Doctrine & Covenants Lesson # 23
Introduction
When I worked at what became the Neal
A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship at BYU—before we had mission
statements—the guiding principle set up by John Welch, John Sorenson, and
others was the title of this lesson from D&C 88:118. A lofty goal, but one
that gave me more insights into the Book of Mormon over the years than I had
imagined possible. And, building on last week’s lesson on The (capital T) Word
of Wisdom, even though this revelation comes before that section in the
published order, we go from the specific WoW to the general. What are the words
of wisdom that we seek, and how do we recognize them? The background for this
revelations, as with D&C 89, is the School of the Prophets held on the
second floor of the Newel K. Whitney store.
1. The School of the Prophets provides
a pattern for us to follow in our learning.
There is a very interesting preface
that Joseph used before each meeting, found in D&C 88:133.
Art thou a brother or brethren? I
salute you in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, in token or remembrance of the
everlasting covenant, in which covenant I receive you to fellowship, in a
determination that is fixed, immovable, and unchangeable, to be your friend and
brother through the grace of God in the bonds of love, to walk in all the
commandments of God blameless, in thanksgiving, forever and ever. Amen
I once adapted that as a camp theme.
Just for the microcosmic world we created in our camp, we were a group
dedicated to learning more about Jesus Christ and how to get along with each
other. Our Sunday School class is like that; our Ward is like that; our family
is like that.
The manual tells us about the
experience in the School of the Prophets
The history of the Church records that
“great joy and satisfaction continually beamed in the countenances of the
School of the Prophets, and the Saints, on account of the things revealed, and
… progress in the knowledge of God” (History
of the Church, 1:334).
Sarah’s and my challenge is to create
an atmosphere where our Sunday School classes can be like that!
2. We should learn “by study and also
by faith.”
OK, so the majority of this ward
either has attended or is attending a place of higher learning (although that
is somewhat of a misnomer, since what higher learning can there be except about
Deity?) So we have study down, right! But if you look at verse 118, it starts
off “as all have not faith.” So first off, if we lack faith, we learn from
those who not learn through study, but also by faith, until we have faith
sufficient to be able to do that also. What does that look like to you?
Elder Oaks said:
As we consider various choices, we
should remember that it is not enough that something is good. Other choices are
better, and still others are best. Even though a particular choice is more
costly, its far greater value may make it the best choice of all. Consider how
we use our time in the choices we make in viewing television, playing video
games, surfing the Internet, or reading books or magazines. Of course it is
good to view wholesome entertainment or to obtain interesting information. But
not everything of that sort is worth the portion of our life we give to obtain
it. Some things are better, and others are best. When the Lord told us to seek
learning, He said, “Seek ye out of the best books words of wisdom” (D&C
88:118; emphasis added).
Another quote, this time from John
Taylor, via the manual:
We ought to foster education and
intelligence of every kind; cultivate literary tastes, and men of literary and
scientific talent should improve that talent; and all should magnify the gifts
which God has given unto them. … If there is anything good and praiseworthy in
morals, religion, science, or anything calculated to exalt and ennoble man, we
are after it. But with all our getting, we want to get understanding, and that
understanding which flows from God (The
Gospel Kingdom, sel. G. Homer Durham [1943], 277).
Can any knowledge be said to come from
man? If we study through the lens of the Gospel, whether it be science, the arts,
even politics! Are we not drawn to the “best books” that contain “words of
wisdom?”
3. We should continue to learn
throughout our lives.
What should we be learning? D&C
88:79 tells us:
Of things both in heaven and in the
earth, and under the earth; things which have been, things which are, things
which must shortly come to pass; things which are at home, things which are
abroad; the wars and the perplexities of the nations, and the judgments which
are on the land; and a knowledge also of countries and of kingdoms—
And why should we be doing this—look at
verses 80–87 and remember our lesson two weeks ago on the Second Coming. It
might be hard to see far enough to realize that what we are slogging through in
a class at school will directly affect those whom we love now and will love in
the future—those we have yet to meet or even bring into our family—but remember
what Alma said to Korihor:
The scriptures are laid before thee,
yea, and all things denote there is a God; yea, even the earth, and all things
that are upon the face of it, yea, and its motion, yea, and also all the
planets which move in their regular form do witness that there is a Supreme
Creator (Alma 30:44).
The manual has some great quotes this
week, this from Pres. Benson
Today, with the abundance of books
available, it is the mark of a truly educated man to know what not to read. …
Feed only on the best. As John Wesley’s mother counseled him: ‘Avoid whatever
weakens your reason, impairs the tenderness of your conscience, obscures your
sense of God, takes off your relish for spiritual things, … increases the
authority of the body over the mind’” (“In His Steps,” in 1979 Devotional Speeches of the Year [1980], 61).
4. In the temple we gain an education
for eternity.
Undoubtedly one of the best places for
us to learn is in the temple. Obviously our classroom is not the place to
discuss specifics of what we learned about the sacred ordinances of the temple,
but it is the archetypal “house of order.” Working there is a unique experience
and a lesson on what “exactness and honor” mean.
Elder Stevenson counsels:
In order to keep the temple and those
who attend it sacred and worthy, the Lord has established standards through His
servants, the prophets. We may be well-advised to consider together, in family
council, standards for our homes to keep them sacred and to allow them to be a
“house of the Lord.” The admonition to “establish … a house of prayer, a house
of fasting, a house of faith, a house of learning, a house of glory, a house of
order, a house of God” provides divine insight into the type of home
the Lord would have us build. Doing such begins the construction of a
“spiritual mansion” in which we all may reside regardless of our worldly
circumstance—a home filled with treasure that “neither moth nor rust doth
corrupt.” There exists a righteous unity between the temple and the home.
Understanding the eternal nature of the temple will draw you to your family;
understanding the eternal nature of the family will draw you to the temple.
President Howard W. Hunter stated, “In the ordinances of the temple, the
foundations of the eternal family are sealed in place.”
President Boyd K. Packer counseled:
“Say the word temple. Say it quietly and reverently. Say it
over and over again. Temple. Temple. Temple. Add the word holy.
Holy Temple. Say it as though it were capitalized, no matter where it
appears in the sentence. “Temple. One other word is equal in importance to a
Latter-day Saint. Home.Put the words holy temple and home together,
and you have described the house of the Lord!”
A final, consoling, quote from the
manual
President Wilford Woodruff counseled,
“Do not be discouraged because you cannot learn all at once; learn one thing at
a time, learn it well, and treasure it up, then learn another truth and
treasure that up, and in a few years you will have a great store of useful
knowledge which will not only be a great blessing to yourselves and your
children, but to your fellow men” (The
Discourses of Wilford Woodruff, sel. G. Homer Durham [1946], 269).
Additional resources for this lesson
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· “Unto
the Least of These”: This 14-minute video tells the story of Olivas Aoy, an
early Latter-day Saint and pioneer in education in El Paso, Texas.
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