Further Directions Shall Be Given

Each chapter in this week’s Come Follow Me contains a statement by the Savior about who He, the Giver of these revelations, is. In section 51 He declared, “Hearken unto me, saith the Lord your God…. Verily, I say unto you, I am Jesus Christ, who cometh quickly, in an hour you think not” (v1, 20). He is the one who will come again at a time unknown to us. At the end of section 52 He said, “But, behold, I, the Lord, will hasten the city in its time, and will crown the faithful with joy and with rejoicing. Behold, I am Jesus Christ, the Son of God, and I will lift them up at the last day” (v43-44). He is the Son of God and He will raise up those who are faithful. In section 53 He introduced Himself this way: “Behold, I, the Lord, who was crucified for the sins of the world, give unto you a commandment that you shall forsake the world” (v2). He was the one who was crucified for the sins of all mankind. He alluded to this again in section 54: “Behold, thus saith the Lord, even Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, even he who was crucified for the sins of the world” (54:1). Not only was He crucified in the meridian of time, but He also was Lord from the beginning and will be to the end. In section 55 He declared that He is the Lord over all: “Behold, thus saith the Lord unto you, my servant William, yea, even the Lord of the whole earth” (55:1). Jesus is not only God for His people—He is the Lord over all the earth. We learn in section 56 that it is He who gives commands: “Hearken, O ye people who profess my name, saith the Lord your God;… Behold, I, the Lord, command;… Wherefore I, the Lord, command and revoke” (56:1, 3, 4). He has the power to command and to revoke those commandments when in His wisdom He seeth fit. Our work is to follow His commands with all our hearts. And finally in section 57 He invited us to listen to Him with these words: “Hearken, O ye elders of my church, saith the Lord your God,… And thus saith the Lord your God” (1, 3). He is the Lord our God. We need to look no further for He is God over us. All these descriptions of Himself remind us of His grandeur and omnipotence and invite us to humbly hearken to His word found in the Doctrine and Covenants.

               These powerful statements about His divinity and role are contrasted with other passages in these revelations that focus on more day-to-day matters of organization and practical direction. We learn how stewardships are to be regulated (section 51), which brethren are to go with each other as missionary companions (section 52), who is appointed as an agent of the church (section 53), how Newel Knight is to lead the Colesville Saints to Missouri (section 54), what William W. Phelps is to do in Zion as a printer and writer of children’s books (section 55), how certain money needs to be paid (section 56), and where the temple is to be built at a certain spot near the courthouse in Independence (section 57). We might suppose that these parts of the revelations don’t apply to us at all, but I believe they highlight that the Lord is in the details of His work and the lives of His people. We might incorrectly suppose that because He is the Lord of the whole earth, He wouldn’t take an interest in who should be Harvey Whitlock’s companion or what William Phelps’ job should be or how we should solve a particular problem. But He does care and wants to help guide us even when we feel we aren’t important enough. Of course, we must make our own decisions and sometimes do things of our own will without clear guidance from Him. But we can trust that He does care for us individually and that He will give us direction in more things than we might except as we turn to Him in prayer. I love this final verse of this week’s sections that promise that for each of us, there is more revelation from the Lord to come: “And unto the residue of both elders and members further directions shall be given hereafter” (Doctrine and Covenants 57:16).