comprehend the nature of God, and these can give us glimpses of glimpses of glimpses into God's being. Here's some fast fire.
Vs 1-God is the great Alpha and Omega, who sees all eternity with hosts of angels before Him.
Vs 2-He says things 'all things are present before mine eyes'. Rampant speculation, I believe time works very differently for God. He isn't just in a different time - Time works differently for Him than we know today, even with all the advances of the theory of relativity.
Vs 3-We can get caught up in the symbolism here as well. Generally we picture God seeing everything with His eyes. While I'm sure He can do that if he wishes, I assume this vs refers more to an experiential sensing, and using eyes as a symbol to help us understand that He is aware of all things.
In the egyptian rites, the wdjat eye symbolizes many things. Two wdjat eyes can represent ultimate perfection and wholeness. In the Sumerian tradition, the greatest god has eyes all around his head. He is aware of all things.
In vs 3 he says "I am the same which spake, and the world was made". There is a lot of symbolism of words, breath, and creation. In Latin, and other ancient languages, words and breath are much more related. The Egyptians were obsessed with the idea of breathing as the Gods. In fact, they have an entire temple text called the book of breathings which was included among the Egyptian papyri of Abraham. They believed that to breathe as the gods was to have no difference between reality as they spoke it and reality as it manifested. Just this last week, The Chosen released season two episode one on this topic; it certainly speaks highly of this topic that John, of all the ways he could begin to communicate to the early christians the nature of Christ, he chose 'In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
Vs 4 - vs 4 probably has the most implications of all of these. Perhaps the simplest map through this vs is to say that God has the power of salvation, He has already granted a temporal salvation to Enoch's Zion, and by His atonement, He has laid the way for the latter-day saints to attain the same salvation.
V2 5,6 - 5 and 6 are the contrast to 4. I found the 'chains of darkness' language the most interesting. wickedness in eastern traditions is described more as 'ignorance' than 'malice'. Here darkness can mean many things including sin, evil, wickedness, or ignorance, but the greatest thing that stands out is the shrouding, hiding nature of darkness. Chains of darkness can be worse than chains of iron or steel.
The Kingdom of God is all around you and more of the mysteries.
In the Gospel of Thomas, Jesus said, “The Kingdom of the Father is spread out upon the earth, and men do not see it.” The Essene meditations also ponder God unnoticed around you: Think on the streams that are born in the desert after a sudden storm, and the roaring sound of the waters as they rush past. Truly, this is the voice of God, if you did but know it.
In vs 7, God says in revelation that "I am in your midst and ye cannot see me. The revelation then goes back to this imagery we see before - that God has the power to prevail, and He fills the work with that power. That the powers of darkness are all around, and there are enemies about and corrupted flesh and silence to rain. He says that eternity is pained and that the angels are waiting to reap down.
These are reminders that we live in a fallen world and have a work to do, and a short time to do it, and eternity will thank us for it. We can also hearken back to Moroni's promise in ether that, as the brother of Jared did, we can rend the veil in our hearts, that we might see the finger of the Lord among us.
The enemy is combined
One of Satan's greatest lies is that he doesn't exist. As Nephi said,
22 And behold, others he aflattereth away, and telleth them there is no bhell; and he saith unto them: I am no devil, for there is none—and thus he whispereth in their ears, until he grasps them with his awful cchains, from whence there is no deliverance.
In D&C 27 the church is warned of enemies. In this section, vs 12, 13,14, and 28-31 God warns that the enemy is combined and that we do not know the forces that are turned against us.
I don't mean to point this out that we go seeking out enemies. In a sense, no one is our enemy, only the powers of darkness.
12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.
Yet for all this, we don't know the hearts of men in our own land. So in times of great confusion, with danger and lies everywhere, separated from God by the veil in our hearts, and with enemies in secret chambers that seek our lives, what are we to do? The Section is filled with ways to respond. Here were my impressions
1. Seek the kingdom of God with all your hearts
2. stand in holy places
3. If you are prepared, you shall not fear (but that raises the question, who is really prepared?)
4. treasure wisdom. Seek the truth by the spirit, and when evil comes it will manifest itself plainly.
5. esteem every brother and every sister as ones self.
6. seek to rend the veil in your hearts through the gospel of Jesus Christ
And I would add that if you see evil around you it is your duty to humbly, but firmly, resist it by the power of the atonement, and by word and deed of your lives. Save yourselves. Be ye clean that bear the vessels of the Lord.
There is some really cool stuff in Sections 39 and 40, but I am out of time again this week. Please comment below your thoughts!
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