Doctrine and Covenants 137-138

<p>These revelations divide the heirs of salvation into two classes: first, those who have opportunity to accept and live the gospel in this life&mdash;this means all of the Latter-day Saints and all others who have a sufficient witness of Christ borne to them&mdash;all of them are under obligation to accept the truth here and now, to hearken to the counsels of the living oracles, and to live according to the best light and knowledge that God gives them. If they do this they work out their salvation (Philip. 2:12).</p> <p>The other class of people who will be heirs of the celestial kingdom are those who would have accepted the gospel with all their hearts, had they had opportunity to accept it here (D&amp;C 137:7). For them, the ordinances of salvation will be performed and they will be heirs of the kingdom, and with the righteous and faithful of this life, will go into our Father&rsquo;s kingdom and have eternal rest.</p> <p>We can get, here and now, in this life, that peace of Christ&mdash;the peace which passeth understanding (Philip. 4:7) of which President Ivins has spoken&mdash;by obeying the laws and ordinances of the gospel. Then if we press forward and continue throughout life to keep the commandments, we can have that same peace and that same rest in eternity.</p>

<p>Desire denotes a real longing or craving. Hence righteous desires are much more than passive preferences or fleeting feelings. Of course our genes, circumstances, and environments matter very much, and they shape us significantly. Yet there remains an inner zone in which we are sovereign, unless we abdicate. In this zone lies the essence of our individuality and our personal accountability.</p> <p>Therefore, what we insistently desire, over time, is what we will eventually become and what we will receive in eternity. &ldquo;For I [said the Lord] will judge all men according to their works, according to the desire of their hearts&rdquo; (D&amp;C 137:9; Jer. 17:10). Alma said, &ldquo;I know that [God] granteth unto men according to their desire, &hellip; I know that he allotteth unto men &hellip; according to their wills&rdquo; (Alma 29:4). To reach this equitable end, God&rsquo;s canopy of mercy is stretched out, including &ldquo;all that shall die henceforth without a knowledge of [the gospel], who would have received it with all their hearts, shall be heirs of that kingdom.&rdquo;</p>

<p>In 1974, President Spencer W. Kimball said, &ldquo;I believe that the Lord is anxious to put into our hands inventions of which we laymen have hardly had a glimpse.&rdquo;</p> <p>And He has! You are growing up with one of the greatest tools for good in the history of man: the Internet. With it comes an elaborate buffet of choices. The abundance of choice, however, carries with it an equal portion of accountability. It facilitates your access to both the very best and the very worst the world has to offer. With it you can accomplish great things in a short period of time, or you can get caught up in endless loops of triviality that waste your time and degrade your potential. With the click of a button, you can access whatever your heart desires. That&rsquo;s the key&mdash;what does your heart desire? What do you gravitate toward? Where will your desires lead?</p> <p>Remember that God &ldquo;granteth unto men according to their desire&rdquo; (Alma 29:4) and that He &ldquo;will judge all men according to their works, according to the desire of their hearts&rdquo; (D&amp;C 137:9 see also Alma 41:3).</p>

<p>Doctrine and Covenants 137 consists of a vision given to Joseph Smith while he was in the Kirtland Temple on January 21, 1836. The vision was part of the pentecostal outpouring that occurred in the weeks and months leading up to the dedication of the Kirtland Temple in April 1836. The vision came after Joseph Smith and the Presidency of the Church met in preparation to receive the endowment ceremony as it was practiced in Kirtland. As part of their preparation, the Church leaders present washed and perfumed themselves &ldquo;preparatory to the anointing with the holy oil.&rdquo;<a id="_ftnref1" class="see-footnote" title="" href="#_ftn1">[1]</a> As the sun was setting, the Church Presidency gathered with a group of leaders, including the Kirtland and Missouri high councils. Oliver Cowdery recorded that the members of the Presidency were &ldquo;anointed with the same kind of oil and in the man[ner] that were Moses and Aaron, and those who stood before the Lord in ancient days.&rdquo;<a id="_ftnref2" class="see-footnote" title="" href="#_ftn2">[2]</a></p> <p>Joseph&rsquo;s journal recorded these events as follows: &ldquo;I then took the seat, and father anointed my head, and sealed upon me the blessings of Moses, to lead Israel in the latter days, even as Moses led [them] in days of old,&mdash;also the blessings of Abraham[,] Isaac[,] and Jacob,&mdash;all of the presidency laid their hands upon me and pronounced upon my head many prophesies, and blessings, many of which I shall not notice at this time, but as Paul said, so say I, let us come to visions and revelations.&rdquo;<a id="_ftnref3" class="see-footnote" title="" href="#_ftn3">[3]</a> Joseph&rsquo;s journal then record&rsquo;s the vision found in Doctrine and Covenants 137 and noted, &ldquo;Many of my brethren who received this ordinance [the Kirtland endowment] with me, saw glorious visions also,&mdash;angels ministered unto them, as well as myself, and the power of the highest rested upon us, the house was filled with the glory of God, and we shouted Hosannah to God and the Lamb.&rdquo;<a id="_ftnref4" class="see-footnote" title="" href="#_ftn4">[4]</a></p> <p>Though the vision was recorded in Joseph Smith&rsquo;s journal in 1836, Doctrine and Covenants 137 is a relatively new addition to the scriptural canon. It was formally added to the Pearl of Great Price on April 3, 1976, under the direction of President Spencer W. Kimball. On June 22, 1979, the First Presidency announced that this revelation would be moved to the Doctrine and Covenants and designated section 137 as part of the 1981 edition of the scriptures.<a id="_ftnref5" class="see-footnote" title="" href="#_ftn5">[5]</a> Commenting on this new addition to the scriptural canon, President Boyd K. Packer said, &ldquo;I was surprised, and I think all of the Brethren were surprised, at how casually that announcement of two additions to the standard works was received by the Church. But we will live to sense the significance of it; we will tell our grandchildren and our great grandchildren, and we will record in our diaries, that we were on the earth and remember when that took place.&rdquo;<a id="_ftnref6" class="see-footnote" title="" href="#_ftn6">[6]</a></p> <p>Not all of the vision was placed into the scriptural canon. A part of the vision that concerned the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles was left out of section 137. This portion of the vision was recorded in Joseph Smith&rsquo;s journal as follows:</p> <blockquote> <p>I saw the 12 apostles of the Lamb, who are now upon the earth [and] who hold the keys of this last ministry, in foreign lands, standing together in a circle much fatigued, with their clothes tattered and feet swollen, with their eyes cast downward, and Jesus standing in their midst, and they did not behold him, the Savior looked upon them and wept&mdash;I also beheld Elder McLellen [William E. McLellin]in the south, standing upon a hill surrounded with a vast multitude, preaching to them, and a lame man standing before him, supported by his crutches, he threw them down at his word, and leaped as an heart [hart] by the mighty power of God.</p> <p>Also Elder Brigham Young standing in a strange land, in the far southwest, in a desert place, upon a rock in the midst of about a dozen men of color, who, appeared hostile[.] He was preaching to them in their own tongue, and the angel of God [was] standing above his head with a drawn sword in his hand protecting him, but he did not see it,&mdash;and I finally saw the 12, in the celestial kingdom of God,&mdash;I also beheld the redemption of Zion, and many things which the tongue of man, cannot describe in full.<a id="_ftnref7" class="see-footnote" title="" href="#_ftn7">[7]</a></p> </blockquote> <p>See &ldquo;Historical Introduction,&rdquo; Visions, 21 January 1836 [D&amp;C 137].</p> <div class="footnotes"> <p class="footnote"><a id="_ftn1" class="footnote-label" title="" href="#_ftnref1">[1]</a> Oliver Cowdery Diary, January 21, 1836, cited in<a href="#historical-intro"> &ldquo;Historical Introduction,&rdquo; Visions, 21 January 1836 [D&amp;C 137]</a>, JSP.</p> <p class="footnote"><a id="_ftn2" class="footnote-label" title="" href="#_ftnref2">[2]</a> Oliver Cowdery Diary, January 21, 1836, cited in<a href="#historical-intro"> &ldquo;Historical Introduction,&rdquo; Visions, 21 January 1836 [D&amp;C 137]</a>, JSP.</p> <p class="footnote"><a id="_ftn3" class="footnote-label" title="" href="#_ftnref3">[3]</a> JS Journal, 21 January 1836, p. 136, JSP.</p> <p class="footnote"><a id="_ftn4" class="footnote-label" title="" href="#_ftnref4">[4]</a> JS Journal, 21 January 1836, p. 138, JSP.</p> <p class="footnote"><a id="_ftn5" class="footnote-label" title="" href="#_ftnref5">[5]</a> Stephen E. Robinson and H. Dean Garrett, <em>A Commentary on the Doctrine and Covenants, </em>2005, 4:295&ndash;96.</p> <p class="footnote"><a id="_ftn6" class="footnote-label" title="" href="#_ftnref6">[6]</a> Boyd K. Packer, &ldquo;Teach the Scriptures,&rdquo; address delivered to CES personnel, October 14, 1977, Salt Lake City, in <em>Charge to Religious</em> <em>Educators</em>, 21.)</p> <p class="footnote"><a id="_ftn7" class="footnote-label" title="" href="#_ftnref7">[7]</a> JS Journal, 21 January 1836, p. 138, JSP.</p> </div>

<p>The January 21, 1836, vision of the celestial kingdom was one of several visions given in Kirtland in which Joseph Smith or others saw the Father and the Son. The Father and the Son were also seen in vision at a June 1831 conference held on the Isaac Morley Farm, during the February 16, 1832, vision at the John Johnson Home (D&C 76), during a meeting held on March 18, 1833, in the Newel K. Whitney Store, and in other locations. Doctrine and Covenants 137 is unique in that, along with the Savior, Joseph also saw his own father and mother, his deceased brother Alvin, Father Adam, and Abraham. The presence of Joseph’s father and mother indicates that this was a vision of the future, since both of them were alive in 1836 and Joseph’s father was in the room with him when the vision was given. </p> <p>Alvin Smith was Joseph’s oldest brother, who passed away on November 19, 1823. According to Lucy Mack Smith, Alvin became ill when a doctor gave him a dose of calomel, which lodged in Alvin’s stomach and became gangrenous. After several days of immense pain, Alvin called together the Smith children, providing each sibling with some final words of advice. When Alvin spoke to Joseph Jr., he said, “I want you to be a good boy, and do everything that lays in your power to obtain the record—be faithful in receiving instruction, and in keeping every commandment that is given you—your brother Alvin must leave now, but remember the example which he has set for you, and set the same example for the children that are younger than yourself—and always be kind to father and mother.”<a href="#_ftn1" id="_ftnref1" title="" class="see-footnote">[1]</a></p> <p>The vision of the Celestial Kingdom found in Doctrine and Covenants 137 came before God revealed to Joseph Smith that the sealing power made it possible for living individuals to be baptized on behalf of those who are deceased. A few months later in the Kirtland temple Elijah appeared to Joseph and gave him “the keys of this dispensation” necessary to perform these ordinances. Joseph later explained that Elijah “restored the authority to join families together forever in eternal relationships that transcend death.”<a href="#_ftn2" id="_ftnref2" title="" class="see-footnote">[2]</a> It still took several more years until the principles surrounding work for the dead were fully revealed to Joseph. Once ordinances for the deceased were revealed, Alvin received the ordinances by proxy, including baptism, confirmation, initiatory, and the endowment. Alvin was also sealed to his mother and father, explaining their presence together in the celestial kingdom in this vision (D&C 137:5).<a href="#_ftn3" id="_ftnref3" title="" class="see-footnote">[3]</a> </p> <div class="footnotes"> <p class="footnote"><a href="#_ftnref1" id="_ftn1" title="" class="footnote-label">[1]</a> Lucy Mack Smith, History, 1845, p. 91, JSP.</p> <p class="footnote"><a href="#_ftnref2" id="_ftn2" title="" class="footnote-label">[2]</a> “The Restoration of the Fulness of the Gospel of Jesus Christ: A Bicentennial Proclamation to the World,” ChurchofJesusChrist.org. </p> <p class="footnote"><a href="#_ftnref3" id="_ftn3" title="" class="footnote-label">[3]</a> According to FamilySearch.org, Alvin Smith received his baptism, confirmation, initiatory, and endowment on April 10–11, 1877, in the St. George Utah Temple. He was sealed to his parents in the Salt Lake Temple on August 25, 1897. “Alvin Smith,” accessed July 14, 2021, <a href="https://www.familysearch.org/tree/person/ordinances/KWVC-7KB">https://www.FamilySearch.org/tree/person/ordinances/KWVC-7KB</a>.</p> </div>