History of Section 2 of The Doctrine and Covenants

Joseph Smith had suffered all manner of persecution after his report of the First Vision, especially by those who would have been considered the religious leaders in his area. Without the company of his former friends who “if they supposed (him) to be deluded to have endeavored in a proper and affectionate manner to have reclaimed (him)—(he) was left to all kinds of temptations and, mingling with all kinds of society, (he) frequently fell into many foolish errors, and displayed the weakness of youth, and the foibles of human nature; which, (he) was sorry to say, led (him) into divers temptations, offensive in the sight of God.”


Without the proper influences in his life, Joseph Smith felt he had become guilty of levity and association with jovial company. Feeling that this was not the type of character befitting one who had been visited by God, Joseph felt inclined to call upon God to ask forgiveness for all of his sins and follies, and to understand his place or standing before Him. Praying with full confidence that his questions would be answered as they were before, Joseph discovered a light appearing in his room until it became a personage standing in the air beside him. This personage was Moroni, the last prophet of the Book of Mormon and the keeper of the plates.


The message that Moroni delivered to Joseph Smith is one of incredible consequence. It answered fully the questions that Joseph had posed to the Lord. A careful study of what was given to Joseph in response to his inquiry as to his standing before God, by way of scriptural references, shows the important part that Joseph would play in the coming forth of the gospel in this dispensation.


Malachi 3 and 4

Isaiah 11

Acts 3: 22-23

Joel 2: 28-32


In conclusion, it was three years after Joseph Smith received the First Vision that he again was visited by a Heavenly messenger and received the answer to his prayers once again and what we know today as Section 2 of the Doctrine and Covenants.

Covenants The Lord Made With Our Fathers

Here is a list of Covenants that were made with our Fathers, allowing us to turn our hearts to them.

Adam
D&C 107:40-57

Enoch
JST Genesis 14:26-31
Moses 7: 60, 62-63

Noah
JST Genesis 9:21-25
Moses 8: 1-3

Abraham
Abraham 1:2-4
Abraham 2:9-10
Genesis 18:18-19
JST Genesis 22: 11-12
Genesis 22: 17-18

Isaac
Genesis 17:19
Genesis 26:3-4

Jacob
Genesis 28:3-4, 12-15

Joseph
JST Genesis 50:24-38
2 Nephi 21

Moses
D&C88:6-27
Deuteronomy 33:16-17 and many other chapters in Deuteronomy!

Ephraim and Manasseh
JST Genesis 48: 5-11

After seeing these beautiful promises, it is no wonder that Moroni told Joseph Smith that:

"He shall plant in the hearts of the children the promises made to the fathers, and the hearts of the children shall turn to their fathers. If it were not so, the whole earth would be utterly wasted at his coming."

These promises or covenants mean everything to us even today!

Mormon Message on The Restoration from Elder L. Tom Perry

I am so grateful for Joseph Smith and his courage and faith. He was mocked and scorned because of his report to the world about this glorious truth that has been restored. After his First Vision he was ridiculed and persecuted.

From Joseph Smith's own account he related:

“I soon found, however, that my telling the story had excited a great deal of prejudice against me among professors of religion, and was the cause of great persecution, which continued to increase; and though I was an obscure boy, only between fourteen and fifteen years of age, and my circumstances in life such as to make a boy of no consequence in the world, yet men of high standing would take notice sufficient to excite the public mind against me, and create a bitter persecution; and this was common among all the sects—all united to persecute me.

It caused me serious reflection then, and often has since, how very strange it was that an obscure boy, of a little over fourteen years of age, and one, too, who was doomed to the necessity of obtaining a scanty maintenance by his daily labor, should be thought a character of sufficient importance to attract the attention of the great ones of the most popular sects of the day, and in a manner to create in them a spirit of the most bitter persecution and reviling. But strange or not, so it was, and it was often the cause of great sorrow to myself.”

The Restoration was made possible through the sacrifice and dedication of this great prophet of God.

Praise to the Man! Millions will know Brother Joseph again!

Order and Ordinances

When this world was created, it was done so because of order.

“And the Gods watched those things which they had ordered until they obeyed.” Abraham 4:18

When Christ established His church upon this earth with Father Adam, He did so with order.

“Behold, mine house is a house of order, saith the Lord God, and not a house of confusion.” Doctrine and Covenants 132:8

Order is necessary to combat chaos.

In the Book of Mormon from the great sermon given by King Benjamin we learn,

Mosiah 4:27 And see that all these things are done in wisdom and order; for it is not requisite that a man should run faster than he has strength. And again, it is expedient that he should be diligent, that thereby he might win the prize; therefore, all things must be done in order.

It seems very comfortable to me that the same Church that was established in the beginning with Adam, and renewed with every dispensation thereafter, would be one of order. It is not surprising to me then, that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is one of order.

Ordinances are simply one way that Christ has ordered His Church and His people.

An ordinance is a sacred rite or ceremony performed by the power of the priesthood and intended to bless God’s children. Some ordinances, such as baptism, are essential for salvation. Other ordinances, such as administering to the sick constitute gifts from God to His children which are not essential for salvation. Many ordinances have symbolic meaning.

Elder Boyd K Packer explained,

“Ordinances and covenants become our credentials for admission into God’s presence. To worthily receive them is the quest of a lifetime; to keep them thereafter is the challenge of mortality.”

The Melchizedek Priesthood, or power by which all things are governed was originally called the Holy Priesthood, after the Order of the Son of God.

As we journey on this “walk” we call mortality, we must learn to fall in order. Our Father has simply ordered us to do so, and he watches until we learn to obey.

We simply need to remember, there is order and He excuses no one!

S.Michael Wilcox Speaks On The Abrahamic Covenant

As if you have not had enough of me writing about the Abrahamic Covenant, I decided to post the following link:

S. Michael Wilcox in his 1998 Ensign article titled, The Abrahamic Covenant gives one of the most comprehensive discourses on the subject I have seen in one place.

Wilcox stresses the fact that we are given patriarchal blessings solely to distinguish our lineage, as one from the house of Abraham. This lineage allows for each of us as his children, or descendants, to collect on the promises made to him, our father. It is a wonderful transition to the revelation given in Section 2 of the Doctrine and Covenants which is literally the very next teaching the prophet Joseph Smith receives following his First Vision.

I hope you enjoy the article as much as I did!

The Lord's Equation Doctrine and Covenants Section 1

Section 1 of the Doctrine and Covenants is the “preface” written by the Lord himself, outlining what the rest of His book is really about. I wrote a previous post that expounds upon several thoughts I have had concerning Section 1 already, but I felt inspired to post the simplicity of the preface once again.

Perhaps the best way to look at the overall layout of the Doctrine and Covenants is by understanding the process or “equation” that is outlined in the preface, for gaining Eternal Life, or life with our Father.

I like to think of this equation as one that is as simple as 1+1=2.

It is as follows:

The New and Everlasting Covenant + Saving Ordinances = Being back in the presence of The Father.

What exactly is the New and Everlasting Covenant?


The New and Everlasting Covenant is the fulness of the gospel of Jesus Christ (D&C 66: 2). It is new every time it is revealed anew following a period of apostasy. It is everlasting in the sense that it is God’s covenant and has been enjoyed in every gospel dispensation where people have been willing to receive it. The new and everlasting covenant was revealed again to men on earth by Jesus Christ through the prophet Joseph Smith. It contains sacred ordinances administered by priesthood authority—such as baptism and temple marriage—that provide for man’s salvation, immortality, and eternal life. When people accept the gospel and promise to keep God’s commandments, God covenants to give them the blessings of his new and everlasting covenant.

The New and Everlasting Covenant contains the vehicle by which we may move forward in our progression on this earth, it is the establishment of The Church of Jesus Christ upon this earth once again in these latter days, and the restoration of the priesthood authority that belongs only to that Church. This priesthood authority, being given in the form of keys, passed to worthy members of His Church through the laying on of hands, is necessary in order to perform the “Saving Ordinances” part of the equation above.

What are the Saving Ordinances of the Gospel of Jesus Christ?


Ordinances are sacred rites and ceremonies. Ordinances consist of acts that have spiritual meanings. Ordinances can also mean God’s laws and statutes.

Ordinances in the Church include administration to the sick (James 5: 14-15), blessing the sacrament (D&C 20: 77, 79), baptism by immersion (Matt. 3: 16; D&C 20: 72-74), blessing of children (D&C 20: 70), conferring the Holy Ghost (D&C 20: 68; 33: 15), conferring the priesthood (D&C 84: 6-16; 107: 41-52), temple ordinances (D&C 124: 39), and marriage in the new and everlasting covenant (D&C 132: 19-20).

Saving Ordinances are ones that are necessary to proceed on our journey or path back to the presence of the Lord. These include Baptism and conferring of the Holy Ghost, conferring of the priesthood, temple ordinances, and sealing ordinances. These ordinances must be performed in this life, so they are done vicariously for those who have not had the opportunity to do them for themselves.

This equation, or path, is the only way there is to return to the Father. This equation is only made possible because of the Atonement of our Savior Jesus Christ, who supplied the demands of justice to broken law and offers mercy to those who require it, US. That is why He instructs us that He is the way by which we all must pass. Even He had to do it this way as He instructs us in Section 1, “What I the Lord have spoken, I have spoken, and I excuse not myself;” for there is no other way.

Equation: NEC + SO= POF

It is simply math!

The Promises of The Abrahamic Covenant

Understanding the terms of the covenant relationship that we share with our Heavenly Father allows us to then live up to our end of the deal more completely. After all, how can we commit to do something that we don’t really understand, right?

Our Father in Heaven requires the submission of our will and the proof of our obedience by the actions we choose, to show that we are willing to make him our God. This law of obedience and sacrifice is the first step on the journey we make as we “walk with Him” in this life. We sacrifice our will and obey his voice.

This requirement is not one that is without its own rewards. The blessings we receive because of faithfulness to the terms we enter into by abiding by this Abrahamic Covenant can be summed up in three simple areas. They are easily remembered by assigning letters to them, such as PPL.

The first P represents the promise of eternal POSTERITY. This is given to Abraham as the Lord makes the promise to him to “make thy seed as the sand of the sea, which cannot be numbered for multitude.” This might be more easily understood to mean eternal increase.

The next P represents the great blessing of eternal PRIESTHOOD to be held from generation to generation in the family line. This priesthood is the authority to act in the name of God. It is the same priesthood that was used to create worlds without number.

Finally, the L stands for the LAND inheritance that is promised to those who are faithful to the conditions of the covenant. Just as Abraham was promised certain land in consequence of his willingness to obey and sacrifice, we too will indeed be given that blessing of a land inheritance, not only in the blessing of living with him but also in the creations of worlds of our own.

The blessings of the Abrahamic Covenant known as the PPL simply describes the potential we have of becoming like our Father in Heaven and having all that he has. These promises are “sure” or in other words guaranteed already, the only variable in the equation depends on us. We must be willing to live up to the terms set by the Lord as we covenant to obey this great LAW OF SACRIFICE. As we do, we find our life is filled with blessings so great; we cannot have room enough to receive them!

Abrahamic Covenant: I will be your God, you will be my people; walk with me.

Promises or Blessings for obedience to the terms of the covenant:

P- Eternal POSTERITY, or eternal increase.

P- Eternal PRIESTHOOD, or power

L- LAND inheritance, or worlds

Summary: If we are obedient to the covenants we make then we can have all that the Father has.

Isn’t it really very simple after all?