Professional Documents
Culture Documents
The Doctrine and Covenant Made Harder
The Doctrine and Covenant Made Harder
i
ii
The Doctrine & Covenants
Made Harder
James E. Faulconer
ISBN 978-0-8425-2872-6
maxwellinstitute.byu.edu
iv
Contents
Introduction ix
Background Information 1
Lesson 1 5
Lesson 2 13
Lesson 3 21
Lesson 4 25
Lesson 5 37
Lesson 6 41
Lesson 7 45
Lesson 8 51
Lesson 9 59
Lesson 10 69
Lesson 11 73
Lesson 12 77
Lesson 13 83
Lesson 14 89
Lesson 15 95
Lesson 16 101
Lesson 17 107
Lesson 18 109
Lesson 19 123
Lesson 20 127
Lesson 21 141
Lesson 22 153
v
Lesson 23 157
Lesson 24 163
Lesson 25 171
Lesson 26 185
Lesson 27 187
Lesson 28 193
Lesson 29 197
Lesson 30 201
Lesson 31 209
Lesson 32 215
Lesson 33 217
Lesson 34 219
Lesson 35 221
Lesson 36 225
Lesson 37 229
Lesson 38 233
Lesson 39 239
Lesson 40 243
Lesson 41 247
Lesson 42 253
Lesson 43 257
Lesson 44 269
Lesson 45 275
Lesson 46 277
vi
Wherever you look about you, in literature and life, you
see the celebrated names and figures, the precious and
much heralded men who are coming into prominence
and are much talked about, the many benefactors of the
age who know how to benefit mankind by making life
easier and easier, some by railways, others by omnibuses
and steamboats, others by the telegraph, others by easily
apprehended compendiums and short recitals of every-
thing worth knowing, and finally the true benefactors of
the age who make spiritual existence in virtue of thought
easier and easier. . . . You must do something, but inas-
much as with your limited capacities it will be impos-
sible to make anything easier than it has become, you
must, with the same humanitarian enthusiasm as the
others, undertake to make something harder.
Johannes Climacus
Concluding Unscientific Postscript
vii
viii
Introduction
Introduction
F
or some of us scripture study is difficult because the
scriptures are too easy. I sometimes hear people say
things like “I’ve read it several times. I know what it
says, so I don’t get anything new out of it.” Those are people
for whom the scriptures have become too easy. I hope this
book will help remedy that problem. Perhaps it will also
help those who are only beginning to take scripture study
seriously keep their scripture study fresh and educating.
To those ends, this is a book of questions. Just ques-
tions, no answers, though occasionally I will throw in
some answer-like material to help make the question eas-
ier to understand. It is a book of questions because in my
experience—in both personal scripture study and in teach-
ing Sunday School and other lessons—questions are of
more help for reflective, deep study. We learn new things
when we respond to new questions, and the person who
says “I no longer get anything out of my scripture study”
no longer runs up against questions to think about as he or
she reads. This book is intended to make reading harder—
and therefore fresher—by giving such readers questions for
study.
Sometimes when we study we may ask questions to
which we can give answers based on research of some sort.
Often, however, we learn the most when our questions are
of a different sort, ones that don’t require specific answers
as much as they require application. They cause us to reflect
ix
on our lives and our associations with others. They make
us consider whether we continue to live the covenants we
have made. They help us ask once again what repentance
means in our particular lives, what it requires us to do as
individuals or as a people. You’ll find here questions of all
kinds (though none, I think, that require research), but I
have hoped to focus mostly on questions to which you can
return more than once, questions that will help you, as I
THE DOCTRINE & COVENANTS MADE HARDER : SCRIPTURE STUDY
believe they have helped me, “liken all scriptures unto us”
(1 Nephi 19:23).
I understand Nephi’s phrase to mean that I will find
the scriptures call me to faith in Jesus Christ and to repen-
tance. In Alma’s words, they call me to receive Christ’s im-
age in my countenance (Alma 5:14) and to continue “to
sing the song of redeeming love” (Alma 5:26). As I study
the scriptures prayerfully and thoughtfully, they call me in
the same way that they called those who first heard their
revelations, sermons, stories, songs, and poems.
So perhaps the most important reason for focusing
on questions when we study, either privately or in prepar-
ing for a lesson, is that questions about scripture help us
think and ponder. They give us material to consider and
ideas to contemplate. Questions help us to existentially
QUESTIONS
x
Introduction
ready to learn new things as I read rather than returning
to them with an implicit attitude of “I already know what
this is about.”
A good example may be Doctrine and Covenants
121:43. The previous verses tell us that we can only use
priesthood power through persuasion and love, “reprov-
ing betimes with sharpness, when moved upon by the
Holy Ghost.” Many in the Church have read verse 43 to tell
us that sometimes we should reprove with sharpness, as-
suming that they knew the meaning of the word betimes.
Had they approached reading this verse with questions,
they might have asked themselves “Do I know what that
word means?” and then checked a dictionary, where they
would have discovered that it means “early.” Using that
newly understood meaning, such a reader might well go
back to Doctrine and Covenants 121:41–43 and rethink
his or her understanding of those verses—as well his or
her relations to others.
I hope that those who use this book will find that as
they do they have questions of their own to add to mine.
Obviously there is no exhaustive list of all the possible
questions about the Doctrine and Covenants. I have writ-
ten down the questions that have come to me as I read that
scripture. As a result, for some sections and verses I have
detailed questions. For others, I have only a question or two.
That doesn’t mean that the sections or verses for which
I have more questions are more important than those for
which I have fewer. Were I to write this book again, I would
revise the questions I have already asked and add new ones.
I would almost certainly focus on different chapters, and
xi
I would surely expand or contract some of my previous
questions. My questions change each time I go through the
scriptures anew.
So, as you read the Doctrine and Covenants, think of
this book as a starter for study. Keep a notebook of your
own questions and the reflections and ideas that my ques-
tions and yours inspire, and return to your notebook the
next time you study the same passage, adding new ques-
THE DOCTRINE & COVENANTS MADE HARDER : SCRIPTURE STUDY
tions and new insights. I believe that as you do this, you will
find your appreciation and love for the scriptures growing.
I also believe that there is no better method for learning
what the scriptures have to teach us. They do not say the
same thing to every person every time or even to the same
person every time.
Most who study the scriptures have had the experience
of reading a familiar passage but reading it as if for the first
time, seeing something in it that we have never seen before.
Such experiences are almost always enlightening. Sometimes
they are deeply moving spiritually. They are the reward of
scripture study, the way in which the scriptures come to bear
on our lives. They give us insights into ourselves and our re-
lations to others. They remind us of our duties. They help us
understand and appreciate the Atonement. They carry us to
QUESTIONS
xii
Introduction
Naturally, there are many more questions that can
be asked about any part of the Doctrine and Covenants;
I have asked only a few of those possible. As I said, were I
to write this book a second time, I would doubtless create
a very different set of questions than these. Nevertheless,
I hope I have included questions that will help someone
studying for a Sunday School or other lesson from the
Doctrine and Covenants. I also hope they will help those
who are preparing to teach those lessons. Given those
hopes, these sets of questions correspond to the material
suggested in the Doctrine and Covenants and Church His-
tory Class Member Study Guide for the Sunday School les-
sons. Because those lessons sometimes cover a lot of ma-
terial, not every set of study questions in this book covers
all the chapters designated in the study guide.
If you don’t have questions of your own around
which you can organize your lesson, perhaps mine will
help you. If you are preparing a lesson, perhaps you will
find a question or two among mine that you can use as
foci for your lesson. Perhaps reading my questions will
help you think of your own questions. In either case, the
purpose of this book will have been fulfilled.
In my experience, one or two good questions in the
hands of a prepared teacher are sufficient for an excel-
lent lesson. Of course that presumes that the teacher has
learned to control the discussion in a class so that it does
not get away from the scriptures into personal flights
of fancy or onto the gospel hobby horses we sometimes
take such pleasure in riding. Mostly that takes practice,
enough practice to give you confidence.
xiii
But there are a variety of methods that can help. Here
is one that I have used and can recommend: Class begins
with a brief review of the lesson from the week before (per-
haps of about five minutes), followed by an overview of
the reading for this week (another five or ten minutes). As
part of this overview it may be important to discuss some
of the history surrounding the reception of the revelation
or revelations covered in the lesson. Then the class spends
THE DOCTRINE & COVENANTS MADE HARDER : SCRIPTURE STUDY
xiv
Introduction
great many works on Church history. Using these resources
will often make the lessons both more interesting and more
intelligible. However, my notes here will focus not on the
historical context of the revelations in the Doctrine and Cov-
enants but on the revelations themselves, bringing in histori-
cal context only as necessary. As a result, the notes may be an
aid in preparing a lesson, but they are generally insufficient.
A good question or two about a passage of scripture
can also be the basis for an excellent talk for sacrament
meeting: If the passage on which you are focusing is suf-
ficiently brief, read it at the beginning of the talk, restating
the parts most important to your talk in your own words.
Make a point of raising your question in the context of the
scriptures that brought it to your attention. Then discuss
your thinking about the question. Explain the ideas that
came to you in thinking about it. Talk about the implica-
tions of what you have learned. Show how what you have
learned is relevant to your life and to the lives of those to
whom you are speaking. To conclude, summarize what you
have said, if your talk has been long enough to need a sum-
mary, and bear your testimony.
Over the years, many colleagues, friends, fellow mem-
bers of the LDS Church, and university students have
helped me think about the scriptures. Nate Noorlander
has been invaluable in helping put these into publishable
form, not only with formatting, but also with questions
about my questions and suggestions for improvement, a
task to which Joseph Spencer has also made a significant
contribution. Jenny Webb did more than an outsider could
imagine in putting this book into a good format. Pat and
xv
Larry Wimmer and Art and Janet Bassett, who were willing
to talk with me for hours about the Sunday School lessons,
were especially helpful. I owe all of them thanks.
As always, I owe more than thanks to my wife and
children who have borne with my idiosyncrasies for many
years. Finally, I am grateful to my grandchildren—and to
the rest of my posterity—simply for being. I hope that
this work will help them have and increase their testimo-
THE DOCTRINE & COVENANTS MADE HARDER : SCRIPTURE STUDY
nies of Jesus.
QUESTIONS
xvi
Background
Background Information
B
efore the Doctrine and Covenants we had a
volume of scripture called the “Book of Command-
ments” (1833), short for “A Book of Command-
ments for the Government of the Church of Christ.” This
was an incomplete collection of the Prophet Joseph Smith’s
revelations containing 65 sections (not the same as the first
65 of the present-day Doctrine and Covenants).
But the Book of Commandments was incomplete be-
cause a mob in Independence, Missouri, had broken into
the printing shop where the collection was being printed,
destroyed the press and type, and scattered the pages. Some
Saints gathered what pages they could find and bound
them, with the result being less than had been planned.
In 1835, a new collection of revelations was printed
and named “Doctrine and Covenants.” Unlike the Book of
Commandments, it contained two parts—the “Lectures on
Faith” (the doctrine) and the previous Book of Command-
ments with new sections added—bringing the total to 101
(the covenants). The order of the revelations in the second
section of the Doctrine and Covenants was different than
it had been in the Book of Commandments. In the latter, it
had been chronological, while in the new book revelations
were grouped according to subject matter: first were revela-
tions on priesthood and church organization, followed by
the sections from the Book of Commandments. In 1876
1
the sections were rearranged so that all but section 1 were
put in chronological order.
The “Lectures on Faith” were lessons used in the
School of the Prophets the previous winter. They were
dropped from the LDS canon in 1921, perhaps because the
doctrine taught in them concerning the Godhead wasn’t
consistent with the continuing revelations of the prophets.
However, the title “Doctrine and Covenants” was retained.
THE DOCTRINE & COVENANTS MADE HARDER : SCRIPTURE STUDY
2
Background
revelations contained in the Doctrine and Covenants be
considered covenants? How does a covenant differ from a
contract?
Questions
What do you make of the changes that have occurred to
our collection of modern revelations? Is the Doctrine and
Covenants a new book or a revised edition of the Book of
Commandments?
Does the full title of the Book of Commandments differen-
tiate it from the Doctrine and Covenants, or does it help us
understand better what we find in the Doctrine and Cov-
enants?
Did the deletion of the “Lectures on Faith” change the book
substantially? How about the addition of sections 137 and
137 or the two official declarations?
3
THE DOCTRINE & COVENANTS MADE HARDER : SCRIPTURE STUDY
QUESTIONS
4
Lesson 1
Lesson 1
Doctrine and Covenants 1
5
other words, when does hearing the voice of the Lord re-
veal our secret acts?
Verses 4–5: To what does “the voice of warning” refer to
in verse 4?
Verse 6: To what does the word this refer to in the phrase
“this is my authority”? For what is it authority?
Verses 7–10: How do those sent out with the message of the
THE DOCTRINE & COVENANTS MADE HARDER : SCRIPTURE STUDY
Verse 15: To whom does the word they refer? Who is the
Lord referring to when he says “they have strayed”?
How does one stray from an ordinance? How might we
stray from our ordinances?
Is the Lord speaking of two things or of one thing when
he says “they have strayed from mine ordinances, and have
6
Lesson 1
broken mine everlasting covenant”? In other words, are
breaking the everlasting covenant and straying from the
Lord’s ordinances the same thing?
Verse 16: What does it mean to seek the Lord? (Recall that
the Book of Mormon frequently uses related phrases.) Is
seeking the Lord the same as remembering him?
What is the Lord’s righteousness? How would it be estab-
lished? How might we seek to establish it?
What does it mean to say we each walk in our own way?
What does it mean to say that our idols have images “in the
likeness of the world”? What substance does an idol have?
How do our idols have that substance?
Verses 17–18: Why did the Lord call Joseph Smith and the
“others” mentioned?
In what sense are those callings a response to calamity? What
calamity? Did calling Joseph and others stop that calamity?
Verses 19–23: What are the weak things? What are the
strong? Why does the Lord describe them that way? Why
does the Lord want the weak things to break down the
strong? How will they do so? By what power?
In this context, what does it mean to counsel our fellows?
What is wrong with doing so?
The Lord speaks of speaking in the name of God, increas-
ing faith, establishing his everlasting covenant, and pro-
claiming the fulness of the gospel, on the one hand, and
trusting in the arm of flesh and counseling each other, on
the other? How are these alternatives to each other?
7
Why is it important for faith to increase in the earth? What
is the everlasting covenant? What is the fulness of the gospel?
Verse 24: How can we understand the Doctrine and Cov-
enants as a collection of commandments when many of
the revelations in them contain nothing that commands us
or someone at the time of the revelation to do something?
Is there a way of understanding the word commandment
more broadly than we usually do?
THE DOCTRINE & COVENANTS MADE HARDER : SCRIPTURE STUDY
Why does this verse begin as it does? Why point out that
God is the source of this revelation? Wouldn’t a person al-
ready have to believe that this was from God in order to
believe this verse?
What does it mean to say that these are given in our weak-
nesses, after the manner of our language? Over and over
again in the Book of Mormon we see references to the
weakness of the people writing the book. Why is the word
weakness singular rather than plural, both here and in the
Book of Mormon? How does that change the meaning?
Why does the Lord bring up our weakness here? Why is it
important for those reading the Doctrine and Covenants to
know what this verse teaches?
Verses 25–28: How can we use the Doctrine and Covenants
QUESTIONS
8
Lesson 1
How do wisdom and knowledge differ here, or do they?
Verse 29: How does this verse fit into its context? Is it an-
other part of the list that begins in verse 20?
How does Joseph’s power to translate come through the
mercy of God?
Verse 30: This verse too seems to follow from something,
but from what?
How does the Doctrine and Covenants give us power to lay
the foundation for the Church? (Is this a repetition of the
idea in verse 6?)
What does it mean to say that the Church is true? We can
easily speak of sentences or claims being true, but how can
a church be true? Think of other ways in which we use the
word true, besides using it to describe sentences or beliefs.
For example a line can be true. Do those other ways of us-
ing the word help us understand what it might mean to say
that the Church is true?
What does it mean to say that the Church is living? What
would it mean for a church to be dead?
Why does the Lord add “speaking unto the church collec-
tively and not individually”?
Verse 31: What does it mean that the Lord cannot look on
sin with the least degree of allowance? Isn’t that a message
of despair: if we have any sin at all, doesn’t that mean he
will not look on us at all? What is our alternative?
Verses 32–33: How do we repent?
9
What does it mean to do rather than keep the command-
ments?
What does it mean to lose what light we have? How does
failure to repent rob us of our light?
If the Lord’s Spirit won’t always strive with us, he must now
be striving with us. How so? Is that a message of hope?
Verses 34–36: Verses 34–35 say the Lord is willing to make
THE DOCTRINE & COVENANTS MADE HARDER : SCRIPTURE STUDY
10
Lesson 1
be fulfilled by someone speaking, by a voice? Of what does
the Spirit bear record?
“To abide” means more than merely “to last.” It means “to
live with,” “to dwell.” What might the word abide tell us
about our relation to truth?
11
THE DOCTRINE & COVENANTS MADE HARDER : SCRIPTURE STUDY
QUESTIONS
12
Lesson 2
Lesson 2
Verses from Doctrine and Covenants 18; 19;
58; 76; 88; and 93
human beings should be? If no, why not? If yes, can you give
concrete examples of what it should mean for our behavior?
Verse 12: We often speak of the Lord’s resurrection making
both the general resurrection and our personal resurrec-
tion possible. Here, however, we are taught that the resur-
rection makes our return to the Savior possible. What is the
connection between these two teachings?
Does the necessity of resurrection tell us anything about
why ministering to the poor and the afflicted is so impor-
tant in the gospel?
16
Lesson 2
Verse 66: What is “Mount Zion”? Why do the scriptures use
that particular metaphor?
Why is the kingdom of God thought of as a city? How
might that phrase have been particularly significant to
the Saints at the time of this revelation? (Compare D&C
45:64–71 and 57:2–3.)
Why compare the kingdom to both a mountain and a city
at the same time? In other words, why are these two meta-
phors mixed here?
Verse 67: What does “come to an innumerable company of
angels” mean?
Who are the “innumerable company of angels”? Why are
they innumerable?
Why are “general assembly” and “church” parallel to each
other? Why are “church of Enoch” and “church of the First-
born” parallel? What does each description teach us?
Verse 68: This verse tells us that the names of those who
are members of the church of the Firstborn are “written in
heaven” and that God and Christ—who make no mistakes—
make all the judgments in that church. What is this verse
teaching? What is the significance of the names being writ-
ten in heaven rather than, presumably, on earth? What is the
significance of telling us that perfect judges do the judging?
Verse 69: What does it mean to be a just person? What level
of glory do the just inherit?
What does it mean to be “made perfect”? Who makes us
perfect? How? What does the phrase “just [persons] made
17
perfect through Jesus” suggest about the things we do to
perfect ourselves?
What does it mean to say that Christ is the mediator of
the new covenant? What does a mediator do? What does
a mediator do in ordinary cases? How does that apply to
what Christ does for us? How does someone mediate a
covenant?
We sometimes speak of Christ paying for our sins. Though
THE DOCTRINE & COVENANTS MADE HARDER : SCRIPTURE STUDY
18
Lesson 2
acclaim we sometimes give supposedly intellectual pro-
fessions over more physical professions is one of the rem-
nants of this misunderstanding of the body and the spirit.
In what other ways do we sometimes forget this necessary
unity of spirit and body?
Note: though the soul is defined here as the unity of the
spirit and body, it isn’t always or even often used that way
in other scriptures. This definition is one that seems to have
been saved for the latter days. Therefore, when you read the
word soul in scripture, you must ask yourself whether the
writer meant spirit, or soul as it is used here.
Verse 16: How is the resurrection of the dead the redemp-
tion of the soul (spirit and body)? If everyone is guaranteed
resurrection, does it follow that everyone is guaranteed re-
demption of the soul? Why wouldn’t that contradict the
doctrine that only some will receive an inheritance in the
celestial kingdom?
Verse 17: What does it mean to say that Christ quickens all
things? In what sense does he quicken all things?
Why does he here insert a reminder of his decree that the
poor and the meek will inherit the earth? How is that par-
ticular decree relevant to this particular discussion of the
resurrection and of the redemption of the soul?
Verse 18: To what does the word it refer at the beginning of
this verse? How is it to be sanctified?
What does sanctified mean here?
Why does sanctification (as it is used here) only prepare us
for celestial glory? Why isn’t it the same as celestial glory?
19
Doctrine and Covenants 93
Verse 33: What does it mean to say “man is spirit”? Among
the word spirit’s meanings are “the principle in a living
being that makes it alive,” “that about a person which is
immaterial,” “the part of a person which survives death,”
“the active power of some emotion or frame of mind” (as
in “the spirit of the party”), “a tendency, impulse, or incli-
nation,” and “a person’s character.” How is the word spirit
THE DOCTRINE & COVENANTS MADE HARDER : SCRIPTURE STUDY
20
Lesson 3
Lesson 3
Joseph Smith—History 1:1–26
Verses 1–2: Why does Joseph write this history? What does
that say to us about its usefulness to us?
Verses 3–4: Why does Joseph give this account of his fam-
ily as part of his account of the origins of the Church?
What does his birth, the places his family has lived, and the
number and names of his family members have to do with
explaining the “rise and progress of the Church of Jesus
Christ of Latter-day Saints”?
Verse 5: Joseph emphasizes the divisions that the “excite-
ment on the subject of religion” caused. Why does he do
so; what’s the point? How can we preach the gospel without
causing similar divisions?
Verse 6: What caused the strife among the sects?
Verses 8–10: What about Methodism might have attracted
Joseph Smith? What things prevented him from joining the
Methodists?
Verses 11–12: Was Joseph reading casually, or was he study-
ing seriously? What in these verses might give you the an-
swer to the question?
Verse 13: What gave Joseph the confidence to ask which re-
ligion was right? (What does it mean to give liberally? What
does the word upbraid mean?)
21
Verse 14: When Joseph says he had never made the attempt
to pray vocally, what does he mean? Do you suppose that
he had never offered the prayer over the food at home?
Why is it significant that he prayed vocally?
Verses 15–16: Why does this dark power prevent Joseph
from speaking? Compare Joseph’s experience to that of
Alma the Younger. How is it different? How is it the same?
What might the differences and similarities tell us?
THE DOCTRINE & COVENANTS MADE HARDER : SCRIPTURE STUDY
22
Lesson 3
made up years later. Why do you think he didn’t tell his
mother of this experience?
Verse 21: Why does he tell the preacher what he didn’t tell
his mother?
Verses 22–23: In what ways might the “professors of reli-
gion” have “excited the public mind” against Joseph? Why
did they react so strongly against Joseph?
Verse 24: Joseph compares his experience to that of Paul.
How are those experiences the same? How are they differ-
ent? What might those similarities and differences tell us?
Verses 25–26: How would you describe the tone of these
verses? What might that tone say about Joseph and his story?
Though the unconverted might believe Joseph is deceived,
I don’t think they can read this story as the story of a liar.
How would a deceived person perhaps produce a different
story than one who is lying?
There seem to be no people in his life from this period,
outside of his family, who remember Joseph Smith telling
of the first vision. How would you explain that, given the
account Joseph gives here of his persecution for his vision?
If a nonmember asked you about this, what would you say?
23
THE DOCTRINE & COVENANTS MADE HARDER : SCRIPTURE STUDY
QUESTIONS
24
Lesson 4
Lesson 4
Joseph Smith—History 1:27–65;
Doctrine and Covenants 3; 5; 10; 17;
20:5–15; and 84:54–62
Joseph Smith—History 1
Verse 28: What do you make of Joseph Smith’s observation
that, as a boy, he “was guilty of levity, and sometimes as-
sociated with jovial company, etc., not consistent with that
character which ought to be maintained by one who was
called of God as I had been”? What do you think he felt was
consistent with such a character?
Verse 29: Joseph says that he often felt condemned for his
weaknesses. By whom? If by God, do you think that his
feelings were accurate or that he was feeling more guilt
than he should have?
How are this instance of prayer and that in the Sacred Grove
similar? How are they different?
25
Verses 30–32: Why do you think that Joseph gives us this
much detail about Moroni’s appearance?
Verses 33–35: Notice the contrast in detail between these
verses and the previous three. In these, he gives a summary
rather than a quotation, summary rather than exact detail.
What might account for that difference?
Verse 34: A significant number of Latter-day Saint scholars
today believe that the events of the Book of Mormon took
THE DOCTRINE & COVENANTS MADE HARDER : SCRIPTURE STUDY
tions in these verses and the first one seems to be the addi-
tional and different warnings at the ends of these two. Why
three revelations almost exactly alike on the same night
(and then again the next day)? If he was given the three
revelations to emphasize the importance of their content,
then why weren’t they identical?
26
Lesson 4
Verses 47–49: Joseph Smith has had three visitations by
an angel during the night, but in the morning he gets up
and goes about work as usual. What does this say about
his character? What does it suggest about how we should
respond to our own spiritual experiences?
Why do you think Moroni told Joseph to tell his father
about the visions?
Verses 50–54: What was the purpose in having Joseph go to
the hill and look at the plates but not retrieve them? Why
wait four years but come back each year in the meantime?
Verse 54 tells us that Moroni taught Joseph Smith about
the Restoration on these visits. Do you think he received
instruction on occasions other than these visits, or was this
only an annual event?
Verses 55–58: Why does Joseph include these details of his
personal life?
Verse 59: How old was Joseph Smith when he received the
plates? Is that relevant to how we understand his story?
Verses 60–62: Joseph tells us what his life was like during
this time, but do you think his neighbors would have given
a similar description? Do you think they saw him as some-
one persecuted? If not, why not?
Why is Martin Harris’s intervention so remarkable?
Verses 63–65: For whom was this test of Joseph’s work
made? Joseph, Martin, or someone else?
Here’s what we assume was the transcript that Martin Har-
ris took to Professor Anthon:
27
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28
Lesson 4
Verse 4: In what ways do we boast in our own strength?
Do we ever do so implicitly rather than explicitly, without
thinking that we are doing it?
How do we set at naught the counsels of God? Is there a dif-
ference between boasting in our own strength and setting
his counsels at naught?
What do the scriptures mean when they speak of God’s
vengeance? Does he “get even”? If he is our Father and
loves as a father, how can he take vengeance on us or on
our brothers and sisters?
Verse 6: Do the commandments and laws of God always run
counter to the “persuasions of men”? What does that phrase
mean? Why does the Lord use the word persuasion here?
Verse 7: How and when do we fear men more than God?
How do we recognize when we are doing so?
Verse 8: Notice that the Lord doesn’t promise protection
from the fiery darts of the adversary, but support against
them. What’s the difference?
Verse 9: The Lord says, “Thou art Joseph.” Joseph knows
who he is, so why does the Lord remind him of his name?
Verse 10: Had Joseph lost his calling during the time of this
sin? What might that tell us about our own callings?
What does it mean to lose one’s calling in the Church?
Given what we see here, is it possible for us to do that even
without having been released from that calling?
Verse 12: Wicked is a strong adjective to use to describe
Martin Harris. We would seldom use it to describe a person
29
like him who has been foolish. Why is it appropriate here?
What might that say about our own mistakes?
Verse 13: Does this verse give an answer to the immediately
previous question?
It is doubtful that Harris thought himself doing any of
these things when he asked Joseph to let him have the 116
pages of the translation. And he received them only after
Joseph received a revelation giving permission for him to
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Verse 56: Those who do not fear the Lord will be disturbed.
In this context, what does it mean to fear the Lord?
Why in particular should the people mentioned in this
verse fear the Lord?
The verse pairs disobeying the commandments with build-
ing up a church to get gain, etc. It is as if the two go together:
those who are disobedient build churches for gain; those
32
Lesson 4
who build churches for gain don’t obey the commandments.
Is that true only for those outside of the LDS Church, or is
there some sense in which it also speaks to us? Do we ever
build up the LDS Church to get personal gain?
Verses 57–70: We have Christ’s testimony of who he is and
what his work is. Do the things of which he testifies suggest
things about which we, too, should bear testimony?
Verse 63 tells us that Christ has revealed the Book of Mor-
mon “that there may not be so much contention” because
Satan has created contention about Christ’s doctrines. Can
you think of specific doctrinal contentions that the Book
of Mormon settles?
What are we to make of the definition of the Lord’s church
that we find in verses 67–68? Does this mean that some
non-LDS are members of that church? If not, explain why
not. Does it mean that all LDS are members of his church?
If not, explain why not.
Why does verse 70 conclude this revelation with an admo-
nition to remember the words your Lord?
36
Lesson 5
Lesson 5
Doctrine and Covenants 6; 8; 9; and
Joseph Smith—History 1:8–17
37
Verse 12: Why should Oliver Cowdery keep his gift concealed?
What does “of thy faith” mean?
Verse 13: Why is salvation the greatest gift? How is the
word salvation used here? Is it being used in contradis-
tinction to exaltation?
Verse 14: What has brought Oliver to where he is? What
could that mean to us?
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Verse 17: Why does the Lord have to witness to Oliver that
the words he is writing are true? What kinds of doubts
might Oliver have had?
Verses 21–24: Notice that Oliver’s further witness is the
peace he received as well as the knowledge that Joseph can
tell him something only he knows of. (We might focus on
the latter aspect of the witness, but the Lord points spe-
cifically to the former.) How is peace a witness of the truth
of the gospel? What is the peace of which the Lord speaks
here? When do we experience this peace?
Verse 25: Did Oliver do any translating?
Verse 27: This seems to present a “catch-22”: If Oliver has
good desires, then he can assist in the Lord’s work. By im-
plication, if he doesn’t have good desires, he can’t. But how
QUESTIONS
39
Verse 14: What is the point of the Lord’s message in this
verse?
Joseph Smith—History 1
See the questions on verses 8–17 for lesson 3.
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QUESTIONS
40
Lesson 6
Lesson 6
Doctrine and Covenants 6; 8; 9; and 11
41
Verse 6: Do we know what Joseph asked that prompted this
revelation? (The heading gives a clue, as do verses 8, 15–17,
and 20–22.)
How would those first receiving this revelation have under-
stood the word Zion, not yet having the Book of Moses or
revelations about the city that is to be built?
Now that we have further revelation, how do we under-
stand Zion? What is the cause of Zion? How can we bring
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43
Verse 30: How do we receive Christ? What does it mean to
become one of his children? If we are already the children
of God, how do we become his children? (Another look
at King Benjamin’s sermon may be helpful here, especially
Mosiah 5.)
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QUESTIONS
44
Lesson 7
Lesson 7
Various Scriptures on the First Principles
and Ordinances of the Gospel
Faith
2 Nephi 25
Verse 23: What are the two purposes for Nephi’s writing?
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46
Lesson 7
verse in another way, or does it require us to stretch the
meaning of these words too far?
Alma 32
Verse 27: Why must the Zoramites awake and arouse their
faculties? Webster’s dictionary of 1828 defines faculty as
“that power of the mind or intellect which enables it to
receive, revive, or modify perceptions. . . . The power of
doing anything.” Does that add any understanding to
what Alma is saying?
In the same dictionary, “experiment” is defined as a “trial;
an act or operation designed to discover some unknown
truth.” The Oxford English Dictionary, a historical diction-
ary, tells us that “experiment” first meant “an experience”
and then came to mean “something ascertained by trial.”
Do we learn anything about what Alma is asking them to
do if we substitute the older words: “arouse your faculties,
even to an experience based on my words”? Does think-
ing about these older meanings of the word help us under-
stand any better or differently what Alma was asking the
Zoramites to do? What does he mean when he asks them to
exercise “a particle of faith”? Is a desire to believe the same
as a particle of faith? How so?
Repentance
47
it mean that he no longer knows that they occurred? Does
it mean that he no longer remembers them as things that
stain us, preventing us from being righteous, in other
words, as sins?
Verse 43: Which sins need to be confessed to a Church au-
thority and which sins need only to be confessed to the Lord?
Why do we have to confess our sins in order to be repentant?
Consider the following definition: “Forsake: 1. to quit or
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Baptism
48
Lesson 7
pented of all their sins”? How do they witness that they “are
willing to take upon them the name of Jesus Christ”? How
do they show that they have “a determination to serve him
to the end”? What works manifest “that they have received
of the Spirit of Christ unto the remission of their sins”?
2 Nephi 2
Verse 6: This verse begins with wherefore, or “because.” Re-
demption comes through the Messiah because the law cuts
us off. What does that mean? What does redemption mean
in this context?
Why is the Savior referred to here as the Messiah rather
than by one of his other names? Lehi, who consistently uses
the word Messiah, tells us that redemption comes through
the Messiah because he is full of grace and truth. How does
that explain that redemption comes through him? What do
grace and truth mean in this context?
Verse 7: What does the phrase “to answer the ends of the
law” mean? Ends usually means “purposes.”
What is the image of a broken heart and why is it relevant?
Why are “broken heart” and “contrite spirit” used as syno-
nyms? Why can the sacrifice of the Messiah apply to no one
but those who have a broken heart and a contrite spirit?
Why doesn’t Lehi mention obedience or ordinances?
Verse 8: Why does Lehi tell Jacob it is important to make
these things known to everyone? Jacob is in the wilderness
of a new land, without much chance to tell very many oth-
ers this gospel.
49
Why is it that “no flesh . . . can dwell in the presence of God,
save it be through the merits, and mercy, and grace of the
Holy Messiah”? What is his merit? His mercy? His grace?
Why does Lehi connect resurrection to redemption? We
know that everyone will be resurrected, but only those who
come to Christ with a broken heart and contrite spirit, or
as it says here, relying on the merits and mercy and grace of
Christ, will be able to enter into the presence of the Father.
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ment, with the person receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost
being told to receive it?
What is the power of the Holy Ghost? (See Bible Diction-
ary, “Holy Ghost,” p. 74.) Can you think of reasons that
might explain why we confer the gift of the Holy Ghost by
the laying on of hands? What kinds of symbolism might
be in that act?
50
Lesson 8
Lesson 8
Joseph Smith—History 1:66–73;
Doctrine and Covenants 13; 20:38–67; 27:12–13;
84:6–30; 107:1–20; and 110:11–16
Aaronic Priesthood
Joseph Smith—History 1
Verse 68: The Father and the Son visited Joseph Smith
in response to his soul-searching and his desire to know
what church to join. John the Baptist visited him and Oli-
ver Cowdery in response to their question about baptism
by immersion. What does this suggest about revelation?
Verse 72: Why was it important that John the Baptist tell
them who he was and what authority he operated under?
s 4HEY ARE TO BEAR THE SIN OF )SRAEL AND PREVENT OTHERS
from getting too close to the tabernacle and its holy
vessels (verses 1–5).
51
s !S PRIESTHOOD BEARERS THEY ARE A GIFT TO )SRAEL AND
they should understand their priesthood service as a
gift they give to Israel (verses 6–7).
s 3PEAKING TO !ARON THE ,ORDS SAYS THAT HE IS IN
charge of the holy sacrifices and should depend on
the Lord for his inheritance (verses 8–20; the same
things are repeated in verses 21–32, speaking to the
Levites as a whole).
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52
Lesson 8
important. Can you explain specifically what it is in a way
that gives it its importance? Where do we find the minister-
ing of angels today?
John the Baptist describes the gospel in two ways: it is the gos-
pel of repentance, and it is the gospel of baptism by immer-
sion for the remission of sins. Why do you think he chooses
those particular ways of describing the gospel, rather than
others? John speaks of keys in the plural, but then he says,
“this shall never be taken from the earth,” using a singular
pronoun. To what does the word this refer? So what?
53
Why does this verse end with “agreeable to the covenants
and commandments”? “Covenants and Commandments”
was the title of the second half of the first edition of the
Doctrine and Covenants. Does that answer the question, or
does the phrase mean more?
Melchizedek Priesthood
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Verse 20: The verse begins with the word therefore. How
does the previous verse lead us to the conclusion stated in
this verse?
How do the ordinances of the gospel manifest the power of
godliness? Is “the power of godliness” different from “the
power of God”? If so, how? Can you explain specifically
how, say, baptism manifests the power of godliness?
54
Lesson 8
Verse 21: What does it mean to say that without the or-
dinances, which are only possible through the authority
of the priesthood, “the power of godliness is not manifest
unto men in the flesh”? That is a very strong claim about
the function of ordinances for human beings. Can you ex-
plain it? What is godliness that it cannot be manifest with-
out authoritative ordinances?
Verse 22: To what does the word this refer, to “the power of
godliness” or to something else?
55
D&C 76:67 equates the church of the Firstborn with the
church of Enoch. What might that teach us? Verse 71 of
the same section says that the church of the Firstborn con-
sists of those who have received the fulness of the Father,
and verse 94 says that it is composed of those who dwell in
his presence. Does that mean that there is no such church
on the earth today? If so, how do you explain D&C 78:21,
where the Lord tells the members of the Church, “Ye are
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56
Lesson 8
2nd ed., p. 139). How does Elder McConkie understand the
communion of the church of the Firstborn?
57
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QUESTIONS
58
Lesson 9
Lesson 9
Doctrine and Covenants 20:1–36, 68–69,
75–79; 21; 27; and 115:1–4
59
Verse 8: We probably all know what “power from on high”
means. And we all know what it means to translate the
Book of Mormon. But what does it mean that Joseph was
given power to translate “by the means which were before
prepared”?
Verse 10: When this verse says the Book of Mormon was
given by inspiration, is it referring to the inspiration the
Lord gave the Book of Mormon prophets or to the inspira-
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60
Lesson 9
Verses 14–15: Those who receive it and work righteousness
will receive a crown. Those who don’t receive it will be con-
demned. What is “it”?
Verse 16: What has God spoken?
Verse 17: By what things do they know there is a God in
heaven?
Verses 17–19: How do the things they have seen and heard
testify not only of God’s existence but that he is the Creator
of the world and of human beings, that we are made in his
image, and that he gave commandments for us to love and
serve him and to worship only him?
Verse 20: Transgression of the laws (commandments) men-
tioned in verse 19 caused the fall. Specifically, which of the
laws mentioned were transgressed? How so?
Verse 21: The word wherefore means something like “be-
cause of this.” Because of what?
Verse 22: What does it mean to suffer temptation, if he gave
it no heed?
Verses 23–26: Here is another long and complex sentence.
What is it about?
Verses 23–24: Why is this important for us to know?
Verse 25: Why aren’t ordinances or good works mentioned
in this verse?
Verses 26–27: To be saved, those who came before Christ
must have believed in the words of the prophets, spoken as
they were inspired by the Holy Ghost. Those who come after
61
must believe in the gifts and callings of God by the Holy
Ghost. How are these two the same? What is the difference?
Verse 28: What does it mean to say that the Father, Son, and
Holy Ghost are one God?
What does it mean to say that God is infinite? Eternal?
What does it mean to say that God is without end? (Is there
a difference?)
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Why does the phrase “to all those who love and serve God
with all their mights, minds, and strength” occur at the end
of this verse and not at the end of verse 30?
Verse 32: What does it mean to fall from grace? What does
it mean to be in grace?
How do we depart from God?
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Lesson 9
Verse 33: What does the phrase “fall into temptation”
mean? Did Jesus fall into temptation? (Look back at verse
22.) What should we pray for to avoid falling into tempta-
tion? Of what should we take heed?
Verse 34: Those who are sanctified have to take heed as
well. Who might that be? That the sanctified also have to
take heed seems to indicate that verses 32 and 33 are pri-
marily about those who are not sanctified. Who are they?
Why are those verses primarily about them, and then also
about the sanctified?
Verse 35: What are “these things”? In other words, this verse
is a testimony of something—what? How is the Revelation
of John relevant here?
Verse 36: What has the Lord spoken? How do we render
honor to his name? Power? Glory? Is this a repetition, for
effect, of the same idea three times, or are these three dis-
tinct things? What difference will it make either way?
Verse 68: What does this verse tell us about missionary work?
Verse 69: What is a godly walk? A godly conversation?
(Look conversation up in a dictionary that tells the older
meanings of words. You may be surprised at what it used
to mean.)
How can our works and faith be agreeable to holy scrip-
ture? What does that mean?
How do we walk in holiness before the Lord? Why do you
think the metaphor of walk is used so much to describe our
life in the Church?
63
Verses 75–79: Since the sacrament prayers are given in the
Book of Mormon, why are they repeated here? Why do the
sacrament prayers follow immediately after the discussion
of baptism?
We hear the sacrament prayers every week, but they are
worth reviewing. Compare the sacrament prayers to see if
there are things we might not be noticing.
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Why might one prayer use always and the other not?
65
Does the fact that one of these prayers is always said be-
fore the other explain any of the differences between them?
How?
67
What is “the preparation of the gospel of peace”? What
would it mean to have that preparation for shoes?
Why is faith a shield? How does it give us power to “quench
all the fiery darts of the wicked”?
In what sense is salvation a helmet? In what sense is the
Spirit a sword?
What is “my word which I shall reveal unto you”?
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68
Lesson 10
Lesson 10
Doctrine and Covenants 25
69
Verses 5–11: What specific things is Emma told to do?
Make a list. What might those tell us about the roles of
other women? Where they seem to be the same as our cul-
tural expectations, how do we understand that sameness?
Are there any differences from those expectations? What do
we make of those differences?
It appears that Emma is being prepared to take Oliver
Cowdery’s place (though she did not). What do we make
THE DOCTRINE & COVENANTS MADE HARDER : SCRIPTURE STUDY
of that?
Verse 5: What would it have meant for Emma to be a com-
fort to her husband? Webster’s 1828 dictionary gives these
meanings for the word: “to strengthen; to invigorate; to cheer
or enliven,” “to strengthen the mind when depressed or en-
feebled; to console,” and “in law, to relieve, assist, or encour-
age.” Contemporary dictionaries tell us that “console” is the
first meaning rather than “to strengthen,” so there has been a
shift in meaning since the time of this revelation. How does
thinking about that shift in meaning help you understand
better what the Lord is admonishing Emma to do for Joseph?
When the Lord tells Emma that she should comfort him
“in the spirit of meekness” what is he telling her? Looking
at how the scriptures use the word meekness should help
QUESTIONS
71
Verse 13: The Lord seems to be saying, “For these reasons,
lift up your heart and rejoice.” What reasons has he given
her for doing so in this revelation?
What does it mean to cleave to a covenant?
Verse 14: How does this reference to meekness help us un-
derstand what the Lord said in verse 5?
The Old Testament term most often translated as “glory”
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Since most of the other sections for this lesson repeat what
we find in section 4, I will focus my questions on it.
73
Does looking at other uses of the phrase suggest anything
about how to understand it here?
Verse 3: Why is having the desire to serve God enough to
make us called to the work? To what does “the work” refer
here?
Verse 4: Why is the work of the gospel often compared to
reaping a field? How does the image in this section compare
to other, related images in the scriptures? For example, how
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74
Lesson 11
“healthy to the glory of God” might mean. Does that mean
that the passage in Matthew is irrelevant to explaining the
meaning of this verse?
Does Mormon 8:15 give us a definition of what “eye single
to the glory of God” means, or does it give us an example
of what it means?
Verse 6: Why do you think the Doctrine and Covenants im-
plicitly refers to these verses in 2 Peter 1:5–9 so often? Look
at this comparison of the two lists:
2 Peter D&C 4
Faith Faith
Knowledge Virtue
Temperance Knowledge
Patience Temperance
Godliness Patience
Brotherly kindness Brotherly kindness
Charity Godliness
Charity
Humility
Diligence
75
Here are some alternate translations of the Greek words of
2 Peter:
virtue = excellence
knowledge = knowledge of what really is
temperance = self-discipline
patience = steadfastness, endurance
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76
Lesson 12
Lesson 12
Articles of Faith 1:10; Doctrine and Covenants
29:1–8; 33:3–7; 37; 38:24–41; 52:2–5, 42–43;
57:1–3; and 110:11
Article of Faith 10
What is the gathering? Who is gathered? How does the
gathering occur and when did it begin? Why is the gather-
ing important?
Why is the last part of the article of faith—about the re-
newal of the earth—included in the article of faith con-
cerning the gathering of Israel?
77
words give you new ways of thinking about the Atonement
and what it accomplishes?
Usually the Lord uses the word arm in relation to strength:
“strong arm,” as in Psalm 89:10 and Jeremiah 21:25. (See
also 1 Kings 8:42, which uses an oft-used phrase, “strong
hand . . . stretched out arm.”) What does his use of arm to
indicate mercy instead of strength suggest?
Verse 2: How does the metaphor of this verse compare to
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78
Lesson 12
of that addition? Where are we commanded to be united in
prayer? What does it mean to be united in prayer?
What do you make of the fact that the Lord’s prayer is in
the plural (namely, our Father), but appears to be some-
thing intended to be said on one’s own?
Verse 7: To whom is this addressed? In other words, who is
called to bring to pass the gathering?
Does this verse define what it means to be elect?
Verse 8: At the time of this revelation, the gathering was to
a particular location. Now it is to any of the stakes. How
does that difference change our understanding of what it
means to gather together?
The gathering is “to prepare their hearts.” How does the
gathering do that? It is also “to . . . be prepared in all things
against” the day of tribulation. What is that day? How does
the gathering prepare us for it?
79
to be to the story of Moses and Israel. How is that story
relevant? Are Revelation 12:6 and 14 relevant here?
81
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QUESTIONS
82
Lesson 13
Lesson 13
2 Nephi 3:11–15; Doctrine and Covenants
5:10; 84:19–25; 88:15–24; 93:29;
107:23, 33, 35; 124:37–42; 128:16–18;
and 130:22; Moses 1:40–41
Moses 1
Verse 41: Is the meaning of words here the same as that of
word in D&C 5:10? Is the Lord speaking of a time when
actual words will be removed from the Bible, or of the loss
of his teachings, whether that involves removing words or
just losing the understanding of them?
We usually compare Brigham Young to Moses, but here
the Lord compares Joseph Smith to Moses. How was Jo-
seph Smith like Moses, and Oliver Cowdery like Aaron?
(See other scriptures where this comparison is made, such
as D&C 28:2–3.)
Why are the words had only “among as many as shall be-
lieve”?
83
2 Nephi 3
Verse 11: Why is Joseph Smith here described as a seer
rather than a prophet? (How do the two differ, or do they?)
How did Joseph Smith bring forth the Lord’s word to the
descendants of Joseph (Lehi’s son)?
Verse 12: Lehi says that the writings of Judah and those of
his descendants “shall grow together.” What does that meta-
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84
Lesson 13
Verses 20–21: What does it mean that the power of godli-
ness is present in the ordinances? What does “the power of
godliness” mean?
Why does verse 20 begin with the word therefore?
Verse 22: To what does the word this refer? To the priest-
hood? To the ordinances? To the power of godliness?
Verses 23–25: How does removing the priesthood from the
children of Israel remove them from the Lord’s rest, the ful-
ness of his glory? What does “the Lord’s rest” or “the fulness
of his glory” mean?
85
Verses 21–22: We sometimes speak of being sanctified
through obedience to law, but verse 21 speaks of being
sanctified through the law. Is that any different? If so, how
so? If not, why not?
Notice too that these verses speak of abiding a law rather
than obeying a law. The word abide means “dwell.” Why do
you suppose the Lord would speak of abiding a law rather
than obeying a law?
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86
Lesson 13
Verse 40: What does it mean to build a house to the name
of the Lord? Why must it be built to his name if he is to
reveal his ordinances therein?
Verse 41: What is the significance of the promise made in
this verse?
Compare this verse with verse 38. What is the same in each?
What does that say about temple ordinances?
87
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QUESTIONS
88
Lesson 14
Lesson 14
Doctrine and Covenants 42:30–42; 51;
78; 82; and 104:11–18
89
the meaning of this scripture for our own understanding
and circumstances? (For a warning to the poor, see D&C
56:17.)
90
Lesson 14
D&C 78:22.) How is a steward different from an owner?
What implications does that have for our lives?
91
Verse 22: What is the significance of this promise in the
context of this particular revelation?
92
Lesson 14
over Satan. How does this verse figure into the law of con-
secration?
Verse 22: What is this verse advising? It is a quotation of
Luke 16:9 (a verse in one of the most difficult parables).
How does it fit with the instruction that we cannot serve
both God and mammon (Matthew 6:24; Luke 16:3; and
3 Nephi 13:24)?
Verse 23: As used in the scriptures, the word judgment
usually means “condemnation.” How do we avoid con-
demning others?
93
How do we decide when we have imparted enough of our
portion of the Lord’s abundance to the poor?
Verse 18: This verse makes it obvious that we must impart
our portion to the poor. How do we decide what that por-
tion is?
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Lesson 15
Lesson 15
Doctrine and Covenants 46
95
Verse 6: What is a confirmation meeting? Is it a public
meeting?
Verses 7–8: Verses 2–8 do not form a chiasm, but they do
form a related rhetorical form, “inclusion,” in which there
is a sandwich of material, beginning and ending with par-
allel themes or phrases and the filling of the sandwich be-
tween them:
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Lesson 15
Verse 9: Does this verse teach us anything about the scrip-
tures in which we are commanded to ask and to seek, and
promised that “it” will be given (e.g., D&C 4:7)?
How would one ask for a gift as a sign in order to consume
that sign or gift on their lusts? Is this verse connected in
any way (other than by using similar language) to James 4:3
and the verses surrounding it?
Verses 10–12: Why is it important to know that every per-
son has been given a gift by the Spirit?
Why spread the gifts among many “that all may be profited
thereby”? Why is that more likely to profit all than the al-
ternative, giving many gifts to a few?
Verses 13–14: What do you make of the difference between
verse 13 and verse 14? Are there particular individuals or
groups to whom each of these might refer?
Verses 15–20: Compare these verses to 1 Corinthians 12:4–
11. Here is another translation of the latter verses from
1 Corinthians that may help you make that comparison:
97
prophecy; to another discernment of spirits; to an-
other varieties of tongues; to another interpretation of
tongues. But one and the same Spirit produces all of
these, distributing them individually to each person as
he wishes. (New American Bible)
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Lesson 15
Verse 23: What is “the discerning of spirits”?
Verses 24–25: When this section was given, speaking in
tongues did not refer primarily, if at all, to being able to
teach the gospel in another language. Why do we now un-
derstand the verse differently?
Verse 26: One can read verses 9–26 as an inclusion (see my
notes for verses 7–8 above), with verses 9–11 and 26 being the
“bread” of the sandwich, and verses 12–25 being the “filling.”
Does seeing that rhetorical form give you a different under-
standing of these verses? If so, what is that understanding?
Verse 27: What is the point of this verse? What danger is the
bishop or other leader to be on guard against?
Verses 28–30: Here is another inclusion:
99
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Lesson 16
Lesson 16
Doctrine and Covenants 59
Verses 1–4: This is a blessing for those who had moved into
Jackson County, Missouri. How is it relevant to us in a time
when we are commanded to remain in our stakes rather
than to immigrate to Jackson?
Verse 1: Where is the land of Zion today? How do people
come up to that land today? How would a person come to
Zion with an eye single to the Lord’s glory?
Verse 2: In this context, what does it mean to inherit the
earth?
What does it mean to say that those who die will rest from
their labors? Don’t those in the spirit world and in the ce-
lestial kingdom have to work?
The verse says “they shall receive a crown.” To whom does
the word they refer in that phrase: to those who die, to
those who live, or to both?
Verse 3: Notice that the parallel phrases at the beginning
of this verse indicate that those who obey the gospel are
those whose “feet stand upon the land of Zion.” Why is
standing on the land of Zion a good metaphor for obedi-
ence? And, how does one obey the gospel anyway? How
can one obey good news?
101
Verse 4: Notice that this verse equates obedience with being
faithful and diligent. What might that say to us about what
it means to be obedient? On that understanding, were the
Pharisees obedient? When are we like the Pharisees? How
can we avoid being like them?
Notice too the three points of the crown that is given to
the faithful and diligent: blessings, commandments, and
revelations. Sometimes we think of commandments as
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Lesson 16
In summary: How is love connected to service? What has
that to do with obedience? What does it mean to love God
with all our heart, might, and strength?
Verse 6: Why do you think the Lord chose these particular
three sins—theft, adultery, murder—as illustrations of the
commandment to love thy neighbor as oneself?
Does the phrase “nor do anything like unto it” modify only
kill or does it modify each of the three sins mentioned?
Verse 7: This verse introduces the theme of most of the
rest of this section, giving thanks to the Lord. What does it
mean to thank God in all things? How do we do that?
Verse 8: Can you say specifically and concretely what a bro-
ken heart and a contrite spirit is? Have you experienced it?
Why does the Lord speak of a broken heart and a contrite
spirit as a sacrifice? What does it mean to offer that sacri-
fice up in righteousness? Could a broken heart and contrite
spirit be offered any other way?
Verses 9–10: The Lord has listed the commandments that
are important to those who are blessed to dwell in Zion. Why
does he expand so much on this particular commandment?
How is keeping the Sabbath related to dwelling in Zion?
Why does the Lord refer to our meeting house as a house of
prayer? What does that description imply?
What does “offer up thy sacraments” mean? What does
the word sacrament mean? Look in a dictionary, perhaps
a historical dictionary like the Oxford English Dictionary
to answer that question. Notice the plural of sacraments.
Why is it plural?
103
How does going to the house of prayer and offering up our
sacraments “more fully keep [us] unspotted from the world”?
What does it mean to be “unspotted from the world”?
What are our devotions? Are they the same as our sacra-
ments? What does the word devotion suggest? Think about
what it means to be devoted to something.
Verses 11–12: Is vows used here to mean the same thing as
devotions and sacraments? If our vows are to be offered up
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Lesson 16
These verses return to the statements in verses 2–3 that
those who live will “inherit the earth” and “receive for their
reward the good things of the earth, and it shall bring forth
its strength.” Presumably the list that follows tells us more
about that blessing. What does it mean for these things—
beasts, fowls, herbs—to be ours? What does it mean that
these things are to please the eye? That they are to gladden
the heart? How might such things strengthen the body?
How might they enliven the soul? What kind of relation to
the natural world is indicated here, and why does it follow
immediately on a revelation on the Sabbath in verses 9–14?
Verse 20: How do we use the things of the earth with judg-
ment? When do we use to them excess? Is it extortion to use
them wastefully or merely for our personal pleasure? When
do we use them by extortion? What is our responsibility as
to the things of the earth?
Verse 21: God is only angry with those who don’t confess
his hand in all things and those who don’t obey. Is obedi-
ence the same as confessing his hand in all things? Does
that mean that obeying is a means of thanking?
Verse 23: What peace is promised those who live righteously?
Does this verse contradict D&C 58:4, where it says bless-
ings come only after tribulation?
How could the Lord promise peace to those who were about
to be chased from the state and murdered?
105
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Lesson 17
Lesson 17
Doctrine and Covenants 59:13–14, 21; 119; and 120
108
Lesson 18
Lesson 18
Doctrine and Covenants 95; 109; 110
109
What is the Lord talking about when he refers to “my
strange act”? What meaning might “strange” have here?
(Compare Isaiah 28:21.)
Verse 5: Verse 1 ends with a dash, as does verse 4. Does that
suggest that verses 2–4 are a parenthetical remark and that
the sentence proper consists of verses 1 and 5? Or, are the
dashes unrelated to each other, with the first one marking
off verse 1 from verses 2–4, and the second one marking off
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Lesson 18
think of it as a way of reinforcing our supplications to God.
This verse suggests that perhaps it ought also to still be
a sign of mourning and penance for us. How would we
make it that?
Verse 8: This is an early reference to the endowment. (See
also D&C 38:32, 38; 43:16; 105:11; and 110:9.) In each case
where the Lord promises the endowment, he speaks of be-
ing “endowed with power from on high.” Does that phrase
refer only to a specific endowment that was given in Kirt-
land, or does it also apply to the endowment as we know it?
What “power from on high” was given in Kirtland? What
power from on high is given us in our endowment?
Verse 9: What does it mean that the Saints were com-
manded to “tarry, even as mine apostles at Jerusalem”
(compare Luke 24:49)?
Verse 10: Is the Lord naming two separate sins here, the
failure to build the temple when commanded and the con-
tentions that arose in the School of the Prophets, or is he
naming two related sins? Or is he naming the same sin in
two different ways?
Verse 11: The Lord promises that if they are obedient they
will have the power to build the temple. Does this suggest
anything about why they had not built the temple earlier?
What reasons might they have given for not building it?
Verse 12: How is the absence of the Father’s love con-
nected to walking in darkness? Is his love the same as the
Holy Ghost?
111
Verses 13–14: The Lord says: Do not build the house after
the manner of the world because I do not ask you to live
after the manner of the world. How is not living like the
world related to not building like the world? Can you ex-
plain what the Lord is saying here?
Verse 17: Orson Pratt said that Ahman meant “God” in
Adamic. Perhaps Ahman is a transliteration of the Hebrew
that we pronounce “amen.” Isaiah 65:16 describes God as
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Lesson 18
How can a prayer be received by revelation? By commit-
tee? If prayer is communication with the Lord, how can
he tell us what to say to him (see Romans 8:26)?
In 1831 the Lord told the Saints he would retain an interest
in Kirtland for five years (D&C 64:21). Thus, anyone who
remembered that earlier revelation and believed it also had
to believe that the dedication was the beginning of the end
for Kirtland. What would you think of building a temple
only to abandon it?
Verses 1–3: What do these verses tell about why the Saints
built the temple?
Verse 4: We usually talk about receiving salvation, but this
verse talks of salvation being administered. What is the dif-
ference? What does it mean to administer salvation?
What does it mean for the Lord to accept a temple?
Verse 5: What purpose was the Kirtland Temple to serve?
How is that different from temples today? How is that the
same?
Verses 7–9: How do these verses describe the Kirtland Tem-
ple? For example, how was it a house of learning and study?
Is there any similarity between these particular purposes
of the Kirtland Temple and the purposes of temples today?
How would a temple make our incomings, outgoings, and
salutations be in the Lord’s name? What does it mean to say
they are in his name?
Verses 10–13: Were you to sum up what the Saints are ask-
ing for here, what would you say?
113
When we ask the Lord for his grace, what are we asking for?
What does it mean for something to be done to the Lord’s
honor?
What promises might they expect to be fulfilled? (Footnote
11a is helpful.)
What does it mean for the Lord’s glory to rest on something?
What does it mean for something to be dedicated to the
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Lesson 18
Compare verses 7–9 to verses 14–19. Why this repetition?
Sometimes scripture repeats things to “frame” what occurs
between the repetitions. Is that happening here? If so, what
gets “framed” and what does that framing do?
Verses 20–21: How are these verses related to each other?
Verses 22–23: What does it mean to be armed with the
Lord’s power?
What does it mean for the Lord’s name to be upon his ser-
vants?
What does it mean for his glory to be round about them?
For his angels to have charge over them?
To whom does they in the phrase “that they may know
that this is thy work” refer? To the Saints or to the people
in the world?
Verses 24–33: What is the theme of these verses?
To whom does “the people that shall worship, and honor-
ably hold a name and standing in this thy house” refer? Is it
the Church as a whole or some group within the Church?
What does it mean to “hold a name and standing” in the
temple?
The Lord has said that Kirtland will be held for five more
years. This prayer comes in that fifth year. How, then, can
we make sense of what is being prayed for? What does it
mean for this people (the people referred to in verse 24)
to be established for eternity? Does it help to think about
the more general question of what it means to establish a
thing?
115
Of what might the writers have been thinking when writ-
ing verses 25–33? This prayer comes almost exactly two
years after Zion’s Camp. How might that experience have
changed the Saints’ understanding of what these verses
mean?
Verse 34: How is it relevant that all people sin?
Verse 35: What does it mean to seal the anointing of the
Lord’s ministers? What are they asking for?
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Lesson 18
Verse 38: What is “the testimony of the covenant”? What
does it mean to put a testimony on someone?
What does it mean to seal up the law (compare Isaiah 8:16
in context and 2 Nephi 18:16)? How does preaching the
gospel do that?
Verses 39–46, 54–58: What is the point of these verses?
How would you sum them up in your own words?
Verses 47–53: What is the Saints’ attitude toward their per-
secutors? Do you think it has changed from what it was
before Zion’s Camp?
Verse 59: For what are they asking here?
Verses 60–67: About whom are they praying in these verses?
Who, for example, are the children of Jacob? How do you
know the answer to that question?
Verses 68–73: The prayer is for the President of the Church,
and the presidents of the Church, and for the whole
Church. Who are Joseph’s “immediate connections” (verse
70)? What is being asked for them?
Who are “the presidents” (verse 71)?
Why are “all the poor and meek of the earth” included in
the prayer for the whole Church (verse 72)?
What does the image at the end of verse 73 convey? (We’ve
seen it before in D&C 5:14.) What does it mean to shine
forth fair as the moon? As clear as the sun? What do you
make of the fact that the last half of this verse is a quotation
from the Song of Solomon (Song of Solomon 6:10)?
117
What does it mean to describe one’s beloved as “terrible
as an army with banners,” in other words, “awe-inspiring
as bannered hosts”? How does that description apply in
this context?
Verse 72: If the Lord knows everything, why would we ask
him to remember us and his church? The Prophet Joseph
Smith prays that the Lord will remember various people
so that the kingdom will fill the whole earth. How will the
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Lesson 18
What does it mean for the mountains to flow down, the val-
leys to be exalted, and the rough places to be made smooth?
How will that fill the earth with the Lord’s glory?
This is a paraphrase of Isaiah 40:4–5. How does this verse
connect this part of the temple dedicatory prayer to the
prayer in section 65?
Verse 75: What is the Prophet describing in this verse? What
is he praying for? If it is something that has been promised
already, why pray for it?
Verse 76: What does it mean to have pure garments? Why
do you think sin is so often portrayed as blood stains on
our clothing? What particular sin might this image allude
to, and why is that particular sin a type for all other sins?
Why are garments used as a symbol of purity? Is there a dif-
ference between having pure garments and robes of righ-
teousness? If so, what is that difference?
What does it mean for us to have palms in our hands? To
what event in notthe Savior’s life does that phrase refer?
What does it mean to reap eternal joy for all our sufferings?
119
and passed, Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery went to the
pulpit at the west end of the temple (there were pulpits at
each end, the one at the east for the Aaronic Priesthood
officers and that at the west for the Melchizedek Priest-
hood), and they had the curtains (called “veils”) that par-
titioned it off from the rest of the temple dropped. Then
they bowed in silent prayer. This vision came to them af-
ter their prayers.
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Verses 6–7: What does it mean to say that the Lord has ac-
cepted the temple? What does it mean to say that his name
will be there? How did he manifest himself in mercy to the
members there?
Verse 8: Does this answer the question of how the Lord was
to manifest himself in mercy?
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Lesson 18
Verses 9–10: Notice that verse 9 says that the endowment
has already been given in this house. To what might the
Lord have been referring? (Since the endowment as we
know it was not given until the Church was in Nauvoo, it
does not refer to that.)
Compare verses 7–10 to the dedicatory prayer (section
109). How do these verses answer that prayer?
Verses 11–16: In their Doctrine and Covenants Commen-
tary, Hyrum Smith (a later Hyrum Smith, not Joseph
Smith’s brother) and Janne M. Sjodahl say: “Elias was the
representative of the Patriarchal dispensation; Moses, of
the Mosaic, and Elijah of the dispensation preparatory to
the coming of the Lord. Each delegated part of his author-
ity to the Prophet Joseph” (p. 727). Do you think this com-
ment is helpful? Can you think of a scriptural or prophetic
basis for their comment? (See the notes for D&C 27:6 in
the lesson 9 materials for more on Elias and Elijah.)
Verse 11: Who is Israel in this case? (Compare D&C 133:13
and 26.) Why would Moses rather than another prophet
have had the keys of the gathering of Israel?
Verse 12: What does “the dispensation of the gospel of
Abraham” mean? This seems to be the only place in scrip-
ture where the phrase appears.
Verses 13–16: Is Elijah’s appearance on the Mount of
Transfiguration (Matthew 17:3) related to this appearance?
What curse would have come if Elijah had not come to
turn the hearts of the fathers to the children and the hearts
of the children to the fathers?
121
Verse 16 begins with therefore: the keys of the kingdom are
committed into the hands of Joseph Smith because Elijah
came to turn hearts. Can you explain this?
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Lesson 19
Lesson 19
Doctrine and Covenants 19:16–19; 76:40–42,
96–112; 88:14–16; and 138:55–56
125
Doctrine and Covenants 88
Verse 14: What does it mean to say that the resurrection
occurs through the redemption?
Verse 15: This is an important doctrine, for traditional Chris-
tianity has often denigrated the body: our culture often looks
on the body as a hindrance (or, in backlash, it thinks of the
body as the only thing). I suspect that the privilege and ac-
claim we sometimes give supposedly intellectual professions
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Lesson 20
Lesson 20
Doctrine and Covenants 76; 131:1–4;
132:19–24; and 137
127
Verse 14: The wording here is slightly unusual: “Of whom
we bear record; and the record we bear is the fulness of
the gospel of Jesus Christ.” The first clause is no surprise.
Joseph and Oliver bear record of the Son; they testify of
him. But why does the verse say that their testimony is the
fulness of the gospel?
Verse 18: About what do you think Joseph and Sidney
marveled? What does it mean to say they marveled be-
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Verse 32: Why are these people called “sons of perdition”?
What does perdition mean? Why would it be better for
them never to have been born? What would their state have
been like had they not been born?
Verse 33: What does it mean to say that the sons of perdition
are vessels of wrath? (Compare Romans 9:22.) What is “the
wrath of God”? What does it mean to suffer that wrath?
What is the punishment of “the devil and his angels”?
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Verses 55, 59: The law of consecration requires the Saints
to give all things. Here they are given all things. The ex-
change is all for all, but our all and his all are incomparable.
We do well in the exchange, but he does not. Why would he
make such an exchange?
Verse 56: What is the import of the prophecy that the just
will be kings and queens, priests and priestesses?
Verse 57: What is the significance of the just holding the
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Melchizedek Priesthood?
132
Lesson 20
What does it mean to inherit thrones, powers, domin-
ions, all heights and depths?
What does it mean for one’s marriage to be written in
the Lamb’s Book of Life?
What is exaltation? What does it mean to say that
they will be gods? Verse 20 says, “They shall be gods,
because they have no end,” and it uses “they continue”
as a parallel to “they have no end.” What does it mean
to say that they will be gods because they continue?
Continue in what way?
Verse 24 (still in reference to section 132): Why does
the Lord use the plural here, lives instead of life?
See also Doctrine and Covenants 131:1–4.
What does it mean to say that marriage is an order of
the priesthood (verse 2)? Why is the highest degree of
the celestial kingdom reserved for the married? The
Prophet Joseph Smith said:
Except a man and his wife enter into an everlast-
ing covenant and be married for eternity, while in
this probation, by the power and authority of the
Holy Priesthood, they will cease to increase when
they die; that is, they will not have any children
after the resurrection. But those who are married
by the power and authority of the priesthood in
this life, and continue without committing the sin
against the Holy Ghost will continue to increase
and have children in the celestial glory. (Teachings
of the Prophet Joseph Smith, pp. 300–301)
133
How is eternal increase a blessing?
What about the faithful saints who for some reason are
unable to be sealed to a husband or wife in this life?
Does D&C 124:49 give an answer to this question?
are gods and the sons and daughters of God. Doesn’t that
mean those who haven’t done these things are not his chil-
dren? How can that be, given the doctrine that we are all his
spirit children?
Verse 60: What is the significance of the future tense in this
verse: “They shall overcome all things” rather than “They
have overcome all”?
Verse 61: How does this verse follow from verse 60 (and per-
haps also the verses before it), as the word wherefore suggests?
Verse 62: Why would we want to dwell in the presence of
God forever? Why does this verse speak of “his Christ”? Is
there another?
Verses 63–65: Explain what the Lord is prophesying here.
QUESTIONS
Verse 66: Why does this verse say that they are come to
Mount Zion rather than they will come to it? Is this an im-
plicit reference to Hebrews 12:22?
Where do Latter-day Saints believe Mount Zion will be?
Verse 67 (and 54): Why is the church of the Firstborn also
called the church of Enoch? Aren’t we commanded not to
134
Lesson 20
call the church after the name of someone other than the
Savior?
Verse 69: In context, what does it mean to be a just person?
What does it mean to be “made perfect”? Who makes us
perfect? How?
Jesus was killed by Roman soldiers on the orders of a Ro-
man commander hoping to appease the corrupt Jewish
leadership (primarily the temple leadership) in Jesus’s day.
So why does this say that he shed his own blood?
Verse 70: What does it mean to have a celestial body?
What does glory mean in this verse?
Verses 71–80: The terrestrial kingdom. Perhaps we should
know about the celestial kingdom and who will go there
because it is our goal. However, why should we know about
the terrestrial and telestial kingdoms, much less the fate of
the sons of perdition?
Verse 72: To whom does “they are they who died without
law” refer? Does this verse teach that all those who do not
hear about the law before they die will inherit the terrestrial
kingdom? (See D&C 137 and 138.)
Verse 73: Since no one was resurrected prior to Christ, ev-
eryone who died before his visit to spirit prison was in that
prison. Does this mean that everyone who died before him
will go to the terrestrial kingdom? If not, why not?
Verses 74–77: Grammatically these verses continue to de-
scribe those whom Christ visited in spirit prison. However,
we take them more broadly. What justifies our doing so?
135
Verse 74: Does “received not” mean the same as “rejected”?
Verse 75: If these people were blinded by others, how are
they responsible for their failure to accept the gospel?
Verse 76: What does it mean to receive of Jesus’s glory but
not of his fulness?
Verse 79: To what people does this refer? What does it mean
not to be valiant in the testimony of Jesus? How can these
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Lesson 20
What do verses 99–101 tell us about those in the telestial
kingdom? Are these the members of other churches? If so,
how did they differ from those in the terrestrial world?
What does it mean to “love and make a lie” (verse 103)?
What might it mean to be a servant of the Father and the
Son who cannot enter into their presence (verse 112)?
Verse 82: Is not receiving the gospel of Christ the same as
not receiving the testimony of Jesus? If they are different,
how so?
Verse 84: What is this verse saying?
Verse 85: What does it mean to be redeemed from the devil?
Verse 86: How do the inhabitants of the telestial kingdom
receive the Holy Spirit? What does that mean?
Verse 87: What does it mean to say that the terrestrial king-
dom receives something (the Holy Spirit?) “through the
ministration of the celestial”? Explain verses 86–87.
Verse 88: What does it mean that the inhabitants of the teles-
tial world will be “heirs of salvation”? Salvation from what?
What do the ministering angels have to do with being heirs?
Verses 89–90: What understanding does this give us that
isn’t had by those outside the Church of Jesus Christ of
Latter-day Saints?
Verse 94: What does it mean to see as we are seen and to
know as we are known? (Compare 1 Corinthians 13.)
Verses 92–95: Why does the Lord return to a description of
the celestial kingdom?
137
Verse 95: How can we be equal in power, might, and do-
minion with the Father?
Verses 96–98: What does it mean to say that each of the
kingdoms “is one”?
Verse 98: What does it mean to say that the glories in the
telestial world differ from one another like the glory of the
stars differ from one another? Is the same thing true of the
other kingdoms?
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Lesson 20
Verse 103: If the telestial kingdom is going to filled with li-
ars, adulterers, and whoremongers, how can it have a glory
that surpasses understanding (verse 89)?
Why will their habitation be a mansion (verse 111), and
how can they serve the Most High (verse 112)?
What does it mean to say that someone “loves and makes
a lie”?
Verses 107–8: To what kingdom does the first clause of the
verse refer?
How is the winepress an apt image for Christ’s suffering?
Why does he focus here on his suffering rather than on his
resurrection?
Verse 109: What does this verse suggest about how many
people will go to the telestial kingdom?
Verse 110: Why is it important for us to know that every
person in the telestial kingdom will bow to and confess
to Christ? Why is it important that they make confession
to him?
Verse 111: Why does this verse begin with for? How does
that word connect the ideas of this verse to those that pre-
ceded it? To whom does the word they at the beginning of
the verse refer? To the inhabitants of the terrestrial world?
If not, to whom does it refer?
Verse 112: What might we gather from the teaching that
those in the telestial kingdom will be “servants of the
Most High”?
139
Verses 116–18: Who can have the privilege of seeing and
understanding the things revealed here? What does it
mean to see and know for oneself? How does a person
come to that state?
According to these verses, how does the Holy Ghost pre-
pare us for life after the resurrection?
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QUESTIONS
140
Lesson 21
Lesson 21
Doctrine and Covenants 29:9–29; 34:5–12;
45:16–75; 88:86–89; 101:22–34; and 133
142
Lesson 21
Doctrine and Covenants 34
Verses 5–12: What do these verses add to what we learned
from section 29?
143
(verse 35). To what promises is he referring here? How do
we know what to make of the signs mentioned? In other
words, how are they a comfort to us?
“Desolating sickness” (verse 31) is probably less common
now than it used to be. It certainly isn’t more common;
we have nothing today like the Black Plague of the Middle
Ages. Geologists tell us that there hasn’t been any increase
in the number of earthquakes (verse 33). And, like epi-
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demic disease, war (verse 33) probably occurs less often to-
day than it used to, but it almost certainly doesn’t occur any
more often. That means that the frequency of these things
isn’t what will reassure us, but if not that, then how are we
to be reassured by such events? (Compare D&C 88:88–89.)
Though the frequency of war has decreased, has perhaps its
intensity increased? The two world wars of the twentieth
century are something new in world history.
Verses 36–39: Does this parable answer the question about
the previous two verses? How?
Verses 43–44: Where is “this place”? What is the Lord tell-
ing us when he says “they shall look for me”?
Why would it be that “he who watches not for me shall
be cut off ”? Why are we required not only to live up to
QUESTIONS
144
Lesson 21
What does it mean for a person’s redemption to be perfected?
What meaning of the word perfect is at work in that idea?
Verses 47–50: When will these events occur?
Who are “they that have watched for iniquity” (verse 50)?
Does that contrast with those who have looked for the Lord
(verse 44)? If so, does that contrast help explain who has
looked for his coming?
Verses 52–53: Does the Lord ascribe his execution to the
Jews in these verses? Can you explain your answer? The
New Testament makes it clear that it was, for the most part,
a few within a particular sect of Judaism at the time and
some (not all) Jewish leaders who opposed Jesus and who
conspired with the Romans to have him executed. Why,
then, does the Lord say “they persecuted their king,” as if all
the Jews of his day took part? Are all responsible in some
way for the acts of some?
Verses 56–59: When will this happen? Can you explain how
you came to that answer?
Explain the events prophesied in these verses in your own
words. Why are they important to us?
Verse 63: Of what “wars in your own lands” was this a
prophecy? How was that prophecy and its fulfillment one
of the signs of the second coming?
Verse 64: Where were the “western countries” of the United
States when this revelation was given?
Verses 65–70: Where will this New Jerusalem be? When
will these events occur? Why are these events of spiritual
interest to us?
145
Verses 72–73: What are the things that the Lord doesn’t
want them to allow people to know? They know about such
things as plagues, wars, earthquakes, and strange meteoro-
logical events. The Lord says that he doesn’t want the world
to know “these things” so that the world won’t know the
works of the Saints. What works is he referring to? Why
shouldn’t the world know about those works until after the
Saints have done them?
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147
meetings that we now call “solemn assemblies” or is he us-
ing the term differently?
Why are we commanded to “speak often one to another”?
What does it mean for every person to call on the name of
the Lord?
Verse 9: Obviously verses 7–8 are about missionary work.
In verse 9, the Lord gives a reason for that work: so that the
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148
Lesson 21
Verses 16–33: When do these events happen, at the begin-
ning or the end of the millennium?
Verse 34: Why or how are the things described in verses
16–33 the blessings of the tribes of Israel?
Verse 35: What does “after their pain” mean in this context?
Verse 36: Does this verse refer to Moroni? If it does, in what
sense did he commit the gospel (as defined in the scrip-
tures) to humanity?
Verse 38: Do we ever preach “fear God and give glory to
him”? When?
Verse 40: Do we pray for the second coming? Does this
verse say that we should? Does the Lord’s prayer (Matthew
6:9–13; 3 Nephi 9–13) tell us that we should? Why should
we pray for it?
Verse 47: When people ask, “Who is this?” why is it impor-
tant that part of the answer is “he who spake in righteous-
ness”? To whom might this be an implicit comparison?
Verses 48–51: What is the significance of the Lord’s robes
being red? Why would he choose treading the wine-vat as a
symbol of his atoning sacrifice?
Verse 52: Why does the Lord speak of “the year of my re-
deemed”? To what might he be referring by using the word
year?
What loving kindness of the Lord do the redeemed re-
member?
149
Verses 53–55: Is “in all their afflictions he was afflicted” lit-
eral or metaphorical? How do you decide your answer to
this question?
What does “the angel of his presence” mean? Does it refer
to a particular angel, or is it a way of referring to the Lord?
If the latter, what is its significance?
Why does the Lord pity us? How did he bear and carry
those of old?
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150
Lesson 21
The verb thrash has two possible meanings, “to separate
grain from its husk by beating” and “to defeat thorough-
ly.” Which meaning is intended here? What makes you
think so?
Verses 60–63: What does it mean to say that the command-
ments “were commanded to be kept from the world in the
day that they were given”? Why might some command-
ments have been given only to be withheld until the Resto-
ration? What might those have been?
Verses 64–74: In verse 66, the Lord says that when he came
to his own no one received him. When did he come to his
own? Why does he use hyperbole, saying no one received
him, when some did?
Why is there no one who can deliver those who have not
obeyed (verse 71)? Is it because the Lord won’t allow any-
one to deliver them or because it is impossible for them to
be delivered? If the latter, why?
What does “they sealed up the testimony” (verse 72) mean?
(Compare Isaiah 8:16.)
Verse 73 tells us that the persons described in these verses
will go to outer darkness. Does that mean that he has been
talking about the sons of perdition? Verse 64 identified the
people to whom he is referring as those “that do wickedly.”
That seems to describe more than the sons of perdition, so
how do you explain verse 73?
151
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QUESTIONS
152
Lesson 22
Lesson 22
Doctrine and Covenants 89
153
What does it mean to say that the Word of Wisdom is given,
not only by revelation, but by the word of wisdom? Is it im-
portant that this is for the temporal salvation of the Saints?
Brigham Young said:
Notice that section 87, on war, was given only a few days be-
fore this section, “an olive leaf . . . plucked from the Tree of
Paradise, the Lord’s message of peace.” How is the message
of section 88 one of peace to the Saints? (See what was hap-
pening to the Saints in December 1832 and January 1833.)
Some of these questions were also part of lesson 19.
158
Lesson 23
the light we see is the same light that gives us understand-
ing, or does it say that the light we see is given by the same
person who gives us mental and spiritual light?
Verses 12–13: Notice that these verses define the light that
fills the universe as God’s power, much as verses 7–10 did.
Notice too that “the law by which all things are governed”
is equated with “the power of God.” How are these—power,
light, and law—the same? For example, what does it mean
to say that God’s power and his law are the same?
Verse 14: What does it mean to say that the resurrection
occurs through the redemption?
Verse 15: This is an important doctrine, for traditional
Christianity has often denigrated the body, and because of
that denigration our culture still often looks on the body
as a hindrance (or, in backlash, it thinks of the body as the
only thing). The privilege and acclaim we sometimes give
supposedly intellectual professions over more physical pro-
fessions is one of the remnants of this misunderstanding of
the body and the spirit. In what other ways do we some-
times forget this necessary unity of spirit and body?
Note: though the soul is defined here as the unity of the
spirit and body, it isn’t always or even often used that way
in other scriptures. This definition is one that seems to be
used only in the latter days. Therefore, when you read the
word soul in scripture, you must ask yourself whether the
writer meant “spirit” or “soul” as it is used here.
Verses 21–22: We sometimes speak of being sanctified
through obedience to law, but verse 21 speaks of being
159
sanctified through the law. Is that any different? If so, how
so? If not, why not?
Notice too that these verses speak of abiding a law rather
than obeying a law. The word abide means “dwell.” Why
do you suppose the Lord speaks of abiding or “dwelling” a
law rather than obeying a law? What does the former imply
that may be missing in the latter?
Verses 30–31: In what sense can terrestrial or telestial glory
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160
Lesson 23
Verse 67: Given what we’ve seen in verses 4–13, what are we
promised if our eye is single to the Lord’s glory? What does
it mean to have our eye single to his glory? (Compare this
verse with section 4, and compare section 4 to 2 Peter 1:5–9.)
Verses 76–77: How are verses 76 and 77 connected? For ex-
ample, are they parallel in some way, or does one explain
the other, or . . . ? In nineteenth-century English the word
doctrine (verse 77) could also mean “message” or “teach-
ing.” What is the message of the kingdom? In other words,
what are we to teach each other?
Verses 78–80: We are promised that if we teach diligently,
the Lord’s grace will attend us. What does that mean? What
is his grace? What does it mean to say it will attend us?
How are the things listed in verse 79 essential to us? Why
should we need to know them?
Verse 117: In this verse, the word therefore seems to mean
something like, “given all the things described in verses 87–
116.” How are this verse and the verses that follow neces-
sitated by the events described in verses 87–116?
Verse 118: Does a lack of faith, rather than knowledge, make
teaching necessary? How would you explain that?
What does wisdom mean in this verse? (Compare D&C
131:6.) What are “words of wisdom”? What are the best
books? What does it mean to seek learning by faith?
Compare D&C 90:15. Are these two scriptures recommend-
ing the same thing or different things?
Verse 119: What house is the Lord speaking of in this verse?
161
Verse 120: This verse begins with that meaning “so that.”
What are we to do so that our coming in and going out,
and so forth, may be in the name of the Lord? What does it
mean to say that our comings and goings are in the name
of the Lord?
Verse 122: Does this provide a model for teaching in the
Church? What is the difference between this model of
teaching and most other models of teaching? Does this
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162
Lesson 24
Lesson 24
Doctrine and Covenants 26; 28; 43:1–7; 50;
52:14–19
163
Doctrine and Covenants 43
Verses 3–6: We occasionally hear of some who have sepa-
rated themselves from the Church, claiming that we have a
false prophet or that they have another prophet who leads
them in a higher law. What do these verses tell us about
such claims? How does the Lord say that he will deal with
things if the prophet were to cease to be his prophet?
Verse 7: To whom is this referring in speaking of those who
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164
Lesson 24
When the Church was organized, persons came into
it bringing along some of these enthusiastic notions,
individuals who professed to have revelations on
every subject, and who were ready to banish every
moral principle under the guidance of false spirits.
Joseph the Prophet had also to learn by experience,
and to teach the Elders and the early members of the
Church, how they should judge of the manifestation
of spirits. . . .
There was a prevalent spirit all through the early his-
tory of this Church, which prompted the Elders to
suppose that they knew more than the Prophet. Elders
would tell you that the prophet was going wrong, men
who thought they knew all about this work thirty or
forty years some of them before the Lord revealed it,
tried “to steady the ark.” The Church was constantly
afflicted with such a class of men. (Journal of Dis-
courses, 11:2, 7)
165
means, “a person who falsely pretends to have virtuous in-
clinations, feelings, or practices”? It is clear why deception
is a terrible sin, but why is hypocrisy? Does verse 7 mean
that deceivers and hypocrites are the same? What does it
mean when it says “but behold such shall be reclaimed”?
Verses 10–12: Is the Lord using the word the word reason
in these verses as we use it? What does he mean? (See Isaiah
55.) What does verse 12 suggest about how the Lord speaks
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say that only “those who receive the word by the Spirit
of truth receive the word by the Spirit of truth.” At first
glance it seems to be a tautology. But surely the clause says
more than that. What more does it say?
How does verse 21 imply verse 22? Why do those who preach
and those that receive understand one another? Why are
both edified, in other words, “built up”?
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Lesson 24
Verse 23: Can we divide everything in the world into
those things that edify and those that do not? What about
things like mowing the lawn that don’t seem to edify but
seem strange to describe as “not edifying”? I think some of
us would say, “It isn’t edifying to mow the lawn,” though
perhaps a few would say, “It is edifying to mow the lawn.”
To what kinds of things does this verse refer?
Verse 24: What kinds of meanings can the word light have
in this verse? Consider what it means to receive more light,
given each of the meanings you think of.
Verses 25–27: Of whom is verse 26 speaking—of a particu-
lar person or of anyone who has been ordained? If the lat-
ter, ordained to what? What does it mean to say that he
is “appointed to be the greatest, notwithstanding he is the
least and the servant of all”? Of what appointment is this
speaking? In what ways is he a servant and the least? How
does knowing what verse 26 teaches help us know the truth
and chase darkness away (verse 25)?
How does verse 27 define what it means to possess all
things? Does that understanding of possession differ from
our ordinary understanding?
Verse 29: How does this verse repeat what was taught in
verse 27? Does it add anything to our understanding?
Verses 30–31: In what sense is the word spirit being used
in these verses? Can you say in your own words what the
instructions in verse 31 mean?
167
Verses 32–34: What does it mean to proclaim against a
spirit? What does it mean to do so with a loud voice if that
voice is not one of “railing accusation”?
By what might one who uses railing accusation be over-
come? How?
Why might we proclaim against a spirit with boasting or
rejoicing? Why is it a mistake to do so?
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When the Lord says “you cannot bear all things now,”
what kinds of things might he be talking about, things
they cannot bear?
What does it mean to grow in grace? Why must we grow
in grace and knowledge of the truth in order to be able to
bear all things? In other words, how do grace and truth
help us bear things?
168
Lesson 24
Verse 42: We don’t believe in predestination, so what does
this verse mean?
Verses 43–44: What does it mean to be in Christ or in the
Father? Why is the preposition in appropriate here?
Some New Testament scholars have argued that the phrase
“in Christ” depends on Old Testament usage, and that us-
age indicates that the person who is in another person is
part of the other person’s family. Would that interpreta-
tion work here?
Does the clause “I am in your midst” in verse 44 help us
understand better what the Lord teaches in verse 43? How
is he in our midst?
Why does the Lord call himself “the good shepherd”? What
is the point of that name?
Why does the Lord refer to himself as “the stone of Israel”?
What does that name teach us? How do we build on “this
rock”? Is verse 43 related to Matthew 16:18: “And I say also
unto thee, that thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build
my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it”?
Verses 45–46: When will the day described in verse 45
come? How do we watch for it?
169
obey the ordinances. The last two, a contrite spirit and
obedience to the ordinances, are mentioned in both of
these verses.
What does it mean to have a contrite spirit?
Are “accepted of me” and being “of God” the same? Can
you explain what they mean?
We usually speak of obeying commandments. How does
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the one hand, and being overcome, on the other. Why are
both of these positions of subservience? Is this a pattern for
bringing forth fruits? How so? What is the pattern?
Verse 19: How can we use this pattern to identify spirits?
170
Lesson 25
Lesson 25
Doctrine and Covenants 84:33–44; 107; 121:34–46
171
CALLED, pp. Invited; summoned; addressed; named; ap-
pointed; invoked; assembled by order; recited.
CHOSEN, pp. cho’zn. Selected from a number; picked out;
taken in preference; elected; predestinated; designated to
office.
173
2. Power to direct, control, use and dispose of at
pleasure; right of possession and use without being
accountable.
3. Territory under a government; region; country;
district governed, or within the limits of the authority
of a prince or state; as the British dominions.
4. Government; right of governing.
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5. Predominance; ascendant.
6. An order of angels.
7. Persons governed.
174
Lesson 25
and agreement, or disagreement and repugnancy of
our ideas.
2. Learning; illumination of mind.
3. Skill; as a knowledge of seamanship.
4. Acquaintance with any fact or person. I have no
knowledge of the man or thing.
5. Cognizance; notice.
6. Information; power of knowing.
7. Sexual intercourse. But it is usual to prefix carnal; as
carnal knowledge.
2. Not obtuseness.
3. Pungency; acidity; as the sharpness of vinegar.
4. Pungency of pain; keenness; severity of pain or af-
fliction; as the sharpness of pain, grief or anguish.
5. Painfulness; afflictiveness; as the sharpness of death
or calamity.
QUESTIONS
177
4. A particular moral excellence; as the virtue of tem-
perance, of chastity, of charity.
5. Acting power; something efficacious.
6. Secret agency; efficacy without visible or material
action.
7. Excellence; or that which constitutes value and
merit.
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178
Lesson 25
Verse 43: What are “the words of eternal life?” How is giving
heed to them the same as to beware concerning ourselves?
179
In specific terms, how do we set our hearts on the things
of this world? Is verse 39 relevant for deciding whether this
problem is common among us?
Verse 36: What are the rights of the priesthood? Do they
differ from other rights? If so, how? What does it mean to
say that the rights of the priesthood are inseparably con-
nected to the powers of heaven? How does having one’s
heart set on the things of the world and aspiring for honor
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180
Lesson 25
he performs are still valid until his priesthood is removed
formally, whether or not he is acting unrighteously. So
what does his unrighteous dominion cause him to lose?
What might that understanding of losing the priesthood
tell us about what priesthood is?
Verse 38: The phrase “kick against the pricks” (from Acts
9:5 and 26:14) refers to sharp goads used to guide oxen.
What might it mean in this context? Are these three
things—kicking against the pricks, persecuting the Saints,
and fighting against God—always the results of being left
to oneself by the Spirit? How do they differ from one an-
other, or do they?
Verse 39: Whose voice is speaking in this verse, the Lord’s
or Joseph’s? If this is Joseph’s voice, what sad experiences
might he be referring to?
What does the phrase “as they suppose” do in this verse?
If it is true that almost everyone exercises unrighteous do-
minion when given what they presume to be authority,
what should our reaction to our authority in our callings
be? To our authority as parents? In the workplace?
Verse 40: Verse 34 begins with the same sentence that we
find here, suggesting that the discussion of verses 34–40
is about the fact that many are called but few are chosen.
How does the discussion that occurs between the first part
of verse 34 and this verse explain that many are called but
few chosen? Does it shed any light on what it means to be
called? To be chosen?
Verses 41–43: Does the phrase “power or influence,” as
used here, perhaps indicate that we should think of power
181
in terms of influence rather than in terms of control? Does
the wording suggest that we should use these principles of
righteousness to maintain power and influence?
What is persuasion? Long-suffering? Is there a difference
between gentleness and meekness?
What does “unfeigned” tell us about the love required?
What is kindness?
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182
Lesson 25
Verse 44: What does it mean for someone to know that
your faithfulness is stronger than the cords of death? Faith-
fulness to whom? To that person? What are the cords of
death? In this verse, to what might faithfulness refer?
Verse 45: What does it mean for one’s bowels to be full of
charity? The metaphor is very strange to us, though varia-
tions of it occur with some regularity in scripture. (See, for
example, Genesis 43:30; 1 Kings 3:26; Jeremiah 31:20; Phi-
lippians 2:1; 1 John 3:17; Mosiah 15:9; Alma 7:12; 34:15;
3 Nephi 17:7; and D&C 101:9.) Can you think of a way to
help us understand the metaphor?
What does the word virtue mean in this context? Do the
definitions from Webster’s dictionary throw any light on
new meanings?
One older meaning of garnish is “to outfit” or “to supply.”
What might it mean for virtue to garnish our thoughts?
What are the conditions for confidence given here? If we
want confidence, what must we do first? What is “the doc-
trine of the priesthood”? What does the last phrase of this
verse mean?
Verse 46: According to this and the previous verse, what
will bring about the constant companionship of the Holy
Ghost and the other blessings listed here?
What is a scepter? Why might a scepter be mentioned here?
What is a scepter of righteousness and truth?
What does it mean to have an everlasting dominion? What
does it mean for a dominion to come “without compul-
sory means”?
183
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QUESTIONS
184
Lesson 26
Lesson 26
Doctrine and Covenants 42:6; 88:81; 112
185
Doctrine Covenants 112
Verse 19: The last part of this verse is a paraphrase of the
first part of 1 Corinthians 16:9. Webster’s 1828 dictionary
says that the word effectual means “producing an effect, or
the effect desired or intended; or having adequate power or
force to produce the effect.” How can a door be effectual?
How does one produce effects?
Verse 20: What does “counselors for my name’s sake” mean?
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186
Lesson 27
Lesson 27
Doctrine and Covenants 101; 103; and 105
187
How do those verses in section 98 help us understand
these verses?
Verses 7–8: What counsel had the Lord given the Missouri
Saints that they ignored? (How, for example, had he com-
manded them to obtain land in Missouri and how did they
get along with their neighbors?)
Verses 24–34: Why is/was this description of the millen-
nium important to the Saints? (See verses 35 and 36.)
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188
Lesson 27
Verses 76–78: How were the Saints who had been perse-
cuted to seek redress? What might that say to us about our
own difficulties? What does this say to some of those today
who feel that the government or their community has been
unfair to them? Why does the Lord want us to act in this
way? (See the end of verse 78.)
Verses 81–91: How does this parable relate to the princi-
ples taught in D&C 98:23–31, where the Saints are given
instruction in how to respond to their persecutions?
Verse 92: Why should we pray that our persecutors will lis-
ten to our pleas? Why not pray, instead, that God will wreak
vengeance on them or that he will give us a chance to do so?
189
it (in this context) that the members of the church are of
the seed of Abraham?
How was the church in bondage? Are we in bondage to-
day? What does “by power and a stretched-out arm” mean?
(Compare Exodus 6:6; Deuteronomy 5:15; Psalm 136:10–
12; and Ezekiel 20:33.)
Verses 24–28: What do you think those hearing this revela-
tion expected to happen when they got to Missouri?
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190
Lesson 27
What kind of unity does the law of the celestial kingdom
demand of us? (In the D&C that phrase appears always
to mean the law of consecration.) Why can’t Zion be re-
deemed without that particular kind of unity? Do we have
that unity today? If not, what would we have to do to get it?
What are the principles of the law of the celestial kingdom,
in other words, of the law of consecration? How do we
learn those principles? How do we carry them out?
Why is obedience so important to Zion? What does the
Lord mean by the word obedience? What does he expect of
an obedient person?
Verses 3–19: Many of those in Zion’s Camp left the church
afterward, disappointed that Joseph’s prophecy hadn’t
come to pass and convinced he was not a prophet. How
do you square this revelation with the revelation that or-
dered them to go to Missouri and redeem the land for the
Saints? In other words, what could you have said to those
who were disappointed?
Verses 23–24: The Saints to whom these verses were ad-
dressed had been forced to leave Jackson County, and many
of their homes had been burned. What would this advice
mean to them? What kinds of problems had the Saints had
with their neighbors in Jackson County?
Verses 25–27: Of what is this a prophecy?
Verses 30ff.: How did the Lord want the Saints to acquire
the land of Jackson County? Has that changed?
Verse 31: What will be required before Zion can be re-
deemed? (See also verse 11.)
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Verses 35–36: What is the point of these verses?
Verses 38–39: What does sue mean in verse 38? What is an
“ensign of peace”? How do we proclaim peace?
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QUESTIONS
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Lesson 28
Lesson 28
Doctrine and Covenants 121:1–33; and 122
Sections 121, 122, and 123 are each part of a letter written
by Joseph Smith from Liberty Jail to the Church leaders
in Quincey, Illinois. Read about that experience in a good
Church history.
193
Missouri, although they could have emphasized so many
others, some equally as or perhaps more difficult?
Verse 2: Why is it significant to Joseph’s plea that God’s eye
is pure?
Verse 3: Why does he assume that the Lord’s heart has been
hardened toward the Saints? What does it mean to say that
God’s heart is hardened toward someone?
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194
Lesson 28
the aid of the Missourians. How might that be relevant to
what the Lord says here?
Verse 15 uses an odd phrase that I think is a paraphrase of
a biblical phrase, “not one of them is left to stand by the
wall.” (Compare 1 Samuel 25:22, 34; 1 Kings 2:21; 4:10; and
2 Kings 9:8.) Why do you think the Lord uses that particu-
lar phrase, one that we are likely to find mildly offensive?
Whether this phrase is an implicit reference to that one, the
contextual meaning seems the same: absolute destruction.
What do we make of such a threat? Is it a threat to destroy
the males of a community or everyone? Did the threat come
to pass? If not, why not? If so, in what sense?
Verses 16–25: Why does the Lord rehearse this long list of
calamities?
Who are the “little ones” referred to in verse 19? Are they
the children of the Saints, or are they the Lord’s children, in
other words, the Saints as a whole?
How do we understand verse 21?
Verses 26–32: What is the Lord promising Joseph in these
verses? What knowledge was he yet to receive at this point
in his life (e.g., the complete Book of Abraham, the ordi-
nance of sealing, and so on)? Can you explain specifically
what verses 28–30 promise?
In verse 32, what does “that should be reserved unto the
finishing and the end thereof ” modify?
Verse 33: Joseph has asked the Lord to stop people from
persecuting the Saints, but here the Lord speaks of people
trying to stop the Saints from getting knowledge. Has the
195
Lord changed the subject? Is he taking a different perspec-
tive than that Joseph took? How do you explain this differ-
ence between Joseph’s concern and the Lord’s?
Is the answer merely that verse 33 is part of a larger letter
that contains all of what became this section, and more? If
so, does that mean that we ought to assume that the selec-
tion, ordering, and editing of the parts of the D&C were not
inspired?
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197
What does it mean to write something in the spirit of
meekness?
Verse 6: Is this one of the purposes of the proclamation—
to call the president-elect, the governors, and the kings of
the world to heed the light and glory of Zion? What are the
light and glory of Zion? What does it mean to heed them?
When the Lord asks the rulers of nations to favor Zion,
what is he asking them to do?
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this revelation?
Verse 7: How do you reconcile what is said here with the
command to write in the spirit of meekness?
Verses 8–10: The first part of verse 8 seems to name another
purpose of the proclamation, to warn the rulers of the world
of Christ’s coming. Why did the rulers of the earth need to
have their hearts softened toward Zion? Is this something
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Lesson 29
that the Church still needs? What does “the exaltation or lift-
ing up of Zion” (verse 10) mean in this context?
Verse 11: Is this a third reason for the proclamation?
Verse 20: Is “integrity of the heart” different than another
kind of integrity, or is the Lord being emphatic when he
uses that phrase?
What is the Lord’s testimony? Why does the Lord say, “for
the love which he [George Miller] has to my testimony”
rather than “for the love which he has for my testimony”? Is
this just an artifact of Joseph Smith’s lack of formal educa-
tion, or is there more to it than that?
Verse 21: At this stage in Church history, what was the pri-
mary responsibility of the bishop?
Verses 87–90, 97–102: What commandments are given to
William Law in these verses? In what ways are these specific
commandments to him? In what ways do they exemplify
commandments for all of us?
What do you make of the promise in verse 90: you won’t
be forsaken, and your children won’t beg for food? If that
promise was meaningful to Law (as I assume it was), what
does it tell us about his situation, his fears, his hopes? What
does it suggest about the situation of the Saints?
What does this blessing mean in verse 99: “He shall mount
up in the imagination of his thoughts as upon eagle’s wings”?
Verses 103–10: Why was the Lord telling Sidney Rigdon to
humble himself (verse 103)?
199
What does “stand in the office of his calling” mean? Why did
Rigdon have to be told to do that? Remember that Joseph
Smith had refused to sustain him, though the Church did.
What might have counted as an acceptable offering (verse
104)? How would you justify your answer? What healing
did Sidney need?
200
Lesson 30
Lesson 30
Doctrine and Covenants 2; 124:25–55; 127; 128;
and Joseph Smith—History 1:36–39
201
What is the day of the Lord and why is it described as
“dreadful”? Webster’s 1828 dictionary gives these defini-
tions for the word dreadful: “impressing great fear; terrible;
formidable” and “awful; venerable.” Which of these seems
to be the one intended here?
Verse 2: Who are “the fathers”? To what promises made to
the fathers is the Lord referring?
Verse 3: What does “utterly wasted” mean, “completely use-
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verses 38 and 41. What is the same in each? What does that
say about temple ordinances?
Verses 43–44: What does this suggest about the relation of
our efforts to the Lord’s work?
Verses 45–48: How might we apply these verses to our-
selves? What does it mean to say that “we, by our own
202
Lesson 30
works, bring cursings, wrath, indignation, and judgments
upon our heads”?
Verse 49: Compare this verse to 1 Nephi 3:7 and think about
how they differ. Is there a way to bring them into accord?
The Lord says that he releases from their obligation those
who strive to keep a commandment when they are pre-
vented from fulfilling it by others. (This seems to be a ref-
erence to the temple in Independence and perhaps also to
the one in Far West.) But if the Lord knew a command-
ment would not be able to be fulfilled, why did he give it?
If we were in a circumstance where we were no longer re-
quired to obey, how would we know? Isn’t this an “escape
clause” that I can invoke whenever it becomes difficult to
obey a commandment?
Verse 50: What does this verse mean? Does this say that if
someone doesn’t repent, the Lord will punish his children
and grandchildren? What if those children and grandchil-
dren were repentant?
Verses 51–52: To what does the word therefore connect
these verses?
Verse 55: How does this commandment to build a temple
in Jackson County (Independence) square with the fact
that the Lord has just released them from the command-
ment to do so and accepted the sacrifices of the Saints in
its place?
Much of this section, especially from verse 62 through
verse 118, consists of admonitions to various individuals
about their families, lives, and responsibilities. (Many of
203
those people later apostatized.) Why are these admonitions
important to us today? How do they help us? For exam-
ple, how do verses 75 and 76, given specifically to Vinson
Knight, say anything to us? How about verse 84? Verses 85
and 86? 87 and 88? Verses 104–10? How about the verses
earlier in the section, such as verses 12–14 (to Robert B.
Thompson), or 16–17 (to John C. Bennett)?
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ple, are our families bound to one another? What has that
binding to do with record keeping?
Verse 11: What is the subject lying before us at this verse,
the question which this verse answers completely? How
is obtaining the powers of the priesthood the answer to
that matter?
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Lesson 30
Why does this verse speak of the powers (plural) of the
priesthood, rather than of its power (singular)?
If the whole answer to the question of salvation is found
in obtaining the powers of the priesthood, how do we ob-
tain them?
Verse 12: To what does herein refer? How do we find “glory
and honor, and immortality and eternal life” in that?
The end of this verse appears to say that the ordinance of
baptism is instituted to be like the baptism of the dead and
not the other way around. Is that right? If so, what do you
make of that? If not, how do you explain the wording?
Verses 12–13: The prophet emphasizes the parallel between
baptism, on the one hand, and death, burial, and resurrec-
tion, on the other. He mentions it here. He mentioned it in
the previous verse. Why is that parallel so important? What
does this say to us about baptism? About death? Why is that
parallel at the center of our entry into the Church?
How many different kinds of death and resurrection are
there? Make a list of them and see if you can cite a scripture
for each that you think of.
Verse 14: What does it mean to say that the keys (plural)
of the kingdom consist in the key (singular) of knowledge?
What can the word knowledge mean in this instance? Knowl-
edge of what? What kind of knowledge? In what sense are
the sealing and binding powers the key of knowledge?
Verse 18: There must be a welding link between the fathers
and the children or the earth will be cursed. Given what
we’ve seen about binding, recording, priesthood, and so
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forth, in the scriptures for this lesson, what might one say
about the nature of that welding link?
If we understand the nature of that welding link, what
might that say about our relations to our children and our
parents? to our history? to our culture?
Is it important that here the welding link is baptism for the
dead rather than the sealing ordinances, or is that just a
result of the fact that this revelation occurs when baptism
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Joseph Smith—History 1
Verse 36: What part of Malachi 3 do you think Moroni
quoted? Might it have been something other than Malachi
3:1? Why do you answer as you do? Why doesn’t Joseph
QUESTIONS
208
Lesson 31
Lesson 31
Doctrine and Covenants 131:1–4; and 132:4–33
not entered into and sealed by the Holy Ghost through the
medium of the person whom God appointed for that pur-
pose is “of no efficacy, virtue, or force in and after the res-
urrection from the dead.” How do we enter into a covenant
by the Holy Ghost? How is it sealed by the Holy Ghost?
Compare the language of Ephesians 1:13: “You [Gentiles]
also were included in him [Christ] when you heard the
word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and when you
believed [in him] you were sealed with the promised Holy
Spirit [‘the holy Spirit of promise’ in the KJV]” (my trans-
lation). Are this verse and the verse in Ephesians talking
about the same thing? For example, what do you make of
the fact that Ephesians speaks of being sealed with the Spir-
it rather than by the Spirit? If the language here is intended
QUESTIONS
210
Lesson 31
Verses 13–14: Do these verses suggest anything about how
we should think about the things we do during our lives?
Based on these verses, how might we decide what is impor-
tant and what is not? Alternatively, how might this suggest
we should go about our various works?
Verses 19–20: The grammar of these verses is complicated;
it isn’t obvious how to understand the relations between
their parts. Here is my précis of these verses:
If a man and woman marry in the covenant and their mar-
riage is sealed by the Holy Spirit of promise through some-
one holding appropriate priesthood authority, and if they
abide in the covenant and do not commit murder, then:
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What does it mean to say that they will be gods? Is this a
new thing in a list or another way of saying the same thing
that has been said in several different ways?
Verse 20 says, “They shall be gods, because they have no
end,” and it uses “they continue” as a parallel to “they have
no end.” What does it mean to say that they will be gods
because they continue? Continue in what way? Does this
verse help us understand what the scriptures mean when
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they say that we can become like God? Using what we learn
here, what does that mean?
Verse 24: Why does the Lord use the plural here, lives in-
stead of life?
Verse 25: Why deaths instead of death?
Verse 26: What does this verse teach? It is easier to under-
stand than verse 19, but are there things in verse 19 that
clarify this verse?
Verse 27: Consider Hebrews 6:4–6:
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Lesson 31
Hebrews? What do the verses in Hebrews add to our under-
standing of this verse?
Notice what Joseph Smith says about the sin against the
Holy Ghost:
All sins shall be forgiven, except the sin against the Holy
Ghost; for Jesus will save all except the sons of perdi-
tion. What must a man do to commit the unpardonable
sin? He must receive the Holy Ghost, have the heavens
opened unto him, and know God, and then sin against
Him. After a man has sinned against the Holy Ghost,
there is no repentance for him. He has got to say that the
sun does not shine while he sees it; he has got to deny
Jesus Christ when the heavens have been opened unto
him, and to deny the plan of salvation with his eyes open
to the truth of it; and from that time he begins to be an
enemy. (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, p. 358)
213
But it is not as though the word of God has failed.
For they are not all Israel, who are born into Israel:
nor are they all children because they are the seed
[descendants] of Abraham: but, “In Isaac shall thy
seed be called” [Genesis 21:12]. That is, they who are
the children of the flesh are not [in virtue of merely
that] the children of God: instead the children of the
promise are counted as seed. For this is the word of
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promise, “At this time will I come, and Sara shall have
a son” [Genesis 18:10].
And not only this; but when Rebecca also had con-
ceived multiple children by one man, our father Isaac—
the children being not yet born, neither having yet
done any good or evil, so that the purpose of God in
election might stand, not because of works, but because
of his call—it was said unto her, “The elder shall serve
the younger” [Genesis 25:23]. As it is written, “Jacob
have I loved, but Esau have I hated” [Malachi 1:2–3].
What shall we say then? Is there unrighteousness
with God? Impossible! For he says to Moses, “I will
have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will
have compassion on whom I will have compassion”
QUESTIONS
215
former members of the Church and some of them members
of his own family—how can we understand what he is say-
ing when he says that his conscience is void of offense toward
all men? Does it have anything to do with the fact that he has
a conscience void of offense toward God? How can we have
consciences void of offense toward God and men?
Verse 5: What is a testator? Of what were Joseph and Hyrum
testators? What does it mean that their testament is now in
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216
Lesson 33
Lesson 33
Doctrine and Covenants 107:22–24
218
Lesson 34
Lesson 34
Doctrine and Covenants 136
219
“Seek ye” doesn’t have an object. What should we seek?
Why are the instructions about keeping promises, borrow-
ing, and so forth, in this verse and the verses that follow,
particularly important to the Saints as they leave Nauvoo?
Verses 21–22: What does the word vain mean? In what
ways do we take the Lord’s name in vain? What reason does
the Lord give that we shouldn’t take his name in vain?
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220
Lesson 35
Lesson 35
Doctrine and Covenants 4:3–7; 18:10–16;
52:40; 81:5–6; and 138:58
223
Verse 12: We often speak of Jesus’s resurrection making pos-
sible our resurrection. Here, however, we are taught that his
resurrection makes possible our return to the Savior. What is
the connection between these two teachings? Does the neces-
sity of resurrection tell us anything about why ministering to
the poor and the afflicted is so important in the gospel?
Verse 13: If we understand the word soul to mean “body
and spirit,” how do we repent bodily?
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224
Lesson 36
Lesson 36
Doctrine and Covenants 48:2–4; 64:33–34;
82:10; 93:1; and 130:19–21
225
Verse 3: Does the first clause suggest that there will be a
time when we will be able to behold the design of God with
our natural eyes?
Verse 4: Does “after much tribulation come the blessings”
mean that we can expect tribulation before blessings or
that we can expect blessings if we have tribulation? What is
the difference between those two? How does the meaning
of each change our outlook on tribulation?
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226
Lesson 36
Doctrine and Covenants 82
Verse 10: What is it that binds the Lord when we obey, our
obedience or his character? To what is he bound? What
promise do we have if we obey?
227
be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for
he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good,
and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.
Are verse 19, on the one hand, and verses 20–21, on the
other, scriptures on the same theme, or do they take up
different topics?
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QUESTIONS
228
Lesson 37
Lesson 37
Doctrine and Covenants 1:38; 20:21–26; 21:1, 4–6;
43:2; 68:3–4; 101:43–54; and 107:22, 91–92
231
so here? Is there something that a parable can do that more
straightforward language doesn’t do?
Who is the watchman on the tower? How do we fail to build
the tower? How does this parable teach the will of the Lord
“concerning the redemption of Zion” (verse 43)?
Does the workers’ “variance” with one another cause them
to be slothful?
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Verses 55–62: What does the rest of the parable, the part
not assigned for this lesson, teach? Is it about taking re-
venge on enemies, for example?
Verse 61: Explain what this verse says. Is the part of the sen-
tence after the dash a description of the servant to whom
the lord is speaking, or does it tell us what the lord of the
vineyard is promising as a “seal and blessing”?
Do the words seal and blessing mean the same thing in
this verse? If so, explain how they do. If not, what does
each mean?
232
Lesson 38
Lesson 38
Doctrine and Covenants 38:30; 42:30–31, 42;
44:6; 52:40; 56:16–20; 58:26–28;
88:123–25; and 104:13–18
233
it important that what we give for the support of the poor
be consecrated? How do we consecrate something?
In speaking of consecrating of our substance “with a
covenant and a deed which cannot be broken,” verse 30
clearly has reference to the law of consecration, which we
do not practice today as it was practiced in the nineteenth
century. But does this verse have a meaning for us any-
way? If so, in what way? If not, how are we no longer un-
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234
Lesson 38
Doctrine and Covenants 56
Verse 16–20: Here are a cursing on the rich and a curs-
ing on the poor—and a blessing on the poor. Why do you
think the Lord didn’t include a blessing on the rich?
Verse 16: What does it mean to have a cankered soul? What
is the significance of the lament at the end of the verse?
Verse 17: Why are so many more warnings given to the
poor than to the rich?
Verse 18: This verse says the fatness of the earth belongs to
the poor who are pure in heart, etc. Why to the poor who
have those qualities rather than simply to those people who
have those qualities, poor or not?
Verses 19–20: As it is used here, what does the word recom-
pense mean? Notice that rather than speaking of the Lord
giving recompense, this verse says “his recompense shall be
with him.” What things might we infer from that phrasing?
Why does he say the poor will rejoice?
Why will the descendants of the poor inherit the earth?
235
Why don’t we receive a reward if we only do what we are
commanded to do? Couldn’t we complain, “I did every-
thing I was commanded to do”?
Verse 27: What does it mean to be anxiously engaged?
Why is this singular, “a good cause,” rather than plural,
“good causes”?
Does this verse suggest that if we do only what we are com-
manded, then we do not bring forth much righteousness?
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236
Lesson 38
Why does the verse use the word impart rather than “give”?
Webster’s 1828 dictionary gives these definitions for the
word impart: “1. To give, grant or communicate; to bestow
on another a share or portion of something. . . . 2. To grant;
to give; to confer. . . . 3. To communicate the knowledge of
something; to make known; to show by words or tokens.”
Which of these are most relevant to the meaning of this
verse? Are any irrelevant?
237
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QUESTIONS
238
Lesson 39
Lesson 39
1 Peter 4:6; Doctrine and Covenants 2; 110:13–16;
Joseph Smith—History 1:38–39
1 Peter 4
Verse 6: Why is the first clause of this verse in the past
tense?
To what preaching is Peter referring? Are the dead referred
to in this verse the same as “the spirits in prison” mentioned
in 1 Peter 3:19? How do you know?
To what does “judged according to men in the flesh” re-
fer? Is it talking about the judgments that came upon these
people while they were alive? If not, why not?
What could it mean to “live according to God in the spirit”?
239
Malachi 4:5–6 Joseph Smith—History
1:38–39
Behold, I will send you Eli- Behold, I will reveal unto you
jah the prophet before the the Priesthood, by the hand of
coming of the great and Elijah the prophet, before the
dreadful day of the Lord: coming of the great and dread-
And he shall turn the heart ful day of the Lord.
of the fathers to the chil- And he shall plant in the hearts
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240
Lesson 39
The Hebrew word translated “curse” means “an order to
set something aside to be destroyed.” For example, one
can imagine a mother saying, “Throw that banana peel
in the compost can.” Using the word curse as it is used
in Malachi 4:6, we could say that she had uttered a curse
on it, ordering that it be set aside to be destroyed in the
compost heap. Does that meaning shed any further light
on how we can understand D&C 110:15?
Joseph Smith—History 1
Verses 38–39: Moroni gives a different version of Malachi
here. Why do you think that might be so? Does the pro-
noun I in this verse refer to Moroni or is he speaking as the
Lord? How would you decide?
What does the verb plant suggest about what Elijah will do
and how what he does will affect us?
What promises were made to the fathers? By whom?
Where do we find those promises? Why would having
those promises in their hearts turn the children toward
their fathers? Is Moroni talking about ancient covenants
here? If so, which one or ones?
Why is this promise made in conjunction with the prom-
ise that the priesthood will be revealed, as if the two were
expressions of the same thing? Is Moroni making a direct
connection between the turning of the children’s hearts to
the fathers and the revelation of the priesthood? What is that
connection? Is it any more than that we must have the priest-
hood in order to carry out proxy ordinances for the dead?
241
In what ways will the day when the Lord comes be great? In
what ways will it be dreadful? Webster’s 1828 dictionary gives
two definitions of dreadful, “impressing great fear” and “aw-
ful; venerable.” Which do you think is intended in this verse?
When the speaker says, “If it were not so,” to what does it
refer: to the revelation of the priesthood or to planting the
promises to the fathers in the hearts of the children? How
would you decide?
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242
Lesson 40
Lesson 40
Malachi 3:16–18; Doctrine and Covenants 85:9;
128:7; Moses 6:5–8, 46; Abraham 1:31
Malachi 3
Verse 16: What does this verse say that a book of remem-
brance is? What is being remembered in the book described
here? Who is writing this book of remembrance “before
him”? How does is it differ from what the older people
among us might think of when we think of the term “Book
of Remembrance”? What is the connection between that
understanding of a book of remembrance and the book of
remembrance referred to in this verse?
Verse 17: Who will be the Lord’s? Who is this verse talking
about?
When is the day that he will “make up [his] jewels”? What
does that phrase mean? Another translation is “when I
make a special treasure.” Does that help explain the mean-
ing? If it is, what is the special treasure that he will make?
From what will he spare his jewels or special treasure?
Verse 18: What does return mean here? Repent, or some-
thing else? If something else, from where to where?
How is the judgment described in this verse related to the
rest of the verses? Verse 16 says that the Lord knows about
those who fear him and remember him, and he keeps a
243
book of remembrance of their names. Verse 17 says that
those in the book will belong to the Lord and be spared
as his children when the Lord makes up his special trea-
sure. How is verse 18 related to that? What it says seems to
be completely different: then (when?) you who have been
spared will return (whatever that means) and you will judge
between the righteous and unrighteous. At first glance that
isn’t clearly related to the previous pronouncements.
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244
Lesson 40
Moses 6
Verse 5: Is the book of remembrance mentioned here the
same as that mentioned in Malachi? Why or why not?
What was recorded in Adam’s book of remembrance?
Verse 7: Why is this comment about the priesthood in-
serted into the middle of a description of Adam’s record
keeping and how he taught his children?
Verse 8: In the phrase “this was the book,” to what does this
refer?
Is the genealogy that Adam kept, “the book of the genera-
tions of Adam,” the same as his book of remembrance?
Why do you answer as you do?
Why does Adam say, “In the day that God created man,
in the likeness of God made he him,” in (presumably) his
book of genealogy?
Abraham 1
Verse 31: When Abraham speaks of “the right of Priest-
hood,” what is he talking about? Why is it important that
we know that he kept a record concerning that right? Where
or how do we keep such a record?
Why is the reference to the ancients’ knowledge of the
stars part of the same sentence as the note that they kept
a record concerning the right to the priesthood? The two
topics seem unrelated, yet they occur in the same sen-
tence. Why?
245
What benefit might Abraham’s knowledge of the stars be
to his posterity? He doesn’t tell us about any identifiable
stars, so he isn’t giving them an understanding of naviga-
tion, for example. How is the knowledge that he gives a
blessing to his children?
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QUESTIONS
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Lesson 41
Lesson 41
Doctrine and Covenants 1:4–5, 30; 65;
109:72–74; 115:3–6; 123:12
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Lesson 41
study for this lesson are part of a prayer change our under-
standing of them? If so, how? Or how not?
Verses 72–74: These verses are part of a long sentence that
begins in verse 72 and ends in verse 76. How do the three
verses assigned for this lesson relate to that larger sentence?
What, for instance, is the theme of that sentence as a whole?
Verse 72: We promise to remember the Lord when we take
the elements of the sacrament. What does it mean for him
to remember us?
The prayer is that the Lord will remember the church and
the people of the church, and their families and their rela-
tions who suffer, as well as all of the poor in the earth so
that his kingdom may be established. How does the Lord’s
remembrance of the church and those in need make the
establishment of his kingdom possible?
Verses 73–74: The last clause of verse 72 is part of a series
of that-clauses which are parallel to each other in mean-
ing. Verse 72 speaks of the establishment of the church and
of it filling the whole earth. Verse 73 repeats that idea us-
ing images that come from other passages of scripture. In
particular, the language of verse 72 comes from the Song
of Solomon (3:6 and, especially, 6:10). Why does the Lord
use the language of Hebrew love poetry to describe the es-
tablishment of the Church and its spread throughout the
earth?
Verse 74 uses the language of Isaiah 64:1 and 40:4. Look at
those chapters in Isaiah and ask yourself what their subject
matter has to do with this prayer for missionary work.
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Doctrine and Covenants 115
The lesson materials call for using only verses 4–6. Howev-
er, since verse 4 is the second half of a thought that begins
in verse 3, I have included that verse.
Verse 3: Why does the Lord address this to “all the people of
my Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints”?
In 1838, when this revelation was given, where would we
THE DOCTRINE & COVENANTS MADE HARDER : SCRIPTURE STUDY
Verses 5–6: Look back at verses 1–3. Whom is the Lord ad-
dressing when he says “I say unto you all”? What positions
do each of the leaders addressed hold? Is that important to
this announcement of the Church’s official name?
The image of persons “shining forth” comes from the Old
Testament. A phrase similar to this one is in Job 11:17,
although it occurs there in advice from one of Job’s false
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Lesson 41
friends: “thou shalt shine forth, thou shalt be as the morn-
ing.” Similar phrases are in Psalm 80:1 and Deuteronomy
33:2. But perhaps the phrase most like this is in the New
Testament, Matthew 13:43, a prophecy of the end of the
world: “then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun.”
How do you understand this image?
How is the word standard being used in verse 5, to mean
“an authoritative exemplar of correctness or some other
quality” or to mean “a flag or other object raised on a pole
to signify the rallying point for those engaged in a battle”?
Compare Jeremiah 50:2 and 51:27, as well as Alma 62:4–5.
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Whatever your answer to the previous question, what does
it mean to believe that many people “are only kept from the
truth because they know not where to find it”? What does
that suggest about our responsibility for missionary work?
What does it suggest about how to do missionary work?
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QUESTIONS
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Lesson 42
Lesson 42
Doctrine and Covenants 1:38; 21:4–6;
28:2–7; 43:2–3; 112:20
253
Does “walking in all holiness before me” describe the seer,
translator, prophet, apostle, and elder of verse 1: he will give
us the words of the Lord walking in all holiness? Or does
it describe those to whom this commandment is delivered:
we ought to receive those words and commandments walk-
ing in all holiness?
Verse 6: Can you explain the metaphor “the gates of hell”?
The phrase originates in Jesus’s teaching (Matthew 16:18;
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Lesson 42
Doctrine and Covenants 28
Verse 2: How did Moses receive commandments? Do all
prophets receive commandments as Moses did? How do
you explain your answer?
Verse 3: How was Aaron obedient to Moses? In other
words, what does this comparison of Oliver Cowdery to
Aaron teach us?
Verses 4–5: What authority do these verses give Oliver? Is
there anyone in the Church today who has a position (and
authority) like his?
Verses 6–7: What are “the mysteries”? The New Testament
uses the word often, and there it translates a Greek word
that could also be translated “secret” or “secret ordinance.”
What are the secrets of the gospel? From whom are they
kept secret, and why are they secret? How do we learn
them? What are its secret ordinances? Where do we learn
them? Why are they secret?
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Doctrine and Covenants 112
Verse 20: What does it mean to say that the Lord has made
the First Presidency counselors to us?
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QUESTIONS
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Lesson 43
Lesson 43
Romans 13:12; Ephesians 4:29; 6:11–17;
2 Nephi 1:23; Doctrine and Covenants 27:15–18;
42:21–24; 51:9; 52:16; 59:6; 63:16, 60–62; 76:25–29;
97:8; 121:45–46; 136:21, 24; Moses 4:3–4
Romans 13
Verse 12: What night or era of darkness might Paul have
been speaking of? What day did he see dawning? Reading
this from our own position in history, when was the night
and what was the dawn? Is that rereading of the scriptures
from our own position and apart from the original mean-
ing justified? Why not, if it is not? How so, if it is?
Ephesians 4
Verse 29: Because the King James English may be slightly
difficult to understand, consider an alternate translation:
“Do not let any evil talk come out of your mouth, but [in-
stead] what is good for building others up as they need, so
that [what you say] will give benefit to those who listen.”
Ephesians 6
Verse 11: Paul is using the metaphor of battle in these
verses, so the metaphor of armor makes sense. What does
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it mean that in this battle the weapons used against us are
wiles, in other words, schemes?
Verse 12: Here is another translation of verse 12. It may
help make more sense of it: “For we are wrestling not with
flesh and blood [enemies], but with governments, with
those who have authority, with the rulers of this world’s
darkness, with spiritual wickedness in the heavens.”
If the battle is a spiritual one, what governments and au-
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Lesson 43
Verses 14–17: Truth, righteousness, the preparation of the
gospel of peace (which means?), faith, and the Spirit (or
word of God): how does each of these in particular prepare
us to fight against the powers of darkness?
Here are some other translations of what the King James
Version renders as “the preparation of the gospel of peace”:
2 Nephi 1
Verse 23: When Paul uses the metaphor of armor, righ-
teousness is one of that armor’s components. Does it
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matter to Lehi’s point that he is using the metaphor of
armor differently than did Paul, that for him righteous-
ness is the whole armor?
Lehi’s metaphor seems to come in an odd order. In the nat-
ural order, one would have to shake off the chains of op-
pression and then stand up. After that he could put on ar-
mor. Why do you think Lehi put things in this order rather
than in the natural order?
THE DOCTRINE & COVENANTS MADE HARDER : SCRIPTURE STUDY
What chains are binding Lehi’s sons? In what sense are they
in obscurity? Does the 1828 definition of obscurity help
answer that: “darkness”?
In much of scripture “coming out of the dust” is a meta-
phor for coming forth from the dead. Is that the metaphor
at work here? If so, why?
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Lesson 43
the offices of the temple priesthood. So what is the import
of “lift up your hearts and rejoice, and gird up your loins”?
What evil day does this verse have in mind? Why do you
think that this version of this injunction leaves out “that ye
may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil”? Why
does it omit Paul’s claim that this is a spiritual rather than
a physical battle, a spiritual battle against corrupt govern-
ments, authorities, and so on?
Does the phrase “having done all” describe what we have
done to prepare for the battle, or does it describe what we
do in the battle?
Verse 16: By adding “which I have sent mine angels to com-
mit unto you,” this verse emphasizes “the preparation of
the gospel of peace,” suggesting that the phrase is particu-
larly important. That means that it is important to decide
what you think it means.
Verse 18: Paul identifies the Spirit and the word. This reve-
lation through Joseph Smith divides them: the Spirit is one
thing we must take (and it will be poured out on us), and
the word is another thing we must take. What difference
does that make between the meaning of what Paul says and
the meaning of what Joseph says?
Joseph Smith’s revelation adds, “be agreed as touching all
things whatsoever ye ask of me.” If the Lord were Santa
Claus, it would be all right that “Johnny wants a pair of
skates; Suzy wants a dolly.” But the Lord is not Santa Claus.
He wants us to agree as to what we ask for. Why is that nec-
essary? How do we create that agreement?
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What does it mean to be caught up? To where? How?
At what day is it important that “where I am ye shall be also”?
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To what does taking the Lord’s name on one’s lips refer? To
cursing? To making covenants and prayers and performing
ordinances in his name?
Verses 62–63: Does verse 62 answer the last question? Who
might those be within the Church (as verse 63 suggests)
who have used the Lord’s name without authority? Since
this referred to people within the Church when it was
given, rather than to people outside the Church, might it
THE DOCTRINE & COVENANTS MADE HARDER : SCRIPTURE STUDY
mean the same thing today? If so, who might such people
in the Church be who use the Lord’s name but without
authority?
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Lesson 43
Verses 28–29: The name Satan means “accuser.” Why is that
the name that scripture uses for Lucifer after his fall? Who
does he accuse? To whom does he make his accusations?
The word devil comes from the Greek word diabolos, mean-
ing “slanderer.” Whom does Satan slander?
How does Satan try to take God’s kingdom? Is that a meta-
phor, or is it meant literally?
How does Satan make war with the Saints? That is a meta-
phor, but it is a metaphor with a good deal of reality to it.
Where do the battles of this war occur? How are we taught
to fight them?
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Lesson 43
Doctrine and Covenants 136
Verse 21: What does the commandment “Keep yourselves
from evil to take the name of the Lord in vain” mean? The
grammar is unusual. Does that unusual grammar cause
it to mean something other than what we would expect,
namely “Don’t do something evil by taking the name of the
Lord in vain”?
Why is the commandment justified or explained by remind-
ing us that he is the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob?
Verse 24: Does drunkenness have anything other than its
ordinary meaning? What would it mean for our words to
tend to edify one another?
Moses 4
Verses 3–4: What could it possibly mean to destroy the
agency of human beings? Is it really something that can be
taken away? But if it cannot be taken away, then how could
Satan have tried to destroy it?
What power did Satan seek to take from the Father?
Does the description of Satan’s work in verse 4 tell us how
Satan destroys human agency? Do those who are deceived
by Satan have no agency? What does it mean to be captive
to the will of Satan?
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Lesson 44
Lesson 44
Matthew 22:21; 1 Timothy 2:1–2;
Doctrine and Covenants 58:21–22, 27; 98:4–6;
134:1–8, 11; Articles of Faith 1:12
Matthew 22
Verse 21: What things belong to “Caesar,” our earthly rul-
ers? What things belong to God? In this injunction, is Jesus
saying that we obey God when we obey our rulers, or is he
saying, “Go ahead and give Caesar what he demands, but it
is more important to give God his due”?
1 Timothy 2
Verses 1–2: The word therefore connects this verse to what
comes before it. How does the admonition here connect to
what is taught in chapter 1?
Is the list “supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving
of things” intended to be a list of four different things or
is it intended to be a list that means the same thing as “all
kinds of prayers”?
How does Paul explain the need to pray for those with secu-
lar authority over us (verse 2)? (Note that the Greek word
translated “honesty” in the King James Version is probably
better translated “dignity” or “holiness.”)
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Doctrine and Covenants 58
Verse 21: Is it a universal truth that if we obey the laws of
God we have no need to break the laws of the land? If not,
how do you explain this verse? If so, how do you explain the
Church’s long-lasting opposition to the antipolygamy laws
of the nineteenth-century United States?
Verse 22: To whom does “the powers that be” refer? What
reason does the Lord give here for why we should obey
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Lesson 44
Verses 5–6: Does the second clause of this verse (“support-
ing that principle of freedom”) give us a definition of what
it means by “that law of the land which is constitutional”?
What does it mean to say that those laws that are constitu-
tional belong to all people? Specifically, what does it mean
to say that a US law that is constitutional belongs to people
who are not US citizens?
What does it mean to say that a secular law is justifiable
before God?
How do we befriend a law? What do these verses tell us
about laws that are not constitutional?
271
government to exist in peace. Why would the absence of
those laws make peace unlikely?
Is “free exercise of conscience” the same as “freedom of
religion”? If not, how do they differ? If so, why did those
who wrote this declaration use the former phrase rather
than the latter?
What does “right and control of property include”? Does
it mean that the government cannot pass laws that affect
THE DOCTRINE & COVENANTS MADE HARDER : SCRIPTURE STUDY
government?
Verse 4: Are we to make anything of the fact that the dec-
laration says that religion is instituted by God rather than
true religion or something like that? In what sense are all
religions instituted by God?
When might a religious practice infringe on the rights and
liberties of other people? Would the practice of animal
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Lesson 44
sacrifice do so? What if most of us were afraid of those of
a particular religion? Would that, in itself, mean that they
had infringed on our rights and liberties?
Human law has no right “to interfere in prescribing rules
of worship to bind the consciences of men.” What does
that mean? Since the declaration mentions that human
law cannot dictate the forms of our devotion—the ways
in which we worship—we must assume this phrase isn’t
talking about that. Does it say that human law cannot bind
the consciences of men or that human law cannot inter-
fere with a religion’s right to have rules, rules that bind our
consciences?
Suppose this tells us that human law doesn’t have the right
to bind our consciences. What would it mean to bind them?
How might human law do so? Suppose it tells us that hu-
man law can’t interfere in a religion’s right to give rules that
bind conscience. How could a religion create such a rule?
What might be an example?
We often require that criminals express remorse for the
crimes they commit. Does doing so go against the precept
that we “should restrain crime, but never control con-
science”?
Verse 5: We are told here that we must obey and sustain the
law, but two escape clauses are given: “while protected in
their inherent and inalienable rights” and the fact that this
applies to every citizen “thus protected.” Why did the Saints
include these escape clauses in their declaration? How do
they apply to us today?
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The declaration says “all governments have a right to enact
such laws as in their own judgments are best calculated to
secure the public interest” as long, of course, as they up-
hold freedom of conscience. How wide is the latitude this
gives governments? Does what this verse says contradict
anything that has been said earlier? Does it help us un-
derstand how we should understand the duties of govern-
ment stated in verse 2?
THE DOCTRINE & COVENANTS MADE HARDER : SCRIPTURE STUDY
Verse 6: What does this verse add that the previous verses
have not already said?
Verse 7: This verse says governments are obligated to pro-
tect our religious freedom, which the declaration has said
at least twice before (verses 2 and 4). But it adds that we
have a right to religious freedom “so long as regard and
reverence are shown to the laws.” How do we show regard
and reverence to the law? What if the law is unjust?
Verse 8: What does “their tendency to evil among men”
mean? Should we implicitly add the word cause: “their ten-
dency to [cause] evil among men”? Is there a better way of
reading the phrase?
How would we go about stepping forward “to use [our]
ability in bringing offenders” to punishment? Presumably
QUESTIONS
Article of Faith 12
How does Doctrine and Covenants 134 flesh this article of
faith out? What does that section help us understand that
we might not if we had only this article of faith?
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Lesson 45
Lesson 45
Isaiah 54:13; 1 Nephi 1:1; Mosiah 4:14–15;
Doctrine and Covenants 68:25; 93:40
Isaiah 54
Verse 13: To whom is the Lord speaking in this verse? Does
“of the Lord” mean “by the Lord” or “about the Lord”?
What kind of peace do you think the Lord is promising?
Does the context of this verse help you answer that question?
1 Nephi 1
Verse 1: What does Nephi specify as the consequence of
having goodly parents?
Nephi makes “having been highly favored of the Lord” and
“having had a great knowledge of the goodness and myster-
ies of the Lord” parallel. By doing that, is he telling us that
the second of these describes how he was highly favored?
Does the phrase “goodness and mysteries” refer to one
thing (as “without form and void” does in Genesis 1:1), or
does it refer to two different things? If it refers to one thing,
in what sense is God’s goodness a mystery?
Mosiah 4
Verse 14: Does it change the meaning of this verse and
the next if we notice that they are part of a series of things
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connected by the word and? Verse 12 tells us that if we do
the things that Mosiah has told us we must, then we will re-
tain a remission of our sins, and something else, and some-
thing else, and several other things. He could have put that
if in front of each of the verses that start with and so this
verse could be understood to say, “If you do the things that
Mosiah has told us of, then we will not allow our children
to go hungry,” and so forth. What does that mean?
THE DOCTRINE & COVENANTS MADE HARDER : SCRIPTURE STUDY
Holy Ghost? What about the rest of the things that we have
learned by latter-day revelation?
Scriptures on Zion
2 Samuel 5
Verses 6–7: What does the word Zion mean in these verses?
1 Kings 8
Verse 1: Does Zion mean the same thing here that it meant
in 2 Samuel?
Hebrews 12
Verses 22–23: Does Zion mean the same thing here that it
means in 2 Samuel and in 1 Kings? Are the mountain of
Zion and the city of Jerusalem the same thing, or is there a
difference between them?
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Doctrine and Covenants 45
Verses 66–67: How does the meaning of the word Zion in
these verses differ from those we have already seen (if it
does)?
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Lesson 46
Verse 11: What endowment of power were the elders wait-
ing for when this revelation was received? How would that
power help solve the problems listed in verse 10?
Verse 12: Is the endowment and blessing referred to here
the same as that referred to in verse 11?
Moses 7
Verses 12–13: What do you make of the fact that these verses
make the power of Enoch to preach the gospel and the power
to bring miracles about parallel to each other?
Why is language so important in both cases? Does that say
anything to us about our own relationship to language? If
so, what?
Verses 18–19: Compare and contrast the use of the word
Zion in these verses to its use in other places. Do the simi-
larities with other places where we’ve seen the word used
help us understand better why the Lord called these people
Zion?
The Lord speaks of living righteously and then uses the
absence of poor as the example of righteousness. (This is
the inverse of what he does in D&C 105:3.) Why do you
think he chose that particular example to illustrate what
righteousness is?
How is our support of the poor and afflicted emblematic of
God’s relationship with us?
Given what you’ve seen the word Zion mean in other scrip-
tures, how can it mean “holiness” here?
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Article of Faith 10
Why is it important to believe in the literal gathering of
Israel?
Here Zion is identified with “the New Jerusalem.” In what
sense is this new city a new Jerusalem rather than just a
new city?
When will Christ reign on this earth?
THE DOCTRINE & COVENANTS MADE HARDER : SCRIPTURE STUDY
What glory did the earth have when paradise was on it?
Was it anything more than the glory of having paradise?
Matthew 5
Verse 8: This verse repeats an old idea. (See Psalm 73:1, for
example.) Some have described purity of heart as single-
mindedness, a heart set on doing one thing, the will of God.
Others have said that it is the same as purity of conscience.
Still others have identified it with complete integrity. What
do you think purity of heart means, and why?
What does it mean to see God? Does that have any mean-
ings in addition to the most obvious ones?
QUESTIONS
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Lesson 46
would that be possible? Can we think of another way to
understand what possession means?
Is being purified from sin the same thing as having a pure
heart? Why or why not?
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QUESTIONS
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