Today I read Doctrine and Covenants section 121. This section was given to Joseph Smith while he was in prison at Liberty Jail and had been for some months. He was unjustly imprisoned and the first few verses were actually a prayer the prophet uttered and the rest of the section was the Lord's answer. This is one of the most famous sections in the Doctrine and Covenants due to the last 13 verses.
It is so interesting to see how the Lord comforts us and how well He knows us. For example, one of the first things the Lord tells Joseph in answer to his supplication is that things could always be worse, you still have your friends and you are not as bad off as Job. I think that if the Lord told me that, I would just burst into tears. It really seems kinda harsh, but it must have been what Joseph needed to hear. And I know there are lots of people that if you were to tell them things could always be worse, it would bolster them up and they would be good to go again, but I am not one of them.
I do think it is awesome how the Lord bolsters Joseph by letting him know that mankind cannot frustrate the purposes of God and that they have about as much chance stopping the Missouri River with their arm as they do of stopping the Lord. That is powerful imagery. I remember on my mission one day my companion and I were discussing if we thought it was possible to frustrate the plan of God or if God knew us so well that we could not do anything to surprise Him and so He would count on us failing and had a back up plan. My thought, even to this day, is that we cannot surprise Him. I mean, if He can see the end from the beginning, doesn't He have a perfect knowledge of how we are going to react in every single situation? That's my thought anyway.
The last part of this section is very familiar to most priesthood holders. In my mission I actually had them memorized. The entire section of verses are a guide to how to use the priesthood in righteousness. In this past General Conference, President Uchtdorf listed section 121 as one of several that he wanted all priesthood holders to review. A proper analysis of all 13 of these verses would take a very, very long time but a few of them have always stood out to me as being especially important and I will focus on those.
First, the rights of the priesthood are inseparably connected with the powers of heaven. It has been said by many Apostles that we are given the authority to use the priesthood when we are ordained, but the power of the priesthood is obtained through righteous living. The Lord goes on to expound on things that will take away our authority in the priesthood. It has always amazed me that men will think they are allowed to be abusive and pushy and domineering just because they have the priesthood. How any man can think that is beyond me and such men obviously do not have a true understanding of God's nature.
Second, most men will exercise unrighteous dominion if they are given authority. It is very true and it is extremely sad to watch it happen to people you know. I have often wondered why some people think authority gives them the right to do whatever they want to those around them. I think the people who behave in such a way do not understand the true nature of power and do not understand that power only comes because of the grace of those under you. Power can only be maintained if the people who you have power over you continue to follow and do your commands. It's a lesson most people seem to have to learn the hard way.
Third, it is important and necessary to reprove at times with sharpness, or clarity. We have discussed this in the past when we talked about the Lord chastens those He loves. It is an act of love to correct someone's bad behavior and when we don't we are doing that person an extreme disservice. I have talked on this extensively in other places so I will not do so again here.
Finally, let virtue garnish thy thoughts unceasingly. The most important line in that phrase to me is the word unceasingly. It is easy to let virtue garnish our thoughts from time to time, but to do so unceasingly is a challenge and requires help from on high. The phrase immediately following it states that if we do that, among other things, our confidence will wax strong in the presence of God. I think that is interesting that if we do not have virtuous thoughts, then we will not desire to stand in God's presence. This is not such a hard concept to understand though if you have ever done anything wrong in your life. The easiest analogy to draw is that of our earthly parents. Think about a time you did something wrong and got caught, did you want to stand in your father's presence? Of course not. It is the same with the Lord, and He can see our thoughts and understand our hearts. There is no fooling Him. Is it any wonder we need to make sure our thoughts are His thoughts before we will be comfortable in His presence?
It takes a lifetime to learn to use the priesthood in the appropriate way I think but it is something each of us men who hold the priesthood should be working towards and something each wife should encourage their husbands to strive for as well. As we grow in the priesthood it is amazing the service we can perform for Him and for our brothers and sisters here on the earth. Until tomorrow.
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