Thursday, December 29, 2016

Lessons 1 & 2: Intro to Doctrine & Covenants & Church History

Purpose:
To introduce class members to this year’s study of the Doctrine and Covenants and Church history and to help them understand their place in the dispensation of the fulness of times.

 Lesson Reading:
Church History Study Resources Intros:

Questions to Ponder:
1. The revelations in the Doctrine and Covenants address the needs of our day.
  • Read the third paragraph in the Explanatory Introduction, found at the beginning of the Doctrine and Covenants (this paragraph begins with the phrase “The book of”). How is the Doctrine and Covenants different from other books of scripture? What passages in the Doctrine and Covenants have been especially helpful or meaningful to you?
  • Read the sixth paragraph in the Explanatory Introduction (this paragraph begins with the phrase “These sacred revelations”). What does this paragraph teach about how the revelations in the Doctrine and Covenants were received? Why is it helpful to understand that most of the revelations came as answers to prayers?
  • Read the eighth paragraph in the Explanatory Introduction (this paragraph begins with the phrase “In the revelations”). What are some of the doctrines of the gospel that are explained in the Doctrine and Covenants?


2. The Lord authored the preface to the Doctrine and Covenants.

On 1 November 1831, the Prophet Joseph Smith presided at a special conference of elders, held in Hiram, Ohio. Those in attendance decided to compile some of the revelations the Prophet had received and publish them in a book called the Book of Commandments. Following the first session of this conference, the Lord signified His approval for the publication by giving Joseph Smith a revelation that He called “my preface unto the book of my commandments” (D&C 1:6). This revelation is now section 1 of the Doctrine and Covenants.
President Ezra Taft Benson said: “The Doctrine and Covenants is the only book in the world that has a preface written by the Lord Himself. In that preface He declares to the world that His voice is unto all men (see v. 2), that the coming of the Lord is nigh (see v. 12), and that the truths found in the Doctrine and Covenants will all be fulfilled (see vs. 37–38)” (in Conference Report, Oct. 1986, 101; or Ensign, Nov. 1986, 79).
  • In D&C 1, the Lord raises a “voice of warning,” which He continues throughout the Doctrine and Covenants (D&C 1:4). What warnings does the Lord issue in this section? (See D&C 1:7–10, 12–16, 31–33.) How do these warnings apply to us?
  • For whom are the messages of the Doctrine and Covenants intended? (See D&C 1:1–4, 11, 34–35.) How are these messages to go to all people? (See D&C 1:4.)
  • In D&C 1, the Lord foretells the great destiny of His latter-day work (D&C 1:23, 30). How are the prophecies of the Church’s growth being fulfilled in our day?
  • In D&C 1, the Lord explains some of the purposes for the revelations in the Doctrine and Covenants. Read D&C 1:17–28. As recorded in these verses, what are some of the purposes of the revelations?
  • Read D&C 1:37–38 and D&C 18:34–36. What does the Lord teach us about His words and His voice in these verses? How is searching the scriptures different from merely reading them? How have you benefited from searching the Lord’s words in the Doctrine and Covenants?


3. This course will discuss major events of the dispensation of the fulness of times.

Read Bible Dictionary Definition of "Dispensations."

“Prophets, priests and kings … have looked forward with joyful anticipation to the day in which we live; and fired with heavenly and joyful anticipations they have sung and written and prophesied of this our day; but they died without the sight; we are the favored people that God has made choice of to bring about the Latter-day glory; it is left for us to see, participate in and help to roll forward the Latter-day glory, ‘the dispensation of the fulness of times’” (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, sel. Joseph Fielding Smith [1976], 231).
  • Why is our dispensation different from any of the previous ones? What are some of the blessings and responsibilities of living in this dispensation?
This dispensation can be divided into six historical periods as follows:
New York Period
1820–1830
Ohio-Missouri Period
1831–1838
Nauvoo Period
1839–1846
Pioneering the West
1846–1898
Expansion of the Church
1899–1950
The Worldwide Church
1951–present

Many of the important events in these six historical periods are summarized in “Church History Chronology” on pages 272–73 in this manual and pages 27–28 in the Class Member Study Guide.
  • Which events in the history of the Church have particular significance to you?


4. We can each help to move forward this great latter-day work.

President Ezra Taft Benson said, “There has never been more expected of the faithful in such a short period of time as there is of us” (quoted by Marvin J. Ashton, in Conference Report, Oct. 1989, 48; or Ensign, Nov. 1989, 36).
President Gordon B. Hinckley said, “The most serious challenge we face, and the most wonderful challenge, is the challenge that comes of growth” (quoted in “President Gordon B. Hinckley,” Ensign, Apr. 1995, 6).
  • What are some challenges that are presented by the Church’s tremendous growth? What are some examples of the Church’s efforts to meet these challenges?
President Gordon B. Hinckley said: “This is a season of a thousand opportunities. It is ours to grasp and move forward. What a wonderful time it is for each of us to do his or her small part in moving the work of the Lord on to its magnificent destiny” (in Conference Report, Oct. 1997, 90–91; or Ensign, Nov. 1997, 67).
  • What can we each do individually and in our families to help move forward the Lord’s great latter-day work?
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