Headlines:
-Gaining knowledge is required for Salvation/We cannot be saved in Ignorance
-Knowledge and Relationships are the only things portable from this life to the next
-The Temple is the center of learning in this life for knowledge of eternal things
Context:
D&C 93:36-40 present a deep metaphysics (presentation of ultimate realities):
-The Glory of God is Intelligence. Definitions of Glory include power or a state of happiness (either apply)
-Truth/Knowledge is something that is learned. We are progressing from a state of innocence (lack of knowledge) to higher states of progression, that is, we're gaining knowledge of all kinds
-Disobedience, encouraged by "the wicked one" is darkness that is, takes away the light (our knowledge)
-Light is the perfect metaphor for truth (when the lights come on we can see)
The lesson topic revolves around D&C 88: 118-141.
Historical context of Section 88:
-Section 88 as a whole is called the Olive Leaf called this because it was the "Lord's message of peace to us" which may have referred to the fact that the prophecy re: the Civil War was given two days prior.
-Sec 88 combines two distinct segments given on Dec 27 1832 and Jan 3, 1833 respectively. The second portion (v. 118 to 141) is the concern of this lesson, providing the direction to create the School of the Prophets and instructions on how it should be run.
The first paragraph from Revelations in Context "A House for our God" provides an overview of the purpose of the School of the Prophets:
On June 1, 1833, Joseph Smith received a revelation that contained a stern rebuke. “Ye have sinned against me a very grievous sin,” the Lord declared, “in that ye have not considered the great commandment in all things that I have given unto you concerning the building of mine house.” That “great commandment” had come five months earlier in a lengthy revelation Joseph called the “olive leaf” (now Doctrine and Covenants 88). It had directed the Saints to “organize [themselves]” and establish “an house of prayer, an house of fasting, an house of faith, an house of learning, an house of glory, an house of order, an house of God.”
Taken together with instructions to “teach one another” and “seek learning even by study and also by faith,” Joseph Smith and the elders in Kirtland understood this revelation to deliver a twofold mandate. They were to “build an house of God, & establish a school for the Prophets.” Joseph Smith and the Saints in Kirtland began acting on this instruction almost immediately, but, as the June 1 revelation indicated, they still had only a dim understanding of what it would ultimately mean or of the enormous sacrifices it would require.
Notes:
-School of the Prophets was a term used at the time to refer to any school of divinity which intended to prepare men for their calling to the ministry. Yale and Harvard both referred to their divinity schools as "Schools of the Prophets".
-Although the location changed over time, initial meetings were held in the upper room in N.K. Whitney's store in Kirtland.
-Topics studied included all forms of religious and secular learning including language grammar (not just English)
-Joseph, aided primarily by Sidney Rigdon led the teaching of the spiritual training. Evidence of the high quality of this training is that the Lectures on Faith, (the Doctrine in Doctrine and Covenants) was prepared for this school. Others took the lead in preparing and teaching other topics.
-The Lord's vision for the school was that the Brethren would be shaped into a brotherhood and made clean as preparation for their missions (v.138 "clean from the blood of this generation"). They were greeted by the teacher as Brothers (v.133) and ritual washings were performed (v. 122-125) including Joseph's washing the feet of all new members. One could also think of it as a Temple Prep class for these early brethren. They were enjoined to improve their characters and to "cease to be idle", to "clothe themselves in Charity". Its appropriate that the Word of Wisdom was received in this setting.
-The multiple references to the House of Good e.g. v. 119 refer to the command to build a temple in Kirtland, which after much travail was dedicated in March of 1836.
Question: Knowledge/learning is also presented in the scriptures as a bad thing (3Ne 9:29 & 2 Tim 3:1-7). How can this be? Answers can include that facts alone don't represent knowledge. Our learning must be built on the foundation of our faith in God ex. Seek ye first the Kingdom of God. St. Anselm said "I believe so I can understand", meaning that his learning only yielded truth when done in the context of his belief in God. Consider the analogy that climbing a ladder only gets to the right destination if its leaning against the right wall.
Summary points of these scriptures:
D&C 6:7, 11:21-22, 19:23, 88:76-80, 118, 90:15, 93:36-37, 53, 130:18-20, 131:6, 136:32-33
-All Truth is Good
-Man needs to seek God first, truth of eternal things can only be understood/realized in the context of Faith in God
-Salvation requires knowledge, in a sense it is learned.
-Holy Spirit communicates all truth to the human soul
-The Temple is the Key location to learn of eternal things. The drawn plat of Zion (Missouri) had the Temple at the exact center of the city.
President Mouritsen teaches that just as a stool with three legs is the most stable type of furniture, a firm faith must be based on the three legs of 1) our reason (it must feel reasonable), 2) a spiritual witness received through study and prayer and 3) right living and service.
These three forms of building faith reinforce that knowledge comes in many forms and through many ways, from study to providing service.
Link to revelations in context "A House for our God"
https://history.lds.org/article/a-house-for-our-god?lang=eng
Link to pdf of Lesson Manual w/ my messy notes
https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B78D5btorZEeOFlEWnJIQ3BDRzQ
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