Don't Miss This in the Doctrine and Covenants by Emily Belle Freeman

Author:Emily Belle Freeman
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Deseret Book Company
Published: 2020-10-20T16:46:56+00:00

Reflect and Respond

Look back over the hard seasons of your life. What blessings do you recognize from those times?

Doctrine and Covenants 72:12

That this also may be consecrated to the good of the church, to the poor and needy.

“I cannot see a Bishop in myself, but if you say it’s the Lord’s will, I’ll try.” Those were the words of Newel K. Whitney to Joseph Smith after he was called to be the second bishop of the Church. Edward Partridge, the first bishop, was living in and handling the affairs of the Church in Missouri. There was now a need for another bishop in Ohio, and Newel K. Whitney was the man. The task was daunting. The revelations were being printed at great expense, there was persecution from people who had left the Church, there were properties in Ohio and Missouri to manage, and there were families working full-time for the Church who needed sustaining. Newel said to his wife, Ann, that “it would require a vast amount of patience, of perseverance and of wisdom to magnify his calling.” How true that would be. Perhaps he relied on the message he heard from the Lord after praying when he received his call: “Thy strength is in me.”19

Perhaps you have wondered how and why the Lord has given you a particular assignment. Sometimes you feel overwhelmed by the challenges you see. The rest of this revelation gave specific instructions to Bishop Whitney on matters that were particular to that time and place. He sought for them and heeded them because he didn’t know how to go forward. The Lord has given and will give instruction and direction for the good of the Church—both to leaders and to members who need it. All of us may feel at times like Newel K. Whitney—poor and in need—but it is in those conditions that we can more clearly hear the Lord’s directions, leading us to the good we desire. —DB

Your favorite scripture in Section 72

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