2 Kings 1-16 Elisha
Shiloh and Ben discuss the instructions given from Joseph Smith to the Church concerning how to deal with angels, the physical nature of God, the state of the earth during the millennium, and other end-of-days prophecies. The “revelation” on polygamy pertaining to the new and everlasting covenant, written by Joseph directly to Emma, merits a bit of historical context. Polygamy is never an easy discussion, and there is still currently a lot of pain and trauma silently endured by Church members concerning these narratives and doctrines. The Church still believes in and continues to practice polygamy today. As one church leader once told Shiloh: “The church still believes in and practices polygamy, but they just practice it one wife at a time”. These doctrines, beliefs, and practices still impact Church members’ identities and views of eternity today, and not always in positive ways. ...
Ben and Shiloh discuss how God pours through the pages of modern revelation even while sometimes awkwardly through the voice of those who receive and dictate the revelation. During this time in Church history, Joseph Smith and others had been compiling the revelations together to print them in the Book of Commandments. As the time approached to write the preface for the Book of Commandments, there was some disagreement among the early leaders of the Church as to who should write it. A few brethren did not like the language Joseph used. These brethren were then challenged to write a preface and revelation of their own that they thought surpassed Joseph. It didn’t go well, and Joseph’s preface stood (see our first podcast of the year—Episode 32—for more insights into the subtle intricacies of Section 1: The Preface and in what it means for the Book of Commandments). While much of Joseph’s own vernacular, idioms, and popular phrases entered into much of the early revelations, and while we see much in the Doctrine and Covenants (as well as scripture in general) of how the Lord spoke directly to the needs of the early Saints in their own time and understanding (which is quite different than our own), it is up to us to glean and interpret what God’s meaning is for us today through these scriptures by the companionship and voice of the Holy Spirit. ...
Shiloh and Ben discuss revelation. What is it? How did Joseph report receiving it? What is it like in our own lives? How we view revelation also influences how we view and experience the scriptures. It has been said that the scriptures are always true, and sometimes the scriptures are even historical. What does this mean? Is the truthfulness of scripture primarily held in their historical literalness, or is there a way to view scripture that makes them even more true for reasons beyond whether the stories literally happened as they are told? How scripture is made is a history in itself as we learn discussing the history of the “United Order/Firm.” ...
