Hi everybody, this is a really special Come Follow Me lesson because we're actually in the space
that the revelations we're going to talk about today were received. This is the Newell K. Whitney
store which functioned as church headquarters slash the church university slash the bishop
storehouse splash the Prophet's home and this room that we're in which is designated typically as the
translation room is actually where sections 85 86 and 87 of the Doctrine and Covenants
were received. This room was used for a lot of different things. It was Joseph's living space
but when it comes to church business, the big things that happened here were translation of the
scriptures, revelations that were received, and Joseph Smith conducting a lot of church business.
You can actually see that in section 85 and 86 and 87 of the Doctrine and Covenants.
So let's start with section 85 of the Doctrine and Covenants which is
church business. Section 85 is taken from a letter that Joseph Smith wrote to leaders of the church
in Missouri. They were having some problems. There were some difficulties with Bishop Partridge,
who was the head of the church in Missouri and him carrying out his duty and today what section 85
is known for among most members of the church is a cryptic prophecy of one mighty and strong that
would be able to put the church in order. People have speculated all over the place as to who the
one mighty and strong is and there's even been some people that have broken off from the church
claiming that they or their leaders were the ones mighty and strong, in section 85 prophesied of,
but it's pretty clear if you look at section 85 that the one mighty and strong is Edward
Partridge that the lord wanted Edward Partridge to do his job and put the church in order and if
that's not good enough for yout here's an actual statement by the First Presidency where they
identify who the one mighty and strong is that was written in the early 20thcentury
when a lot of people were speculating on what that meant. The Lord told Edward Partridge to
do his job and Edward Partridge remained faithful to the church the rest of his life which seems to
indicate that he did overcome this crisis of confidence and fill the position. So the
one mighty and strong is Edward Partridge and that's a sample of church business that
would have taken place in this room. That letter was most likely written right here.
If you go to section 86 of the Doctrine and Covenants you're going to see a second
example of an activity that went on this room and that’s translation. Joseph Smith is translating
the Bible, the Old and New Testaments while he's in Kirtland. His period where
he translates the Bible from about 1830 to 1833 is the most rich period of revelation
in his life. Most of the doctrine and covenants is received during those years when he's translating
the Bible and a lot of revelations like section 86 of the Doctrine and Covenants
are linked directly to the translation. For instance, in section 86 Joseph Smith receives a
revelation that talks about the parable of the wheat and the tares in the New Testament and
you’ll remember the story a farmer sews some wheat in his field and at night an enemy comes and sow
tares. The tares until they're fully mature look almost exactly like the wheat, so it becomes
really difficult to go along when the plants are young and tear out the weeds and leave the
wheat intact. In fact, the Lord says don't tear out the tares until the wheat is fully grown
otherwise you'll damage the wheat and cause it to not be as profitable and as useful as it could be.
Now that's interesting, because he also in section 86 directly connects the parable of the wheat and
the tares with the great apostasy, that the early members of the church were the good wheat that was
sown and that Satan and his helpers, the people that caused the church to fall into apostasy
were the tares. Then the Savior makes a pretty poignant point about why wicked people are allowed
to do what they do. The Lord says that the tares are wicked people and the wheat are good people
and if the tares are taken out too prematurely it can hurt the wheat. So you might not like to think
of it this way , but sometimes the purpose of the wicked and why the Lord doesn't always stop them
from doing the things that they do is to allow the righteous to become the righteous, that the Lord
has to give us a chance down here on earth to become what we’re supposed to be whether that’s
“wheat,” someone that's useful and helpful and can bless the lives of others or a “tare,”
someone that doesn't follow the commandments and doesn't live his profitable life as they can.
You might not think of the people in your life that have persecuted you
or hurt you or caused harm to you as useful but the Savior's saying they have to become what they
are so that the good can become what they are. The wheat and the tares have to grow to full maturity.
Now the last section we're going to talk about today, section 87, illustrates the last function
of this room, which is just revelation. Joseph Smith and his friends were reading the newspaper
and they came across a few items like an earthquake in China and an outbreak of plague
in India that really, really frightened them about the condition of the world they lived in.
It's also possible that when this revelation was received, section 87, they were worried about the
state of the country that they were living in. The United States seemed like it was on the verge
of a civil war because one state, South Carolina decided that they didn't want to respect the laws
of the rest of the states, that their independence was more important than the unity of the entire
country and it looked for a little while like South Carolina might secede from the union
until the President of the United States who was Andrew Jackson scared them into not leaving the
union because Andrew Jackson was kind of a scary guy. Well, in the middle of this Joseph Smith
receives a remarkable prophecy. It’s not placed in the Doctrine and Covenants until
much later in 1876,but it was known during Joseph Smith's own lifetime.
In the prophecy, Joseph Smith says or received a revelation, rather, that there were going to
be a war between the northern states and the southern states and that the southern states
and the northern states would be aligned against each other, and the southern states would call
upon other nations, the Lord says specifically, Great Britain, to help them in their war. Now
all of that comes to pass in the 1860’s when the American Civil War was fought. There are actually
British observers for instance, at the Battle of Gettysburg when it's fought in 1863 because
the South was trying to convince the British to help them. What’s remarkable about the prophecy
is that it's not just a prophecy on the Civil War. It's a prophecy on the millennial wars that
lead up to the time of coming of Christ because the prophecy not only says that the South will
call upon Britain, but then it says they shall also call upon other nations. The question is,
is the “they” the South or is it Great Britain? It's possible that the prophecy is saying that
there was going to be a time when there was a war that was so severe that Great Britain would have
to call upon other people to help them and we all know of a time when that happened in World War I
and World War II. Great Britain had to ask for help for other countries including the United
States and almost every country in the world became embroiled in these worldwide conflicts.
The Savior says a couple of other things like slaves will rise up against their masters
which happens in the Civil War but also happens in the wars that take place afterwards
where all of these colonial regimes that are ruled over by European nations are overthrown and
people start to put in their own governments. The Savior says that he will protect the righteous,
that the righteous are expected to gather the holy places and he uses a unique term here which
isn’t Lord of the Sabbath which it looks like but Lord of the Sabaoth s-a-b-a-o-t-h which means the
Lord of Hosts or the Lord of Armies. It’s a nice way of ending a very scary prophecy by saying
things are going to get a little bit scary but if you stick with me and you stand in holy places, I,
the Lord of Hosts, the Lord of Armies and the Lord of the earth will make sure that you are
safe and that you're okay. So, in a room like this in an obscure village in the back waters of Ohio,
things are happening that are wonderful. Joseph Smith is directing the church through revelation.
He’s using the power of revelation God has given him to ensure a correct translation of the Bible
and he's receiving revelations that will keep the saints safe not just for the next 20 years
until the Civil War is over but for the next few hundred years as we stand in holy places
and keep ourselves free from the sins and stains of the world.