They Shall Be Thankfully Received- Section 130

Although I rely quite heavily on the instruction I am given by those who have priesthood authority over me, I also realize that they are men, and as such have imperfections just like me. I try to follow the admonition of Paul as he wrote to the Saints in the church of the Thessalonians, with the instruction to “Prove all things; hold fast that which is good.” Personal revelation allows us, as children of Heavenly parents, to receive an answer for ourselves, concerning the truthfulness of any instruction given. In fact, it is our responsibility to individually gain a testimony of “all things” we are taught.

Moroni 10:4 And when ye shall receive these things, I would exhort you that ye would ask God, the Eternal Father, in the name of Christ, if these things are not true; and if ye shall ask with a sincere heart, with real intent, having faith in Christ, he will manifest the truth of it unto you, by the power of the Holy Ghost.

5 And by the power of the Holy Ghost ye may know the truth of all things.

Many people have a hard time understanding this concept. There have been many occasions where, because of the fallibility of man, many have judged The Church unjustly as an institution because of statements made by men.

One of my favorite stories to illustrate the point I am trying to make is found in History of the Church, Vol. 5, Page 323. It is an incident told by Joseph Smith regarding a sermon given by Orson Hyde, who was one of the Quorum of the Twelve at the time. It states:

At ten a. m. went to meeting. Heard Elder Orson Hyde preach, comparing the sectarian preachers to crows living on carrion, as they were more fond of lies about the Saints than the truth. Alluding to the coming of the Savior, he said, "When He shall appear, we shall be like Him, &c. He will appear on a white horse as a warrior, and maybe we shall have some of the same spirit. Our God is a warrior. (John xiv, 23.) It is our privilege to have
the Father and Son dwelling in our hearts, &c."

We dined with my sister Sophronia McCleary, when I told Elder Hyde that I was going to offer some corrections to his sermon this morning. He replied, "They shall be thankfully received."

I believe this incident shows that our leaders can only teach us on a subject, with the understanding they have received up to that point, and continuing revelation allows for those teachings to be verified or corrected. I love the humility that Orson Hyde showed by his willingness to be taught. To me, his ability to receive correction illustrates he truly was a chosen servant of the Lord.

As a result of the incorrect teaching given by Elder Hyde the Lord, through the Prophet Joseph Smith, gave us the instruction now contained in Section 130 of the Doctrine and Covenants.

Doctrine and Covenants 130:3 John 14:23—The appearing of the Father and the Son, in that verse, is a personal appearance; and the idea that the Father and the Son dwell in a man’s heart is an old sectarian notion, and is false.

Further information about the Godhead is also then expounded on:

Section 130:14 I was once praying very earnestly to know the time of the coming of the Son of Man, when I heard a voice repeat the following:

15 Joseph, my son, if thou livest until thou art eighty-five years old, thou shalt see the face of the Son of Man; therefore let this suffice, and trouble me no more on this matter.

16 I was left thus, without being able to decide whether this coming referred to the beginning of the millennium or to some previous appearing, or whether I should die and thus see his face.

17 I believe the coming of the Son of Man will not be any sooner than that time.

But more importantly than when the Savior will come is understanding:

Section 130:1 When the Savior shall appear we shall see him as he is. We shall see that he is a man like ourselves.

2 And that same sociality which exists among us here will exist among us there, only it will be coupled with eternal glory, which glory we do not now enjoy.

Because:

22 The Father has a body of flesh and bones as tangible as man’s; the Son also; but the Holy Ghost has not a body of flesh and bones, but is a personage of Spirit. Were it not so, the Holy Ghost could not dwell in us.

23 A man may receive the Holy Ghost, and it may descend upon him and not tarry with him.

I believe that these important truths were revealed as a result of further instruction given to Orson Hyde, who at the time did not have this full understanding, and was teaching what he knew on the subject up to this point. Thankfully we have become the recipient of these great truths too, through the power of continuing revelation.

There have been many incidences in our Church history where our leaders have given instruction according to what they had received as truth up to a certain point. Personal revelation has allowed for further instruction to be given and some of those teachings have been corrected in the same way that Joseph corrected Orson. For me, this is the beauty of a living Church, one that grows and progresses just like the individuals that belong to it; consequently I embrace our history and look steadfastly toward the future of receiving further light and knowledge.

“It is possible to see the frailties of men and still also see the hand of God.” Denver Snuffer

Mind and Heart

I believe there is an order specifically given to the process of receiving revelation. It is outlined beautifully in Section 8 of the Doctrine and Covenants where it is explained that we will be told in our mind and in our heart by the Holy Ghost. First our mind is given the impression or the seed of thought then, when planted in our heart, we feel the process of growth as our heart begins to swell or become enlarged.

Even the law of witnesses, which is the testimony of two or more, is fulfilled by this process. The mind is one witness and the heart another.

The reconciliation of these two parts, the mind and heart, is the process of becoming a Zion person. Though this process we have one heart and one mind. The blessing of becoming a Zion person is that of the continual presence of the Lord, or continual revelation.

In my study of our prophetic instruction during General Conference I have found many incidences where we have been instructed on this process of revelation. Elder Boyd K. Packer gave instruction in his talk called, Prayer and Promptings. I have only taken a few of his statements to illustrate the importance of the order of the mind and heart.

Look for all the references he gives to the mind and the heart in the following excerpt of that talk:

The Lord has many ways of pouring knowledge into our minds to prompt us, to guide us, to teach us, to correct us, to warn us. The Lord said, “I will tell you in your mind and in your heart, by the Holy Ghost, which shall come upon you and which shall dwell in your heart” (D&C 8:2).

And Enos recorded, “While I was thus struggling in the spirit, behold, the voice of the Lord came into my mind again” (Enos 1:10).

You can know the things you need to know. Pray that you will learn to receive that inspiration and remain worthy to receive it. Keep that channel—your mind—clean and free from the clutter of the world.

When temptation comes, you can invent a delete key in your mind—perhaps the words from a favorite hymn. Your mind is in charge; your body is the instrument of your mind. When some unworthy thought pushes into your mind, replace it with your delete key. Worthy music is powerful and can help you control your thoughts.

When Oliver Cowdery failed in an attempt to translate, the Lord told him:
“Behold, you have not understood; you have supposed that I would give it unto you, when you took no thought save it was to ask me. But, behold, I say unto you, that you must study it out in your mind; then you must ask me if it be right, and if it is right I will cause that your bosom shall burn within you; therefore, you shall feel that it is right. But if it be not right you shall have no such feelings” (D&C 9:7–9).

Learn to pray. Pray often. Pray in your mind, in your heart. Pray on your knees. Prayer is your personal key to heaven. The lock is on your side of the veil. And I have learned to conclude all my prayers with “Thy will be done” (Matthew 6:10; see also Luke 11:2; 3 Nephi 13:10).

The Savior said, “Draw near unto me and I will draw near unto you; seek me diligently and ye shall find me; ask, and ye shall receive; knock, and it shall be opened unto you” (D&C 88:63).

The reconciliation of the Spirit and the Body are done though this process of revelation as the Lord speaks to our mind and heart. I know it in my mind and feel it in my heart.

Have you felt this process for yourself?

Section 8- Revelation is Great!

D&C 8: 2 Yea, behold, I will tell you in your mind and in your heart, by the Holy Ghost, which shall come upon you and which shall dwell in your heart.
3 Now, behold, this is the spirit of revelation; behold, this is the spirit by which Moses brought the children of Israel through the Red Sea on dry ground.
4 Therefore this is thy gift; apply unto it, and blessed art thou, for it shall deliver you out of the hands of your enemies, when, if it were not so, they would slay you and bring your soul to destruction.
5 Oh, remember these words, and keep my commandments. Remember, this is your gift.

The Holy Ghost is the greatest gift we could ever receive. It is through the Holy Ghost that we can receive revelation. Revelation is the key to bring the scriptures to life as we read them for ourselves.

Upon studying this incident that is referred to as the crossing of the Red Sea, it is interesting to note how revelation plays a part in the salvation of the Children of Israel.
In Exodus 14 we find a wonderful illustration of the power that can be received by listening to the “word of the Lord.”

Moses has a grand task ahead of him of leading this gnarly group of “Saints” to safety as they leave the rigors of Egypt. The Lord makes sure that they take the long route, to avoid the Philistines. At this point in their conversion, they were just not ready for that much opposition, reminding us that the Lord will only allow that which we are able to withstand to be put in front of us. This further proves that the short cut is not always the best way. By taking the “road less traveled” the Israelites were able to witness the power of the word, and that made all the difference.

I find it interesting that after all the miracles that they have just witnessed at the hand of the Lord; they are still slow to understand the part Moses has to play as his mouthpiece. As soon as they come up against opposition they are quick to blame Moses and question his authority. Now, stuck between a huge body of water and an approaching angry army with chariots might be a tough spot to be in, but opposition rears its ugly head every day in our own lives... how do we respond?

I can picture the scene in my head as it might have played out, Moses up against the sea, trying to figure out what to do, and the “Saints” whining and complaining to him about it being his fault. At this point Moses, in his prophetic way bears testimony of what is in his heart (remember the process of revelation, mind and heart).

“And Moses said unto the people, Fear ye not, stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord, which he will shew to you to day: for the Egyptians whom ye have seen to day, ye shall see them again no more for ever.”

How many times have we felt this burning testimony in our heart, but had our logical mind talk us out of it?

I think the best definition of revelation is given in the next line of written discourse from the Lord to Moses. The Lord simply says, “Wherefore criest thou unto me? speak unto the children of Israel, that they go forward: But lift thou up thy rod, and stretch out thine hand over the sea, and divide it: and the children of Israel shall go on dry ground through the midst of the sea.”

In other words, didn’t I just speak to your mind, and tell you all things what ye shall do? Use your priesthood (rod in hand thing) and move forward. You have just born testimony of this very thing that you have felt by your heart, now do it.

Boy, can I relate to this! If you feel it in your heart, your mind has already experienced it too. That crazy mind just seems to try and play tricks on us... making the possible seem impossible. It is such a good thing that the heart is the “dwelling” place of that given revelation, so that you can pull it up from that wonderful filing cabinet and bring it back to your mind once again, making it ready for us to reanalyze it when we really need to make those important decisions.

I really believe if you feel it in your heart, your mind already knows it is true... just retrieve it from that darned logical, illogical filing system we have created and apply what we know in our heart to be true. Thank goodness for that guidance that we can feel when we open our minds to the truth, and receive counsel from the spirit.

After all isn’t it really revelation that makes our church different from any other church in the world, right?

Oh yeah, and by the way... after this mind blowing incident, the Children of Israel now know Moses is the Lord’s servant.