Doctrine & Covenants Lesson # 42
“Continuing
Revelation to Latter-day Prophets”
Introduction
OK, so I got a bit sidetracked last week on the whole
tesseract thing. And then in Teachers’ Council, I mentioned the ad with the
lost panda, but it really is a modern metaphor. There are so many people who
are lost, and we have the means not only to find them, but to bring them to
safety in this unsafe world. So here is the ad with the lost panda
And here is an explanation about a tesseract
which actually showed up in a Wrinkle in Time. And
also has to do with being lost.
However, this week’s lesson, which Kara will teach, is
about continuing revelation and, as you can imagine, there is so much material
that one lesson cannot begin to cover it.
I started investigating the Church in 1979, just a year
after what is now known as Official Declaration 2 was given—the revelation on
the Priesthood. So its import was fairly well lost on me, and now that we are
nearly 40 years later, which, in terms of how long the Church has been
restored, is a long time, it is only by reading the additional material on the
impact in the lives of faithful Church members that I can begin to understand
what it meant. The other major revelation highlighted in this lesson is
Correlation. I must admit I was puzzled by this. Why would correlation be
considered ground-breaking? But when you consider that each of us in our Church
meetings, in our homes as we study, or as we ask Alexis or Siri or Cortana to
play a conference talk, the blogposts from General Authorities on social media—are
basically all listening to the teachings the Lord would have us hear—that is
crucial.
Regarding D&C 68:4, Sis. Carol F. McConkie said:
We . . . sustain President Monson’s
counselors and the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles as prophets, seers, and
revelators. “They have the right, the power, and authority to declare the mind
and will of [the Lord] … , subject to … the President of the Church.”
They speak in the name of Christ. They prophesy in the name of Christ.
They do all things in the name of Jesus Christ. In their words we hear the
voice of the Lord and we feel the Savior’s love. “And whatsoever they shall
speak when moved upon by the Holy Ghost shall be scripture … and the power of
God unto salvation.” The Lord Himself has spoken: “Whether by mine own
voice or by the voice of my servants, it is the same.”[1]
Part of the establishing the correlation effort was the
creation of Family Home Evening. I will confess that I had never thought of
that as having anything to do with Priesthood correlation, but it makes a lot
of sense. And I am sure that family councils came out of that same initiative.
Other wonderful programs that have come as a result of
modern revelation include Home and Visiting Teaching. Since the manual was
written, even, several revelations have changed the way we live. For instance, Preach
My Gospel, missionary age for men and women, service missions, Helping Hands,
the recent changes in our third hour lessons to be implemented this coming
January. Before next Sunday perhaps you can think of other things that have had
an impact on your life and have come as a direct result of revelation from our
prophets seers and revelators.
Additional resources for this lesson
- “Witnessing
the Faithfulness”: This article tells selected stories of how Official
Declaration 2 changed the lives of Latter-day Saints in the United States,
Brazil, and Ghana.
- “Race and the
Priesthood”: This Gospel Topics essay gives historical context
for the priesthood restriction and discusses the Church’s position on some
past theories about it.
- “A
Personal Essay on Race and the Priesthood”: In a four-part essay,
Ahmad Corbitt gives his perspective on race and the priesthood.
- “Ministry
of David O. McKay: Church Correlation”: This two-minute video
discusses the early stages of Church correlation.
- “Ministry
of Harold B. Lee: The Purposes of Priesthood Correlation”: This
one-minute video highlights President Lee’s teachings on correlation and
families.
- “Ministry
of Spencer W. Kimball: The Priesthood to All Worthy Men”: This
two-minute video discusses Official Declaration 2.
Postscript
Since I wrote this, Kara has developed strep throat so is unable to teach today (Sunday). Here are the additional quotes I plan on using
President Kimball “We testify to the world that revelation
continues and that the vaults and files of the Church contain these revelations
which come month to month and day to day. We testify also that there is, since
1830 when The Church of Jesus
Christ of Latter-day Saints was organized, and will continue to be,
so long as time shall last, a prophet, recognized of God and his people, who
will continue to interpret the mind and will of the Lord. …Expecting the
spectacular, one may not be fully alerted to the constant flow of revealed
communication. I say, in the deepest of humility, but also by the power and
force of a burning testimony in my soul, that from the prophet of the
Restoration to the prophet of our own year, the communication line is unbroken,
the authority is continuous, a light, brilliant and penetrating, continues to
shine. The sound of the voice of the Lord is a continuous melody and a
thunderous appeal. For nearly a century and a half there has been no interruption”
(in Conference Report, Apr. 1977, 115; or Ensign, May 1977, 78).
From My Heritage
“As a
result of the Church’s dramatic growth during the 1950s, President McKay
announced the priesthood correlation program. A committee, chaired by Elder
Harold B. Lee of the Quorum of the Twelve, was assigned to conduct a
thorough, prayerful study of all Church programs to see how well they met the
Church’s most important objectives. In 1961, with First Presidency approval,
Elder Lee announced that policies would be developed to govern the planning,
writing, and implementation of all Church curriculum materials. Many of these
materials had previously been developed by the Church’s auxiliary
organizations. This new direction would avoid unnecessary duplication of
programs and lesson materials so that the gospel could be more effectively
taught to members of all ages and languages in a worldwide Church.”
Elder Ballard: “We must keep the doctrine and gospel of Jesus Christ at the center of our
goals and plans. Without Him, no eternal goal is possible, and our plans to
achieve our eternal goals will surely fail. One additional help is
“The Living Christ: The Testimony of the Apostles,”12
which was presented to the Church on January 1, 2000. Place a copy where
you can see it, and take time to review each of the statements found in this
inspired testimony of Christ by His special witnesses who signed it. I would urge you to study it along with “The Family:
A Proclamation to the World.” We speak often about the family proclamation, but
please remember to read it in light of the saving power of the living Christ.
Without the living Christ, our fondest expectations will be unfulfilled. As the
family proclamation states: “The divine plan of happiness enables family
relationships to be perpetuated beyond the grave. Sacred ordinances and
covenants available in holy temples make it possible for individuals to return
to the presence of God and for families to be united eternally.”
Elder Oaks: The inspiration identifying the need for a
proclamation on the family came to the leadership of the Church over 23 years
ago. It was a surprise to some who thought the doctrinal truths about marriage
and the family were well understood without restatement.8
Nevertheless, we felt the confirmation and we went to work. Subjects were
identified and discussed by members of the Quorum of the Twelve for nearly a
year. Language was proposed, reviewed, and revised. Prayerfully we continually
pleaded with the Lord for His inspiration on what we should say and how we
should say it. We all learned “line upon line, precept upon precept,” as the
Lord has promised (D&C
98:12).
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