The Repeated Sections

I noticed something yesterday about D&C 6, 11, 12, and 14 that I haven’t seen before.  The sections contain instructions to Joseph and Oliver, Hyrum, Joseph Knight Sr., and David Whitmer, respectively, and the first six verses of each are nearly identical.  Section 11 reads as follows: “A great and marvelous work is about to come forth among the children of men.  Behold, I am God; give heed to my word, which is quick and powerful, sharper than a two-edged sword, to the dividing asunder of both joints and marrow; therefore give heed unto my word.  Behold, the field is white already to harvest; therefore, whoso desireth to reap let him thrust in his sickle with his might, and reap while the day lasts, that he may treasure up for his soul everlasting salvation in the kingdom of God.  Yea, whosoever will thrust in his sickle and reap, the same is called of God.  Therefore, if you will ask of me you shall receive; if you will knock it shall be opened unto you.  Now, as you have asked, behold, I say unto you, keep my commandments, and seek to bring forth and establish the cause of Zion.”  The differences between the sections for these verses are all very minor, for example interchanging the words unto/among (v1), word/words (v2), and unto/to (v2).  Verse 6 is a bit different in D&C 14 with it containing a shorter version, saying only “Seek to bring forth and establish my Zion. Keep my commandments in all things.”  Otherwise the meaning of all four sections in these beginning verses are essentially identical, and it shows that the Lord’s message to each of these early leaders of the Church was the same. 

               So why did the Lord repeat Himself in this manner?  Surely the message of these six verses are key for us to understand, and to me they seem to be a highlight of what the Restoration is all about.  These revelations were all given very early on, all in 1829 well before even the Church was organized, and they gave these men a glimpse of both what the Lord was doing and what their responsibility was to be.  In verse 1 they learned that God was about to do something “great” among men, telling that that something was changing from the Lord’s perspective.  In verse 2 they were invited twice to “give heed” to the word of God, which was what the whole Restoration was about: God had spoken again in our day and men were called upon to hearken and heed His words.  From verses 3-4 they learned that once they knew God’s voice they had a duty to help spread those words to others; missionary work was a core part of the Restoration from the very beginning.  From verse 5 they also learned the God’s voice could be heard by them individually, not just through the Prophet: “If you will ask of me, you will receive”.  And verse 6 really is the takeaway: because God has spoken again they needed to keep the commandments He gave and then work to establish Zion, a task that required both personal sanctification and helping others to hear and heed the voice of the Lord as well.  These repeated verses help remind us that God has indeed spoken in our day and that we must learn to hearken to that voice.