What I Say Unto One….

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Today’s Society…

Family Portrait

BYU ProfessorOn these cold winter mornings I am reminded of an early winter morning

a number of years ago when one of my teenagers headed for the front door with his backpack slung over one

shoulder. He was in an obvious hurry to get to the school bus. I noticed out the front window that snow was rapidly

coming down and that my teenage son was about to step out into the dead of winter in a T-shirt, jeans, and Nikes—an outfit more in tune with a warm spring day.

“Where is your coat?” I asked, reacting in my typical fatherly manner.“Dad, nobody wears coats!” was his simple reply. And with that, the front door swung

open and off he went into the cold, snowy day with very little between himself and the elements. I continued watching through the front window as he tiptoed through the piling snow, trying to keep the slush from slipping down into his low-cut sneakers. I worried as he pushed his hands deeply into his pants pockets, trying to cover as much skin as possible with the single layer of cotton denim.

And then, there they were—all those brave teenagers standing at the corner waiting for the approaching yellow bus, and most without the needed winter coat. I knew the garment well. With its waterproof outer fabric; its sleek, smooth inner lining; and its thick, body heat–capturing interlining, it hung readily in the front closet of each of their homes.

But apparently this generation had decided that while this garment offered needed warmth and protection, it would be an embarrassment to actually wear a winter coat to school. Does this sound familiar? (BYU Devotional, Brother Rory Scanlon, Jan 2008)

Question:Where is the gospel application here?

How do we get scripture?

1- One of the Lord’s Servants2- Asks for help with a problem or need3- Lord supplies guidance or instruction4- His instruction is recorded so “that

all might profit”

The Lord’s Servant

Problemor NeedLord

D&C 25

16 And verily, verily, I say unto you, that this is my voice unto all. Amen

Nephi records:for I did liken all scriptures unto us, that it might be for our profit and learning.(1 Nephi 19:23)

By July 1830

Emma and Joseph married in 1827

Emma basically disowned by her family

Lost one baby in Harmony, Penn.

Seen her husband arrested twice

She is 26…

Emma Smith

Section 25- Given to Emma SmithQuestion:

What might have been her concerns or questions that prompted the revelation?

Shortly before her death

Question. What of the truth of Mormonism?

Answer. I know Mormonism to be the truth; and believe the Church to have been established by divine direction. I have complete faith in it. In writing for your father I frequently wrote day after day, often sitting at the table close by him, and dictating hour after hour with nothing between us.

Question. Had he not a book or manuscript from which he read, or dictated to you?

Answer. He had neither manuscript nor book to read from.

Question. Could he not have had, and you not know it?

Answer. If he had had anything of the kind he could not have concealed it from me.

Question. Are you sure that he had the plates at the time you were writing for him?

Answer. The plates often lay on the table without any attempt at concealment, wrapped in a small linen tablecloth, which I had given him to fold them in. I once felt of the plates, as they thus lay on the table, tracing their outline and shape. They seemed to be pliable like thick paper, and would rustle with a metallic sound when the edges were moved by the thumb, as one does sometimes thumb the edges of a book.

Question. I should suppose that you would have uncovered the plates and examined them?

Answer. I did not attempt to handle the plates, other than I have told you, nor uncover them to look at them. I was satisfied that it was the work of God, and therefore did not feel it to be necessary to do so;

Last Testimony of Emma Smith 1879 Q&A between Emma and Joseph Smith III, The Saints' Herald 26 (Oct 1879)

Section 25

A revelation I give unto you concerning my will; …

Behold, thy sins are forgiven thee, and thou art an elect lady, whom I have called.

Murmur not because of the things which thou hast not seen, for they are withheld from thee and from the world, which is wisdom in me in a time to come.

Question:Is it possible for us, today, to get caught up in murmurings about things that are “withheld” from us?

A Caution-

And verily I say unto thee that thou shalt lay aside the things of this world, and seek for the things of a better.

The Dunkerat Miramar

…the instructors insisted that virtually

anyone can be taught to get out of the Dunker.

First, maintain your reference point. In the most chaotic situations, that means identifying

and holding on to something that will will help you stay oriented…

Their second mantra is to wait for all the sudden and violent motion to stop…

Eventually, the chaos subsides, the tumult ceases, and it’s a lot easier to handle the situation.

Ben Sherwood, The Survivor’s Club, p. 7

Question:In chaotic and uncertain times, what are the “reference points” you focus on until the tumult ceases?

The “Desires” of Emma’s Heart

In the last anxious hours before the Prophet Joseph Smith left for Carthage in June 1844, his wife, Emma, asked for a blessing. Unable to grant her wish at the time, Joseph instructed her to write out "the desires of her heart" and he would confirm the blessing by his signature upon his return.

Among the desires she expressed in her short, self- inscribed blessing was her fervent wish "to honor and respect my husband as my head, ever to live in his confidence and by acting in unison with him retain the place which God has given me by his side."

She expressed a "craving for wisdom" that she would not do or say anything she would regret;

she desired the Spirit of God and a fruitful mind that she would be able "to comprehend the designs of God, when revealed through his servants without doubting;"

she sought wisdom to rear her children to be "useful ornaments in the Kingdom of God;"

and prudence to care for her body that she would live to perform "all the work that [she] covenanted to perform in the spirit world;"

and, finally, she asked for "humility . . . that she might rejoice in the blessings which God has in store for all who are willing to be obedient to his requirements.“Heavens Are Open: The 1992 Sperry Symposium on the Doctrine and Covenants and Church History, 208-218.