Come, Follow Me
Hidden Treasures
Here are examples of what you can find when you delve into the scriptures.
All commandments are spiritual?!
The Savior told the Prophet Joseph Smith: “All things unto me are spiritual, and not at any time have I given unto you a law which was temporal” (Doctrine and Covenants 29:34).
Temporal means relating to this physical world. Isn’t the Word of Wisdom a “temporal” law?
Even those “temporal” laws are spiritual too, for at least two reasons:
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When you obey any commandment, you come closer to the Holy Ghost. You feel God’s presence and His love more. Obviously, those are spiritual blessings!
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Even most “temporal” laws have spiritual blessings specifically attached. For example, the Word of Wisdom promises physical health (see Doctrine and Covenants 89:18, 20), but it also promises that you’ll “find wisdom and great treasures of knowledge, even hidden treasures” (Doctrine and Covenants 89:19).
We don’t fully understand all the ways that spiritual health can affect physical health—and vice versa. Ultimately, all commandments are spiritual not just because God is spiritual but because we are.
How would you have reacted to an 1830 mission call?
If you serve a mission today, you’ll always have a companion and a place to live. Wherever you’re called, the Church will already have a presence there. You’ll know up front how long you’re expected to serve.
None of that was true for the first missionaries of the restored gospel!
The men who accepted calls in the early 1830s often traveled alone and without much temporal support as they took the newly restored gospel where no one had ever heard of it. Their calls were open-ended—basically, “Go out and spread the gospel until you hear otherwise.”
And the Church had only been formally organized in 1830—every missionary was also a new convert!
Serving a mission still has its challenges. Parley P. Pratt never had to worry about internet distractions, for example. But the whole process is a lot smoother, safer, and more organized now. We should be grateful for those early missionaries who laid the foundation and made it so much easier for us to take the gospel to every nation.
When you ask the Lord for counsel, be prepared to take it!
Many scripture stories are positive examples. They show us what to do. But a few incidents in the scriptures are what you’d call “cautionary tales”—examples of what not to do.
One of those is the sad story of James Covel, a minister who was introduced to the gospel and said he would obey any command the Lord gave him through the Prophet Joseph Smith.
Section 39 of the Doctrine and Covenants is exactly what he asked for: a revelation for him personally that told him what the Lord wanted him to do and what his blessings would be for doing it (see Doctrine and Covenants 39:10–13).
Section 40 is the disappointing epilogue: He didn’t do it. “He received the word with gladness,” the Lord says, “but straightway [i.e., immediately] Satan tempted him; and the fear of persecution and the cares of the world caused him to reject the word” (Doctrine and Covenants 40:2).
Brother Covel broke the covenant he had made (see Doctrine and Covenants 40:3). We can perhaps sympathize with him—He was being asked to make the very difficult decision to leave a church in which he’d been a minister for 40 years! But we can learn from his mistake too.