Lesson 19: Doctrine and Covenants 19:16-19; 76:40-42, 96-112; 88:14-16; 138:55-56
I have added verses 96-110 and verse 112 from section 76 to the materials for this lesson.
Doctrine and Covenants 138:55-56
To whom does “they” refer in the first part of verse 55? Does verse 56 tell us that all the great souls were saved for the last days? What “first lessons” do you think the great ones might have received in the Spirit World?
Doctrine and Covenants 76
Verses 40-42: When we speak or testify of the gospel, is this what we mean? What does “whom the Father had put into his power” mean? How does “made by him” fit with the rest of the sentence grammatically: “whom the Father had [. . .] made by him”? If so, what does this verse teach us, and why is that important to these three verses? If not, what is the alternative?
Doctrine and Covenants 19:16-19
This is one long sentence. The first part of this sentence, verse 16, holds out a promise. The next part, verse 17, contains a warning of what will happen if the promise isn’t accepted: those who don’t repent must suffer as the Savior suffered. Verses 18 and 19 expand on verse 17 by telling us about his suffering. Through verse 18, the message is relatively straightforward. But verse 19, introduced with “nevertheless,” causes difficulty. How does the phrase, “glory be to the Father,” work? What does it tell us in this verse, and how is what it tells us related to what comes before? What does “preparations unto the children of men” mean?
Doctrine and Covenants 88
Verse 14: What does it mean to say that the resurrection occurs through the redemption?
Verse 15: This is an important doctrine, for traditional Christianity has often denigrated the body, and our culture still often looks on the body as a hindrance (or, in backlash, it thinks of the body as the only thing). I suspect that the privilege and acclaim we sometimes give supposedly intellectual professions over more physical professions is one of the remnants of this misunderstanding of the body and the spirit. In what other ways do we sometimes forget this necessary unity of spirit and body? (Note: though “soul” is defined here as the unity of the spirit and body, it isn’t always or even often used that way in other scriptures. This definition is one which seems to have been saved for the latter-days. Therefore, when you read the word “soul” in scripture, you must ask yourself whether the writer meant “spirit” or “soul” as it is used here.)
Verse 16: What is the significance of this teaching for our understanding of the plan of salvation?
Doctrine and Covenants 76
Verses 96-98: What does it mean to say that each of the kingdoms “is one”?
Verse 98: What does it mean to say that the glories in the telestial world differ from one another like the glory of the stars differ from one another? Is the same thing true of the other kingdoms?
Verses 99-101: What does it mean to say that the inhabitants of the telestial world “are they who are of Paul, and of Apollos, and of Cephas [. . .] some of one and some of another”? Why is Christ included in the list at the end of verse 100? How could someone claim to be “of Christ” but not have received the gospel? Does the definition of “gospel” that we see in verses 40-42 answer the last question?
Verse 102: Does this verse begin a new category or is it continuing to discuss the inhabitants of the telestial kingdom? What is the verse referring to when it speaks of the Saints being gathered up into a cloud? When will that occur?
Verses 103-106: Is the list in verse 103 an inclusive list or an example? Who are the sorcerers? Compare Malachi 3:5. Is this list an echo of that one? It may also be an echo of Revelation 21:8. The sorcerers of the Old and New Testaments seem to have been people who not only performed magical acts, but also claimed to be incarnations of divine power and, so, competitor’s to Jesus’s claim to be the only Son of the Father. In our day, to whom might “sorcerers” refer?
Verse 103: What does it mean to say that someone “loves and makes a lie”?
Verse 104: How is it that those who will go to the terrestrial kingdom “suffer the wrath of God on earth”?
Verses 105-106: How long will those who inherit the telestial kingdom suffer the wrath of God, “the vengeance of eternal fire”? What does this suggest about those who inherit the other two kingdoms?
Verses 107-108: To what kingdom does the first clause of the verse refer? How is the wine press an apt image for Christ’s suffering? Why does he focus here on his suffering rather than on his resurrection?
Verse 109: What does this verse suggest about how many people will go to the telestial kingdom?
Verse 110: Why is it important for us to know that every person in the telestial kingdom will bow to and confess to Christ? Why is it important that they make confession to him?
Verse 111: Why does this verse begin with “for”? How does that word connect the ideas of this verse to those that preceded it? To whom does the “they” at the beginning of the verse refer? To the inhabitants of the terrestrial world? If not, to whom does it refer?