Have you ever felt:
misunderstood
no hope
betrayed
really sad
lose of loved ones
alone
the atonement
comfort, empower,
You can turn to Christ in all things.
Stirring
Thomas Marsh
President of the Quorum of the Twelve
Joseph Smith sent many of the twelve on missions
discontentment
apostasy - new prophet
D&C 112 revelation for Thomas Marsh
10 Be thou humble; and the Lord thy God shall lead thee by the hand, and give thee answer to thy prayers.
11 I know thy heart, and have heard thy prayers concerning thy brethren. Be not partial towards them in love above many others, but let thy love be for them as for thyself; and let thy love abound unto all men, and unto all who love my name.
12 And pray for thy brethren of the Twelve. Admonish them sharply for my name’s sake, and let them be admonished for all their sins, and be ye faithful before me unto my name.
15 Exalt not yourselves; rebel not against my servant Joseph; for verily I say unto you, I am with him, and my hand shall be over him; and the keys which I have given unto him, and also to youward, shall not be taken from him till I come.
16 Verily I say unto you, my servant Thomas, thou art the man whom I have chosen to hold the keys of my kingdom, as pertaining to the Twelve, abroad among all nations
Don't worry about other peoples' stewardship.
Doubt cause us to inch away.
Testimony of the Prophet
confirmation with polyngomy
personal revelation is vital.
Liberty Jail
False accusations by apostate members.
four months
D&C 121:1-6
1 O God, where art thou? And where is the pavilion that covereth thy hiding place?
2 How long shall thy hand be stayed, and thine eye, yea thy pure eye, behold from the eternal heavens the wrongs of thy people and of thy servants, and thine ear be penetrated with their cries?
3 Yea, O Lord, how long shall they suffer these wrongs and unlawful oppressions, before thine heart shall be softened toward them, and thy bowels be moved with compassion toward them?
4 O Lord God Almighty, maker of heaven, earth, and seas, and of all things that in them are, and who controllest and subjectest the devil, and the dark and benighted dominion of Sheol—stretch forth thy hand; let thine eye pierce; let thy pavilion be taken up; let thy hiding place no longer be covered; let thine ear be inclined; let thine heart be softened, and thy bowels moved with compassion toward us.
5 Let thine anger be kindled against our enemies; and, in the fury of thine heart, with thy sword avenge us of our wrongs.
6 Remember thy suffering saints, O our God; and thy servants will rejoice in thy name forever.
Where art thou?
Why can't I understand you?
How long do I have to suffer?
Took a year to recover from a round of chemo because she doesn't have the enzyme to metabolize the chemotherapy
grant me patience and I need it now.
Endure well
become bitter or better
Right perspective
Outward controllable
inward overwhelming
D&C 122
7 And if thou shouldst be cast into the pit, or into the hands of murderers, and the sentence of death passed upon thee; if thou be cast into the deep; if the billowing surge conspire against thee; if fierce winds become thine enemy; if the heavens gather blackness, and all the elements combine to hedge up the way; and above all, if the very jaws of hell shall gape open the mouth wide after thee, know thou, my son, that all these things shall give thee experience, and shall be for thy good.
8 The Son of Man hath descended below them all. Art thou greater than he?
9 Therefore, hold on thy way, and the priesthood shall remain with thee; for their bounds are set, they cannot pass. Thy days are known, and thy years shall not be numbered less; therefore, fear not what man can do, for God shall be with you forever and ever.
9 Therefore, hold on thy way, and the priesthood shall remain with thee; for their bounds are set, they cannot pass.
Thy days are known, and thy years shall not be numbered less; therefore,
fear not what man can do, for God shall be with you forever and ever.
God knows everything about us, having a plan.
Shake off the dust
the dust of life's experience
Mark 6:11 And whosoever shall not receive you, nor hear you, when ye depart thence, shake off the dust under your feet for a testimony against them. Verily I say unto you, It shall be more tolerable for Sodom and Gomorrha in the day of judgment, than for that city.
Liberty, a prison temple?
a place of learning.
spiritual
revelatory
experience
You can have sacred more revelatory experiences in any situation good and bad,
Every experience can be redemptive
God can turn any prison into a temple.
Alvin Smith
His mother described him as "a youth of singular goodness of disposition," whose "nobleness and generosity" blessed those around him "every hour of his existence."
When Alvin died, the family asked a Presbyterian minister in Palmyra, New York, to officiate at his funeral. As Alvin had not been a member of the minister’s congregation, the clergyman asserted in his sermon that Alvin could not be saved. William Smith, Joseph’s younger brother, recalled: “[The minister] … intimated very strongly that [Alvin] had gone to hell, for Alvin was not a church member, but he was a good boy and my father did not like it.”
D&C
Section 137
A vision given to Joseph Smith the Prophet, in the temple at Kirtland, Ohio, January 21, 1836. The occasion was the administration of ordinances in preparation for the dedication of the temple.
1–6, The Prophet sees his brother Alvin in the celestial kingdom; 7–9, The doctrine of salvation for the dead is revealed; 10, All children are saved in the celestial kingdom
1 The heavens were opened upon us, and I beheld the celestial kingdom of God, and the glory thereof, whether in the body or out I cannot tell.
2 I saw the transcendent beauty of the gate through which the heirs of that kingdom will enter, which was like unto circling flames of fire;
3 Also the blazing throne of God, whereon was seated the Father and the Son.
4 I saw the beautiful streets of that kingdom, which had the appearance of being paved with gold.
5 I saw Father Adam and Abraham; and my father and my mother; my brother Alvin, that has long since slept;
6 And marveled how it was that he had obtained an inheritance in that kingdom, seeing that he had departed this life before the Lord had set his hand to gather Israel the second time, and had not been baptized for the remission of sins
7 Thus came the voice of the Lord unto me, saying: All who have died without a knowledge of this gospel, who would have received it if they had been permitted to tarry, shall be heirs of the celestial kingdom of God;
8 Also all that shall die henceforth without a knowledge of it, who would have received it with all their hearts, shall be heirs of that kingdom;
9 For I, the Lord, will judge all men according to their works, according to the desire of their hearts.
10 And I also beheld that all children who die before they arrive at the years of accountability are saved in the celestial kingdom of heaven.
Mother & Father was not dead during the time of the vision.
Salvation is determined by the desires of men.
Justice & mercy is truly balanced perfectly.
1840
Baptism for the dead was first revealed in a funeral that Joseph Smith spoke at.
The saints were excited in the introduction, practicing it without order.
D&C 124 formalizes Baptism for the dead.
D&C 127:5-7; 128:8
proper recording with ordinance performance by the one holding the priesthood authority
D&C 128:6-7
records are part of book used at judgment day
D&C 128:15, 17-18
M Russell Ballard
Responsibility given to a child
Two years later, Joseph F., along with his family and faithful mother, Mary Fielding Smith, left his home in Nauvoo for Winter Quarters. Although not yet eight years old, Joseph F. was required to drive one of the oxteams from Montrose, Iowa, to Winter Quarters and then later on to the Salt Lake Valley, arriving when he was almost 10. I hope you boys and young men are listening and will realize the responsibility and expectation placed on Joseph F. during his boyhood.
He endured a lot of death in his life; losing his father, mother, & daughter.
That year was particularly painful for him. He grieved over the death toll in the Great World War that continued to climb to over 20 million people killed. Additionally, a flu pandemic was spreading around the world, taking the lives of as many as 100 million people.
& many other family members
And so it was on October 3, 1918, having experienced intense sorrow over the millions who had died in the world through war and disease as well as the deaths of his own family members, President Smith received the heavenly revelation known as “the vision of the redemption of the dead.”
Read section 138 of Doctrine and Covenants with this introduction.
