Lesson 10: D&C:26-29 Reading: D&C 26:1-2 Reading Notes: After the organization of the church in April 1830 the first conference of the church was held in Fayette, New York in June. Later that month Joseph and Oliver traveled south to Colesville and preached to people there. Twelve persons, including Emma Smith and Newell Knight, were baptized in the river, amid jeering, rock-throwing crowds. A confirmation meeting was scheduled for that night, but before it could happen Joseph was arrested and taken to the county seat to be tried as a disorderly person. Though Joseph was acquitted, when he was released he went to relative safety in Harmony, Pennsylvania. 1. What comfort could the Colesville saints take from this revelation 1? 2. This section establishes the law of common consent in the church. a) What is the difference between consenting to the choice made by church leaders, and voting in an election? b) How does the practice of common consent allow members to exercise their agency, or right to make and take responsibility for free choices? In other words, how would it be different if we didn t have common consent in the church? Reading: D&C 27:1-7 Notes: In August 1830, Newell Knight and his wife Sally went from their Colesville home to Harmony, Penn. to visit Joseph. Neither Sally nor Emma Smith had been confirmed because of the severe persecution, so a meeting was planned with the two couples, along with john Whitmer, in which the sacrament would be administered and the women confirmed. On the way to buy wine for this meeting, Joseph was met by an angel and received the first part of this section. 3. What do you learn about the ordinance of the sacrament from the first two verses of this section? 4. CHALLENGE QUESTION: Can you name two other times when the Savior drank of the fruit of the vine with his earthly disciples? Give verse citations if you can. 5. This section goes on to list several prophets who will be at this special sacrament meeting (don t know what else to call it!) All these prophets have an interest and a part in the things of this last dispensation. a) CHALLENGE: Elias, the Greek translation of the Hebrew word Elijah, was also used by joseph Smith and Jesus in the New Testament as a title meaning forerunner. Therefore, verse 6 doesn t give us a man s name but his title. If you would like to try and figure out exactly which prophet is being referred to here, read the entry in the Bible Dictionary for Elias and give it a try. There is not only one right answer, because this is something that different Mormon scholars do not agree upon. All we ask is that if you want to try to answer, give a reason for your answer from the scriptures and not from someone else s opinion. 1 See Vignette with this lesson giving church history details. 2012-2013 Poet & Wilson 1 www.sistersatthewell.org
b) Pick one of the prophets named here and tell why you think that this person would have an intimate connection and great interest in what happens in our day and dispensation. 6. a) What do you learn about our church from verse 13? b) What do you learn about yourself in verse 14? c) PONDER: How do you think you RSVP for this great celebration? 7. Before the great day of the Lord, with all its celebrations and reunions, there is an evil day. Unfortu- nately we have to get through the evil day to rejoice in the great day. Why do you think this section ends with four verses about armor? 8. Read Ephesians 6:11-17. a) What added information does this set of verses give about the enemy? b) PERSONAL: Choose two of the pieces of armor described and identify either how you have used them, or what they mean to you in practical life. Reading: D&C 28:1-7 Note: These verses have a let s get this straight kind of feel about them. Without the order described here, the church could not function effectively. There can be only one head to a body. 9. a) List three things that Oliver Cowdery (or anyone with the same apostolic authority he had) was supposed to do. b) List three things that Joseph (or any of the prophets) was supposed to do. c) In what way do you think this careful delineation of authority is a protection to the church? Reading: D&C 28:8-16 Notes: Oliver is given instruction about going on a mission to the Lamanites that would prove pivotal in Church history. The Hiram Page mentioned in v. 11 was married to a Whitmer. About this time Hiram began receiving revelations via a seerstone telling where Zion should be located and how it should be organized. Oliver and other Whitmer family members believed these were from God. 2012-2013 Poet & Wilson 2 www.sistersatthewell.org
Joseph received Section 28 just before the second general church conference held in September, 1830 in Fayette, New York, the home of the Whitmer family. 10. Compare verses 2, 10 and 15. Verse 12 says only the prophet may get revelation for the church, and the second tells Oliver to ask Joseph how to proceed on the mission, while the third says that God will tell Oliver from time to time what to do, presumably by direct revelation. So is Oliver supposed to get revelation or is he not? How is this not a contradiction? Explain. 11. Hiram Page sincerely thought that the words appearing on the black stone he had were revelations from God. To him they did not seem any different from the way God was communicating with Joseph Smith. What did Hiram Page not understand about revelation that got him in trouble? Reading: D&C 29:1-50 (! Yes, try to read this through all the way before going back to answer questions) Notes: Given the historical setting that Hiram Page had recently been deceived by Satan with his false revelations, and that Joseph had to labor hard with Oliver Cowdery, the Whitmers and others to convince them of proper church order when we come to Section 29, which was given in the presence of the brethren attending the Church s second general conference, one is tempted to exclaim, Now that s a revelation! It certainly would have put an exclamation point to the rebuke given to those fooled by Brother Page s fake revelations. We can only hit the highlights in our present study, but would invite you to return often to this spiritual feast on your own. 12. Normally we would not ask you to read 50 verses. We re making an exception here. You need to at least skim the entire thing first. Read to get a feel for the scope of this section, doing the following: Give a title or brief summary to each of the following sets of verses. Look for themes, events described, and main ideas. There is not only one right answer. Please give the answer that helps you relate to or remember best what you have read. There may be some overlap and repetition of themes. a) Verse 1 b) Verses 2-6 c) Verses 7-8 d) Verses 9-11 e) Verses 12-13 f) Verses 14-21 g) Verses 22-25 h) Verses 26-30 i) Verses 31-35 j) Verses 35-41 2012-2013 Poet & Wilson 3 www.sistersatthewell.org
k) Verses 42-45, & 49 l) Verses 46-48, & 50 13. The image of a mother hen gathering her chicks is a powerful one. The chicks come when the mother calls and are thus protected. It is an image found often in the Old Testament. Skim through the Shadow of His Wings scriptures in the Lesson 10 Scripture List attached at the end of this lesson. a) What is one way you could make use of some of this beautiful language in prayer? What could you pray for? b) Why is this a good scripture image to put at the beginning of a section that details a lot of horrible things that are going to happen in the last days? How does it comfort you given the awful details verses? c) How does v. 2 identify the kind of church members who take refuge beneath the Savior s wing? 14. According to verse 4, which is true? 1) Members of the Church are the Lord s chosen people. 2) Members of the Church are chosen to receive the gospel. 3) Members of the Church are chosen to declare the gospel.. How does the answer affect how you think about your church membership? What is your obligation? 15. What comforts and helps are given to members of the church in verses 5 & 6 to help us in our mighty responsibilities? 16. As this section makes clear, there will come at some point, a great break in the history of the world. Things will not go on as usual, with God acting behind the scenes. Eventually Jesus Christ, the director, will come out in front of the curtain so that all will see Him and know who He is with no possibility of doubt. a) OPTIONAL CHALLENGE QUESTION: Verse 13 harks back to a former time when God revealed himself from heaven to a great group of people the millions of the nation of Israel who had been brought out of slavery in Egypt. If you want to learn of this experience that happened on Mt. Sinai, read Exodus 19:10-25 & Exodus 20:1-20. Summarize what happened in three sentences or less. b) God will reveal [him]self from heaven with power and great glory. (v.11) What are some of the things you see in Section 29 that will happen when God bares his arm in this way? Cite verses. 17. The meta- theme of Section 29 is the concept of agency where it came from, how it affected pre- mortality, the choices Adam made and their consequences, the choices we have in life, and how the choices 2012-2013 Poet & Wilson 4 www.sistersatthewell.org
made by mankind will play out in history and the heavenly accounting for our choices known as the judg- ment. The Young Women call it Choice and Accountability. Describe what you learned from Sec. 29 about: a) The eventual consequences to those who refuse to repent of their sins: b) The eventual consequence of those who repented and then died in Christ. c) The condition of the earth when the Lord finally cleanses the earth of all impurity and sin. a) How and when we got moral agency? Cite verses. 18. Why is Satan and all the evil he creates a necessary part of the plan? Cite verse. 19. What is a good verse from this section to show that because men are free agents, they basically get from this life what they have chosen? So is life fair, and in what way? 20. Given the spiritual ground rules we see set up in this section, what are the most important principles a parent can teach a child in this life and what is the most effective way to do this? (See D&C 68:25 in Scripture List) 21. Just as those who yielded to temptation in pre- mortality became subject to Satan and separated from God ( thrust down ), so also did Adam and all of his accountable children become subject to Satan (v.40) and separated from God ( spiritually dead v. 41). a) What evidence do you see that men and women, apart from God s spirit, are spiritually dead? b) Read Moses 6:59 & 64-65. (See Scripture List) What is the process by which this separation, a re- sult of the fall, can be undone here in mortality, and what do we call this process? 22. What, if anything, did you study in Section 29 that particularly impressed and/or changed you? 1. Psalm 17:7-9 Scripture List for Lesson 10 2012-2013 Poet & Wilson 5 www.sistersatthewell.org
Shew thy marvellous lovingkindness, O thou that savest by thy right hand them which put their trust in thee from those that rise up against them. 8 Keep me as the apple of the eye, hide me under the shadow of thy wings, 9 From the wicked that oppress me, from my deadly enemies, who compass me about. 2. Psalm 36:7 How excellent is thy lovingkindness, O God! therefore the children of men put their trust under the shadow of thy wings. 3. Psalm 57:1 Be merciful unto me, O God, be merciful unto me: for my soul trusteth in thee: yea, in the shadow of thy wings will I make my refuge, until these calamities be overpast. 4. Psalm 91:1-9 1 He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. 2 I will say of the Lord, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust. 3 Surely he shall deliver thee from the snare of the fowler, and from the noisome pestilence. 4 He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust: his truth shall be thy shield and buckler. 5 Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night; nor for the arrow that flieth by day; 6 Nor for the pestilence that walketh in darkness; nor for the destruction that wasteth at noonday. 7 A thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousand at thy right hand; but it shall not come nigh thee. 8 Only with thine eyes shalt thou behold and see the reward of the wicked. 9 Because thou hast made the Lord, which is my refuge, even the most High, thy habitation; 5. Ruth 2:12 The Lord recompense thy work, and a full reward be given thee of the Lord God of Israel, under whose wings thou art come to trust. 6. Psalm 61:1-4 1 Hear my cry, O God; attend unto my prayer. 2 From the end of the earth will I cry unto thee; When my heart is overwhelmed: lead me to the rock that is higher than I. 3 For thou hast been a shelter for me, and a strong tower from the enemy. 4 I will abide in thy tabernacle forever: I will trust in the covert of thy wings. Selah. Fall and Redemption (The Other Half of the Sandwich) Moses 6:59 That by reason of transgression cometh the fall, which fall bringeth death, and inasmuch as ye were born into the world by water, and blood, and the spirit, which I have made, and so became of dust a living soul, even so ye must be born again into the kingdom of heaven, of water, and of the Spirit, and be cleansed by blood, even the blood of mine Only Begotten; that ye might be sanctified from all sin, and enjoy the words of eternal life in this world, and eternal life in the world to come, even immortal glory; 64 And it came to pass, when the Lord had spoken with Adam, our father, that Adam cried unto the Lord, and he was caught away by the Spirit of the Lord, and was carried down into the water, and was laid under the water, and was brought forth out of the water. 65 And thus he was baptized, and the Spirit of God descended upon him, and thus he was born of the Spirit, and became quickened* in the inner man. Parenting D&C 68:25 And again, inasmuch as parents have children in Zion, or in any of her stakes which are orga- nized, that teach them not to understand the doctrine of repentance, faith in Christ the Son of the living God, and of baptism and the gift of the Holy Ghost by the laying on of the hands, when eight years old, the sin be upon the heads of the parents. * Quicken: to make or become alive; revive. World English Dictionary 2012-2013 Poet & Wilson 6 www.sistersatthewell.org