The Come, Follow Me lessons this week cover Doctrine and Covenants § 46–48. We’ll take a look at what Joseph Smith was responding to when he produced these revelations, before commenting on the rhetorical messaging contained in the lessons themselves. This week will be heavier on history and lighter on lesson commentary, because it also sets up discussion for next week’s lessons. Much of what I detail below will be drawn from Mark Lyman Staker’s excellent book, Hearken, O Ye People: The Historical Settings of Joseph Smith’s Ohio Revelations, available here. I also highly recommend this relevant episode of the Sunstone History Podcast. Also consider this article in the church’s own Revelations in Context manual, included among the lesson resources.

This week, we’ll let the lesson introduction in the Come, Follow Me manual for Individuals and Families set the stage for our discussion:

As Parley P. Pratt, Oliver Cowdery, Ziba Peterson, and Peter Whitmer Jr. left Kirtland and moved on to other fields of labor, they left over one hundred converts who had plenty of zeal but little experience or direction. There were no instructional handbooks, no leadership training meetings, no broadcasts of general conference—in fact, there weren’t even very many copies of the Book of Mormon to go around. Many of these new believers had been drawn to the restored gospel by the promise of marvelous manifestations of the Spirit, especially those they knew about from studying the New Testament (see, for example, 1 Corinthians 12:1–11). Soon, some unusual expressions of worship—including falling to the ground or writhing like a snake—were introduced into their Church meetings. Many found it hard to discern which manifestations were of the Spirit and which were not. Seeing the confusion, Joseph Smith prayed for help. The Lord’s answer is equally valuable today, when people often reject or ignore the things of the Spirit. The Lord revealed that spiritual manifestations are real and clarified what they are—gifts from a loving Heavenly Father, “given for the benefit of those who love [Him] and keep all [His] commandments” (Doctrine and Covenants 46:9).

Come, Follow Me — Individuals and Families Manual, 9 May 2021, emphasis my own.

Joseph Smith Tries Ecstasy

Joseph Smith came to maturity in the heart of the Second Great Awakening in the “burned-over district” of New York. The region earned this name on account of the intense religious fervor that became associated with the area, especially the frequent camp meeting revivals that often featured ecstatic expressions of being “overcome with the power of God.” Therefore, as a youth and young adult, Joseph Smith would have been familiar with the scenes of men and women being “overcome with the power” at revival meetings, including scenes of men and women falling prostrate on the ground, convulsing, losing the ability to speak, or reporting having marvelous visions of Divine beings. Likewise, his parents and siblings, his wife Emma, and his acquaintances who later joined the church, would all have some familiarly with similar displays of religious fervor. As faithful LDS historian Mark Lyman Staker relates regarding Emma Hale’s religious background:

When George Peck, a Methodist circuit rider, visited the Susquehanna District, he found in Emma's community "such weeping and shouting [as] I have seldom heard or witnessed." A Hale neighbor claimed that, when Emma was young, "she often got the power" as did most of those with sincere religious feelings in the area.

Residents in Susquehanna County frequently retired to the woods to seek inspiration. One ostentatiously irreligious local hunter found this practice disruptive and complained "that they frightened the deer away and that he came upon people praying everywhere" as he tried to hunt in the forest. Emma was apparently among those who went to the woods to pray. Some of her family much later recalled that her own father, an avid hunter, finally became converted to his family's faith by overhearing young Emma's prayers on his behalf when he came across her while hunting in the woods.

Hearken, O Ye People: The Historical Settings of Joseph Smith's Ohio Revelations, p. 126–127.

We know that Joseph was familiar with the religious revivals in his area because he says so himself in his own history. Joseph relates that he and his family attended some of these revivals, with some of his family joining the Presbyterians. For himself, he was particular to the Methodists. His brother William related that at one such revival, “Rev. Mr. Lane of the Methodists preached a sermon on ‘What church shall I join?’ And the burden of his discourse was to ask God, using as a text, ‘If any man lack wisdom let him ask of God who giveth to all men liberally.’ And of course when Joseph went home and was looking over the text he was impressed to do just what the preacher had said.” Joseph later related that this passage of scripture was the catalyst that prompted him to retire to the forest and petition God in prayer, resulting in a theophanic experience that shares many features with those reported by others in his time and place, as well as features of the ecstatic experiences he likely witnessed at revival meetings. Mark Staker further explains:

Shouting Methodists and other religious enthusiasts expected that "the power," meaning the power of God or the Holy Spirit, would come as they prayed, causing them to fall to the ground, binding their tongues, making it impossible to speak, and sometimes accompanying these manifestations with jerks and trembling. When Kirtland residents a decade later talked about "the power," they experienced exactly these kinds of religious phenomena. Joseph Smith also experienced everything his cultural environment led him to expect. No sooner did he kneel and begin to offer up the desires of his heart to God, than he was "seized upon by some power." It was "the power of some actual being from the unseen world who had such a marvelous power as I had never before felt." His consistent description of this force as a "power" used a word and described effects familiar to shouting Methodists since it "entirely overcame" him in such a way that it could "bind" his tongue. ...

Joseph Smith's experience began much like that of many other worshipers who went to the woods to pray. However, it changed dramatically when he rejected the experience that so many others prayed fervently to have. He viewed the experience not as a divine manifestation but an experience from "the enemy."

Hearken, O Ye People: The Historical Settings of Joseph Smith's Ohio Revelations, p. 135–136.

Joseph’s personal familiarity with ecstatic experiences in the New York revival setting would have prepared him to accept such things as not unusual when he encountered them in Kirtland years later. However, the manner in which he interpreted his own experience would also influence how he viewed similar experiences among the Kirtland Mormons. Of course, it is difficult to know how Joseph actually interpreted his own encounters with “the power” as a youth, because the most detailed accounts we have of it were written much later and are likely colored by his experiences in Kirtland. Therefore, whether Joseph interpreted displays of religious ecstasy among the early membership with acceptance or suspicion is difficult to determine, as the revelations he later produced on the subject seemed to both condone and condemn the various types forms of ecstatic expression happening at the time.

Raving with Religious Ecstasy in Kirtland

Shortly after the Mormon missionaries left Kirtland, the converts in Ohio began engaging in ecstatic expressions of intense religious enthusiasm that caught the attention of their neighbors. The Mormonites would frequently meet together in worship services that would extend late into the night and would feature all kinds of ecstatic expression—most of which were common to other movements during the Second Great Awakening. Yet, this religious ecstasy was apparently intense and frequent enough that they quickly became a prominent hallmark of Mormonism among outsiders in Ohio. Indeed, for Restorationists who were seeking for the Pentecostal manifestations of the Holy Ghost as a part of the “Restoration of the Ancient Order of Things,” the scenes of ecstasy within the Mormon community was probably a draw. As Samuel Underhill, the leader of the Owenite community in Kendal, explained:

You wonder at the success of the New System of the Mormonites! I wonder not at all. It is all explained in a few words! ... Let me ask you, did you never feel in a religious meeting an unexpected mighty solemn feeling, a kind of vivid flame glowing in every part of your frame? Did it never make you tremble, like an aspen leaf at such a time? Have you never heard the involuntary sigh at such a season? Have you not felt it rest on an assembly like a spell? Have you not witnessed the thrilling shriek? The convulsive sobs? The broken words? Have you not seen the prostrate fallen helpless, motionless? Have you in short felt nothing of any of these sensations? Then indeed you cannot understand me, cannot know the mysteries of Mormonism. ... Had you felt what I have felt and seen what I have, you need only to be told that these feelings are extensively witnessed among the Mormonites & there as everywhere supposed to be the owning and wonder-working display of supernatural power and the wonder is all solved and the progress of Mormonism is no longer a mystery.

Samuel Underhill, "Chronicles, Notes, and Maxims," no date. Punctuation added.
Hearken, O Ye People: The Historical Settings of Joseph Smith's Ohio Revelations, p. 62.

A common feature of the religious enthusiasm displayed by the Kirtland Mormons was thematic content that centered on the conversion of the Lamanites, who they understood to be Indigenous peoples in America. This sometimes included acting out racist stereotypical caricatures of Indigenous culture that portrayed them as an uncivilized and bloodthirsty people. The fascination with the Mormonization of Indigenous people was clearly a product of narratives in the Book of Mormon that predicted their conversion preceding the second advent of Christ. Indeed, this conversion was the primary objective of the missionaries that had brought Mormonism to Kirtland to begin with. Thus, common among the scenes of religious ecstasy were Mormons pretending to preach to large congregations of Lamanites, speaking in imagined Indigenous dialects, pantomiming their baptisms, or acting out caricatures of Indigenous behavior. What follows are several accounts of such scenes as detailed in Mark Lyman Staker’s excellent scholarship:

The service required several bottles of wine and a number of loaves of bread because each worshiper was encouraged to eat and drink his fill during the sacrament. After the preaching and the members-only sacramental meal, the ecstatic stage of the meeting began. This portion of the service often involved being moved upon by the Holy Spirit to fall motionless or roll on the floor. Sometimes the recipient would become rapt in vision. These visions often centered on the Indians that were then the focus of the New York missionaries' distant labors. Members would "daily see [the missionaries in Missouri], in visions, baptizing whole tribes."

These imaginative and ecstatic events occurred in the absence of actual experience with Native Americans. ... According to Howe, "They would exhibit all the apish actions imaginable, making the most ridiculous grimaces, creeping upon their hands and feet, rolling upon the frozen ground, go through with all the Indian modes of warfare, such as knocking down, scalping, ripping open and tearing out the bowels. At other times, they would run through the fields, get upon stumps, preach to imaginary congregations, enter the water and perform all the ceremony of baptizing, &c."

Interest in Indian culture increased as local ecstatic experiences began to include elements of glossolalia. "Many would have fits of speaking all the different Indian dialects, which none could understand," recalled Howe.

Hearken, O Ye People: The Historical Settings of Joseph Smith's Ohio Revelations, p. 82.

Soon the miraculous power of the Spirit ... seemingly began to be manifest. Attempts were made to heal the sick, to give sight to the blind, to restore strength to the limbs of cripples, and to raise the dead; but all failed. I personally witnessed some of these attempts ... they claimed to have the gift of tongues and talked with all sorts of gibberish. They claimed to have a special mission to the Indians, and they went through all sorts of Indian performances, some of them not very natural. I have seen them, in pantomime, tomahawk and scalp each other, and rip open the bowels and tear out the entrails. At one meeting at which I was present, three of them, one a Negro, were impelled by the Spirit to go out and preach to the Indians. They left the meeting house on the run, went up a steep hillside, mounted stumps, and began holding forth in gibberish to an imaginary audience. This was of common occurrence and night was frequently made hideous by their unearthly screams and yells.

Jesse Moss, "Autobiography of a Pioneer Preacher," January 16, 1938, p. 10.
Hearken, O Ye People: The Historical Settings of Joseph Smith's Ohio Revelations, p. 83.

In the midst of this delirium they would, at times, fancy themselves addressing a congregation of their red brethren; mounted on a stump, or the fence, or from some elevated situation, would harangue their assembly until they had convinced or converted them. They would then lead them into the water, and baptize them, and pronounce their sins forgiven. In this exercise, some of them actually went into the water; and in the water, performed the ceremony used in baptizing. These actors assumed the visage of the savage, and so nearly imitated him, not only in language, but in gesture and actions, that it seemed the soul and body were completely metamorphosed into the Indian. No doubt was then entertained but that was an extraordinary work of the Lord, designed to prepare those young men for the Indian mission; and many who are still leaders of the church, could say, "we know by the spirit that it is the work of the Lord."

Ezra Booth, quoted in Howe, Mormonism Unvailed, p 184.
Hearken, O Ye People: The Historical Settings of Joseph Smith's Ohio Revelations, p. 90–91, n. 74.

Men and women would also stand on their seats to reach up to an unseen tree from which they picked "ambrosial fruit and would pretend to eat it." ... It seems likely that [this] was homage to the Book of Mormon where, during a vision received by both the prophet Lehi and his prophet-son Nephi, the faithful picked similar delicious, white fruit from the tree of life and ate it. Others "would fancy to themselves that they had the sword of Laban, and would wield it as expert as a light dragoon" or lose their strength during meetings and fall prostrate on the floor or writhe about on the ground like a serpent which they called "sailing in the boat to the Lamanites." ...

Others traveled in vision and were "carried away in the spirit to the Lamanites, the natives of this country, which are our Western Indians ... they say that they can see the Indians on the banks of the streams at the West waiting to be baptized; and they can hear them sing and see them perform many of the Indian manoeuvres, which they try to imitate in various ways."

Hearken, O Ye People: The Historical Settings of Joseph Smith's Ohio Revelations, p. 85.

There is a lot in these accounts to unpack. The situation of predominantly white settlers acting out Indigenous behavior and pantomiming their mass conversion to Mormonism is a weird blend of Indigenous minstrelsy, cultural appropriation, and colonization. Mormons have from the beginning had a troublesome relationship with Indigenous culture rooted in the belief that Indigenous peoples hold to a false tradition of their own history, and that they are instead the descendants of scattered Israel. This is an insulting colonization of Indigenous culture with an appropriation of Jewish culture, at the hands of white Americans. It should be noted that these ideas were not unique to Mormons at the time, but Mormons have uniquely sacralized these ideas in their scripture and made it a central part of their eschatology. While most white Protestants have since abandoned the idea that Indigenous peoples in America are Israelite descendants, Mormons continued to promote these ideas such that they persist into the present day—though DNA evidence has forced the church to dial back how emphatically they make these statements.

Subduing the Pentecost

Not everyone approved of the spirit of religious ecstasy that was running rampant among the Kirtland Mormons. Indeed, across the Second Great Awakening more broadly, a tension existed between those who viewed ecstatic experiences as true spiritual manifestations, and those who saw them as signs of unbridled religious fervor or even the works of the devil. This was also the case among the Mormon community in Kirtland. As participation in ecstatic experience became more and more common—primarily among younger Mormons in Kirtland—others became increasing concerned about the nature of these experiences and voiced their complaints. Parley P. Pratt, who had been a Campbellite preacher before he encountered the Book of Mormon, recorded in March 1831: “All these things were new and strange to me, and had originated in the Church during our absence, and previous to the arrival of President Joseph Smith from New York.” John Corrill related that these ecstatic expressions “tried the feelings of the more sound minded” and observed that “the more substantial minded looked upon it with astonishment, and were suspicious that it was from an evil source.”

When Joseph Smith arrived in Kirtland on 4 February 1831, he was immediately faced with the challenge of how to interpret this religious enthusiasm among the new converts—which at times posed challenges to his own charismatic authority. In those first weeks, Joseph was called upon to cast out evil spirits and perform other interventive services in the context of the ecstatic experiences of the Kirtland church. However, Joseph did not seem to share the same degree of concern over the nature of these experiences as did some of the other Kirtland members. Yet, Joseph also recognized that unbridled charismata posed a threat to the church and to his own position as its leader—so he began to use his authority to put limits on what would be considered acceptable expression of spiritual experience within the body of the church. In early March 1831, Joseph produced a series of revelations that addressed the religious enthusiasm among the Kirtland Mormons. As Mark Lyman Staker explains:

Much of the information in the March 7–8 revelations focused on the gifts of the Spirit. Significantly among the first "given by the Holy Ghost" was the gift "to know the diversities of operations, whether they be of God." In addition, the revelation emphasized: "the bishop ... [and] elders unto the church, are to have it given unto them to discern all those gifts lest there shall be any among you professing and yet be not of God" (D&C 46:27). This response allowed for flexibility and required sensitivity in understanding the relationship between behavior and religious experience and acknowledged that not every spiritual manifestation was a gift from God. Thus there was a way given to discern which behavior was appropriate and individuals designated to make such determinations.

The revelations reaffirmed that is was appropriate to seek the spiritual gifts identified in the Book of Mormon (Moroni 10:8–30). Performing miracles, speaking in tongues, and interpreting tongues were all included among the gifts of the Spirit. Ecstatic experiences in which a woman was not "clothed in her right mind," rolled about on the floor, or collapsed in a trance state were not included as gifts, but were not censured either—leaving it to individuals to determine their role in religious worship.

Hearken, O Ye People: The Historical Settings of Joseph Smith's Ohio Revelations, p. 137.

These revelations provided enough ambiguity in instruction that ecstatic expressions continued to flourish among the Kirtland membership—much to the consternation of others within the church. This despite efforts to curtail some of ecstatic excess by discontinuing nighttime services and the practice of prohibiting nonmembers from attending sacrament services—conditions that had previously been associated with some of the most intense expressions of religious ecstasy among the Kirtland Mormons.

Throughout March and April, indulgence in religious ecstasy continued to be a frequent occurrence in worship services, to the point that John Corrill recorded, “that the elders became so dissatisfied with them that they determined to have something done about it.” As such, Parley P. Pratt, John Murdock, and several other elders of the church confronted Joseph Smith and insisted he produce another revelation denouncing what they saw as delusional excesses arising from a dangerous source. Staker explains:

Many of the elders had already begun gathering in Kirtland in anticipation of an approaching June conference. Among them was Parley P. Pratt, fresh from Missouri. He was unaware, when he returned to Kirtland, of the ecstatic expressions that had been occurring in his absence. "These things grieved the servants of the Lord, and some conversed together on this subject, and others came in and we were at Joseph Smith Jr. the Seer's, and made it a matter of consultation, for many would not turn from their folly, unless God would give a revelation." ... Corrill completes the account: "Accordingly, they called upon the prophet and united in prayer, and asked God to give them light upon the subject. They received a revelation through the prophet, which was very gratifying for it condemned these visionary spirits, and gave rules for judging of spirits in general."

The revelation Joseph Smith received on May 9 condemned inappropriate behaviors as "abominations" (D&C 50:1–4). It also provided rules for judging spiritual phenomena by indicating that spirits (or spiritual gifts) were to be judged by the Spirit (D&C 50:17–23). The May 9 revelation confirmed that some spiritual operations among the members were not of God. It inquired stingingly of ordained elders who had then received "spirits which ye could not understand, and received them to be of God ... in this are ye justified? Behold ye shall answer this question yourselves" (D&C 50:15–16).

Hearken, O Ye People: The Historical Settings of Joseph Smith's Ohio Revelations, p. 138

Next week, we will look further at how Joseph used this May revelation and the June conference to reinforce his authority while clamping down on ecstatic charismata among the Kirtland membership, which is covered in the sections of the Doctrine and Covenants assigned for the upcoming Come, Follow Me lesson. For now, let’s turn to the lessons manuals for the present week and see what messages they present to members of the church in 2021.

All are Welcome: Within Limits

The first major theme in the outlines for this week’s lessons is the message of fostering a welcoming and inclusive environment at church. This plays largely off the opening verses to Doctrine and Covenants § 46, which state that members “are commanded never to cast any one out from your public meetings, which are held before the world.” Note that sacrament meetings in Kirtland were heretofore a private, closed-doors affair—for baptized members only. The combination of members-only worship services and unbridled religious ecstasy likely only added to the wariness of Kirtland’s “Gentile” population with respect to their Mormon neighbors. Therefore, these passages in Doctrine and Covenants § 46 were intended to address a very specific problem among the Kirtland Mormons in 1831.

Meetings of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints should be among the most welcoming and inspiring gatherings in the world. How does the Lord counsel us in Doctrine and Covenants 46:1–6 to receive those who attend our meetings? Do your friends and people in your neighborhood feel welcome at your ward’s worship services? What are you doing to make your Church meetings places that people want to return to? Ponder how your efforts to follow the Holy Ghost in Church meetings can affect your experience.

What can we do as a family to ensure that others feel welcome at our Church meetings? (see also 3 Nephi 18:22–23). The picture that accompanies this outline could add to this discussion.

Come, Follow Me — Individuals and Families Manual, 9 May 2021, emphasis my own.

For many, how and what they feel in Church meetings can significantly influence their activity in the Church. The Lord’s instructions in Doctrine and Covenants 46:1–7 can help your ward members create more welcoming, meaningful worship experiences for each other and for visitors.

Perhaps you could invite a few class members to share their experiences when they first attended a meeting of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. What helped them feel welcome? What advice would they give to other members to help make our Church meetings more welcoming? How can we apply the Lord’s counsel found in Doctrine and Covenants 46:1–7? Let class members practice what they would say if they saw a stranger walk into the chapel for the first time.

Come, Follow Me — Sunday School Manual, 9 May 2021, emphasis my own.

Ask the children to imagine that a friend is coming to church for the first time. Help them think of ways they could help their friend feel welcome. Let them practice what they would say or do if they saw a friend walk into the chapel or the classroom for the first time.

Come, Follow Me — Primary Manual, 9 May 2021, emphasis my own.

I find it interesting that the lessons highlight that the degree to which members feel welcome at church has an influence on their activity. LDS leaders today talk a big talk about inclusivity, but almost always in terms of ethnicity and race. However, when it comes to matters of gender or sexuality—particularly for LGBTQ+ persons—the LDS church is not a welcoming place. In fact, the church has policies in place to formally restrict membership privileges (i.e. disfellowshipping) of transgender members who physically or socially transition to the gender with which they identify. Likewise, gay, lesbian and bisexual members face disfellowshipping or excommunication if they live in accordance with their sexual identities. These are formalized institutional systems in the church that make sure LGBTQ+ members do not feel welcome in LDS congregations.

LDS leaders also talk a big talk about welcoming those who doubt or who express heterodox beliefs regarding Mormon theology. Church leaders frequently publish articles or deliver addresses that give lip service to creating space for those who don’t hold to LDS orthodoxy, while simultaneously wielding church discipline as a weapon to enforce conformity of thought and behavior among the membership. Members who wander too far from orthodoxy are frequently characterized as “lazy learners,” “lax disciples,” “unruly children,” or other negative epithets intended to minimize their experiences while marginalizing them within their own communities. Therefore, when the lesson manuals ask what members can do to make church meetings more welcoming and to help individuals to feel wanted at church, the first things that come to mind is to revoke policies that directly harm LGBTQ+ members and to stop trying so hard to reinforce orthodoxy through coercive means.

The Approved Gifts of the Spirit

As we’ve already seen, the early converts in Kirtland were prone to some pretty exuberant displays of religious enthusiasm that were causing quite a stir with their fellow Mormons and non-Mormon neighbors. The purpose of Doctrine and Covenants § 46 was to address this problem without disenfranchising those who were engaged in these behaviors, or who had converted on the basis of these manifestations of the Pentecostal spirit. Therefore, the revelation makes a point to reinforce that ecstatic expression of spiritual gifts is a good thing, so long as it’s the right type of expression. Members are encouraged to seek out the best gifts, and a list of approved gifts is provided. Rather than condemning undesirable ecstatic experiences, this revelation attempted a more gentle redirection by encouraging specific expressions in particular. When this didn’t manage to end to the undesired displays of religious enthusiasm, Joseph Smith produced a second revelation (D&C § 50) that took a more direct approach.

The early Saints believed in spiritual gifts but needed some guidance about their purpose. As you study about gifts of the Spirit using Doctrine and Covenants 46:7–33, ponder why it is important that you “always [remember] for what they are given” (verse 8). Consider how these verses apply to this statement from Elder Robert D. Hales: “These gifts are given to those who are faithful to Christ. They will help us know and teach the truths of the gospel. They will help us bless others. They will guide us back to our Heavenly Father” (“Gifts of the Spirit,” Ensign,
 Feb. 2002, 16). What else do you learn from these verses about spiritual manifestations? How can these truths help you “not be deceived”? (verse 8).

Ponder what your spiritual gifts are—and how you can use them “for the benefit of the children of God” (verse 26). If you have a patriarchal blessing, it likely identifies gifts you have been given.

Come, Follow Me — Individuals and Families Manual, 9 May 2021, emphasis my own.

The early Saints firmly believed in manifestations of the Holy Ghost. How can you help your class members build their faith that these gifts can be manifest in our lives today? You could begin by inviting class members to read Doctrine and Covenants 46:7–33 in pairs or small groups. Ask them to look for at least five spiritual gifts and to discuss ways they have seen those gifts manifested in their life or the life of someone they know—including people in the class. What did they find that they could share with the class to build their faith in these gifts?

The Lord declared that gifts of the Spirit benefit those who are faithful and are “not for a sign” (verse 9). Perhaps class members could discuss how spiritual gifts benefit the faithful. How can these gifts help those who want to gain or strengthen their testimony of the gospel?

Some people love God and try to keep His commandments but don’t feel they have experienced any gifts of the Spirit. How could the counsel in Doctrine and Covenants 46:7–33 help?

Come, Follow Me — Sunday School Manual, 9 May 2021, emphasis my own.

Tell the children that they each have spiritual gifts. Encourage them to ask Heavenly Father to help them recognize their gifts and how they can use them to help others.

... explain to the children some of the gifts Heavenly Father gives us through His Spirit and why He gives them. If possible, show objects or pictures that represent each gift. Pause occasionally to ask the children how these gifts could bless someone.

Come, Follow Me — Primary Manual, 9 May 2021, emphasis my own.

The lesson manuals largely take the content of Doctrine and Covenants § 46 and turn it into a discussion of each member’s unique talents—given through the Holy Ghost—and how they can use those talents to build up the kingdom of the church and strengthen the faith of their fellow Mormons. As to the specifically outlined “gifts of the Spirit,” the lessons encourage members to contemplate their experiences in the church that might qualify as these gifts, in what is essentially a exercise in faith-affirming confirmation bias.

The nature and content of the “spiritual manifestations” the Kirtland Mormons were experiencing is all but entirely absent from the lesson material. Rather, the lessons only make oblique mention that the converts in Kirtland had spiritual experiences but were confused as to their purpose, which doesn’t seem to be an accurate portrayal. The members in Kirtland seemed to have a very clear idea about the meaning and purpose of their experiences, but their intense religious enthusiasm was alarming to their neighbors and fellow congregants. One has to wonder, would modern members view the ecstatic experiences of the early Kirtland converts as faith-affirming manifestations of God’s power, or as alarming expressions of religious intoxication.

Consecration, For the Kids!

The Primary lesson also includes this little gem that I just couldn’t let go without mention. Taking a single verse from Doctrine and Covenants § 48, the lesson manual sets up a discussion of tithing and making financial sacrifices for the benefit of the church. The included video is entitled “First Things First,” to drive home the message that the church comes first before all other personal responsibilities, and that one’s first financial obligation is to the church.

Read Doctrine and Covenants 48:4 together, and invite the children to look for something the Lord asked the Saints to do to help His work. Explain that saving money would allow them to buy land and build a temple someday. What can we save money for so we can help do the work of the Lord? Show the video “First Things First”, and discuss how the children in the video fulfilled the Lord’s command to save money.

Come, Follow Me — Primary Manual, 9 May 2021, emphasis my own.