Come Follow Me with Sam

 Welcome! D&C 41 is a comparatively MASSIVE trove to go over, and if you are following me regularly, you know that this posting is already a week late :D I'm going to put down some highlights of the sections below. See if you also saw these. Section 41 vs 1 - God delights to bless us! (oh that we could unlock the mysteries of this promise) vs 3 - by the prayer of faith you receive the law (if you receive a law outside of the prayer of faith, consider questioning if you can truly understand or follow it) vs 5 - you can't just say what you believe, you also need to do it or guess what - you aren't actually a disciple Section 42 heading - the prophet specifies this revelation as embracing the law of the church (buckle in ;)) note from H&S - reference to improvement era 11/1933 where Pres. Clark mentioned, in reference to the Word of Wisdom 'it is not for me to attempt to suggest the reasons why the Lord gave this great law...' I think we can always ask question...

 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...

Section 30 Section 30 has so far been the most impactful section for me this year. I have never heard great attention put to it but I find it most apropos for today. Thats it. :D You will need to read the rest yourself and put what you find in the comments. Section 31 In Section 31, my only note was for vs 4. Most of the time the wheat is white already to harvest. Now it is white already to be burned. In the Book of Mormon earlier, there were multiple times where the command was to get out fast, and to labor in diligence until that moment. This passage reminds me of that. H&S make a note that Thomas Marsh was promised that his tongue would be loosed in vs 3. In Clay County, he spoke so impressively as to move General Atchison to tears and to pass a favorable resolution for the saints, which as I understand it, was the creation of a new county for their refuge. Section 32 H&S have some interesting commentary on Parley P. Pratt. Parley P Pratt was a campbellite preacher before co...

Its the end of the world as we know it and the first apocalytic section in Doctrine and Covenants! P.S. I ran out of time.. again, but I'll post this now for your pondering. Hopefully I can add some more this coming Sunday Section 29 A note on dealing with apocalyptic prophecies a key to understanding future prophecy is given in 29:34 - 'Wherefore, verily I say unto you that all things unto me are spiritual, and not at any time have I given unto you a law which was temporal. In the early church there appeared to be a sense of childlike wonder for early saints that a prophet of God lived among them. They were eager, possibly too eager, to tell their friends signs and wonders of what happened. Some of this seems to have been tempered once the Prophet was martyred, although there was continued wonders, such as when Brigham Young burnt a podium with his cane, or when Joseph F Smith received a vision of the afterlife. Towards the last half of the twentieth century, a wave of scholar...

Here we go again. We've got topic of the sacrament, the armor of god, and the role of revelation Section 27 The Sacrament as a preparation of the fulfillment of all things This revelation starts as a simple warning of a temporal danger, but as with many (all?) things, God expands this out to help us catch a glimpse of the bigger picture. How He shows this in vs 5-14, as an emphasis of both the supernal sacredness of the ordinance and the long line of faithful saints who are tied together in this ordinance, and will be in God's second coming. In the Jewish tradition, they look forward to next year in Jerusalem at Passover time. Every Sunday, we can be reminded that one day we will take the sacrament with Him whose blood was shed which we remember. Latter-day Saints, and Christians in general, sometimes struggle with the sacred nature of the sacrament. We try to imbue it with a special meaning that it doesn't need, while completely obviating the sacred meeting it actually has...

 Welcome! The newly budding church was being established with a core group of leaders slowly coming together that would then lead the saints through some extremely difficult trials. They would also preach the gospel throughout the world. These are the revelations from God guiding the stories behind those men and women. Section 23 Section 23 is a compiled revelation to Oliver Cowdery, Hyrum Smith, Samuel H Smith, Joseph Smith Sr., and Joseph Knight Sr. Oliver Cowdery Oliver Cowdery is admonished to beware of pride, but that he is under no condemnation, and that he should let all know that he was to stand with the church forever. H&J mention that at the printing of the Book of Mormon, Joseph Smith said 'Blessed of the Lord is Brother Oliver; nevertheless, there are two evils in him that he must needs forsake'. Oliver Cowdery, from my understanding, was financially crushed by the failure of the Kirtland Bank, and became embittered at his diminishing role in the leadership of t...

Welcome to the sections where the show hits the road and the church is formally established!  Section 20 A brief primer on the history of the name of the church. Because of the added emphasis on the name of the church and some past confusions with many parties, I'd like to explain the history of the name of the church. You can also get it from A Comprehensive history of the Church or this wikipedia article .  In 1830, here in section 20, the Church was called 'The Church of Christ' and that was used up to 1834. Since there was some confusion when referring to just the Church of Christ, some members and non members would refer to it with other names, such as the Mormon Church, the Church of the Latter-day Saints, etc. In 1838 (in Section 115) Joseph received revelation for the name of the church as we have it today, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. In times past, we as members have gotten lax with the name of Christ, and I even struggle with it today. in 2018...

 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 place...