Points to Ponder in Doctrine and Covenants 135-136

October 10, 2021

To accompany your Come Follow Me study for November 24-30

In addition to reading these two sections this week, you may want to:

You may also enjoy the following videos:

If you would like a Kahoot game related to these sections which you could use with your family or your class, or which you could play or learn from individually by converting it to a “Challenge” version, click here  https://create.kahoot.it/share/doctrine-and-covenants-135-136/e34eac03-3321-4567-9f0d-cbd819a39974. To use it with a group, after clicking on this link, you will need to log into Kahoot, creating a free account if you have not done so previously, then click on the blue “Host Live” button or the gray “Assign” button, depending on how you wish to use the Kahoot. Some of the Kahoot questions may presuppose that the player has read through the suggested answers to the following Points to Ponder and at least has browsed the Institute student manual as well.

Points to Ponder in Doctrine and Covenants 135-136

1. What can you say in defense of the assertion that “Joseph Smith … has done more, save Jesus only, for the salvation of men in this world, than any other man that ever lived in it.”  (D&C 135:3.)  How did he do more than Adam, Enoch, Noah, Moses, Peter, or Paul?

2. If you were to update the tribute to Joseph Smith in D&C 135, what additions or changes would you consider making?  Why?

3. In what way does Joseph Smith’s martyrdom constitute “a witness to the truth of the everlasting gospel” (135:7)?  Couldn’t an imposter be murdered as readily as a true prophet? 

4. What did you find most interesting or impressive about the Lord’s instructions concerning the organization for the westward journey?  (136:1-16)

5. Which pieces of practical counsel in 136:17-32 do you consider most surprising or interesting? 

6. Which verse in 136:17-32 do you believe most needs to be emphasized among Latter-day Saints today? 

7. Why should the President of the Quorum of the Twelve become the next President of the Church after a current prophet dies?  Shouldn’t the Lord reveal His will and pick whoever He wishes, and not just let the most senior apostle ascend to the presidency?

Possible Answers to Points to Ponder in Doctrine and Covenants 135-136

1. What can you say in defense of the assertion that “Joseph Smith … has done more, save Jesus only, for the salvation of men in this world, than any other man that ever lived in it.”  How did he do more than Adam, Enoch, Noah, Moses, Peter, or Paul?

Joseph Smith’s dispensation is the last and greatest dispensation, preparatory to the return of Jesus Christ to usher in the Millennium.  The Church restored through him is larger numerically than at any time in history, so more have been directly impacted by his ministry.  Furthermore, through him were restored the priesthood keys whereby countless millions on the other side of the veil can be redeemed through vicarious work done in temples.  Latter-day Saints do not claim that Joseph Smith was any better as a man than any of the other great prophets, but they do maintain that the work which the Lord began through him will have further reaching immediate consequences than that of any prophets of antiquity.

2. If you were to update the tribute to Joseph Smith in D&C 135, what additions or changes would you consider making?  Why?

I would not feel the need to make that succinct and powerful resume of Joseph Smith’s life any wordier, but I might consider adding a few words to highlight the marvelous growth of the work which he began, to fill the earth. 

3. In what way does Joseph Smith’s martyrdom constitute “a witness to the truth of the everlasting gospel” (135:7)?  Couldn’t an imposter be murdered as readily as a true prophet? 

He wasn’t simply murdered but went willingly to his death, having foretold the outcome as per D&C 135:4.  As such, his death becomes a profound statement of his personal testimony of his own calling.

4. What did you find most interesting or impressive about the Lord’s instructions concerning the organization for the westward journey?  (136:1-16)

Your choice.  I might mention the care taken to provide for the poor, including families whose heads were in the Mormon Battalion (136:8).

5. Which pieces of practical counsel in 136:17-32 do you consider most surprising or interesting? 

Your choice.  Perhaps the idea that the Lord can be praised through dancing (136:28), or that those who discover lost items are to search diligently for their owner (136:26).

6. Which verse in 136:17-32 do you believe most needs to be emphasized among Latter-day Saints today? 

Your choice.  Perhaps “Cease to contend one with another (136:23),” or “cease to speak evil one of another,” or “let your words tend to edifying one another (136:24).”

7. Why should the President of the Quorum of the Twelve become the next President of the Church after a current prophet dies?  Shouldn’t the Lord reveal His will and pick whomever He wishes, and not just let the most senior apostle ascend to the presidency?

The Lord does reveal His will, as it is He who controls life and death and preserves in seniority the man He has foreordained to become the next President of the Church.  As the Quorum of the Twelve is next in authority to the First Presidency, the President of the Quorum is automatically in charge upon the death of the President of the Church, as the Quorum of the First Presidency is thereby dissolved and the counselors to the President return to their positions of seniority in the Quorum of the Twelve.  This procedure makes it clear to everyone whom the Lord’s choice is, rather than leave the matter open to suspicions of competition for the position, as might occur in other organizations.