Living the gospel shouldn't be a doctrine buffet. (D&C 49-50)

49:2

How much of the gospel do you like? Which principles do you most agree with? Which parts do not just not follow?

Of course, all of these questions are ridiculous. If we believe in the gospel, we must accept all of it. I think this is what the Lord is saying in verse 2. “Behold, I say unto you, that they desire to know the truth in part, but not all, for they are not right before me and must needs repent.”

We shouldn’t view the gospel as a doctrine buffet - where we take what we want and leave the rest. We either follow the entire doctrine or we aren’t actually disciples. If we not live by the Word of Wisdom or not pay tithing or not or disregard any new instruction that we don’t agree with, we aren’t living the gospel. We cannot accept the “truth in part.”

This is a current problem with those who are saying “the church wasn’t working for me.” This is someone accepting the parts of the truth that they agree with but recognizing that, in some ways, the church isn’t right for them. Instead of worshipping Jesus Christ, they are attempting to craft a religion that puts themselves at its head and they are the arbiter of what is true and what isn’t.

That’s not how religion works, that’s not how discipleship works. Being a disciple means discovering the church and then bending our will and changing our behavior to match what is being taught - not living by “what works for me.”

49:4

This verse is directed to Leman Copley who was holding onto “some of the teachings of the Shakers, to which he had formerly belonged.” They had beliefs that Christ had already returned “in the form of a woman, Ann Lee” - among other beliefs that were very different from the restored church.

“And my servant Leman shall be ordained unto this work, that he may reason with them, not according to that which he has received of them, but according to that which shall be taught him by you my servants; and by so doing I will bless him, otherwise he shall not prosper.” Often, when I’m hearing two people debate, the one who is attempting to poke holes in the church is the one controlling the topics and pace of the debate. As those who have have the truth, we have a natural advantage to any topic. We don’t need to be on the defensive. We can ask our own thought-provoking questions where others may not have the answers they think they do.

For example, how and why did the “big bang” happen? How did DNA come together on it’s own? What do we do in heaven FOR ETERNITY (sing and praise God forever??)? What is the purpose of life? Why does God allow bad things to happen to good people? How do justice and mercy both help to strengthen our progression? Why do we assume that every painting, sculpture, building, vehicle, wall, etc had a creator but this beautiful, complicated world just happened on its own even when entropy is one of the laws of thermodynamics? Why are ALL prophets imperfect - including Joseph Smith? What about the Book of Mormon suggests that it wasn’t invented by a twenty-something in the 19th century? How could baptism be a requirement for salvation when so many billions have lived and died without knowing about Jesus Christ? How is it possible, or likely, that a church of volunteers with 17 million people could have some local leaders who are not inspired or even righteous?

Those who fight against the truth love to pick at some small event or principle that, in a vacuum, may not make sense or look bad. They love to put everything under a microscope and enlarge a problem to the point that it’s overwhelming and seemingly incontrovertible? For example, the fact that certain metals are described in the Book of Mormon that we haven’t found any archeological evidence. Some people take that argument to mean that the Book of Mormon is fiction. They fixate on this until it blocks their view of the bigger picture. They ignore the common sense needed to see, on its face, that the Book of Mormon exists through divine assistance and in no other way. Anyone who has seriously read it and pondered it and, yes, prayed about it knows that it is an inspired book that wasn’t copied from any other book or invented out of nothing.

I can rant about this for pages and pages. The point is that we don’t have to have arguments on the critics’ terms. As holders of truth, we can have these debates on our own terms.

49:6

“And they have done unto the Son of Man even as they listed; and he has taken his power on the right hand of his glory, and now reigneth in the heavens, and will reign till he descends on the earth to put all enemies under his feet, which time is nigh at hand.” God allowed his Son to be mistreated and crucified. He allowed the people of this world to do what they wanted. He allowed bad things to happen.

Christ’s end was not orchestrated or guided or controlled by God in any way. It happened because the Jewish leaders made choices. Their agency was honored.

When considering why bad things happen to good people, we should first start with this example. If God allows horrible events to happen to his only begotten Son, of course he allows bad things to happen to us. He honors the agency of every child of God. With that agency, we can do terrible things to each other.

He also allows the natural consequences of this fallen world to happen. He allows an almost infinite amount of disease and disaster to happen to all of us. No one is immune. It is part of the process. Everyone reading this will suffer in some way or another.

The good news is that all of these bad things will come to an end. This is an absolute truth. Just as Christ triumphed over death and the suffering of this world. We will too.

49:8

This is an interesting verse. “Wherefore, I will that all men shall repent, for all are under sin, except those which I have reserved unto myself, holy men that ye know not of.” Who are these people? Some suggest that these are those who were translated - as the city of Enoch, John, or the three Nephites.

49:10

“And that which I have promised I have so fulfilled, and the nations of the earth shall bow to it; and, if not of themselves, they shall come down, for that which is now exalted of itself shall be laid low of power.” I love verses like this that talk about the powerful things of this world will be brought low. Those who think they are on top of the world must humble themselves and accept and receive Jesus Christ or it will not matter what else they accomplished.

No one can exalt himself. No one can raise himself above this fallen world. No amount of effort or success will replace the need to humbly follow Jesus and repent, repent, repent.

49:27

“Behold, I will go before you and be your rearward; and I will be in your midst, and you shall not be confounded.” Isn’t it comforting to hear this? He could say this to you or I. He doesn’t care for Sidney Rigdon one ounce more or less than he cares for us.

What does it mean that we shall not be confounded? It means that, nothing can stop our progression in becoming true disciples of Christ. No force or person or situation can prevent us from striving to become like Him. Nothing in this world can separate us from the love of God.

Not “being confounded” doesn’t mean that all of our efforts in this world will be successful. We will start businesses that will fail. We will study for tests that we fail. There will be disappointment and frustration in a thousand different ways throughout our lives. So, this verse isn’t talking about how every act we take in this life will be blessed and successful. It just means that, in all of our righteous efforts to become like Christ and gather Israel will be successful - and rewarded.

50:2-3

“Behold, verily I say unto you, that there are many spirits which are false spirits, which have gone forth in the earth, deceiving the world.” Some people do not believe in evil spirits roaming the earth. Clearly, there are. This verse is plainly stating that their are evil or unclean spirits “in the earth.”

They aren’t just walking around either. They are being active. They are “deceiving the world.” How do they do this? I believe it is through whispers. They are whispering in a way that we are not conscious of it but our spirit hears and feels it.

They have been doing it a long time - right along with Satan himself. “And also Satan hath sought to deceive you, that he might overthrow you.” The deception has one purpose: to “overthrow you.” He wants us giving in to enough temptation that we actually lose our agency to a degree. If you’ve ever known a drug or alcohol addict, you know this to be true. They reach a point where they seem to no longer be able to make rational choices. Strand by strand, Satan makes an almost unbreakable rope.

Anyway, it is clearly written here that there are evil spirits in this earth. We must realize that to correctly fight them.

50:5

“But blessed are they who are faithful and endure, whether in life or in death, for they shall inherit eternal life.” When we say, “endure to the end,” we aren’t just saying that we must endure to the end of our mortal life. It is expected that we endure even beyond that. Certainly, we must endure to the end of our spirit-world experience. There is progression there. There is agency there. Their is repentance there. The enduring doesn’t just happen here on earth.

50:7

“Behold, verily I say unto you, there are hypocrites among you, who have deceived some, which has given the adversary power; but behold such shall be reclaimed;” Those who have been deceived by hypocrites shall “be reclaimed.” That is a comforting thought.

There are so many professed once-faithful people who have left the church who are doing all that they can to deceive others. Many are successful. They gather followers. They are influencers. It is comforting to know that many of whom have been deceived will be reclaimed. Those who are misled or confused or gullible will have a chance. I am happy about that.

50:10-12, 17-20

“And now come, saith the Lord, by the Spirit, unto the elders of his church, and let us reason together, that ye may understand; Let us reason even as a man reasoneth one with another face to face. Now, when a man reasoneth he is understood of man, because he reasoneth as a man; even so will I, the Lord, reason with you that you may understand.” The Lord is willing to reason with us so that we may understand principles. It is important that we are able to reason. Our logical brains are essential. Our ability to communicate principles in a reasonable way is important.

However, preaching and receiving the gospel is different from reasoning. “Verily I say unto you, he that is ordained of me and sent forth to preach the word of truth by the Comforter, in the Spirit of truth, doth he preach it by the Spirit of truth or some other way? And if it be by some other way it is not of God. And again, he that receiveth the word of truth, doth he receive it by the Spirit of truth or some other way? If it be some other way it is not of God." Our preaching must come through the Spirit. Our conversions must come through the Spirit.

If we are testifying and preaching about the church and the Spirit is absent, we may be able to convince someone through reason that the church is true but he will not be able to withstand the logical, reasonable arguments that the church’s enemies are happy to present.

We must remember that, in how we teach and how we listen, it must be through the Spirit to have any long-term benefit. I think, many times, I default to reason. I attempt to convince through logical arguments. I love that I understand certain key principles and enjoy presenting what I know. I must understand that I could perfectly communicate and illustrate my well-crafted arguments and it won’t have any effect on any other person - at least in the long-term.

For my preaching and my own learning to have any lasting effect, I must invite the Spirit. If I don’t, “it is not of God.”

50:23-24

“And that which doth not edify is not of God, and is darkness. That which is of God is light; and he that receiveth light, and continueth in God, receiveth more light; and that light groweth brighter and brighter until the perfect day.“ It is pretty easy for us to determine lightness or darkness. I think we are born with it. All we need is a glimpse of something to know if it’s light or dark. If we move towards the light and follow the gospel as we know it, that light will get brighter and brighter “until the perfect day.”

It can happen the other way. If we perceive something as “darkness” because it is not edifying us, and move towards that darkness, the darkness will grow and grow until we don’t see any light at all. We can perceive darkness as easily as we can perceive lightness. Again, we are born with this ability. We just need to make the most of it.