Doctrine and Covenants 76
“Great Shall Be Their Rewards and Eternal Shall Be Their Glory”
July 7 - July 13
scripture
quotes
Praying for Guidance in Family
<p>The scriptures tell us that when some of Heavenly Father’s spirit children chose not to follow His plan, the heavens wept. (D&C 76:26) (Moses 7:37) Some parents who have loved and taught their children also weep when their grown children choose not to follow the Lord’s plan. What can parents do? We cannot pray away another’s agency. Remember the father of the prodigal son, who patiently waited for his son to “[come] to himself,” all the while watching for him. And “when he was yet a great way off,” he ran to him. (Luke 15:17, 20) We can pray for guidance about when to speak, what to say, and yes, on some occasions, when to be still. Remember, our children and family members already chose to follow the Savior in their premortal realm. Sometimes it is only by their own life’s experiences that those sacred feelings are awakened again. Ultimately, the choice to love and follow the Lord has to be their own.</p>
Robert D. Hales, "“Come, Follow Me” by Practicing Christian Love and Service," October 2016 General Conference.
The Savior's Central Role
<p>The Prophet Joseph Smith confirmed the Savior’s central role in our doctrine in one definitive sentence: “The fundamental principles of our religion are the testimony of the Apostles and Prophets, concerning Jesus Christ, that He died, was buried, and rose again the third day, and ascended into heaven; and all other things which pertain to our religion are only appendages to it.” Joseph Smith’s testimony of Jesus is that He lives, “for [he] saw him, even on the right hand of God; and [he] heard the voice bearing record that he is the Only Begotten of the Father” (D&C 76:22, 23) I appeal to all who hear or read this message to seek through prayer and study of the scriptures that same witness of the divine character, the Atonement, and the Resurrection of Jesus Christ. Accept His doctrine by repenting, being baptized, receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost, and then throughout your life following the laws and covenants of the gospel of Jesus Christ.</p>
D. Todd Christofferson, "The Doctrine of Christ," April 2012 General Conference.
Christ Lives
<p>Against the doubting in today’s world concerning Christ’s divinity, we seek a point of reference, an unimpeachable source, even a testimony of eyewitnesses. Stephen, from biblical times, doomed to the cruel death of a martyr, looked up to heaven and cried, “I see the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing on the right hand of God.” (Acts 7:56)</p> <p>Who can help but be convinced by the stirring testimony of Paul to the Corinthians? He declared “that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; and that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures: and … was seen of Cephas, then of the twelve: … And,” said Paul, “last of all he was seen of me.” (1 Cor. 15:3–5, 8)</p> <p>In our dispensation, this same testimony was spoken boldly by the Prophet Joseph Smith, as he and Sidney Rigdon testified, “And now, after the many testimonies which have been given of him, this is the testimony, last of all, which we give of him: That he lives!” (D&C 76:22).</p>
Thomas S. Monson, "I Know That My Redeemer Lives!," April 2007 General Conference.
Rejoice with All of Faithful Christendom
<p>“We now rejoice with all of faithful Christendom at the marvelous message of the Resurrection. By virtue of His loving gift of life, each of us will rise from the grave, body and spirit joined together inseparably throughout eternity. We proclaim that the ‘bands of death’ have, in very deed, been broken for the children of men. Each of us may lay aside all wonder, all fear of the darkness of death and rejoice, ‘having a perfect brightness of hope.’ We offer our solemn testimony that He lives; that the blessings of the Resurrection will be realized for each of us. We join with you in an expression of humble gratitude for His willing sacrifice and pray the blessings of heaven will attend us all, as we commemorate at this Easter time the hope and eternal promise of the Resurrection.”</p>
Gordon B. Hinckley "First Presidency Easter Message," 1997.
The Eyewitnesses of Christ
<p>For those who have honest doubts, let us hear what eyewitnesses had to say about Jesus of Nazareth. The ancient apostles were there. They saw it all. They participated. No one is more worthy of belief than they. Said Peter: “For we have not followed cunningly devised fables, when we made known unto you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of his majesty.” (2 Pet. 1:16) Said John: “For we have heard him ourselves, and know that this is indeed the Christ, the Saviour of the world.” (John 4:42) Modern-day witnesses, Joseph Smith and Sidney Rigdon, declared: “For we saw him, even on the right hand of God; and we heard the voice bearing record that he is the Only Begotten of the Father.” (D&C 76:23).</p>
James E. Faust, "A Personal Relationship with the Savior," October 1976 General Conference.
commentaries
Commentary on D&C 76:18–24
<p>The first vision Joseph and Sidney received was of the Father, with the Son standing at His right hand. It is worth noting that this was the first time Joseph Smith recorded a vision he had of the Father and the Son. The first written account of Joseph’s earliest vision of them, which took place in 1820, was written down in the summer of 1832, several months after this vision is recorded. The beautiful and profound testimony in section 76 of the living Christ remains one of the most frequently shared and emphasized testimonies of Joseph Smith and Sidney Rigdon. It forms a significant portion of “The Living Christ,” another testimony published by the First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve Apostles in 2000.<a id="_ftnref1" class="see-footnote" title="" href="#_ftn1">[1]</a></p> <p>This vision also adds to our understanding of the infinite nature of Christ’s Atonement. It was revealed to Joseph Smith in 1830 that Jesus Christ, under the direction of the Father, created “worlds without number” (Moses 1:29–35). Here it is revealed that Christ is not only the Creator of those worlds but also their Redeemer. The revelation states that through Christ the “worlds” are and were created and that “the inhabitants thereof are begotten sons and daughters unto God” (D&C 76:24). The poetic version of the vision is even clearer on this point, stating that</p> <blockquote> <p>By him, of him, and through him, the worlds were all made,</p> <p>Even all that career in the heavens so broad,</p> <p>Whose inhabitants, too, from the first to the last,</p> <p>Are sav’d by the very same Saviour of ours;</p> <p>And, of course, are begotten God’s daughters and sons,</p> <p>By the very same truths, and the very same pow’rs.<a id="_ftnref2" class="see-footnote" title="" href="#_ftn2">[2]</a></p> </blockquote> <p>This stanza of the poem suggests that not only is the Savior the same on the other worlds but the “very same truths, and the very same pow’rs”—meaning the priesthood, the ordinances, and the covenants—are the same on the other worlds. Undoubtedly, the other worlds have their own witnesses of Jesus Christ, but the gospel, the good news of Christ, is universal throughout all the worlds.</p> <div class="footnotes"> <p class="footnote"><a id="_ftn1" class="footnote-label" title="" href="#_ftnref1">[1]</a> See “The Living Christ: The Testimony of the Apostles,” 2000.</p> <p class="footnote"><a id="_ftn2" class="footnote-label" title="" href="#_ftnref2">[2]</a> Poem to William W. Phelps, between circa 1 and circa 15 February 1843, p. 83, stanzas 19–20, JSP.</p> </div>
Doctrine and Covenants Minute by Casey Paul Griffiths
Commentary on D&C 76:25–29
<p>The vision is a study in contrasts: The vision of the Father and the Son demonstrates the highest ideal that men and women can aspire to, the perfected Son of God. The next vision illustrates the depravities that God’s children can descend to by showing the fall of Lucifer. The names used to refer to Satan in this passage are instructive as to what happened to him. The name Lucifer means the “shining one”<a href="#_ftn1" id="_ftnref1" title="" class="see-footnote">[1]</a> (Isaiah 14:12). He is here described as “an angel of God who was in authority in the presence of God, who rebelled against the Only Begotten Son whom the Father loved” (D&C 76:25). After his fall, he was called Perdition, a Latin term that in Joseph Smith’s time meant “entire loss or ruin; utter destruction.”<a href="#_ftn2" id="_ftnref2" title="" class="see-footnote">[2]</a> We do not know what kind of authority Lucifer held when he was in the presence of God, nor do we know the precise meaning of “a son of the morning” (D&C 76:26). The poetic version of the vision refers to him being “thrust down to woe from his Godified state.”<a href="#_ftn3" id="_ftnref3" title="" class="see-footnote">[3]</a></p> <p>One of the great contributions of latter-day revelation is to shed more light on the origins and works of Satan. Joseph Smith had earlier learned while translating the book of Genesis that Satan is a son of God who rebelled against God (Moses 4:1–4). According to this revelation, Satan sought to destroy the agency of humankind and literally became<em> Satan</em>, a term meaning in Hebrew “to oppose, obstruct, or accuse,” or in Greek just simply “adversary.”<a href="#_ftn4" id="_ftnref4" title="" class="see-footnote">[4]</a> Further information was given about Satan a few years later when Joseph Smith translated the book of Abraham, in which we learn that when God chose Jesus Christ as the central figure of the plan, Satan “was angry, and kept not his first estate; and, at that day, many followed after him” (Abraham 3:28).</p> <p>While it is not pleasant to discuss Satan or his aims, the amount of space he is given in the vision suggests that it is important that we know about him. After the celestial glory, which is described in twenty-nine verses of the vision, the fall of Satan and the sons of perdition are given more attention than any other group. Around seventeen verses of the vision center on these souls confirmed as perdition. </p> <div class="footnotes"> <p class="footnote"><a href="#_ftnref1" id="_ftn1" title="" class="footnote-label">[1]</a> <em>The Jewish Study Bible, </em>2014, 794. </p> <p class="footnote"><a href="#_ftnref2" id="_ftn2" title="" class="footnote-label">[2]</a> “Perdition,” Webster’s 1828 Dictionary. </p> <p class="footnote"><a href="#_ftnref3" id="_ftn3" title="" class="footnote-label">[3]</a> Poem to William W. Phelps, between circa 1 and circa 15 February 1843, p. 83, stanza 21, JSP. </p> <p class="footnote"><a href="#_ftnref4" id="_ftn4" title="" class="footnote-label">[4]</a> “Satan,” <em>Lexham Bible Dictionary. </em></p> </div>
Doctrine and Covenants Minute by Casey Paul Griffiths
