I felt urged all day long to open up to the Doctrine & Covenants, but didn't know why. Heck, I think I need a quick chastisement in not listening to the promptings of the Spirit. But in reading (As this Blog Post Says) D & C 133, I can see some bright insight concerning this new work.... the West Texas "Marvelous Work & Wonder" as petitioned to the Saints here in the Plainview TX Branch by President Shumway and his counselors on December 20th, 2009.
Early on, about Nineteen Months after the Church was organized, (Dated November 3rd, 1831 in Section Heading of 133) there were many whom sought after the instruction of the Lord. Many Elders, both whom had regular callings, and even Elders in the Mission Field, sought after the divine guidance of the Savior as to how best accomplish that of which they had been called to do. Joseph Smith The Prophet then petitioned the Lord, and this Section (133) was the result. Here is what I'd like you to read, and then I'll follow what I felt to be a good understanding.
To respond to those whom asked, The Lord exclaimed:
1 Hearken, O ye people of my church, saith the Lord your God, and hear the word of the Lord concerning you—
2
The Lord who shall suddenly come to his temple; the Lord who shall come down upon the world with a curse to judgment; yea, upon all the nations that forget God, and upon all the ungodly among you.
So, the Lord calls attention, then reminds them of their imperfections and even accentuates he will arrive and curse those whom forget Him, and those whom are ungodly. (I take that perhaps as those whom hide sin from the faces of man... or their respective leaders.)
He then continues:
6
Call your solemn assemblies, and speak often one to another. And let every man call upon the name of the Lord.
He encourages the Saints to leave Babylon (Defined in the scriptures as "The World"). When he speaks of being clean vessels, I think he refers to the proper use of and administration in Priesthood Ordinances. (As found in Section 84 of the Doctrine & Covenants) Then verse 6 may easily speak for itself, but consider this as you consider not only the council given us by Elder Webb of The Seventy, but the ideal and mission placed before us by President Shumway! Our Ward Councils need constant and continual edification... to meet frequently. As he said in verse 6 also, "... and speak often one to another." Frequent meetings are needed. AND not only together, but we should also pray fervently; as said in verse 6 also "... Let EVERY man call upon the name of the Lord."
To continue his counsel to those Elders, the Lord reminds them again;
The Lords command for them (And us as we liken ourselves to the scriptures) could be summed up in saying "Live in the world, but be not of it." My understanding of verse 15 is, that as we flee from the spiritual babylon..... don't leave unprepared. Don't leave yourself vulnerable to the adversary. Prepare! How do we prepare? Consider The words of one of the Latter-Day Prophets.
The late President Spencer W. Kimball defined those drops of oil for us a few years ago when he said:
“There are oils that keep the gospel burning brightly. One type of oil is the oil of family prayer. It illuminates us and makes us bright and cheery but is difficult to obtain at midnight. One drop or two will not keep the lamp burning long. …
“Another type of oil is the oil of fasting. The last midnight is late to start disciplining our lives in preparation for the great day of the Lord. …
“Another oil that is not available at midnight is the indispensable oil of home service. This rare oil of service is accumulated through visits to the sick, through lending a helping hand. …
“There is another oil that all will need—rich or poor, sick or well. Its light is brilliant and increases with use. The more that is used, the more that is left. It is easy to purchase in the day but not available at night. This is the tithing oil.
“There is one … oil that is so precious that without adding it to the other oils no wick will burn. Without it, the light from all the others will dim and go out. This is the oil of chastity.”
One should not flee out into the world without these precious drops of oil. Thats the Savior's caution when (again in verse 15) "... let not your flight be in haste..." We need to prepare well. The caution to not look back, may be similar as the reasons the Lord cautioned Lot, and Lot's wife to not look back. Elder Jeffrey Holland of the Quorum of the twelve, in a BYU speech given... titled his talk:
Remember Lot's Wife
It is Luke 17:32, where the Savior cautions, "Remember Lot's wife."
What did He mean by such an enigmatic little phrase? To find out I suppose we need to do as He suggested.
Let's recall who Lot's wife was.
The original story, of course, comes to us out of the days of Sodom and Gomorrah when the Lord, having had as much as He could stand of the worst that men and women could do, told Lot and
his family to flee because those cities were about to be destroyed. "Escape for thy life," the Lord said, "look not behind thee . . . ; escape to the mountain, lest thou be consumed" (Genesis 19:17).
With less than immediate obedience and more than a little negotiation, Lot and his family ultimately
did leave town but just in the nick of time. At daybreak the morning following their escape it says, "The Lord rained upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the Lord out of heaven; and
he overthrew those cities" (Genesis 19:24‐25).
Surely with the Lord's counsel "look not behind thee" ringing clearly in her ears, Lot's wife, the record
says, "looked back," and she was turned to a pillar of salt.
So, if history is this important ‐‐ and it surely is ‐‐ what did Lot's wife do that was so wrong? As something of a student of history, I have thought about that and offer this as a partial answer. Apparently what was wrong with Lot's wife is that she wasn't just looking back, but that in her heart she wanted to go back. It would appear that even before they were past the city limits, she was already missing what Sodom and
Gomorrah had offered her. As Elder Maxwell once said, such people know they should have their primary residence in Zion but they still hope to keep a summer cottage in Babylon. It is possible that Lot's wife looked back with resentment toward the Lord for what He was asking her to leave behind. We know that Laman and Lemuel did when Lehi and his family were commanded to leave Jerusalem. So it isn't just that she looked
back; she looked back longingly. In short, her attachment to the past outweighed her confidence in the future. That,apparently, was at least part of her sin.
Prayer and counsel are needed badly over any and ALL things. I know that to be true brethren, and such is my testimony to you, In the name of Jesus Christ Amen.
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