The lessons for this week cover three revelations produced by Smith between 11 September and 30 October 1831. Unfortunately, the lessons provide almost zero historical background for these revelations, so we will attempt to fill in some of those gaps.
Reigning in the Rebellious
Joseph Smith had returned from his visit to Missouri on 27 August 1831. As we’ve detailed in previous lessons (1, 2, 3), this excursion to Missouri (i.e. Zion) was not exactly a faith-promoting experience for many, and Joseph was having to deal with the fallout amidst spreading disaffection among the members in Kirtland. Ezra Booth and Isaac Morley had returned on 1 September and Booth did not delay in making his concerns known. On 6 September, Ezra Booth was formally “silenced” from preaching in the church. Booth reported that he “had several interviews with Messrs. [Joseph] Smith, [Sidney] Rigdon and [Oliver] Cowdrey” to discuss his belief that Mormonism was “nothing else than a deeply laid plan of craft and deception.” It is probable that one such interview may have taken place earlier that same morning, as the conference that revoked his preaching license was held in the town where he resided. Booth was not the only member to be censured in this manner; five days prior, Edson Fuller and William Carter had their preaching licenses revoked, apparently for refusing to preach the Book of Mormon or travel to Missouri.
Five days after formally censuring Ezra Booth, Joseph produced the revelation that would later become Doctrine and Covenants § 64. To contextualize this revelation, the Joseph Smith Papers explain:
Although the Missouri trip involved the identification of the site for the city of Zion and the dedication of land for the construction of a temple, it generated disappointment and disillusionment for some. Despite high expectations, Oliver Cowdery and his companions had been unsuccessful in their attempts to preach to the American Indians, or “Lamanites,” west of the Missouri border. Their subsequent efforts among the white population of Jackson County, Missouri, yielded little success. Disappointment also stemmed from the designation of Independence, a rough frontier village, as the “centre place” for the city of Zion. Ezra Booth, one of the elders called to travel to Missouri in the summer of 1831, also expressed disillusionment with Joseph Smith himself. Joseph Smith Papers, Revelation, 11 September 1831 [D&C 64], Historical Introduction
The revelation specifically addressed the complaints against Smith vocalized by Ezra Booth, Isaac Morley, and Edward Partridge, relating to Smith’s behavior as a prophet and the perceived failure of the Missouri mission. The revelation promised that “the keys of the mysteries of the kingdom shall not be taken from my Servant Joseph while he liveth” and warned that “there are those who have sought occasion against him without a cause.” It went on to admit that Smith “hath sinned; but verily I say unto you, I, the Lord, forgiveth sins unto those who confess their sins before me and ask forgiveness.” The revelation then proceeded to give counsel to those criticizing Smith:
8 My disciples, in days of old, sought occasion against one another and forgave not one another in their hearts; and for this evil they were afflicted and sorely chastened. 9 Wherefore, I say unto you, that ye ought to forgive one another; for he that forgiveth not his brother his trespasses standeth condemned before the Lord; for there remaineth in him the greater sin. 10 I, the Lord, will forgive whom I will forgive, but of you it is required to forgive all men. 15 Behold, I, the Lord, was angry with him who was my servant Ezra Booth, and also my servant Isaac Morley, for they kept not the law, neither the commandment; 16 They sought evil in their hearts, and I, the Lord, withheld my Spirit. They condemned for evil that thing in which there was no evil; nevertheless I have forgiven my servant Isaac Morley. 17 And also my servant Edward Partridge, behold, he hath sinned, and Satan seeketh to destroy his soul; but when these things are made known unto them, and they repent of the evil, they shall be forgiven. Doctrine and Covenants § 64:8–10; 15–17, emphasis my own.
After calling Booth, Morley, and Partridge to repentance, the revelation went on to address the affairs of the church as relating to the colonizing of Zion. Among such business was to justify why a previous revelation (D&C § 63) had directed Titus Billings to sell Isaac Morley’s 80-acre farm—so that Morley “may not be tempted above that which he is able to bear, and counsel wrongfully to [his] hurt.” As the Joseph Smith Papers explain: “the earlier revelation had told Titus Billings, Morley’s brother-in-law (to whom Morley had given power of attorney in June), to ‘dispose of the land’ and send the resulting money ‘unto the land of Zion unto them whom I have appointed to receive.'” Morley was to move to Missouri and assist Bishop Partridge with the colonizing of Zion, and the sale of his farm would both help finance this effort and decrease the likelihood that Morley might succumb to his misgivings, as Leman Copley had done.
The revelation additionally gave instructions for how funds would be raised among the members in Kirtland to finance the colonization project, overseen by Sidney Gilbert and Newell K. Whitney as the church’s agents. Among the counsel given regarding how these men were to conduct the Lord’s business is the following:
28 But behold, it is not said at any time that the Lord should not take when he please, and pay as seemeth him good. 29 Wherefore, as ye are agents, ye are on the Lord’s errand; and whatever ye do according to the will of the Lord is the Lord’s business. Doctrine and Covenants § 64:28–29
The implications of these passages verses are profound and arguably continue to serve as a guiding principle for how the church manages its business affairs today, be it ecclesiastical, financial, or political. The church makes no distinction between the spiritual and the temporal regarding what it perceives as its role in establishing the Kingdom of God in preparation for the Second Coming of Christ. Regarding the building of that kingdom, the revelation culminates in promises of blessings for the willingly obedient in Zion, juxtaposed with the casting off and cursing of the rebellious:
33 Wherefore, be not weary in well-doing, for ye are laying the foundation of a great work. And out of small things proceedeth that which is great. 34 Behold, the Lord requireth the heart and a willing mind; and the willing and obedient shall eat the good of the land of Zion in these last days. 35 And the rebellious shall be cut off out of the land of Zion, and shall be sent away, and shall not inherit the land. 36 For, verily I say that the rebellious are not of the blood of Ephraim, wherefore they shall be plucked out. Doctrine and Covenants § 64:33–36
In short, the obedient who murmur not will be rewarded with an inheritance in Zion, but those who rebel against the church (i.e. Smith) will be cut off, cast out, and lose their inheritance in Zion. Considering that members were compelled to donate all their properties to the church by accepting the Law of Consecration, and that everything they possessed would be forfeit if they left or were cast out of the church, one can readily see how there were coercive pressures that motivated allegiance to Smith and unwavering loyalty to the church.
Managing the Hierarchy
The day after the revelation was produced, Smith convened another conference to formally silence George Miller, John Woodward, and Benjamin Bragg by revoking their preaching licenses. The nature of their offenses is not documented, but it appears to be related to the “falling away” that had transpired in Smith’s absence while travelling to Missouri. On 11 October 1831, Smith convened another meeting to address pressing needs in the Kirtland church. Among these was the raising of funds to support Smith and Rigdon in their efforts to revise the Bible. Six elders were to be appointed “to visit the several branches of this church” and to “make known the situation of [brothers] Joseph Smith Jr and Sidney Rigdon.” As recorded by Reynolds Cahoon, who was among the first of those appointed to the task, the purpose was “to obtain money or Property for Brs Joseph & O[t]hers to finish the translation.” Additionally, a date and place was selected for the next general conference of the church.
That general conference took place on 25–26 October 1831 in Orange, Ohio. Among the significant events of this conference was the preaching and sharing of testimonies of their commitment to the Law of Consecration and of the truthfulness of The Book of Mormon. Hyrum Smith suggested that “he thought best that the information of the coming forth of the book of Mormon be related by Joseph himself to the Elders present that all might know for themselves.” To this, Joseph replied “that it was not intended to tell the world all the particulars of the coming forth of the book of Mormon, & also said that it was not expedient for him to relate these things.” This highlights just how little the early members knew about the circumstances of how Smith produced The Book of Mormon, which the Joseph Smith Papers further explain:
To this point, Joseph Smith apparently had not written a history of the production of the Book of Mormon. In April 1834, he provided “a relation of obtaining and translating the Book of Mormon” to a conference in Norton, Ohio, though the conference minutes do not provide any other information about what he said. An account was finally published in 1842, but it gave few details. Joseph Smith Papers, Minutes, 25–26 October 1831, note 21
Smith again addressed the need to raise funds to support the Bible “translation” project. Smith taught “that the greatest blessings which God had to bestow should be given to those who contributed to the support of his family while translating the fulness of the Scriptures.” Further, Smith claimed that “God had often sealed up the heavens because of covetousness in the Church” and that “the Lord would cut his work short in righteousness and except the church receive the fulness of the Scriptures that they would yet fall.”
In short, the members would be blessed with immeasurable blessings if they supported Smith financially in revising the Bible, but that the church would fall and the heavens would close if the members coveted their own wealth more than the “fullness of the scriptures.” As such, the selection of elders was finalized regarding who would serve fund-raising missions among the branches of the church, to “obtain whatever they should feel free to give for the support of the families of Bro. Joseph and his scribes, while they are employed in translating, writing and copying the fulness of the Sacred Scriptures.”
Smith also discussed the power and authority of the high priesthood, which had been introduced to the church for the first time in June 1831. It is clear that an understanding of how this priesthood operated was still being developed, but Smith and Rigdon took the occasion to emphasize that those ordained to the high priesthood had superior authority than those without. Notably, ordination to the high priesthood was reserved for only the most committed of men—particularly when it came to the Law of Consecration:
According to the minutes, Joseph Smith and Rigdon viewed those elders holding the high priesthood as having powers that other elders did not have. The minutes suggest that willingness to relinquish all to God may have been a requirement to obtain the high priesthood and its power “to seal up the Saints unto eternal life.” Accordingly, some participants in the 25–26 October conference made or renewed a covenant to consecrate all to God. Nearly all who did so had been previously ordained to the high priesthood or were ordained at the conference. Joseph Smith Papers, Minutes, 25–26 October 1831, Historical Introduction
Inspirational Genericism
A few days after the general conference, Joseph Smith produced two revelations on 29–30 October 1831. The first of these was addressed to William E. McLellin, a recent convert who had met Joseph for the first time at the conference a few days earlier. McLellin would later become of the first members of the Quorum of Twelve Apostles, and would eventually become disaffected from the faith and an ardent critic of the Latter-day Saints. However, in October 1831, McLellin was a curious and excited supporter of Smith and fully-committed devotee of Mormonism. The revelation that now comprises D&C § 66 was produced by Smith at McLellin’s request. In an 1848 recollection, McLellin wrote that he had privately petitioned the Lord “to reveal the answer to five questions through his Prophet,” and that McLellin wrote the words of the revelation as they were dictated by Smith. While we do not know what McLellin’s questions were, he reported that Smith’s responses addressed his concerns “to my full and entire satisfaction.”
The content of the revelation is relatively generic. McLellin is congratulated for accepting the everlasting covenant of the gospel and is pronounced “clean, but not all.” He is then counselled to repent of those sins that the Lord would make known to him, and is called to serve as a missionary for the church in the East. Specifically, he is commanded to “go not up unto the land of Zion as yet; but inasmuch as you can send, send; otherwise, think not of thy property.” McLellin’s mission companion was to be Joseph Smith’s ever-loyal younger brother, Samuel. Apart from otherwise generic encouragements to share the gospel, promises of glory for faithfulness, and cautions to avoid evil, only one line stands out as particularly personal: “Commit not adultery—a temptation with which thou hast been troubled.” Regarding this, The Joseph Smith Papers relates: “Exactly how McLellin had been tempted with adultery is unclear. His wife, Cynthia Ann, whom he married in 1829, had died recently, leaving McLellin to experience “many lonesome & sorrowful hours.”
The revelation produced the following day (D&C § 65) is even shorter and more general in theme. McLellin may have also been present for this revelation and wrote that it was related to the portion of the Lord’s Prayer regarding “thy kingdom come” as recorded in Matthew 6, though Smith had ‘translated’ this section of the Bible as much as six months prior. Regardless, the gist of the revelation is that “the keys of the kingdom of God are committed unto man on the earth” so that the church may roll forth to fill the entirety of the Earth, in preparation for the return of Jesus Christ. The members are encouraged to pray eagerly for and participate in the commencement of this work of preparation.
Translation to the Present
Now that we’re caught up on the historical context of the sections of the Doctrine and Covenants that serve as the basis for this week’s lessons, let’s take a look at what themes the Come, Follow Me manuals emphasize and how they draw from these revelations to guide members today in receiving the message church leaders wish to convey. The major themes that the manuals emphasize are 1) the need to forgive others in order to obtain forgiveness ourselves, 2) the need to offer an obediently willing heart and mind to the church, and 3) the members’ role in preparing the world for the Second Coming of Christ.
Forgiveness For Thee, in Exchange For Me
The most prominent message of the lessons this week is a discussion on forgiveness—specifically the need to forgive others. Despite the historical context of these passages, I find the general message presented by the Come, Follow Me manuals to be quite good. By and large, the manuals focus on the personal healing that can come from letting go of anger, resentment, woundedness, offense, or hate. I think most people would agree that the act of forgiving others can be extremely liberating and an important step in personal growth and healing. The lesson manuals focus on this message and deliver it powerfully. That said, there are also elements of this discussion that get used in a harmful way, which I want to highlight as well. I want to attempt to honor both—the beautiful and the problematic.
As I mentioned earlier, the lessons emphasize the message that forgiveness allows us to let go of pains that can hinder our growth or otherwise impair our healing when someone has done something to wrong us. The Sunday School manual includes the above video among its suggested resources, and I imagine it will be shared by many teachers because of its dramatic message. The video talks about a man whose family members were killed in a car accident with a teenage drunk driver. It relates his impulse to forgive the teenager responsible and to offer him compassion, even in the midst of his own intense anguish and grief. It truly is a beautiful message and powerful story, and it highlights the way that offering forgiveness can open us to healing and growth. This message of “letting go” through forgiveness is repeated in the lesson manuals, generally in a positive way.
Jesus Christ asks me to forgive others. What object lessons or activities can you think of that would help the children understand what it means to forgive? As you discuss forgiveness, remind the children that forgiving does not mean allowing others to hurt us. Read Doctrine and Covenants 64:10 slowly to the children, and have them shake hands with another child when they hear the word “forgive.” Share your testimony of the peace and happiness that come when we forgive others. The Lord wants me to forgive everyone. As these verses show, even disciples of Jesus Christ sometimes have trouble forgiving one another. Consider how you will help the children understand the Lord’s command “to forgive all.” (Clarify that forgiving does not mean allowing people to hurt us; they should always tell a trusted adult if someone hurts them.) Think of an analogy that might help the children understand how we are “afflicted” when we don’t forgive (verse 8). For example, show the children a bag of mud or dirt; ask them to imagine that someone threw mud on them. How might failing to forgive be like saving the mud and always carrying it with us? Why would it be better to throw the mud away? Help the children think of other analogies that teach why it is important to forgive. Come, Follow Me — Primary Manual, 20 June 2021, emphasis my own.
I really appreciate how the Primary manual explicitly reminds teachers to make sure the children understand that forgiveness does not mean allowing someone to continue hurting us. This is an important message, especially for children, but it could use inclusion in the adult lessons as well. Often, abusers will use the principle of forgiveness as a means of escaping accountability or as a way of gaslighting others into remaining in an unhealthy and abusive relationship. Recognizing that this is a distortion of the principle of forgiveness is important. Honestly, I wish the manuals would devote more time to this important discussion than two passing instructions to Primary teachers, but I’m also thankful that they included that much.
That said, the Primary manual also reinforces the message that “the Lord wants me to forgive everyone.” It punctuates this with how “even disciples of Christ sometimes have trouble forgiving one another,” but we must “forgive all.” While these messages are tempered in the Primary manual with emphasis on not allowing others to continue harming us, the message reinforcing the necessity to forgive everyone is repeated in the other manuals without such caveats. Emphasizing the need to forgive others even when it is difficult can be used in both positive and harmful ways. While it is true that letting go, through forgiveness, of the pain that others have inflicted upon us can be challenging but important for our healing and growth, there is also a danger in pressuring someone to forgive another before they are emotionally ready. Doing so can compound the trauma experienced by the individual when what they need is compassion, time, and space. Moreover, it can be used in ways to make the individual more vulnerable to abuse.
Finally, the example analogy suggested in the Primary manual is also a mixed bag. On the one hand, helping children understand that holding onto their pain and grief, or cataloging all the offenses that others have made against us for later use, is not conducive to personal healing and growth. On the other hand, this analogy gets awfully close to the “choosing to be offended” rhetoric that the church employs against those who leave in an effort to dismiss the validity of their experience and characterize them as bitter and petty—whatever their actual reasons for disaffection. This is one of the ways the church uses the story of Ezra Booth.
We are required to forgive everyone. Maybe class members would benefit from talking about why forgiving others can be so difficult—and how they’ve overcome those difficulties. They could search Doctrine and Covenants 64:1–11 for principles and truths that inspire them to be more forgiving. What do we learn about the Savior from these verses? Come, Follow Me — Sunday School Manual, 20 June 2021, emphasis my own.
I am required to forgive everyone. As you read Doctrine and Covenants 64:1–11, think about a time when the Lord forgave you. You might also think about someone you need to forgive. How does the Savior’s compassion affect your feelings about yourself and about others? Why do you think the Lord commands us “to forgive all”? (verse 10). If you struggle to forgive, consider what the following resources teach about how the Savior can help: Jeffrey R. Holland, “The Ministry of Reconciliation,” Ensign or Liahona, Nov. 2018, 77–79; Guide to the Scriptures, “Forgive.” Family relationships provide many opportunities to learn to forgive. Maybe family members could talk about how forgiving each other has blessed your family. How has the Savior helped us forgive each other? How are we “afflicted” (verse 8) when we don’t forgive others? Come, Follow Me — Individuals and Families Manual, 20 June 2021, emphasis my own.
The manuals for the Sunday School and for Individuals and Families carry many of the same messages as those highlighted above, for better or for worse. They both emphasize the necessity to forgive everyone—even if its particularly difficult—and also highlight the healing potential of letting go. The Individuals and Families manual introduces an additional message that could also be beneficial or problematic, depending on the family dynamic of the members receiving it. Specifically, it highlights that “family relationships provide many opportunities to forgive” and encourages members to ponder on how forgiving their family members has blessed them. In a healthy and loving family environment, this message is beneficial in how it highlights the ways that offering grace to one another helps loving relationships to flourish. However, in a toxic or abusive family environment, this messaging may contribute to the gaslighting the victims of physical, sexual, or psychological abuse experience by suggesting that the family is the primary setting where they need to offer forgiveness. Devoid a discussion around the caveats included in the Primary manual, this message could do considerable harm.
One more thing bears mentioning regarding the church’s preaching on forgiveness. Abusers often demand forgiveness without accepting accountability. We see this time and again when the abuses perpetrated by powerful people are exposed before the public. The perpetrator will often make a show of deep remorse and displaying penitence, while hoping to be absolved from facing further consequences or accepting accountability for their actions. We see institutions do this as well—the LDS church being no exception. However, the church often takes no responsibility for the harm it has done, opting instead to scapegoat individuals while avoiding institutional accountability.
For instance, the church has never formally apologized for denying Black members access to the temple or priesthood ordination, or for long promoting racist doctrines supporting white supremacy. Instead, it shifts blame to specific individuals for those actions, and excuses them as just “speaking as men” who were “products of their time.” Since lifting the ban in 1978, the church has asked members to simply forgive and forget. Meanwhile, the legacy of the trauma inflicted by over 140 years of anti-Black teachings and policies, and the preservation of 19th century race theory in Mormon scripture, continues to harm members in the present. Likewise, the church avoids accountability for the harm perpetrated by the 2015 Policy of Exclusion against LGBTQ+ people and families, and asks members to merely accept the 2019 removal of that policy without even an apology. Members are expected to just forgive and forget. In this way, the LDS church weaponizes forgiveness as a means of avoiding institutional accountability, and blames members for the pain they endure by portraying it as self-inflicted by choosing to be offended in their prideful inability to forgive.
Preparing For the Second Advent
The second major theme from the lesson manuals regards the imminence of the Second Coming of Christ (i.e. Parousia) and the church’s role in preparing the world for Christ’s return. The lesson manuals draw from D&C § 65 and ask members to identify ways that they can participate in preparing the world (and themselves) for the Second Coming. Emphasis is placed on how the revelation predicts that “the gospel roll forth unto the ends of the earth” and must be preached “until it has filled the whole earth.” Likewise, members are encouraged to “make known his wonderful works among the people.” Finally, members are to accompany their efforts to spread the church and proselytize Mormonism with prayers “that his kingdom may go forth upon the earth, that the inhabitants thereof may receive it, and be prepared for the days to come, in the which the Son of Man shall come down […] to meet the kingdom of God which is set up on the earth.”
I can help prepare the world to receive Jesus Christ. The mission of the Church—God’s kingdom on earth—is to prepare the world for the return of the Savior. The children you teach are an important part of this mission. What can you do to help them participate? As a class or in pairs, read Doctrine and Covenants 65, and count how many times the word “prepare” is written. What is the Lord asking us to prepare for? What can we do to prepare ourselves and the earth? Give the children key words and phrases to find in Doctrine and Covenants 65 (such as “filled the whole earth” and “wonderful works”). What do these words and phrases teach us about the Second Coming and our role in preparing for it? Come, Follow Me — Primary Manual, 20 June 2021, emphasis my own.
Doctrine and Covenants 65 gives an inspiring description of the mission of the Lord’s Church in the latter days. To help class members see their part in this mission, you could invite them to search section 65 looking for answers to questions like these: What does the Lord want His kingdom to accomplish on the earth? What does He want me to do to help? Come, Follow Me — Sunday School Manual, 20 June 2021, emphasis my own.
The work of the “gathering of Israel” and the building up of the Kingdom of God (i.e. Zion), in preparation for the return of Jesus Christ, are central missions of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Since even the earliest days in New York and Ohio, the emphasis has been on the literal gathering of Israel through missionary work, and the settling of Zion—where the members of the church would shelter through the premillennialist tribulations of the apocalypse and welcome Jesus at the scene of the Second Advent. While modern Latter-day Saints don’t emphasize the need to gather in one place anymore, the belief that the church will one day be asked to gather in Missouri is alive and well. Likewise, early Mormons believed that the role of missionary work was to find the literal descendants of Israel scattered among the heathen nations, whose “believing blood” would prepare them to accept the gospel and join the church, or whose Gentile blood would be transubstantiated into Israelite blood upon confirmation. Similarly, this idea has fallen out of favor and is no longer emphasized, but modern Latter-day Saints still believe they are adopted into the House of Israel through conversion into the church.
Willing Hearts and Minds
The third and final theme I wish to highlight this week from the lesson materials is that of offering one’s “heart and mind” to the Lord and not becoming “weary in well-dong.” Inasmuch as the lesson manuals present this in the context of “building Zion,” these admonitions for eager obedience should be viewed as in the service of the church. Indeed, because the words of the Prophet are taught to be the words of the Lord, the distinction between obeying church leaders and obeying God is virtually non-existent. Therefore, the lessons encourage members to give their “heart and a willing mind” to the church, and not to become weary of the sacrifices they make in performing church service. When one considers the context in which these admonitions appear in D&C § 64—coercing the murmuring elders of the church into accepting what Joseph requires of them—it becomes apparent that this messaging hasn’t significantly changed in 190 years.
The Lord doesn’t want to us to be “weary”; however, it’s natural for people who are trying their best—including, perhaps, some in your class—to become “weary in well-doing.” Why does this weariness happen? What counsel do we find in Doctrine and Covenants 64:31–34 that could help us when we struggle with such feelings? Elder Donald L. Hallstrom suggested this possible meaning for the phrase “heart and a willing mind”: “The heart is symbolic of love and commitment. We make sacrifices and bear burdens for those we love that we would not endure for any other reason. If love does not exist, our commitment wanes. … “Having ‘a willing mind’ connotes giving our best effort and finest thinking and seeking God’s wisdom. It suggests that our most devoted lifetime study should be of things that are eternal in nature. It means that there must be an inextricable relationship between hearing the word of God and obeying it” (“The Heart and a Willing Mind,” Ensign, June 2011, 31–32). Come, Follow Me — Sunday School Manual, 20 June 2021, emphasis my own.
I can obey Jesus with my heart and mind. The Lord taught the Saints that to build Zion, they needed to give Him their hearts and willing minds. Consider how you will help the children begin to think about what this means for them. Read to the children from Doctrine and Covenants 64:34: “Behold, the Lord requireth the heart and a willing mind.” Repeat this phrase a few times, pointing to your heart and head as you read those words, and invite the children to do the same. How can we give our hearts and minds to the Savior? (It might help to explain that our heart refers to our feelings and love and our mind refers to our thoughts.) The Lord requires my “heart and a willing mind.” Building Zion—or helping the Church grow—is “a great work.” To accomplish it, the Lord requires us to offer Him our hearts and willing minds. Those who live in Zion are “of one heart and one mind” (Moses 7:18). Ask the children to complete an action that requires two objects, but give them only one (for example, writing on the chalkboard without chalk or cutting a piece of paper with no scissors). Invite the children to read Doctrine and Covenants 64:34 to find out what two things the Lord asks of us. Why do we need to give both our heart and mind to the Lord? How do we do this? Come, Follow Me — Primary Manual, 20 June 2021, emphasis my own.
I would like to consider the implications of the church asking members to offer their “hearts and willing minds” in devotion to the church. The lessons emphasize that giving one’s heart is to offer one’s affection in making sacrifices on behalf of the church. Offering one’s mind is to devote one’s thoughts to the church and offer “our best effort and finest thinking” in its service. Members are to enter an “inextricable relationship” of total devotion to the church through removing any barriers between “hearing the word of God [i.e. church leaders] and obeying it.” By each member yielding their thoughts and affections to the church, members can achieve the goal of becoming “of one heart and one mind.”
Who benefits from this messaging? What are the costs and who is paying them? What kind of relationship are members being taught to have with the church and is it a healthy one? Who wields the power in this relationship and what are the checks against abuse of that power? How are members of the church treated if they do not follow the counsel of these lessons?