Sunday School Lesson 13

Lesson 13: Doctrine and Covenants 5:10; Moses 1:40-41; 2 Nephi 3:11-15; Doctrine and Covenants 84:19-25; 88:15-24; 93:29; 107:23, 33, 35; 124:37-42; 128:16-18; 130:22

Doctrine and Covenants 5

Verse 10: What does “this generation” mean? What does “word” mean in this context?

Moses 1

Verse 41: Is the meaning of “words” here the same as that of “word” in D&C 5:10? Is the Lord speaking of a time when actual words will be removed from the Bible or of the loss of his teachings, whether that involves removing words or just losing the understanding of them? We usually compare Brigham Young to Moses, but here the Lord compares Joseph Smith to him. How was Joseph Smith like Moses? Why are the words had only “among as many as shall believe”?

2 Nephi 3

Verse 11: Why is Joseph Smith here described as a seer rather than a prophet? (How do the two differ, or do they?) How did Joseph Smith bring forth the Lord’s word to Lehi’s son Joseph’s descendants?

Verse 12: Lehi says that the writings of Judah and those of his descendants “shall grow together.” What does that metaphor mean? What does it tell us about the relation of the Bible and the Book of Mormon? How will they, together, confound false doctrine, rid us of contention, and establish fruit among Lehi’s son Joseph’s descendants?

Verse 15: How is the Prophet Joseph like Joseph in Egypt? How did the ancient Joseph bring the Lord’s people salvation, and how is that like what modern Joseph did?

Doctrine and Covenants 84.

Verse 19: What does it mean that the Melchizedek priesthood holds the key of the mysteries of the kingdom? (Notice that “mysteries of the kingdom” is equivalent to “knowledge of God” in these verses.)

Verses 20-21: What does it mean that the power of godliness is present in the ordinances? Why does verse 20 begin with the word “therefore”? What does “the power of godliness” mean?

Verse 22: To what does the word “this” refer? To the priesthood? To the ordinances? To the power of godliness?

Verses 23-25: How does removing the priesthood from the children of Israel remove them from the Lord’s rest, the fullness of his glory? What does “the Lord’s rest” or “the fulness of his glory” mean?

Doctrine and Covenants 88

Verse 15: This is an important doctrine, for traditional Christianity has almost always denigrated the body, and because of that denigration our culture still often looks on the body as a hindrance (or, in backlash, it thinks of the body as the only thing). The privilege and acclaim we sometimes give supposedly intellectual professions over more physical professions is one of the remnants of this misunderstanding of the body and the spirit. In what other ways do we sometimes forget this necessary unity of spirit and body? (Note: though “soul” is defined here as the unity of the spirit and body, it isn’t always or even often used that way in other scriptures. This definition is one which seems to have been saved for the latter-days. Therefore, when you read the word “soul” in scripture, you must ask yourself whether the writer meant “spirit” or “soul” as it is used here.

Verses 21-22: We sometimes speak of being sanctified through obedience to law, but verse 21 speaks of being sanctified through the law. Is that any different? If so, how so? If not, why not? Notice too that these verses speak of abiding a law rather than obeying a law. The word “abide” means “dwell.” Why do you suppose the Lord speak of abiding a law rather than obeying a law?

Doctrine and Covenants 107

Verse 23: What does it mean to be a witness of the name of Christ? What does it mean to be a special witness of that name? Which authorities are special witnesses of Christ?

Verses 33-35: How do these verses clarify the relations between the three presiding quorums of the Church? What does it mean to say that the Presidency and the Seventy should build up and regulate all the affairs of the church “first unto the Gentiles and secondly unto the Jews� (verses 33-34)? What does it mean to us that the gospel is to be proclaimed by the Twelve “first unto the Gentiles and then unto the Jews�?

Doctrine and Covenants 124

Verses 37-39: What do these verses teach us about the purposes of temples?

40: What does it mean to build a house to the name of the Lord? Why must it be built to his name if he is to reveal his ordinances therein?

Verse 41: What is the significance of the promise made in this verse? Compare this verse with verse 38. What is the same in each? What does that say about temple ordinances?

Doctrine and Covenants 128

Verse 17: The earliest quotation of this scripture is in Malachi 4:6. There, as here, the word “heart” is singular. The scripture is also referred to in 3 Nephi 25:6, where “heart” is also singular: “the heart of the fathers.” What might “the heart of the fathers” mean? On the other hand, in Luke 1:17 and D&C 27:9, 98:16, and 110:15, the quotation is plural: “the hearts of the fathers.” To what might that refer? Does this difference help us understand anything or is it just an irrelevant fact?

Verse 18: There must be a welding link between the fathers and the children or the earth will be cursed. Given what we’ve seen about binding, record, priesthood, etc., what might one say about the nature of that welding link? If we understand the nature of that welding link, what might that say about our relations to our children and our parents? to our history? to our culture?

Doctrine and Covenants 130

Verse 22: Why do you think this verse emphasizes the tangibility of the Father’s body rather than, perhaps, its visibility?