My Come, Follow Me studies this week took me to Doctrine and Covenants 84. This section contains a revelation that was given through the Prophet Joseph Smith, at Kirtland, Ohio, on September 22 and 23, 1832. This communication was received during a season of joy when missionaries were returning from their missions in the eastern states and reporting on their labors. It was during this reunion that the Prophet inquired of the Lord and received this revelation. The Prophet Joseph Smith designated it as a revelation on priesthood.
The priesthood was restored in May
1829, and Latter-day Saints had been blessed by its sacred power for more than
three years at the time Section 84 was received. Latter-day Saints had been
baptized, confirmed, and called to serve by priesthood authority – much the
same as is done today. Having access to priesthood power and enjoying its
blessings is not the same thing as completely understanding it. This revelation
was the Lord’s means of giving more understanding to His Saints. This
revelation on the priesthood expanded the Saints’ vision of what the priesthood
really is, and a study of Section 84 can expand our vision today.
The Lord used this revelation to
explain how the priesthood prepares the Saints to enter God’s presence and
receive all that He has. The Lord taught of the importance of hearkening to His
words and reproved the Saints in Jackson County, Missouri, for treating the
Book of Mormon and His commandments lightly. The Lord also commanded the Saints
to preach the gospel to the world, and He provided instructions for doing so.
The Doctrine and Covenants
Student Manual – Religion 324 and 325 [2018] gave further information about
Section 84.
During a conference of priesthood holders
held in Amherst, Ohio, on January 25, 1832, a number of elders were called to
preach the gospel in various locations in the United States (see Doctrine and
Covenants 75). In September 1832, some of these elders returned from their
missions in the eastern states. Joseph and Emma Smith had just moved from the John
and Alice (Elsa) Johnson home in Hiram, Ohio, to the living quarters in the
Newel K. Whitney store in Kirtland, Ohio. When the missionaries returned to
Kirtland, they reported their experiences, and the Prophet Joseph Smith
rejoiced in their success. While the Prophet was with these elders on September
22, he inquired of the Lord and received revelation about the priesthood. The Prophet
continued to receive instruction from the Lord the following day, September 23.
This revelation, received over two days, is recorded in Doctrine and Covenants
84. Several individuals witnessed the Prophet Joseph Smith dictate the revelation.
Doctrine and Covenants 84:1 suggests that six elders were present as the dictation
began, but a note in an original handwritten copy of the revelation indicates
that 10 high priests were present during the latter part of the revelation.
(See The Joseph Smith Papers, Documents, Volume 2: July 1831 – January 1833,
ed. Matthew C. Godfrey and others [2013], 289-90.)
One of the principles taught about
priesthood in Doctrine and Covenants 84 is: “We all have access to God’s
priesthood power and blessings (verses 1-5, 17-28, 31-42). The Lord begins this
revelation on the priesthood by teaching that a temple will be built in Zion
(verses 1-5). Temples would have little purpose without priesthood power and
authority. It is within the walls of the holy temple that men and women receive
some of the greatest blessings that can be received on earth. The gospel of
Jesus Christ is taught in the temples, and families are sealed together for
eternity in the temples.
The oath and covenants of the
priesthood are taught in this revelation (verses 31-42), and this information
has special application for those who are ordained to a priesthood office.
However, many of the promised blessings in these verses are available to all as
we receive the Lord’s servants and the Lord. President M. Russell Ballard of
the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles taught the following.
All who have made sacred covenants with
the Lord and who honor those covenants are eligible to receive personal
revelation, to be blessed by the ministering of angels, to commune with God, to
receive the fulness of the gospel, and, ultimately, to become heirs alongside
Jesus Christ of all our Father has (“Men and Women and Priesthood Power,” Ensign,
Sept. 2014, 32).
Men and women are called to labor
together in building up the kingdom of God upon the earth. This includes the
building of temples and doing sacred temple work. It is through performing the
work of the Lord that can receive blessings both for time and for eternity. Men
and women stand together in performing the work for the living and the dead.
Another important principle found in
Doctrine and Covenants 84:61-88 is: “The Lord will sustain those who serve Him.”
These verses are directed to those who “shall go and preach this gospel of the
kingdom” (verse 80), but many of the principles they contain can apply to
anyone who is serving God.
The Lord charged His ancient Apostles
(see Matthew 28:19-20; Mark 16:15-18) to preach the gospel to all the world.
He, likewise, instructed His Saints in the latter-days to preach the gospel to
all the world. He commanded them to send their testimony in some other way if
there was any place that they could not personally go to ensure that the
restored gospel was proclaimed “unto every creature” (Doctrine and Covenants
84:62). Elder David A. Bednar of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles invited members
of the Church of Jesus Christ today to use innovative and inspired
communications and technology to send the gospel message to people throughout
the world:
The Lord is hastening His work, and it is
no coincidence that these powerful communication innovations and inventions are
occurring in the dispensation of the fulness of times. Social media channels
are global tools that can personally and positively impact large numbers of
individuals and families. And I believe the time has come for us as disciples
of Christ to use these inspired tools appropriately and more effectively to
testify of God the Eternal Father, His plan of happiness for His children, and
His Son, Jesus Christ, as the Savior of the world; to proclaim the reality of
the Restoration of the gospel in the latter days; and to accomplish the Lord’s
work….
What has been accomplished thus far in
this dispensation communicating gospel messages through social media channels
is a good beginning – but only a small trickle. I now extend to you the
invitation to help transform the trickle into a flood…. I exhort you to sweep
the earth with messages filled with righteousness and truth – messages that are
authentic, edifying, and praiseworthy – and literally to sweep the earth as
with a flood (see Moses 7:59-62) (“Flood the Earth through Social Media,” New
Era, Aug. 2015, 32, 35).
The priesthood is the power of God
bestowed upon mortals for the purpose of blessing all the children of Heavenly
Father. Doctrine and Covenants 84 teaches about the priesthood and how to use
it more effectively in doing God’s work here on earth.
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