Larger universally applicable principles from the Lord’s warning about the waters in D&C 61

13 And now, behold, for your good I gave unto you a commandment concerning these things; and I, the Lord, will reason with you as with men in days of old.

14 Behold, I, the Lord, in the beginning blessed the waters; but in the last days, by the mouth of my servant John, I cursed the waters.

15 Wherefore, the days will come that no flesh shall be safe upon the waters.

16 And it shall be said in days to come that none is able to go up to the land of Zion upon the waters, but he that is upright in heart.

17 And, as I, the Lord, in the beginning cursed the land, even so in the last days have I blessed it, in its time, for the use of my saints, that they may partake the fatness thereof.

18 And now I give unto you a commandment that what I say unto one I say unto all, that you shall forewarn your brethren concerning these waters, that they come not in journeying upon them, lest their faith fail and they are caught in snares;

19 I, the Lord, have decreed, and the destroyer rideth upon the face thereof, and I revoke not the decree.  (D&C 61:13-19)

These verses are associated with the experience that Joseph Smith and some of the other elders of the church had as they traveled on the Missouri river and had a dangerous time avoiding canoe turnover from underwater hazards and got in fights with each other over what happened.

 

These are really strange verses and sound very mystical and woo-woo. However, today when I was reading and pondering them, I realized they hold some larger principles that we can still use today.

 

Verse 14 and 17 talk about how some things were first blessed then later cursed, or first cursed then later blessed.  What this says to us is that sometimes things can start out good and then turn bad, or they can start out bad and then turn good.  

 

If we apply this today, this might be like if a travel method starts out as very safe and then over time becomes more dangerous and risky. If handcart travel across the plans started out easy, then became more and more dangerous because of weather or bandits or natural disasters, then that would follow the pattern of verse 14. If something starts out dangerous and then gradually becomes safer, then that falls into a pattern like verse 17.  So the message is that safety conditions can change over time for travel (or anything really) and it is important to notice when that transition happens and not continue to do something that is becoming more and more risky.

 

Verse 15 says the day would come when no flesh would be safe upon the waters.  At bottom this is a statement about RISK.  When something becomes so dangerous that no one is safe when doing it, then it is RISKY.  So we have to notice where risk occurs and it is wise to avoid unnecessary risk. Avoiding unnecessary risk when better alternatives exist is not stupid. It is not cowardly. It is wise.

 

“And it shall be said in days to come that none is able to go up to the land of Zion upon the waters, but he that is upright in heart.” – If the previous verse points out there is risk, then this verse tells us that when a certain method of travel becomes risky, the only protection is being righteous.  Why would this be?  Because someone who is righteous, if they have to do something risky, will be doing it only for a good reason when they have no other alternative, and they will learn about the risk, plan how to mitigate it, and be extremely careful, and also ask for the Lord’s protection. (The story of Thomas S. Monson sneaking the temple ceremony information into Soviet-controlled eastern Europe comes to mind here.)  The Lord sees that sort of activity as worthy of protection.  This is part of the principle that we don’t test the Lord’s blessings of protection unless we absolutely need them because there is no other alternative.

 

“And now I give unto you a commandment that what I say unto one I say unto all, that you shall forewarn your brethren concerning these waters, that they come not in journeying upon them, lest their faith fail and they are caught in snares” – The key phrase here is “forewarn your brethren.”  When you find out something is dangerous, you don’t keep that info to yourself; you tell others about it too so that they can stay safe. This is one reason why the missionary standards booklet (also known as the missionary white bible) has a section on unauthorized activities because these activities are risky and we want them to stay safe when doing the Lord’s work.

 

“the destroyer rideth upon the face thereof” – This is a very vivid phrase and it captures the imagination. Speculation abounds on what it means. I personally think it is simple. I think “the destroyer” simply means disease because at that time cholera a common deadly disease in river towns. It had to do with a lack of water sanitation and since no one knew germ theory at that time, it would be a long time before that sanitation problem would be fixed.  (Also remember the Word of Wisdom promised that those who follow the principles would be saved from the destroying angel, and we know that good nutrition does help prevent and moderate disease, so there are examples of that terminology being a reference to disease.)

 

Ultimately, the principles in these verses are widely applicable today.  We need to be alert to notice when good activities or travel means turn unsafe and avoid them to mitigate risk to ourselves and others. We need to warn people about danger and risk.

 

There’s a beautiful promise in verse 17 about the good travel methods and can be extrapolated to refer to good activities as well: “even so in the last days have I blessed it, in its time, for the use of my saints, that they may partake the fatness thereof.”   Good things (safe travel means, good activities) are for the Lord’s saints and we can enjoy it to its fullest extent and rejoice in it and feel grateful for it and recommend it and be creative with it and make it ours.

 

Just for fun, I’m going to rewrite the above verses to apply to social media and we will see how these principles can transfer.

13 And now, behold, for your good I gave unto you a commandment concerning these things; and I, the Lord, will reason with you as with men in days of old.

14 Behold, I, the Lord, in the beginning blessed social media; but in the last days, by the mouth of my servant John, I cursed social media.

15 Wherefore, the days will come that no flesh shall be safe looking at social media.

16 And it shall be said in days to come that none is able to be on social media but he that is upright in heart.

17 And, as I, the Lord, in the beginning cursed TV, even so in the last days have I blessed it, in its time, for the use of my saints, that they may partake the fatness thereof.

18 And now I give unto you a commandment that what I say unto one I say unto all, that you shall forewarn your brethren concerning social media, that they come not onto it, lest their faith fail and they are caught in snares;

19 I, the Lord, have decreed, and the destroyer rideth upon the face thereof, and I revoke not the decree.  (D&C 61:13-19)

Saying that TV used to be cursed but now is blessed seems like nonsense right now, but I did that in this example to show how it illustrates there is always the possibility that something that used to be harmful changes into something good.  Also, hopefully the modernized version gives you a sense of how these principles are more universally applicable than just one little journey of prophets and elders on a midwestern river in the 1830s.

Two Harvests in Revelation 14

14 And I looked, and behold a white cloud, and upon the cloud one sat like unto the Son of man, having on his head a golden crown, and in his hand a sharp sickle.

15 And another angel came out of the temple, crying with a loud voice to him that sat on the cloud, Thrust in thy sickle, and reap: for the time is come for thee to reap; for the harvest of the earth is ripe.

16 And he that sat on the cloud thrust in his sickle on the earth; and the earth was reaped.

17 And another angel came out of the temple which is in heaven, he also having a sharp sickle.

18 And another angel came out from the altar, which had power over fire; and cried with a loud cry to him that had the sharp sickle, saying, Thrust in thy sharp sickle, and gather the clusters of the vine of the earth; for her grapes are fully ripe.

19 And the angel thrust in his sickle into the earth, and gathered the vine of the earth, and cast it into the great winepress of the wrath of God.

20 And the winepress was trodden without the city, and blood came out of the winepress, even unto the horse bridles, by the space of a thousand and six hundred furlongs. (Revelation 14:14-20)

What we have here is a big gathering of two separate groups. We don’t know what the 1^st group is at first, but we are told the second group is gathered to be cast into the winepress of the wrath of God, so that tells us the grapes represent the wicked. So, the first group must be the righteous who are gathered together for safety. This is consistent with the message of Jesus’s parable of the wheat and the tares in which both the righteous and the wicked are allowed to mix and grow together until the end when the wheat (righteous) are gathered into the garner and the chaff (the wicked) remain to be burned.

It appears that at some point the Saints will need to physically gather for safety and security. I imagine the prophets will tell us when that time comes.

The message of Malachi 3 & 4 for us

It is interesting that Jesus gave the Nephites a recitation of Malachi 3-4 and not the first parts of Malachi as well. It makes me wonder. Did He give the other parts too and Mormon only included the parts he felt were most applicable to us, or did Jesus just give Malachi 3-4?

Regardless of this question, though, it is interesting to study the parts given and see how they apply to us.

The message seems to be about the importance of preparing for the second coming by repenting and purifying one’s self. Two particular issues are raised that need dealing with, which people aren’t aware, and which seem to underline the need for prophets and revelation. 

Problem #1 is the people don’t understand that withholding their tithing’s and offerings constitutes robbing God and brings a curse. The promise is reinterated that blessings are poured out on those who tithe.

Problem #2 is the people think serving God won’t get them anywhere. They think there is no profit in it because the wicked seem to be far more successful.  The problem with this is that it is an implicit rebuke of God Himself, asserting that His ways are less successful than the world’s. However, we are told that the righteous do not have this attitude, but they speak often to one another (to encourage each other to endure) and they fear the Lord (more than the world) and they think upon His name (instead of obsessing about worldly things). 

In the end, those who believe the Lord’s ways are best and who act in line with that belief will be vindicated because the difference will be obvious between the Lord’s ways and the world’s ways.  We are told the proud and wicked whom many thought were so happy and safe from difficulty will be burned up, whereas those who followed the Lord will be saved, healed, nourished, and at peace.

We get reminders about paying tithing from time to time, so the principle of tithing has higher awareness in the church. But how are our attitudes about the source of success and safety in life?