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"All things... shall work together for your good."
For the Saints in the 1830s, Independence, Missouri, was literally the promised land. It was “the center place” of Zion (see Doctrine and Covenants 57:3)—the city of God on earth—which they were making great sacrifices to build. To them, the gathering of Saints there was an exciting and glorious prelude to the Second Coming. But their neighbors in the area saw things differently. They took issue with the claim that God had given the land to the Saints, and they were uncomfortable with the political, economic, and social consequences of so many people from an unfamiliar religion moving into the area so quickly. Soon concern turned into threats, and threats turned into persecution and violence. In July 1833, the Church’s printing office was destroyed, and in November the Saints were forced to abandon their homes in Jackson County, Missouri.
Joseph Smith was over 800 miles away in Kirtland, and this news took weeks to reach him. But the Lord knew what was happening, and He revealed to His Prophet principles of peace and encouragement that would comfort the Saints—principles that can also help us when we face persecution, when our righteous desires go unfulfilled, or when we need a reminder that our daily afflictions will eventually, somehow, “work together for [our] good” (Doctrine and Covenants 98:3).
See Saints, 1:171–93; “Waiting for the Word of the Lord,” Revelations in Context, 196–201.

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"For the Salvation of Zion"
Join us this week as Marcus and Jackson discuss the call of The Lord for Joseph to move the church forward in building a Temple: The House of The Lord!

When the Lord commanded Moses to build a tabernacle, He told Moses to “make all things according to the pattern shewed to [him] in the mount” (Hebrews 8:5; see also Exodus 25:8–9). The tabernacle was to be the center of Israel’s wilderness camp (see Numbers 2:1–2). Later, God commanded Solomon and his people to build a temple according to a pattern He revealed (see 1 Chronicles 28:12, 19).
As the Lord restored the fulness of the gospel, He commanded Joseph Smith to build temples according to a revealed pattern. “Let the house be built, not after the manner of the world,” the Lord declared. “Let it be built after the manner which I shall show” (Doctrine and Covenants 95:13–14; see also 97:10). Like the tabernacle in the wilderness, the temple was meant to be a central feature in Kirtland (see Doctrine and Covenants 94:1).
Today houses of the Lord are found around the world. Even if they are not at the center of our cities, they can be central in our lives. Though each temple differs in appearance, within them we learn the same divine pattern—a heavenly plan to bring us back into the presence of God. Sacred, eternal ordinances help us build our lives and strengthen our families “not after the manner of the world”, but after the pattern God shows us.



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Join us this week as we discuss section 93 and say goodbye to Heidi....at least on a weekly basis. She may make an appearance every once in a while down the road. We thank Heidi for sharing her time, insights, humor, and weight lifting analogies with us!!

“When you climb up a ladder,” Joseph Smith taught, “you must begin at the bottom, and ascend step by step, until you arrive at the top; and so it is with the principles of the gospel—you must begin with the first, and go on until you learn all the principles of exaltation” (Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Joseph Smith [2007], 268).

Sometimes that ladder of exaltation seems impossibly high, but we were born to climb to the top. Whatever limitations we may see in ourselves, Heavenly Father and His Son see something glorious in us, something godlike. Just as Jesus Christ “was in the beginning with the Father,” so “ye were also” (Doctrine and Covenants 93:21, 23). Just as He “continued from grace to grace, until he received a fulness,” so also “you shall receive grace for grace” (verses 13, 20). The restored gospel teaches us about the true nature of God, and so it also teaches us about ourselves and what we can become. Despite the efforts of the “wicked one” (verse 39)—and despite what you feel you may lack—you are a literal child of God with the potential to “in due time receive of his fulness” (verse 19).


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(The thoughts, ideas, and beliefs we express on this channel do not officially represent The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. For additional information or official statements, please visit the website below. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints: https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/?lang=eng)

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