--- title: Improvement Era description: Monthly periodical of the Mormon church, 1897 onward. This library holds the issues of November 1897 to December 1930. authors: - Young Men's Mutual Improvement Associations collections: - periodicals tags: - magazine - improvement-era periodical: Improvement Era volume: 23 number: 2 published: 1919-12 publisher: Young Men’s Mutual Improvement Associations publisher_place: Salt Lake City language: en type: magazine reference: "Young Men's Mutual Improvement Associations, \"Prophecies and Promises of the Lord,\" *Improvement Era* 23, no. 2 (December 1919): 161–168." source: url: https://archive.org/details/improvementera2302unse transcription: Transcribed from the Internet Archive scan of each issue (the item for each issue is named in the issue's own source); unnumbered advertising leaves are omitted, printed page numbers are kept as page markers. identifier: improvementera2302unse start_page: 161 end_page: 168 rights: status: public-domain basis: US publication 1930 or earlier (published 1919-12) source: https://archive.org/details/improvementera2302unse publication_year: 1919 note: The Internet Archive item metadata carries a blanket "© Copyright by Intellectual Reserve, Inc." notice. The library owner judged it inapplicable because this issue was published in 1919, before 1931; a scan-level notice does not restore copyright. --- # 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 LESSON X.—INVESTING WITH THE LORD The first voluntary business contract with the Lord of which we have any special record or direct statement is found in Genesis, Chapter 28, paragraphs 20, 21, 22 inclusive. The maker of that contract was no business failure, nor was he a social underling, but a theological prince. The fact that God gave him a new name, a prince, is good evidence that Jacob did not prove to be a slacker in tithe paying. His whining brother had occasion to denounce him as a trickster for getting the birth-right by fair purchase and necessitated adroitness, but the Lord had no occasion to charge him with being a robber of Divinity, as was the case when Malachi proclaimed the guilt of a whole people, in keeping what they had covenanted to give to the Lord. Jacob prospered in his business partnership with the Lord, and the God of Israel provided by covenant that his people could not fail financially so long as they were faithful members of his business firm. Those who refuse to enter into this partnership or withdraw there- from must of necessity obtain a state of mind, which either distrusts the ability, of the Senior member of the firm or questions his contract-keeping integrity, or they sink slothfully into the mire of sheer neglectfulness, a condition advertising the presence of woeful weakness. Official cooperative business between man and his Maker was discon- tinued generations ago, not because our Father wished it, but because men would not be honest with him, and God, who can not tolerate dishonesty, would not remain in business with dishonest partners. The Lord is a master psychologist, acquainted with the laws of mind makes and matter among which is the following: Continued indifference psychic-sand of the very foundations of integrity. On September 11, 1831, in Kirtland, Ohio, a wireless message from between man heaven announced the reestablishment of business relations was limited, and his Maker. Section 64:23. The invitation to take st.ck it was not a day of tithing for the world but for the people of God. On November 27, 1832, in Kirtland, Ohio, the voice was heard again, spiritual disaster connected declaring the unprofitableness, the social and with the Lord under with a failure to accept the opportunity of investing the laws of heaven. , . , . _, „^_ partnership, the non- For a persistent neglect or refusal to enter this place on the roll of the elect, a loss of tithepayer is promised a loss of their departure from him bm father and mother and child, not through not be a case of taking them because of his departure from them. It will away, but rather a case of his taking himself is anostasv and The apostate finds the not left theologically consequences not o'nTelimination, but losfof that himself theological motherless, of away In effect, apostasy from the Church are which we hoi d throng y childless but the fatherless, h*e AeP™^ [f^Jf « or childless, according to the «* 162 IMPROVEMENT ERA law of the Lord. They may choose another parent, but the parent cannot choose another child. He goes out, and the gap closes. He has broken the genealogical chain, but carries no links with him. For him there is no Church genealogy. Sec. 85:3-5 inclusive. In Kirtland, Ohio, August 2, 1833, a special call was made for tithing for the purpose of building a temple, and special promises were made conditioned upon a response to this special call. These promises are, first, ministerial education; second, the presence of the glory of God; third, the presence of God in person; fourth, the seeing of God by the pure in heart; fifth, the universal prosperity of the people; sixth, the extension of intelligeace, power, and permanency. Section 97:11-21, in- clusive. For data referring to the partial fulfilment of these promises, see History of the Church, Vol. 2, pp. 410-28. On July 8, 1838, in Far West, Missouri, in answer to a call by the prophet for instruction, the revelation in Sec. 119 was received. This message prescribes the requirement at that time concerning tithing, its purpose, its beginning, and its perpetuity. The promises are made to individuals, and to the people as a whole. Sec. 119, paragraph one, puts the test to the seeker of salvation that Jesus put to the young man who enquired of him concerning the condi- tions of salvation. Paragraph two names the three great sources of tithing expenditures. Paragraph four defines tithing, and provides definitely for the perpetuity of tithe paying. Paragraph five announces the conse- quences of neglecting or refusing to obey the law of tithing, that is the individual consequences. Paragraph six predicts the consequences of com- munity neglect of tithe paying. Paragraph six provides for territorial reach of the law. July 18, 1838, from Far West, Missouri, came the revelation concern- ing the disposition of property tithing. Section 120, indirectly promises the voice of the Lord in matters concerning the expenditure of tithing properties, and names the eighteen officers held responsible by the Lord for the disposition of tithing, and promises his own voice as the final decision in these matters. The provisions made in this brief revelation are ample to set aside individual or group anxiety concerning the handling of tithing, as the individuals and councils having jurisdiction in tithing matters are specific- ally named. The High Council referred to here as "my High Council" is the Council of the Twelve Apostles. Collateral Readings and Suggestive References Malachi, 3:10 and 11; III Nephi, 24:10 and 11; Chapter III, Gospel Doctrine, by President Joseph F. Smith, contains a most exhaustive treat- ment of the subject of tithing and could profitably occupy an extra, special session of the class. Article by Dr. George H. Brimhall, Era, Volume 12, 1909. QUESTIONS AND PROBLEMS Discuss tithing as a free agency income tax. 1. Connect the paying of tithing with the partaking of the sacra- 2. ment; (a) as to the willingness to pay tithing; (b) as to promptness in paying tithing. 3. Wherein is a non-tithe payer ethically unprepared to receive temple ordinances and blessings? (Accepting unearned blessings.) 4. How does the paying of tithing operate as a habit-making force to make one automatically thrifty? 5. What are the grounds for questioning the business integrity of a non-tithe paying "Mormon"? PROPHECIES AND PROMISES OF THE LORD 163 6. Wherein is tithing strictly a debt of honor? 7. Discuss this answer by a banker to the question: "How is it that you have so much confidence in tithe payers"? "Well," said the person, "I figure that a man who pays his tithing must have saving habits, is' cautious, and will be able to meet his obligations." 8. What are the grounds for an assessor's expectation to find more readiness in a tithe payer to frankly and honestly list his property than he would expect to find in a non-tithe payer in the Church? 9. Discuss the proposition: Tithe paying makes for the millennium and non-tithe paying makes away from the millennium. 10. Discuss the ethical effect of tithe-paying, and of non-tithe pay- ing on children in the family. 11. Discuss theologically the following: "It is better to have prop- erty burn up than to keep property the holding of which burns one up spiritually." 12. According to the promises of the Lord, what is the fate of the persistent non-tithe payer? 13. Howcan an individual lose his genealogy in the Church, and his ancestors, companion and children retain theirs? 14. Give summary of the fulfilment of promises made to the Lat- ter-day Saints who built the Kirtland temple with their tithing. Church History, Vol. 2, pages 410-28. 15. How does tithe paying affect a man's business courage? Show the consistency 17. of having tithing entered as an invest- ment in your family budget. 'Tis the Lord's part, A tenth of all I earn, Not mine to keep, Not mine to spend. Not mine to give. Not mine to lend. 'Tis the Lord's part. 18. Name the officers whom the Lord makes responsible for the dis- tribution of tithing? This subject of business relations with the Lord is by no means exhausted in this lesson, the topic of lending to the Lord through giving to the poor (Proverbs 19:17), could profitably occupy the time of another lesson. The promise made covering those who fail to heed the law governing offerings is recorded in Sec. 56:16-17. It should be read and remembered because of its tremendous import. LESSON XL— THE HIGHER THE LAW. THE GREATER THE LIBERTY, THE LOWER THE LAW THE LESS THE LIBERTY Introductory This lesson may with propriety be divided into two parts. The first part is merely introductorv, dealing as it does, with the universality and unescapableness of law. The meaning of the lesson and its application to life is presented throuuh a series of illustrations, which are bv no means exhaustive. No doubt the teachers and members of the class will be able to add others. The second and more important division of the lesson deals with prom- ises and prophecies, based directly on the law of compensation, for which a theological foundation is laid in Section 1:10. It is hoped that this paragraph was made a memory gem in lesson III. In presenting the questions and problems in lesson XI, the order of 164 IMPROVEMENT ERA attention is reversed, not simply for the purpose of securing variety in method, which is as a rule a good purpose, but from the fact that the lesson covers a wide field of study, and the discussion of the theological aspect of the theme is of paramount importance. The law of laws is that all things are governed by law. Theologically the title of this lesson means that all kingdoms are governed by law; that where there are the highest laws there is the greatest liberty. Everyone is subject to the law of obedience. There is no escape from it. All must obey. There are three forms or degrees of obedience; the height or standard of each may be determined by the amount of liberty, free agency, found in the obedience. These three subdivisions are first counsel, second command, third coersion. We take counsel in the highest form of agency; we obey a command but the obedience has in it more of the element of compliance through fear of consequence than is found in obedience to counsel. "We yield to force or give unwillingly obedience to law which of necessity must be obeyed and the liberty of free agency is at the zero point. It is universally conceded that the aim of existence is enjoyment, and this concession is an acceptance of the revealed truth, "Man is that he may have joy." The highest form of enjoyment is freedom, or liberty, which is the privilege of obeying law, hence, the higher the law the greater the liberty. In obedience to the laws of inertia the clod clings to its resting place. Operating under the higher law of motion, the aeroplane soars above the clouds. Satan sought freedom from service under the laws of heaven and found himself obeying the laws of the lower regions. Jesus lived the laws of loyalty and loved the freedom they guaranteed. He left heaven, but not as a fugitive. To him was entrusted the keys of the "pit" and also those of the entrance to the celestial abode. Wekept our first estate and were "added upon"; that is we accepted, adopted and defended the law of heaven, we were loyal. References: Pearl of Great Price. Gems, in Compendum, page 288. Added Upon, book by Elder Nephi Anderson. The tramp seeks liberty under the law of indolence; he is privileged to walk, sit in the storm by a flickering fire, eat refuse, and sleep, curled up by a pile of ties. The traveler lives under the laws of industry, rides in a Pullman, sits in a traveling library, eats on a dining car; any time he may walk, but the tramp may not ride except on a brake beam. The prodigal son sought liberty under the law of licentiousness, ending in feeding on swine husks; he came back home, driven by the law of neces- sity; self branded foolish. Though penitent, he brought the memory of experiences not desirable for repetition nor recommendable to others. His father welcomed th? prod- igal and forgave him, but there was a gap between the liberty of the two sons, vhich could not be leaped by a single bound. Most free is he who so lives that the necessity for repentance is at a minimum. Repentance is a virtue without which man cannot be saved, but refraining from sin is a higher virtue. In relation to the liberty in the two acts, one may overcome temptation, but he must repent. Judging from the life of him who preached repentance and practiced refraining from sin, resistance is a higher form of activity than retraction. Liberty consists of two things, privilege and the power to accept it. A man born of goodly parents, given good educational opportunities, re- ceived a fair education in spite of the fact that he acquired the drug habit against his traditional inheritance that counseled and admonished against the vse of narcotics and stimulants. There came a time when society passed anti- drug legislation, but by hook or crook he managed to evade the law and : PROPHECIES AND PROMISES OF THE LORD 165 continued his indulgence until he committed an offense that resulted in his being sent to a state penitentiary. The young man was filled with regrets over his crime, but he rejoiced that his confinement would place him beyond the power of his deadliest enemy, the drug habit. There was too much liberty under the law of counsel for that man. He could not even carry the banner of liberty in the kingdom of command. The kingdom coersion was the only place of safety for him. We have here a vivid illustration of the promise that, if we cannot obey a high law we cannot abide in a high glory. A person knew himself to be under the tormenting influence of an evil spirit,from whom he could not obtain release. After three weeks of suffering he sent for the elders of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter- day Saints. They came, and by the authority of the Priesthood rebuked the spirit of evil and the victim released saw the departing spirit, and said, "How do you like to be cast out?" The angel of torment answered, "I am glad." The man said, "Why, then, have you remained here and tormented me so long?" The answer was, "If you knew the torment I should have been subjected to, had I refused to torment you, you would not ask the question." Prophecies and promises which may properly be considered under this thesis are found recorded in many of the revelations contained in the Doc- trine and Covenants. In this lesson we can consider only a few. The revelation recorded in section 130:20-21, is strikingly illuminating on three points: that laws are decrees of God: that one law at least is ir- revocable, and that blessings come only in obedience to law. The vision of the three glories, the doctrine of gradation in salvation, may well be called epoch-making and should be made au object of careful study under our lesson caption. The liberty provisions may reach to the highest conceivable point of human desire. Men and women may become more than angels. Every individual is to receive that for which he fits himself, be it much or little of glory, dominion, life and liberty, according to the law of compensation which operates .in the universe. It is little wonder that this revelation contained in section 76 created consternation in the ministerial world, when we consider that the doctrine of flate-rate salvation had been taught for centuries. The adoption of a meter system for the application of the saying, "By their fruits ye shall know them," was vigorously resented by sectarian theologians. The convenience of the single line division between hell and heaven more than outweighed all its inconsistencies. The revelation contains an array of prophecies and promises difficult of enumeration, but one great principle, or law of laws, runs through the whole. Obedience to the celestial law carries with it the power to reside and operate in the celestial kingdom, the terrestrial kingdom, and the teles- tial kingdom. Obedience to the lesser, or terrestrial law, carries with it the privileges of the terrestrial kingdom and the one below it, but provides against enjoying the privileges of the celestial kingdom. Obedience to the lowest law carries with it the privileges of the telestial kingdom, with a bar against participation into the liberties of the higher kingdoms. Section 131 14, indicates that of all conceivable liberty that of unending increase, expansion or progression, is the highest, and this highest liberty is secured only as a result of obedience to the highest law. Section 88:36, 37, 38, declares the unescapableness of law. It is evi- dent that if there is no space wherein there is no kingdom, and all kingdoms have a law given, it must follow that law reigns everywhere, and therefore to seek escape from law is absolutely futile. Section 130:20-21, promises that blessings will not be received from the Lord except through obedience to law; this being true, it must follow that 166 IMPROVEMENT ERA anything obtained in any other way than in accordance with the law of God's righteousness cannot prove to be a blessing from him. It would appear from the reading of section 76:23-30, that the free- dom of the universe was extended through loyalty to heaven's laws, and that the only liberty given under the laws of the kingdom of Satan was the privilege of suffering. Collateral Readings and Suggestive References Rational Theology. Dr. John A. Widtsoe, chapter 31. Emerson's Essay on Compensation; Added Upon, Nephi Anderson. QUESTIONS AND PROBLEMS 1. Find promises on page 270, Doc. and Cov., concerning the liberty of those who keepa celestial law: first, the liberty of possession; second, the liberty of glory; third, the liberty of being divinely possessed; fourth, the liberty of conquest; fifth, the liberty of enjoyable companionship. 2. Discuss the meaning of valiant in sec. 76:79. 3. What is behind the feeling of not expecting nor caring for celestial liberty? 4. Why was the receiving of Sec. 76 an epoch-making event? 5. What effect on our future freedom will the neglect of temple priv- ileges have upon us? 6. What seems to be the only liberty of those who elect to be under the dominion of evil? 7. What is known as the law of perfect liberty? 8. Compare the liberty of counsel, of command, of coersion? 9. Whycan untithed property or ill gotten gains not be counted as blessings from the Lord? 10. Give illustrations of usurped authority and unmerited position proving the opposite of blessings? 11. "Take heed, therefore, how ye hear: for whosoever hath, to him shall be given; and whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken even that which he seemeth to have." Luke 8:18. 12. The following is suggested as a memory gem: God moves by laws, That never pause In all his broad domain, I must obey High law, or stay Where lower law doth reign. LESSON XII—PHYSICAL SALVATION. Lesson Aim: Let the aim of this lesson be increase of faith in the Word of Wisdom unless you can discover one that to you is of more importance. The revelation known as the Word of Wisdom has three distinct parts, the introduction, the instruction, and the promises. The first is replete with parental solicitude and makes provision for liberty; the second is simple, clear and concise, and full of hope, promise and assurances, the careful study of which fills one with such deep grati- tude that he is ready to burst forth in the expression, "We thank thee, O Lord, for the Word of Wisdom." If grateful reference could be made to this law occasionallv in our family prayers, and blessings on our food, it would assist in bringing about the physical salvation of the Latter-day Saints. PROPHECIES AND PROMISES OF THE LORD 167 Lesson Statement: Salvation means being placed beyond the power of enemies. Physical salvation would indicate that one has been placed beyond his physical enemies. When we speak of physical salvation we think of the preser- vation of our bodies in health and strength. The Latter-day Saints have had the advantage of other people in the world, since February 27, 1833. When this revelation was given as a Word of Wisdom, at Kirtland, Ohio, it came under the high law of information and counsel for the benefit and blessing of the officers and members of the Church. It came as a greeting, expressing the mind and good-will of the Lord, giving to the world the advantage of his wisdom in terms suited to the understanding of all, and the strength of all who are capable of assuming moral responsi- bilities. Section 89. The revelation begins with paragraph four and ends with the days of universal temptation which have been among us, and which are still here; a day when books, wayside advertisement, moving picture allurements, social custom, mercenary interests, all combine to pull hu- manity into the pit of physical damnation. The tender, fatherly solicitude and matchless protectorship indicated in this paragraph are marvelous to cotemplate. Paragraphs 5, 6, 7, 8, give us an exposition of that great truth that authority in proper place and in proper condition is good, and that any- thing out of place or condition is bad. Paragraph eight proclaims against the use of tobacco in man's body, declares it to be not good for man, but adapted to the brute. Paragraph nine proclaims the universal unfitness of hot drinks, and suggests their special evil effects on the digestive organs. Paragraph ten points to the great field of liberty in the vegetable world. Paragraph eleven is a constructive criticism of impropriety and excess, and the last of this paragraph points unmistakably to the mind and will of the Lord in respect to the observance of asking a blessing at our meals, a good custom that has not only spiritual value, but psychological and social value. Paragraph twelve explains the divine purpose of the creation of the lower animals, and points again to the value of spiritual activity as a factor of temperance and physical economy. In paragraph thirteen the pleasure of our Father is expressed concern- ing the time and condition propitious for the use of meat. Paragraphs fourteen to seventeen are devoted to somewhat detail infor- mation as to when and what and how anyone who desires to please God in regard to the use of meat will find a clear statement on this point in paragraph thirteen and repeated emphasis of the same in paragraph fifteen. Paragraphs eighteen to twenty-one contain promises conditioned on keeping the Word of Wisdom in mind and in conduct, and in obeying the commandments concerning cleanliness, sleep, exercise, temperance. and strength at the great centers of our These promises are for health out to the ex- physical organization, trunk, framework, brain. They reach tremities of our body, culminating in an assurance of being an object of special divine consideration as was Job. They reach out to an assurance epidemics, as in the case ot of general endurance, and to immunity from ancient Israel in Egypt. sick, Section With reference to care and prayer for the recovery of the 42:43, 44, is both clear and comforting. 168 IMPROVEMENT ERA Collateral Reading, Special References Compendium, page 272, showing the unrighteousness of severe criti- cism of the sick and suffering. Elder Melvin J. Ballard's address at June Conference, 1919, Conference report, p. 85. QUESTIONS AND PROBLEMS ON THE WORD OF WISDOM 1. When and wheix was the Word of Wisdom given? 2. To whom was it given? 3. To whose capacity is the Word of Wisdom adapted? 4. How is the advertising of intoxicants, tobacco, and coffee related to paragraph 4, section 89? Which is the purer, the unfermented or the fermented grape juice? 5. Paragraph 6, Word of Wisdom. 6. In the light of our last lesson, why did this revelation, given as counsel and advice, offer the privilege of the highest freedom in obe- dience? 7. Show that the Word of Wisdom is now a command to the people. 8. For what class of creatures is tobacco especially adapted? 9. What is meant by hot drinks? Paragraph 9, section 89. (Tea and Coffee.) Avoid the use of any drink which creates an abnormal appetite for more. At what point does theological liberty cease in the use of any- 10. thing? (Where the Lord counsels or commands against it.) 11. Connect the provisions of paragraph thirteen and fifteen with the warning given in section 49, paragraph 2. 12. Fresh air and care of the teeth is a part of the commandment on cleanliness. 13. Commit to memory as a gem paragraphs 18, 19, 20, and 21. 14. Discuss the relation between a vigorous, healthy brain and the finding of wisdom and great treasures of knowledge. 15. Aside from the special protection guaranteed by the Lord, why will a keeper of the Word of Wisdom be less liable to contagion than one who did not keep it? 16. Discuss this problem: Every Latter-day Saint who keeps the Word of Wisdom helps to hold the community health fort against the invasion of disease and death, and is working with the angels of life. Also, this second problem: Those who weakly or wickedly fail to keep the Word of Wisdom: are either spiritual slackers or wittingly or unwittingly in league with the angels of death. 17. What special promises are made concerning the nursing care and spiritual administration of the sick? 18. How is asking a blessing on our meals at the table related to the Word of Wisdom? Error in Date In the answer to the second question at the beginning of lesson two, Advanced Senior Class, as published in the Era for September, and also in the leaflets, it is stated that a general assembly was held in Kirtland on August 7, 1835, when the book, the "Doctrine and Covenants," was pre- sented to the Church for its acceptance. There is an error in the date, which should be August 17, 1835, when the book, the "Doctrine and Covenants," was presented to the general assembly of the Priesthood and the Church for acceptance. See History of the Church, Vol. 2, page 243.