Doctrine and Covenants 52-57

Imagine you have the responsibility to call Full Time Missionaries to serve...

How do you think you would decide who should be called to a particular position?

How should members be called? (remember Articles of Faith 1:5).

How is that better than having them choose the callings they want?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gbwwNTnqLFM

Doctrine and Covenants 52

Doctrine and Covenants 52:37 - who did the Lord call to replace Heman Basset as a missionary?

Simonds Ryder had been a preacher in the Campbellite religion. He was converted to Mormonism after hearing a Mormon girl predict an earthquake in China and reading of its fulfillment six weeks later. Soon after his baptism he was ordained an elder and called on a mission. When he received his call and found that the Prophet spelled his last name "Rider" instead of "Ryder," he began to doubt its inspiration and failed to serve the mission. Simonds Ryder later left the Church and opposed it publicly.


1830 census Hiram, Portage, OH: Simonds Rider1840 census Hiram, Portage, OH: Symonds Rider1850 census Hiram, Portage, OH: Simonds Rider, wife Mahitabel1860 census Hiram, Portage, OH: Symonds Rider, wife Mehitable1870 census Hiram, Portage, OH: Symands Rider, wife Mahitable


Principles of Building Zion


Principle #1 of Building Zion


Read the section heading for Doctrine and Covenants 53

· What part did Joseph Smith play in Brother Gilbert's calling?

· What part did the Lord play in this process?

· How is this pattern like the pattern followed in the Church today?

What principle of Zion can we learn from verses 6-7?

In April 1831, Newel Knight led a group of Saints from Colesville, New York, to join the Saints in Ohio. In May, the Prophet Joseph Smith instructed Bishop Edward Partridge to have those Saints settle on land that Leman Copley had previously promised to give for that purpose.

The newly arriving Saints planted crops and started making other improvements on the property. Leman Copley returned from his mission and began doubting his faith. He ordered the Saints to leave the land. He also charged them 60 dollars.

Because Leman had broken his covenant, these Saints now had nowhere to live.

Newel Knight and others asked the Prophet what they should do and D&C 54 was the answer. (See Documents, Volume 1: June 1828–June 1831, vol. 1 of the Documents series of The Joseph Smith Papers [2013], 334–335.)


Read Doctrine and Covenants 54:4–5 Consequences

Read Doctrine and Covenants 54: 6, 10 Blessings

• In your experience, what are some blessings we receive when we are “patient in tribulation”?

• What do you think it means to seek the Lord early (vs 10)?

• How would seeking the Lord early, before a time of tribulation, help create Zion in a person’s life?


Doctrine and Covenants 54 Elder F. Burton Howard: "After sundown, with two hours of travel still to go, we decided to play a game. The purpose of the game was to try to get an exhausted youngster to sleep. We said to the small boy in back, 'Let's play hide‑and‑seek.' He enthusiastically agreed. We said, 'Close your eyes and don't open them until we call you. We need time to hide.'

"The game started. A front‑seat passenger would crouch down in the seat and 10 or 15 seconds later would call, 'OK.' Our son would bound over the seat and say, 'Aha, I found you!' We would say, 'Next time we will hide better. Close your eyes again.' A minute or more would go by. Then we would call, and again he would energetically climb over the seat to find us. Finally we said, 'We have a really good place to hide this time. It will take longer. Close your eyes and we will call you.'

"A minute, two minutes, five minutes went by. We drove along in silence. The tranquility was marvelous. We must have traveled 15 miles before we began to whisper quiet congratulations to ourselves on the success of our devious game. Then, from out of the backseat, came the sobbing voice of a heartbroken little boy. 'You didn't call me, and you said you would.'

"'You didn't do what you agreed to do.' What a terrible accusation. It was a defining moment in our lives. We knew that we could never play that game again" (in Conference Report, Apr. 1996, 36; or Ensign, May 1996, 27).

IS YOUR TESTIMONY STRONG ENOUGH SO THAT YOU CAN STAND ON YOUR OWN?Seek the Lord

Early…

What small and simple commandments have you kept since you were young that would be more difficult to begin living today?

“Give me a young man who has kept himself morally clean and has faithfully attended his Church meetings. Give me a young man who has magnified his priesthood and has earned the Duty to God Award and is an Eagle Scout. Give me a young man who is a seminary graduate and has a burning testimony of the Book of Mormon. Give me such a young man and I will give you a young man who can perform miracles for the Lord in the mission field and throughout his life” (President Benson, C.R., Apr. 1986, 59).

“I have little or no fear for the boy or the girl, the young man or the young woman, who honestly and conscientiously supplicate God twice a day for the guidance of His Spirit. I am sure that when temptation comes they will have the strength to overcome it by the inspiration that shall be given them. Supplicating the Lord for the guidance of His Spirit places around us a safeguard, and if we… honestly seek the guidance of the Spirit of the Lord, I can assure you that we will receive it” (Heber J. Grant, Gospel Standards, 26).

William W. Phelps:

Set up the first printing press for the Church

Published the first Church newspaper

Helped publish the Book of Commandments

Published the 1835 edition of the Doctrine and Covenants

He helped prepare the first Church hymnbook

Wrote the words to a number of hymns, including “The Spirit of God”.

He gave 500 dollars to help complete the Kirtland temple.


Read Doctrine and Covenants 55:4 to see how the Lord wanted to use WW Phelp’s talent.

How have you seen God use people’s talents and abilities to bless His children and establish Zion?


In June 1831, the Lord called Ezra Thayre to serve a mission in Missouri with Thomas B. Marsh. Brother Thayre’s concerns over property and money caused him to be unprepared to leave when Brother Marsh was ready, so Brother Marsh went to Joseph Smith to ask what to do. When the Prophet inquired of the Lord, the Lord answered him with the revelation recorded in Doctrine and Covenants 56.

According to D&C 56:1-2, what sin did Ezra commit?


Read Doctrine and Covenants 56:1-4, 14–15 and identify phrases that describe rebellion.

Examples of rebellion in people your age? What do you think it means to

“take up your cross”? What did Ezra Thayre lose

because he was not ready to ‘take up his cross’?

According to vs 16-17, what commandment are we to follow to establish Zion?


Doctrine and Covenants 56:4Think of examples from the scriptures or Church history of the Lord giving and then revoking a command.

1. After the Lord offered a higher law to Moses and his people, the children of Israel rebelled and began worshiping a golden calf. The Lord then gave them a lesser law.

2. During the Savior’s mortal ministry, He sent the Apostles only to members of the house of Israel (see Matthew 10:5). Shortly after the Savior’s Resurrection, He told the Apostles to preach the gospel to people of all nations (see Matthew 28:19).

3. In this dispensation the Lord commanded some of the early Saints to practice plural marriage. Later, after receiving revelation, President Wilford Woodruff issued the Manifesto, which led to the end of the practice of plural marriage in the Church (see Official Declaration 1).

“Changes in organization or procedures are a testimony that revelation is ongoing. While doctrines remain fixed, the methods or procedures do not. …

“The gospel plan was revealed line upon line, precept upon precept, here a little, and there a little. There will be changes made in the future as in the past. Whether the Brethren make changes or resist them depends entirely upon the instructions they receive through the channels of revelation which were established in the beginning.

“The doctrines will remain fixed, eternal; the organization, programs, and procedures will be altered as directed by Him whose church this is. …

“We know His voice when He speaks” (Elder Packer, “Revelation in a Changing World,” Ensign, Nov. 1989, 15, 16).

Doctrine and Covenants 56:4

Read the Section Heading for D&C 57.

In Doctrine and Covenants 57:8, 11, 13–15, circle the names or offices of four individuals the Lord wanted "planted" in Zion.

What Principle of Zion is the Lord teaching by ‘planting’ successful people around the area?


Only…“5 Loaves and 2 Fishes”

“This church does not necessarily attract great people but more often makes ordinary people great. A major reason this church has grown from its humble beginnings to its current strength is the faithfulness and devotion of millions of humble and devoted [members] who have only five loaves and two small fishes to offer in the service of the Master” (President James E. Faust).

STORIES of “PLANTED” PEOPLE….

What principle of Zion is expressed by the Lord “planting” talented people around the area?


Doctrine and Covenants 52-57

Documents

Transcript of Doctrine and Covenants 52-57