Shiloh and Ben continue their discussion on how these new revelations in the early days of the Church established the new Latter-day Saint identity. These revelations gave function and form to the lived religious experience of these early Saints who lived on the frontier. Whereas the Saints could already find passages of scripture concerning the gifts of the Spirit in the Romans 12 and 1 Corinthians 12, the Lord brings these back to the minds and memories of the Saints. At least in part, the Saints are reminded of these gifts to focus their minds and hearts onto God. They are reminded to not seek for signs (because there is…

Ben and Shiloh talk about the goodness and universal love of God. Although we often read and think that Christ is our advocate "to" the Father (as if the Father is the punisher and is either undecided or his hands are tied against us, and Christ is trying to change his mind), the scriptures are consistent that Christ is our advocate "with" the Father. Satan (meaning "adversary" and "accuser" -- as if in a type of courtroom setting as the prosecuting attorney) stands against us to tell us that we are unworthy, unclean, and unforgiven from our sins. The choice is ours to whom we look to, listen to, and…

Shiloh and Ben talk about the growing pains of the early Church. Imagine while you're reading the D&C through this time that the revelations you're reading are all that these men knew about what this new church is, how it is organized, what its purposes are, and what its goals are. We often forget to contextualize these early church leaders in their proper space of experience. We have the vantage point of knowing when, where, and how their story unfolded, but as they were living these moments they lived having hope for a future that was completely undefined. The "restoration" was completely undefined, and even Joseph was consistently learning, step-by-step,…

Ben and Shiloh discuss the context of the early Saints being called to “the Ohio” in December of 1830. Barely 9 months old, the Lord commanded Joseph and the fledgling church to leave its home in New York and relocate to Kirtland. With so many farms going on the market and so quickly, the members knew that they would take severe losses on their farms — which many did. Some refused to go. Yet the Lord promised those who went that a “land of promise” had been “prepared” for them where “I hold forth and deign to give unto you greater riches, even a land of promise, a land flowing…

Shiloh and Ben discuss these revelations given to specific men in the first year of the Church's existence in the latter-days. There are noticeable patterns in each revelation that we can use to understand a general sense and sentiment that these men were having at this time. Many of these men are called on missions to "the Lamanites" (the Native Americans in Missouri), to bring them the message of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ and the message of the Book of Mormon. The Lord consistently says that "the field is white already to harvest," thus showing that God had already been engaged in His own work--tilling, fertilizing, planting, irrigating,…