Here is Wisdom

In the revelation that designated Independence, Missouri as the “center place” for Zion, the Lord gave this directive about Sidney Gilbert: “And also let my servant Sidney Gilbert obtain a license—behold here is wisdom, and whoso readeth let him understand—that he may send goods also unto the people, even by whom he will as clerks employed in his service” (Doctrine and Covenants 57:9). What caught my attention as I read this was the phrase in the middle directly to the reader suggesting that there was wisdom in this very temporal and time-specific verse. It appears that the Lord was telling Sidney Gilbert to get a license so he could have a store in Zion and send goods to the people. That seems like a pretty mundane thing without any obvious spiritual lesson or wisdom in it. Gilbert did open a grocery and dry goods store in Zion, so presumably he got the license referred to, but what did the Lord want the reader to understand about this?

               I believe the key to understanding this statement by the Lord is found in the next verse. We read that Sidney Gilbert was to do this (i.e. get a license and send goods to the people) so he could “provide for my saints, that my gospel may be preached unto those who sit in darkness and in the region and shadow of death.” In other words, the Lord was helping Gilbert take care of temporal needs such as getting a license to open up a store, so that the physical demands of the Saints could be met in order for them to preach the gospel. The “wisdom” that the Lord referred to, I believe, was that our temporal affairs and needs should be taken care of efficiently so that we can go forth to preach the gospel to those who are in darkness. That should be our aim as we do those things day to day to care for ourselves and our families, as we work in our jobs or get an education or even care for our homes. Those temporal things are needful—enough so that the Lord would even give specific counsel in this revelation on taking care of those things—but the real goal is always to preach the gospel to those who are in darkness. In Zion, we do not labor to simply acquire more and more temporal wealth; we labor so that we can have time and means to set aside temporal distractions and participate in the work of salvation for God’s children.

               This reminds me of the Lord’s statement to both John and Peter Whitmer in two early revelations. These two wondered what they should do that would be most important, and the Lord told them the same thing: “And now, behold, I say unto you, that the thing which will be of the most worth unto you will be to declare repentance unto this people, that you may bring souls unto me, that you may rest with them in the kingdom of my Father” (Doctrine and Covenants 15:6, 16:6). What is most important is to bring souls unto the Savior, and that should be our most important aim no matter what our daily activities involve. In addition to sharing the gospel as missionaries, this surely includes as well teaching the gospel to our children, participating in temple and family history work (these may be those in the “shadow of death” He referred to), and teaching the Saints in our wards and stakes. The Lord was not telling us collectively to forsake all temporal duties and responsibilities but rather to understand that their ultimate purpose is to give us time and means to bring souls to the light of the gospel. But if we become so busy in our temporal affairs that we have no time for the sharing of the gospel and bringing souls to Him, then we are wasting the days of our probation indeed. That is wisdom, and whose readeth should understand.