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“They Must Needs Be Chastened
and Tried, Even as Abraham”
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Lesson
27
Summary |
Scripture
Summary: |
Doctrine and Covenants 101; Revelation given to Joseph Smith the Prophet, at Kirtland, Ohio, December 16, 1833. HC 1: 458—464. At this time the saints who had gathered in
Missouri were suffering great persecution. Mobs had driven them from their homes in Jackson County, and some of them had tried to establish themselves in Van Buren County, but persecution
followed them. The main body of the saints was at that time in Clay County, Missouri. Threats of death against individuals of the Church were many. |
The people had lost household furniture, clothing, livestock, and other personal property, and many of their crops had been destroyed. 1—8,
The saints are chastened and afflicted because of their transgressions; 9—15, The Lord’s indignation shall fall upon the nations, but his people will be gathered and comforted; 16—21, Zion and her
stakes shall be established; 22—31, The nature of life during the Millennium is set forth; 32—42, The saints shall be blessed and rewarded then; 43—62, Parable of the nobleman and the olive trees
signifying the troubles and eventual redemption of Zion; 63—75, The saints are to continue their gathering together; 76—80, The Lord established the Constitution of the United States; 81—101, The
saints are to importune for the redress of grievances, according to the parable of the woman and the unjust judge.
Doctrine and Covenants 103; Revelation given through Joseph Smith the Prophet, at Kirtland, Ohio, February 24, 1834. HC 2: 36—39. This revelation was received after the arrival in Kirtland, Ohio,
of Parley P. Pratt and Lyman Wight, who had come from Missouri to counsel with the Prophet as to the relief and restoration of the saints to their lands in Jackson County. 1—4, Why the Lord
permitted the saints in Jackson County to be persecuted; 5—10, The saints shall prevail if they keep the commandments; 11—20, The redemption of Zion shall come by power, and the Lord will go
before his people; 21—28, The saints are to gather in Zion, and those who lay down their lives shall find them again; 29—40, Various brethren are called to organize Zion’s Camp and go to Zion;
they are promised victory if they are faithful.
Doctrine and Covenants 105; Revelation given through Joseph Smith the Prophet, on Fishing River, Missouri, June 22, 1834. HC 2: 108—111. Mob violence against the saints in Missouri had increased,
and organized bodies from several counties had declared their intent to destroy the people. The Prophet had come from Kirtland at the head of a party known as Zion’s Camp, bringing clothing and
provisions. While this party was encamped on Fishing River, the Prophet received the revelation. 1—5, Zion shall be built up by conformity to celestial law; 6—13, Redemption of Zion deferred for a
little season; 14—19, The Lord will fight the battles of Zion; 20—26, The saints are to be wise and not boast of mighty works as they gather; 27—30, Lands in Jackson and adjoining counties should
be purchased; 31—34, The elders are to receive an endowment in the House of the Lord in Kirtland; 35—37, Saints who are both called and chosen shall be sanctified; 38—41, Saints are to lift an
ensign of peace to the world. |
Supplemental
Holy Land
and Jewish
insights: |
Scattering and Gathering, Being Tempered and Taught: The early saints paralleled the experiences of the Children of Israel in Biblical times. It is also part of a pattern
teaching us the plan of life where we leave Father’s presence, come to this earth to by tried, tempered and taught and then have the opportunity to return to Father’s presence.
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Master Becomes the Servant: Leading the Latter-day gathering of Israel is the tribe of Joseph. Anciently, Joseph, the son of Israel, was to lead Israel spiritually as the birthright son.
Instead, he was sold as a slave, yet he became a servant who saved the people of Egypt (Gentiles) and he saved his family (Israelites). In modern times, the keys of the gathering and leading of
Israel were given to Joseph Smith, a descendant of ancient Joseph.
Joseph Smith’s Role Is Summarized in Parable: After the destruction of the twelve olive trees and the scattering of the watchmen, the lord instructed a gathering. “And the lord of the
vineyard said unto one of his servants: Go and gather together the residue of my servants, and take all the strength of mine house, which are my warriors, my young men, and they that are of middle
age also among all my servants, who are the strength of mine house, save those only whom I have appointed to tarry . . .” (Italics added) (D&C 101:55) The instruction of “gathering” by
the young, the middle aged and the strength of older ones includes Elders, Sisters, middle aged and older couples, (every member a missionary). The exception is that some, for the time being, are
told not to do missionary work–like in Israel. In the end, the Lord would gather those that we have not been able to find. (D&C 101:58)
Similarity in New Testament Parable: On the hillsides of Israel, the unfinished watch towers, the hedges (terraces) and the olive trees are constant reminders of the Lord working to gather us
home. The leadership of this gathering was always Joseph. In a parable with almost the same visual imagery, Jesus told the self-appointed leaders, the Pharisees, that the kingdom would be taken from
them (Judah) and given to another (Joseph). “. . . The kingdom of God shall be taken from you, and given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof.” (Matthew 21:43-46)
Similarity to Old Testament Camp: As you imagine the “Camp of Zion” you may see a “banner,” in the Bible, an “Ensign.” Each tribe had their banner hoisted at their location and tents around
the Levites who surrounded the Lord presence in the Tabernacle. It could be called the “sacred tent” of the Lord. The ancient camp of Israel lived in a way that was a preparatory exercise of living
with God. “Balaam, seeing Israel's tents arranged in such a way that each family was assured of its privacy, praised the nation he had come to curse, with the words: ‘How goodly are thy tents, O
Jacob, thy dwelling places, O Israel’!” (Encyclopedia Judaica Jr. - Numbers 24:5)
Origin of “Stakes of Zion:” Is it possible that the areas of responsibility and assigned living were “staked” out, that there were stakes, poles or standards that identified the living areas?
“The Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron saying "The Israelites shall camp each with his standard under the banners of their ancestral house’ (Numbers 2:2). The standards borne by the 12 tribes
served the same purpose as heraldic devices. Their colors and emblems were: Reuben red; emblem mandrakes. Simeon green; emblem the town of Shechem. Levi white, black and red; emblem the Urim and
Thummim (Deuteronomy 33:9). Judah azure; emblem a lion. Issachar black; emblem a strong- boned ass or sun and moon. Zebulun white; emblem a ship. Dan sapphire; emblem a tent or a lion.
Naphtali rose; emblem a hind. Asher aquamarine; emblem an olive-tree. Ephraim and Manasseh black, embroidered with a picture of Egypt; emblem: Ephraim, a bullock and Manasseh, a wild ox. Benjamin 12
colors; emblem a wolf’.” (Encyclopedia Judaica Jr.)
Sacred Tent: The story of George A. Smith sleeping in the tent of the Prophet Joseph Smith in Zion’s Camp reminded me of George A. Smith’s experience later as an Apostle, dedicating the Land
of Israel, again using a tent as a sacred enclave. “After visiting the Garden of Gethsemane and other spots made sacred by the presence of Jesus centuries earlier . . . George A. Smith was relieved
that so long a journey on horseback had ended without mishap for a man of his age and weight (three hundred pounds). During their month-long sojourn, they were often asked if they were planning to
settle in the Holy Land. Smith replied that they were not, but he could take a thousand Mormons, dam up the Jordan River, and make several thousand acres very productive.
George A. Smith Reports: “. . . President Smith delivered an account of his group's journey to a large crowd assembled in the Tabernacle on 22 June 1873. He expressed sentiments similar to
those his predecessor, Orson Hyde, had uttered years before. He, too, was on the Lord's errand . . . empowered by . . . authority from God. ‘When they were on the Mount of Olives, with faces bowed
toward Jerusalem, they felt the day was not far distant when Israel would gather and those lands would teem with a people who would worship God . . . that the bounties and blessings of eternity
would be poured out in abundance upon that desert land, and that all prophecies concerning the restoration of the house of Israel would be fulfilled’.” (David B. Galbraith, D. Kelly Ogden, and
Andrew C. Skinner, Jerusalem: The Eternal City [Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1996], 343-344)
Difference of Biblical and Modern Law: Due to the persecution the early saints were subject to, the Prophet Joseph Smith instructed the saints to seek legal redress. Both the United States
and the State of Israel have a few things in common. Both are established on a rule of law. Although Israel is basically a religiously “Jewish” nation and the United States is basically a
religiously “Christian” nation, both allow freedoms including worship and enterprise, again, based on law. Both legal system’s laws are based on a system that includes punishments for breaking the
law. However, biblical law prescribed punishments based on breaking the law. The modern legal system in the USA, like the Roman system, is much more slanted to the punishment of people . . .
breaking the law.
Legal System Becomes Flawed: “The American Bar Association has said that being guilty and rich is better than being innocent and poor . . . ‘[and] that the color of justice is green’.”
(Harland Stonecipher, CEO and Founder, Pre-Paid Legal Services, Inc.)
Biblical Capital Punishment Crimes: “Stoning was the punishment for a number of gross sins including murder (Numbers 35:30), adultery (Deuteronomy 22:22-24), blasphemy
(Leviticus 24:16), breaking the Sabbath (Numbers 15:32-35), Apostasy (Deuteronomy 13:6-10), and rebellion against parents (Deuteronomy 21:18-21). “Children may not abuse
their parents. According to the Bible, if a son is extremely rebellious and incorrigible and refuses to mend his ways (ben sorer u-moreh), his parents may agree to bring him to the town elders for
judgment and punishment, which could be death by stoning. However, there is no record of such punishment ever having been carried out.” (Encyclopedia Judaica, Jr.)
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