Today I read Doctrine and Covenants section 110. You know, if you were to ask me which section in the Doctrine and Covenants I have read more times than any other, I could make a strong case for section 110. I am not sure it is the most read section, but I have read it A LOT. Partially that is because it is used a lot in Priesthood lessons and genealogy lessons. Section 110 is a series of 4 visions wherein Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery see the Savior, Moses, Elias(one of them anyway), and Elijah.
The Savior comes and accepts the temple as His own. He comes and tells them that their work is acceptable to Him and that as long as it is not defiled, He will visit the Saints in His house. I've always been fascinated by the description of the Savior in this section, where it says His eyes are like the flame of a fire. I have often wondered just what His eyes must look like to warrant that type of a description. I'm sure I will find out someday.
The other 3 men appear to Joseph and Oliver and commit the keys to the kingdom that they each hold to the two men so that the work can go forward in this generation. Moses appeared and gave the keys of the Gathering of Israel from the four parts of the earth. This is pretty self explanatory but it is so important. Our God is a God of mercy and justice, or fairness. He will not allow anyone to perish because of lack of opportunity to hear and accept the gospel. I do not know how this will work or what will happen to those that had a fair opportunity in this life but accept it in the next life, although Bruce R. McConkie stated that such go to the Terrestrial Kingdom, but I do not know if that was his opinion or doctrine. It's hard to tell sometimes with Elder McConkie. But in order to do missionary work properly we needed the keys and that was Moses' task to bring them to us in this dispensation.
Elias brought back the dispensation of the gospel of Abraham. Our leaders have interpreted this to be the promising of the covenant made to Abraham, that our seed will be as numerous as the sands of the sea. We all know that cannot happen in this life so this is the promise of a Celestial marriage. The greatest blessing that God can give us is to become like He is. The scriptures and modern day prophets teach us that we cannot become like He is alone, rather we must be married after the New and Everlasting Covenant. Only by marrying for time and eternity can we hope to return to live with our Father in Heaven and a fullness of joy, or children in the world to come.
Finally, Elijah came back to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children and the children to the fathers. This is the sealing power that seals families together. As a result of Elijah's visit and the sealing keys being given to Joseph and Oliver the hearts of the children really have been turned to the fathers. Genealogy has become one o the favorite pass times of the day. There are now plenty of websites for genealogy besides the church's websites and there are even TV commercials these days that are encouraging genealogy. It has encouraged everyone to find out who their ancestors are which will be of great use when the millennium arrives and we need to do the temple work for all those people.
It is very appropriate that these keys were all restored in the temple. Both Celestial marriages and sealing parents to children take place in the temple. The purpose of the gathering of Israel is to lead men and women to the temple so that they can perform all the sacred ordinances necessary to return to live with our Heavenly Father. And of course, the temple is the house of the Lord so it is only fitting that the Savior would appear in His house to accept it. We should go to the temple as often as we can. We can feel the Spirit of the Lord most strongly when we are in the temple and we have the added benefit of serving those who cannot help themselves and can act as Saviors on Mount Zion. Serving in the temple is one of the most worthwhile things we can do in this life and it is especially important that we take part in these ordinances ourselves. Who would not want to be with their families forever, especially our wonderful children. We are truly blessed with a wonderful God who loves us and wants us to have a fullness of joy. Hopefully we all take advantage of these wonderful blessings available to us. Until tomorrow.
No comments:
Post a Comment