This lesson is heavily anecdotal: most of it could have come under the “From the Life of Joseph Smith” section (though most of it, of course, does not). It climaxes with the beautiful story of William W. Phelps’s repentance and return to fellowship, the last lines of which make up the italicized introductory snippet for the lesson on page 391.

Given all the above, my notes this week will be a bit different from what they usually are. My usual form of analysis will be employed in dealing with the teachings primarily on pages 393-394. For the remainder, I will provide just a bit of contextualization. Read the rest of this entry »

The “From the Life of Joseph Smith” portion of this lesson recounts the story of Joseph Smith’s healing the sick and dying Saints along the Mississippi river after his arrival in Nauvoo. It nicely illustrates the power of the gifts of the Spirit.

The remainder of the lesson, however, is a bit more theoretical, one might say. That is, the “Teachings of Joseph Smith” portion of the lesson does not recount narratives of healing, speaking in tongues, prophecy, and discernment—but rather offers Joseph’s teachings about the nature, place, and employment of these gifts.

What I found particularly interesting in my own study of this lesson is the way these teachings, grouped and separated out as they are, allow for a thinking of the uniqueness of each gift of the Spirit covered here. My notes dwell primarily on that point: What is unique or distinct about each of the four gifts discussed, and what does that tell us about the role or purpose of the several gifts? Read the rest of this entry »

Most of this lesson is drawn from the supernal Liberty Jail letter Joseph Smith in his suffering wrote to the Saints in their suffering. Parts of it have been carried over from the original letter to sections 121, 122, and 123 of the Doctrine and Covenants, and other snippets and paragraphs of it have come to be among Joseph’s most famous statements. It can be found in its entirety in History of the Church 3:289-305, or, unedited, in Personal Writings of Joseph Smith, pp. 389-407. I highly recommend that it be read in its entirety—especially by those who will teach it in Relief Society or Melchizedek Priesthood. Read the rest of this entry »