Prophecies and Promises of the Lord

Prophecies and Promises of the Lord As Recorded in the Book of Doctrine and Covenants

Study Course for Joint Advanced Senior M. I. A. Classes, 1919-20

VII.— THE DAY OF SPIRITUAL ACTIVITY

No day of life is completely lived without some purely spiritual activity. Spiritual activity, wherein direct service to God predominates; ethical activity, in which the service to our fellow men predominates; intellectual activity, wherein truth- seeking is the leading motive, and physical activity, in which the expenditure of direct physical energy is dominant. Earthly necessities crowd in from many sides and make de- mand for all of these activities, save the spiritual; its claim comes from above, and through it we reach realizations of en- joyment higher than that reached through any and all of the other three, and thus spiritual activity is not only the leverage of the highest life, but the elevation of the individual, so complete that the function of all other activities are re-enforced by and through spiritual activity. — Man is a spirit much more a spirit than anything else. The absence of the spirit means the absence of the mind, and the death of the body. To serve God energizes the spirit of man, just as truly as the Spirit of God gives to the spirit of man understanding. The hard-headed writer, who had formed the social habit of attending Sabbath-day service, said, "I do not profess to be a devout man, but I must confess that I am a better man on Sunday than on any other day of the week." He confesses in this state- ment the superiority of spiritual employment as a force in creat- ing a social atmosphere for the growth and ripening of the good- ness in man. At any point in life one is just what his habits are, and the higher the habits the holier the character. The habit of resting from the lesser activities to the extent of emphasizing the higher activity, for one day in seven, must of necessity make for nobility of character. There is a tendency to conform to the nature of our work and recreation, and to the

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nature of those with whom we work and recreate. By examina- tion we shall find that the observance of the Sabbath-day, from a Latter-day Saint point of view, includes elevative effort, both constructive and reconstructive, with the most elevating compan- ionship, a companionship of those who are made the elect of God, through electing to be at his table on the Lord's day. Those who believe in and will obey the M. I. A. slogan, "We stand for spiritual growth through attendance at sacra- ment meetings," will not be disappointed; they will feel growth, immeasurable by tape or compass, and it may be said of them, they are becoming like unto him of whom it is written, "And the child grew, and waxed strong in spirit, and was in the de- serts till the day of his shewing unto Israel." (Luke 1:80.) There are in essence two promises made in Sec. 59. First a promise of fulness of joy, second a promise of fulness of wealth. The latter promise is made part of wonderful instructions on the Sabbath day, by President Joseph F. Smith, recorded in Gospel Doctrine, pages 303-311. The commandment to observe the Sabbath day, recorded in Sec. 68: 29, carries with it the universal promise of the bless- ing of obedience, and also the general promise of the certainty of spiritual calamity following disobedience. The Sabbath day is a temple of time made holy by our Father's blessing, and the desecration of it should be thought against and fought against.

QUESTIONS AND PROBLEMS. 1. Define and illustrate spiritual activity. 2. Of whom was it said that the child grew and waxed strong in the spirit? 3. What does the saying mean to you? 4. Why did the observance of the Sabbath day tend to make even the agnostic a better person? 5. Wherein does Sabbath day observance make one the elect of God? 6. Wherein does the disregard of the Sabbath make one the unelect of God? 7. In what particulars is a Sabbath-observing community better than a Sabbath-breaking community, judging from ethical and social points of view? 8. Which, as a rule, in your community is the most prosperous class of people, the Sabbath-keeper or the Sabbath-breaker? 9. If the weight of testimony is in favor of Sabbath-keeping, as a source of joy and as a source of material prosperity, what must be said concerning the promise in the revelation, Sec. 59? 10. What does President Joseph F. Smith say concerning Saturday's work and Sunday's devotion? 11. Give his inspired views in distinction between indolence and rest, page 304.

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12. What does he say as to what should be done on the Sabbath day' 13. What does he point out that should not be done on the Sabbath day? 14. Quote his advice and declaration concerning protecting the boy from Sabbath breaking. 15. What is the great thought expressed in the last paragraph, on page 310, Gospel Doctrine? 16. Discuss the value of the special promises made for Sabbath-keep- ing; (a) To the child, (b) To the youth, (c) To the adult, (d) To the family, (e) To the community, and (f) To the race. 17. What is your personal experience regarding the progressive fulfil- ment of the promise made concerning Sabbath day observance? 18. Wherein is it more injurious for a believer to violate the Sab- bath day than for a skeptic to do so? 19. Show the inconsistency of the hope of the millennium with the habit of Sabbath breaking. 20. If the Sabbath day is the temple of time made sacred by the special blessing of our Father in heaven, what is the evident duty of God's children concerning its desecration? 21. What evidence have we that the observance of the Sabbath day is a habit of divinity?

COLLATERAL REFERENCES AND SUPPLEMENTAL SUGGESTIONS Blessings for him who keeps the Sabbath. Isaiah, 56:2. Outside Sabbath-keepers preferred to inside Sabbath-breakers. Isaiah, 56:3-7. The prosperity or destruction of the city dependent upon Sabbath- keeping. Jeremiah 17:21, 27. Gospel Doctrine, President Joseph F. Smith, pp. 303-311.

Suggestions for Class Exercises.

Singing, Sunday school hymn, "Welcome, Happy Sunday." Substitute for invocation a concert recital of the Sabbath day com- mandment of the decalogue. It will be profitable to provide for a few minutes' bearing of testimony on the promises for Sabbath-keeping, and especially concerning spiritual growth resulting from Sabbath observance. A finish to the lesson will be, "Beautiful Day of Rest," used as the closing hymn.

LESSON VIIL—THE WEEKLY COVENANT The first reference to the sacrament in the Doctrine and Covenants is made in Section 20. The administering of the sacrament is linked up with the authority of the holy Priesthood, from the apostleship to the office of a priest. As to the substance and the purpose of partaking of the sacrament, Section 27:2 gives a clear statement. The promise contained in 5 to 14, inclusive, provides for a most glorious sacramental reunion of all of the dispensations and of all of the redeemed. A careful study of the sacramental prayer, in administering

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the bread, will reveal that the ordinance is not only symbolic of the great sacrifice, but a renewal of the psychic condition pre- — ceding baptism a symbolic declaration of that condition. The partaking of the bread is a solemn declaration of a willingness to accept Christ as the Savior, a willingness to remember him, a willingness to keep his commandments, with the assurance that the Spirit of the Lord will be with those who partake worthily. As the prayer is presented by one of God's official agents, it not only contains the declaration of the mortal, but it carries with it the pledge or promise of divinity, to provide the presence of his Spirit as a guide and guard for the one honestly making this covenant, through partaking of the emblems made holy by divine authority. Having the Spirit of the Lord always with one, means indescribably much; it means light; it means love, and it means liberty or freedom from the bondage of evil desires. A dungeon with the companionship of the Spirit of the Lord is more than an illuminated palace without that Spirit. Majesty in chains, in Liberty Jail, illustrates the one; the craven on the throne in Hamlet illustrates the other. The blessing on the wine, or the water, is symbolic of the blood-purchase from death unto life; it is also a solemn, silent declaration that we do not forget the Lord; and with it goes the promise of having his Spirit to be with us through its promptings against sin, delivering us from evil, through engaging us with the good. This double covenant, the first as to willingness, and the second as to remembrance of the Lord, are made a weekly duty of the members of the Church, as provided in Section 59: 9. This paragraph is not only direc- tive, but it is prophetic, it holds in essence the promise of a state of purity obtainable in no other way than through partaking of the sacrament. The obligatory element contained in paragraph nine, is re- peated with emphasis in paragraph twelve. The sacrament of the Lord's supper may fittingly be called spiritual refreshment. The command for its weekly observance is more than a cordial invitation of the Lord Jesus to partake of these refreshments. The M. I. A. slogan, "We stand for spiritual growth through attendance at sacrament meetings," should be supplemented by an individual resolve to seek spirit- ual growth through attendance at the weekly sacrament meet- ings. As love grows stronger through heartfelt renewal of its vows, so does the spirit increase in strength through the fre- quent renewal of its covenants; and as love may languish in the absence of a renewal of its vows, so may faith fade in the ab- sence of the renewal of its covenants.

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QUESTIONS AND PROBLEMS. 1. What does spiritual growth mean to you? Illustrate. 2. Recite the blessing on the bread. 3. What are we to remember concerning Christ's body when we par- take of the sacrament? 4. What two things do we witness that we are willing to do by par- taking of the bread? 5. Recite the blessing on the water. 6. What are we to remember of the blood of the Savior when par- taking of the sacrament? 7. What do we testify to in partaking of the waU;r? 8. What has a person the right to expect who weekly partakes of the sacrament? 9. What does it mean to have the Spirit of the Lord? 10. Show the impossibility of escaping self condemnation for un- worthily partaking of the sacrament. 11. What is the great promise contained in both of the sacramental prayers? 12. Discuss the inestimable value of this promise. 13. Wherein is the partaking of the water a more searching test of character than the partaking of the bread? 14. From your experience state wherein the weekly sacrament meeting is especially productive of spiritual growth. 15. It has been said that if a ward teacher can succeed in inducing the group whom he visits to attend faithfully the weekly sacrament meet- ings, his work is well done. Show why.

Collateral References and Supplemental Suggestions. For a clear, terse exposition of the doctrine of the sacrament, read from Gospel Doctrine, by President Joseph F. Smith, page 252. The careful reading of this reference will be of intrinsic value to the student.

Suggestions for Conducting the Class

Opening hymn, "How great the wisdom and the love," by Eliza R. Snow, page 343. If anything interferes with the singing of this hymn, have it read or recited to the class; or, if that is not possible, any one of the fourteen sacrament hymns to be found in the L. D. S. hymn book. Let the invocation be in the main an expression of gratitude for the Sacrament Covenant, with its promises. Sing as your closing number, hymn 141, beginning, "Arise, my soul, arise;" or, if that proves impracticable, one of the hymns to be found in the sacrament group in the L. D. S. hymn book.

LESSON IX.—REVIEW. The purpose of this review is not to examine with a view to discovering what the members of the class know or do not know. The chief aim is to link together the core or central ideas of the preceding lessons. As it is essential for the builder of a course to see the end from the beginning, so is it important that the student may see with unobstructed vision from the last lesson to the first, or the beginning from the end.

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Interest is immensely enhanced by the removing of the hazy spots, with the illumination of recapitulation. Reviews lift mental mists, and let in the sunshine of new discovery. They permit the introduction of new collateral ma- terial, a process that will be slightly indulged in in this lesson. Dr. John Dewey, one of America's best educational authorities, says that no review is a complete review without the introduc- tion of some new material.

QUESTIONS AND PROBLEMS. 1. What are the three specific aims making up the general aim of this course of study? 2. What are the two great evident purposes of divine promises and prophecies? 3. What are the advantages to be obtained through belief in prophecy? 4. What are the spiritual results of the fulfilment of prophecy? 5. Quote from memory paragraph 37, Sec. 1, Doc. and Cov. 6. Discuss this thesis: Not one of the prophecies or promises re- corded in the Doctrine and Covenants has failed of fulfilment. 7. Quote from the Lord's preface, in proof of the application of the golden rule in administering the law of eternal judgment. 8. Distinguish between humility and humiliation. 9. Quote paragraph 8, Sec. 12, and discuss the humiliation that would come from being prohibited from working in the Church. 10. Present the following in proof of the promise Sec. 18:15-16. An extract from an address by President Heber J. Grant, Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, September 21, 1919:

The Upward Progress of a Latter-day Saint By President Heber J. Grant Iremember reading of an incident where a man away up in northern Scandinavia, in that cold, hard country, where it is difficult to make a living, heard an elder proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ again restored to the earth — faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, repentance, baptism by im- mersion for the remission of sins, and the laying on of hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost, and that Joseph Smith was a prophet of the true and the living God. He received the witness in his heart to the truthfulness of the message, and he went down into the waters of baptism. He soon received the spirit of gathering, and he emigrated from Scandinavia to Utah. After he had been here a little while the bishop called upon him and said: "You do not pay any tithing." "Why, I never heard about tithing." And the bishop taught him the law of tithing—that one-tenth of all that he made belonged to the Church for the spread of the gospel and the building up of the work at home and abroad. This man was shocked at the out- rageous "tax" of the Church, as he termed it, but he said: "The gospel is true, and I guess I ought to live all the laws." After a great struggle he finally decided to comply with this law, and he honestly paid his tithing. The bishop later came to him and said: "You do not pay any fast-day donation to take care of the poor;" and the man said, "For the love of heaven, isn't 10 per cent of all you make enough to take care of the poor?" "No," the bishop said; "but we do not ask you to give a dollar. All we ask is that you fast, that you fail to partake of food for two meals once a — month you are not asked for any money, but simply to give to us the

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equivalent of what you save. You can consult your doctor, and you will find that this is beneficial to your health to fast for a couple of meals once a month." Well, he said he did not know about that, but he finally con- cluded he ought to do his share for the poor, so he fasted, and in fasting he partook of the Spirit of the Lord that is given to us when we fast and pray to God; and he rejoiced in paying his fast-day donation. Pretty soon the bishop came to him and said: "We need a new ward — meetinghouse." "Well, let the Church build it the tithing ought to be enough for that." The bishop said, "No, the Church will not build it, but the Church will give one dollar for each two dollars that we give. You know we need a new meetinghouse, in which to worship the Lord." He "kicked and kicked hard," to use a slang phrase, but finally concluded that they needed a new meetinghouse, and he wanted to do his share. Next the bishop came around and said: "We need a Church academy, so our children may not only be educated in the things of the world — the sciences, arts, literature, and so on but in the things of God;" and he finally persuaded him to donate for an academy. Then he came and said to this man: "We need a stake meetinghouse." He complained again, but finally donated for a stake house. Then the bishop came around and said: "Here, brother, we are mak- ing an extra effort to complete the Salt Lake temple, and we want a very large and splendid donation from you. You have been very prosperous; the Lord has blessed you since you came to this land." He hemmed and hawed and complained, but he finally gave the donation, because in the meantime he had learned this glorious principle of vicarious labor for the dead. Some people ridicule that principle; they say it is absurd, it is ridiculous that we, the living, can do work for the dead. People may ridi- cule this principle, but the very foundation of all Christianity is based upon the vicarious labor, and the death of our Lord Jesus Christ, for us. So this man finally contributed for the temple. The academy was soon completed, and his boy attended and in due time graduated with honor. Then the bishop called on him and said: "That boy of yours has graduated; he has made a fine record, and we would like him to go on a mission to his father's native land. It will cost you about $25 a month to send him and take care of him." To this the man replied: "Bishop, that is the straw that breaks the camel's back. I paid tithing; I paid fast-day donations; I paid for a ward house; I paid for a stake house; I paid for an academy; I paid for the completion of the temple; but if the Church wants my boy, whom I had expected to bring me in at least seventy-five dollars a month, now that he has graduated, they will have to pay his ex- penses, or he will not go on a mission." "Well," the bishop said, "that will be all right, he will not go, because the Church is not paying the expenses. All they will do for him is to bring him home free of charge when his mission is completed. They will do that—they will bring him home again. That will be the limit." "Well, then," he said, "he will never go." The bishop said, "All right. Let us dismiss the subject and talk on something else." They talked on for about an hour. The bishop went around and around, and finally he came to the native land of this man, the country from which he had come, as well as his relatives and friends. Then he said: "By the way, whom do you love more than anybody else on the earth, except your own flesh and blood—your own family?" "^"Y'" he said, "Bishop, more than any other person that draws the breath of

life, I love the man who came to me, away up in the midnight-sun country of Scandinavia, and brought to me the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ; the man who came there with the Spirit of the living God, who touched my heart, and melted my very soul, and implanted in my being a knowledge

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that God lives, that Jesus is the Christ, that Joseph Smith is a prophet of the true and the living God; I love him beyond my power to tell." The bishop then said: "Wouldn't you like somebody to love that boy of yours just as you love that elder?" "Bishop," he said, "you have conquered me fair and square. The boy can go. I will pay his expenses."

11. The Church has never fallen into temptation as an organization. Connect this fact up with the indirect promise made in Section 20:23. 12. How much is promised in the first sentence of Section 59:17 for observance of the Sabbath day? 13. How is the worthiness to partake of the water affected by neglect of prayer or of the violation of the Sabbath day? 14. Bear a two-minute testimony as to what this course of study is doing for you.

A Mission as a Factor in Education A Study for the Advanced Junior Y. M. M. I. A. Glass, 1919-20

LESSON IV.—SHOULD A MAN SELECT A MISSION OR GO WHERE HE IS SENT? How are missionaries called in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints? What does the Church claim as regards divine authority to call men on missions? What is divine au- thority? Why is a call coming through divine authority more binding than one coming through earthly, or purely human, sources? Why is it safer to follow divine authority than human? When a young man receives a call through the proper au- thority to go on a mission, what should be his attitude towards that call? Give reasons for your answer. The Church is divine, and the Spirit of God will direct those in authority in the exercise of their churchly duties, each in his calling. Therefore, consistency requires obedience to this au- thority from the president to the bishop, or to the least of the presiding elders in the missions. What should a young man do with his personal likes or dis- likes, when he is called to go on a mission? Discuss the benefits one derives from submission to divine authority. Discuss the Savior's saying: "Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you." John 15:16. Explain the difference between the "call" which comes to a

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minister in the world to take up the ministry or to remove from one church to another, and the call which comes to an elder in the Church. SUMMARY As the call for a mission does not originate with ones self, but comes from a higher Power, it is the part of wisdom to let that higher Power direct in all things regarding the call, and the where of one's going.

LESSON V.—HOW CAN ONE PREACH THE GOSPEL MOST EFFECTIVELY? Read, consider, and discuss these sayings "Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you." John, 15:15. "Faith, if it hath not works, is dead." James, 2:17. "How can I hear what you say, when what you are is thundering in my ears?" "And the Lord said unto them also (the sons of Mosiah), Go forth among the Lamanites, thy brethren, and establish my word; yet ye shall be patient in longsuffering and afflictions, that ye may show forth good ex- amples unto them in me, and I will make an instrument of thee in my hands, unto the salvation of many souls." Book of Mormon, Alma 17: 11.

Read the fuller account of Amnion's missionary experiences. How did he get the confidence of the people before he preached to them the word of God? Which is the better missionary, one who is a poor public speaker but is humble and consistent in his every-day living, or one who is eloquent in speech but careless in his manner of living? Give examples, not necessarily mentioning names. Is the responsibility of living right greater on one who is a teacher or a missionary, than on one who is not? Give rea- sons for your answers.

SUMMARY "Example is better than precept." An ideal condition is when one who is a teacher of righteousness conforms strictly to his own teachings. His instructions are then doubly effective.

LESSON VI.—SOME ADVANTAGES OF A MISSION In lesson four we discussed the proposition of obedience to divinely constituted authority, especially as applied to appoint- ments in the mission field. To go where one is sent sometimes requires a sacrifice of one's desires and feelings. To sacrifice one's personal feelings as well as one's time and means in a good cause, is conducive to the building of a strong character. Discuss: "Sacrifice brings forth the blessings of heaven."

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The gospel of Jesus Christ is the greatest thing in the world. It is the greatest for righteousness in persons or nations. Why, then, is a personal knowledge of the principles of the gospel greatly to be desired? There is no better way to learn the gospel than having to teach it to others. A young man, therefore, comes home from a mission with a fuller knowledge of the gospel and its opera- tions. What advantage is that to him? "The doctrine of the kingdom" seems to include "all things both in heaven and in the earth * * * things which are at home, things which are abroad * * * a knowledge also of countries and of kingdoms." Doctrine and Covenants 88: 78, 79. What is the best way of receiving a knowledge of "things in the earth" and "things which are abroad"? What advantages has a community where there are a num- ber of returned missionaries, when a knowledge of foreign coun- tries, their language, their learning, and their ways, is under dis- cussion Discuss the broadening influence of missionary experiences on a young man. Name the returned missionaries in your ward, and tell where they have filled missions. In what ways are the young men you know different when they come home, from when they left?

SUMMARY The advantages of a mission to a young man are that it takes him in the formative period of his life, and establishes him in the knowledge of the gospel; it gives him a larger view of the world, and its affairs; and it strengthens, in many ways, his character for good.

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