Q. Class Question for the End: How is God No Respecter of Persons regarding the Priesthood?
Ministering Check-In: Bro. Fears and Pres. Bennett
Doctrine and Covenants 81-83: “Much is Given, much is required“
Our Current Societal Issues:
Loneliness
30% of Adults feel lonely and 58% of adults feel no one knows them well
Loneliness: “Individuals experience loneliness when they perceive a discrepancy between the aspired quantity and the degree of intimacy and closeness in social relations and the actually experienced amount thereof”
Loneliness can happen in a marriage, in family and in social groups.
Mental Illness
Mental Illness affects 23.1% of the US Population in 2022
Substance Abuse in the US:
- 84.5 million or 32.8% of adults over the age of 18 have either an Substance Use Disorder (SUDS) or Any Mental Illness (AMI).
- SUDs affect over 48.5 million Americans aged 12 and over.
- Most common disorders are related to alcohol, marijuana, and prescription pain relievers.
“Thou wilt do the greatest good unto thy fellow beings.”
What is the benefit in helping others? How do we today succor the weak, lift up hands and strengthen knees?
D&C 81:4 And in doing these things thou wilt do the greatest good unto thy fellow beings, and wilt promote the glory of him who is your Lord.
5 Wherefore, be faithful; stand in the office which I have appointed unto you; succor the weak, lift up the hands which hang down, and strengthen the feeble knees.
Where much is given much is required
What are the physical and spiritual blessings God has provided you and this ward?
D&C 82:3 For of him unto whom much is given much is required; and he who sins against the greater lightshall receive the greater condemnation.
Commandments are evidence of God’s Love for us
What have commandments taught us about Him and His will? How has your life been affected by following the commandments
D&C 82:8 And again, I say unto you, I give unto you a new commandment, that you may understand my will concerning you;
9 Or, in other words, I give unto you directions how you may act before me, that it may turn to you for your salvation.
The Lord blesses us in His own marvelous ways.
Explain how God blesses us in His own marvelous ways? How has this promise been fullfilled in your lives?
82:10 I, the Lord, am bound when ye do what I say; but when ye do not what I say, ye have no promise.
“Widows and orphans shall be provided for.”
How do we support the widows, single parents, those with special needs?
D&C 83:5 And after that, they have claim upon the church, or in other words upon the Lord’s storehouse, if their parents have not wherewith to give them inheritances.
84:6 And the storehouse shall be kept by the consecrations of the church; and widows and orphans shall be provided for, as also the poor
James 1:27 Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world.
Story of Kerala, India: Status of Women in Kerala
36% of actively religious (attend once a month) are very happy, compared to 25% of not-active, and 25% of non-religious. Pew Research: Actively Religious are Happier and more Civilly Engaged
67% of women and 57% of men have positive impacts from all female or all male based groups. Impact of all Male and all Female Social Groups on Happiness
Section 84
I have access to God’s priesthood power and blessings.
What are the Aaronic and Melchizedek Priesthoods? How are they defined today?
How have the priesthood ordinances and covenants brought God’s Power into your life?
D&C 84:19 And this greater priesthood administereth the gospel and holdeth the key of the mysteries of the kingdom, even the key of the knowledge of God.
20 Therefore, in the ordinancesthereof, the power of godliness is manifest.
21 And without the ordinances thereof, and the authority of the priesthood, the power of godliness is not manifest unto men in the flesh;
22 For without this no man can see the face of God, even the Father, and live
“Every woman and every man who makes covenants with God and keeps those covenants, and who participates worthily in priesthood ordinances, has direct access to the power of God” ~ Pres. Russell M. Nelson, Nov. 2019
The priesthood is obtained with an oath and covenant.
What is an oath and covenant of the Priesthood? What are the promises and how does God ask us to receive them?
D&C 84:35 And also all they who receive this priesthood receive me, saith the Lord;
36 For he that receiveth my servants receiveth me;
37 And he that receiveth me receiveth my Father;
38 And he that receiveth my Father receiveth my Father’s kingdom; therefore all that my Father hath shall be given unto him.
39 And this is according to the oath and covenant which belongeth to the priesthood.
“It is interesting that in the oath and covenant of the priesthood the Lord uses the verbs obtain and receive. He does not use the verb ordain. It is in the temple that men and women—together—obtain and receive the blessings and power of both the Aaronic and Melchizedek Priesthoods” ~ Elder Paul B Pieper
Revelations 3:21 To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne.
Living by the word of God brings light and truth into my life.
How do we have better interpersonal relationships to friends and family members that are antagonistic / opposed to a Gospel message
D&C 84:43 And I now give unto you a commandment to beware concerning yourselves, to give diligent heed to the words of eternal life.
84:45 For the word of the Lord is truth, and whatsoever is truth is light, and whatsoever is light is Spirit, even the Spirit of Jesus Christ.
The Word – Truth – Light – Spirit -Jesus Christ
2 Nephi 32:3 Angels speak by the power of the Holy Ghost; wherefore, they speak the words of Christ. Wherefore, I said unto you, feast upon the words of Christ; for behold, the words of Christ will tell you all things what ye should do.
Everyone can contribute to the work of God.
How can we support everyone in their callings? Especially when it might be a stretch for them?
D&C 84:109 Therefore, let every man stand in his own office, and labor in his own calling; and let not the headsay unto the feet it hath no need of the feet; for without the feet how shall the body be able to stand?
110 Also the body hath need of every member, that all may be edified together, that the system may be kept perfect.
What does it mean where the “Lord says, I am no respecter of person?”
D&C 38:16 And for your salvation I give unto you a commandment, for I have heard your prayers, and the poor have complained before me, and the rich have I made, and all flesh is mine, and I am no respecter of persons.
Next Week: Journal Writing
Appendix 1:
Write a More about journaling: Use the Doctrine – Principle – More Pattern (use examples below for help).
Mores (mor-āz) the fixed morally binding customs of a particular group.
Note: for ease of learning it will be spelled Morè(s) on this site.
Morès are the shared, typically unwritten, moral expectations and behaviors that reflect our commitment to live the gospel. They are the cultural expressions of our doctrines and principles—how we treat one another, how we worship, and how we serve.
Doctrine > Principle > Morès
Examples of Morès to reference.
1. Caring for the Poor and Needy
- Doctrine: We are commanded to love and serve others.
- Principle: If we care for the poor and seek out the needy (spiritual, emotional, and physical), we emulate Christ’s compassion.
- Morès: Members regularly donate fast offerings, volunteer in welfare efforts, and quietly seek out and minister to those in need (Spiritual, Physical and Emotional) without being asked.
2. Priesthood
- Doctrine: The priesthood is the power and authority of God given to men and women to act in His name.
- Principle: If we are to act in God’s name, we must live in a way that invites His Spirit and reflects His holiness.
- Morès: Saints are expected to live worthily to partake of the priesthood—avoiding sin, keeping covenants, and striving for personal righteousness.
3. Priesthood in Action
- Doctrine: The priesthood is to be used to bless the lives of others and not self.
- Principle: If we partake in the priesthood, we are called to serve, not to be served.
- Morès: Saints minister with compassion—visiting the sick, giving / praying for blessings for the needy, and supporting families (nuclear and ward) with humility and love.
Appendix 2:
Joseph Smith’s quote about the time before section 84 was received: “My Situation is a very unpleasant one although I will endeavor to be contented. The Lord assisting me I have visited a grove which is just back of the town almost every day where I can be secluded from the eyes of any mortal and there give vent to all the feelings of my heart. In meditation and prayer I have called to mind all the past moments of my life and am left to mourn and Shed tears of sorrow for my folly in suffering the adversary of my Soul to have so much power over me as he has had in times past.”
