Come, Follow Me
Doctrine and Covenants 95; 103; 107
Hidden Treasures
Dig into the scriptures. It’s worth it.
The Lord Lovingly Reminds Us of Commandments We’ve Ignored.
In Doctrine and Covenants 95, the Lord was a little disappointed in the Saints. He had previously commanded them to build a temple (see Doctrine and Covenants 88:119)—but five months later, they hadn’t done anything about it.
That seems unthinkable today. Building temples is a major focus for us! But the Lord hadn’t revealed much about temples in 1833. The Saints didn’t fully appreciate how important they would be.
So what did the Lord do? He went into detail about why He wanted them to build a temple (see Doctrine and Covenants 95:8–17). He elaborated on what He said before, giving new insights and driving home the importance of it.
Sin Brings Chastening, but the Lord Still Promises Blessings.
In 1834, the Saints were wondering why the Lord had let their enemies harass them and chase them off their own land. Through the Prophet Joseph Smith, the Lord gave two answers.
First, the Lord said He sometimes lets the wicked do bad things “that they might fill up the measure of their iniquities” (Doctrine and Covenants 103:3). Alma put it this way: “He doth suffer that they may do [bad things] … that the judgments which he shall exercise upon them in his wrath may be just” (Alma 14:11).
The other reason the Lord gave the Saints for their problems was probably a little tougher to hear: “That those who call themselves after my name might be chastened for a little season … because they did not hearken altogether unto the precepts and commandments which I gave unto them” (Doctrine and Covenants 103:4).
That doesn’t mean God approved of their enemies’ wicked and illegal acts. He didn’t “inspire” the mobbers to attack the Saints; He let them use their agency and did not intervene to stop them.
But the Lord still promised that if the Saints would obey, “they shall never cease to prevail” (Doctrine and Covenants 103:7).
Why Is the Priesthood Named after Melchizedek?
You may have wondered why the higher priesthood is named after Melchizedek. The Lord explained it through the Prophet Joseph Smith:
“Before his [Melchizedek’s] day it was called the Holy Priesthood, after the Order of the Son of God. But out of respect or reverence to the name of the Supreme Being, to avoid the too frequent repetition of his name, they, the church, in ancient days, called that priesthood after Melchizedek” (Doctrine and Covenants 107:3–4).
Think about how often we mention “Melchizedek Priesthood” in Church meetings and informal discussions. Now imagine if, instead of “Melchizedek,” we were saying “the Son of God” every time. It would start to seem disrespectful. The Lord wanted to prevent that.