Prepareth All Things

One of the themes of Doctrine and Covenants 78 is preparation. The Lord instructed the saints that they needed to be prepared for what was to come both in mortality and in the life to come. He said, “For if you will that I give unto you a place in the celestial world, you must prepare yourselves by doing the things which I have commanded you and required of you” (v7). To receive the celestial glory about which He had just revealed so much in section 76, we must prepare ourselves through obedience to His commands. He also said, “Wherefore, a commandment I give unto you, to prepare and organize yourselves by a bond or everlasting covenant that cannot be broken” (v11). He continued, “Behold, this is the preparation wherewith I prepare you, and the foundation, and the ensample which I give unto you, whereby you may accomplish the commandments which are given you” (v13). Through obedience to our covenants He prepares us for what is to come: “That through my providence, notwithstanding the tribulation which shall descend upon you, that the church may stand independent above all other creatures beneath the celestial world” (v14). I have to wonder if this wasn’t at least in part alluding to the attack Joseph and Sidney would receive within a few weeks when the mob came in the middle of the night and nearly killed them—tribulation indeed descended upon them. But, through their faith, they survived and made it through because of their spiritual preparation.

               The idea of preparation in this section, in addition to referring to our own need to prepare, is also used to tell how the Lord is preparing future blessings for us. He referred to those who “become blinded and understand not the things which are prepared for them” (v10). Those things prepared for us I believe are the great blessings that the Lord has in store for the faithful. He alluded to that when He said this: “You may come up unto the crown prepared for you, and be made rulers over many kingdoms, saith the Lord God, the Holy One of Zion” (v15). If we prepare ourselves spiritually, there is a symbolic “crown” prepared for us by Him in the life to come. He spoke of this again a few verses later: “Verily, verily, I say unto you, ye are little children, and ye have not as yet understood how great blessings the Father hath in his own hands and prepared for you…. The kingdom is yours and the blessings thereof are yours, and the riches of eternity are yours” (v17-18). Indeed the Father and the Son have great blessings prepared for those who will receive them. He encouraged us towards the end of the revelation in these words: “Wherefore, do the things which I have commanded you, saith your Redeemer, even the Son Ahman, who prepareth all things before he taketh you; For ye are the church of the Firstborn, and he will take you up in a cloud, and appoint every man his portion” (v20-21). We can trust that as we prepare ourselves by doing what He commands, then He prepares all things for us in the celestial world where He will grant unto us our portion.