Saints In the South
Saints In The South is a group of friends who live in the south and are members of the The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day saints. We discuss Come Follow Me curriculum, current events, and how the words of God are applied in our day. We strive to express faith promoting experiences and discuss social dynamics that are experienced all over the world as it pertains to faith and following God on this mortal journey. We hope to add our small voice to this huge world in helping build peoples Faith in Christ, as they try to fulfill their purpose in life. Our goal is to inspire you on your personal path of striving, gospel growth, and good times.
Saints In the South
Doctrine and Covenants 129–132 When We Obtain Any Blessing from God, It Is by Obedience, Come Follow Me
Join us this week as we discuss the difference between righteous spirits and evil spirits. We also discuss the revelation of polygamy and the struggles it caused for the early saints.
From Come Follow Me:
Brigham Young once said of Joseph Smith, “He could reduce heavenly things to the understanding of the finite” (in Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Joseph Smith, 499–500). This seems especially true of the Prophet’s teachings in Nauvoo in the 1840s, some of which are recorded in Doctrine and Covenants 129–32. What is the Savior like? “He is a man like ourselves.” What is heaven like? “That same sociality which exists among us here will exist among us there” (Doctrine and Covenants 130:1–2), and our most cherished family relationships in this world, if sealed by the proper authority, “shall be of full force” in the next world (Doctrine and Covenants 132:19). Truths like these can make heaven feel less distant—glorious, yet reachable.
But then, sometimes God may ask us to do things that are so uncomfortable that they do seem unreachable. For many early Saints, plural marriage was one such commandment. The commandment to marry additional wives was a severe trial of faith for Joseph Smith, his wife Emma, and almost everyone who received it. To make it through this trial, they needed more than just favorable feelings about the restored gospel; they needed faith in God that went far deeper than any personal desires or biases. The commandment no longer stands today, but the faithful example of those who lived it still does. And that example inspires us when we are asked to make our own “sacrifices in obedience” (Doctrine and Covenants 132:50).