37: "Be Still and Know That I Am God" (Doctrine and Covenants 98–101)

Tammy 0:01
How are you when it comes to waiting? Okay, let's be honest, no one really likes to wait. Not for text, calls, and especially not for an hour and 40 minutes at a restaurant that is short-staffed and you're trying to be understanding, but then hangry sets in and you may or may not have lost it. Waiting is the worst. But what if what we are waiting for was the Lord? Well, today's discussion of Doctrine and Covenants Section 98-101 teaches us something profound about waiting, and what the Lord has to say about it.

Welcome to the Sunday on Monday Study Group, a Deseret Bookshelf Plus Original brought to you by LDS Living where we take the Come, Follow Me lesson for the week and we really dig into the scriptures together. I'm your host, Tammy Uzelac Hall. Now if you're new to our study group, let's just make sure you know how to use this podcast.

So follow the link in our description and it's going to explain how you can best use this podcast to enhance our Come, Follow Me study, just like my friend that I've met, Myron Pope, who listens faithfully. And he's getting a quick degree in technology with all of the Instagram and Facebook. So thanks for hanging in there, Myron. Now, another awesome thing about our study group is that each week we're joined by two of my friends, so it's a little bit different. And wow, these two friends, it's gonna be fun. One's new, one's old, and both are magnificent. So we have Becky Farley. Hi, Far.

Becky 1:20
Hey.

Tammy 1:22
I love you. I'm so glad you're here.

Becky 1:24
Oh, gosh. I love you, Tam; I just love ya, love ya, love ya, love ya.

Tammy 1:29
Now, Farley, how excited are we to introduce our next guest?

Becky 1:33
I cannot even stand it, just these last few minutes talking to her. I think I'm just gonna stay quiet. I mean, you know how hard it is for me to keep my mouth shut?

Tammy 1:42
Well, yes.

Becky 1:42
Today, I am letting her steal the show.

Tammy 1:46
I hope she does. And I think everyone's gonna be so grateful. It is Monica Alvarado and you're not gonna believe her story. Hi, Monica.

Monica Alvarado 1:54
Hi. Thank you for having me. Becky, I need your support.

Becky 2:01
I got your back, Monica. We're already besties like, tight as thieves.

Tammy 2:07
For sure. I mean, Monica and I have met through social media and Instagram. We've become fast friends and her story is amazing. She is from Mexico - Mexico City, Mexico. She lives in China, and she met her husband in China at a bus stop. Hey, such a good story. And they've been happily married for six years.

Monica 2:30
Yeah, that's right.

Tammy 2:31
Oh my goodness. Give us something fun about meeting on the bus stop though.

Monica 2:35
So, he was lost. He's really bad with directions, so he's lost. So my friend and I were speaking in English, because I don't speak any Chinese. And then he just joined us like, "Oh, yeah. And then I think," and we were like, uh, "Okay. Who are you?" I thought that was really funny. And it was cute; and he's handsome. So I was very attracted to what he wanted to say. And that's where it all started.

Becky 3:09
Monica, was it raining? For some reason, like, I feel like it was.

Tammy 3:13
I do too. Like it's dark and gloomy. I thought the same thing.

Becky 3:17
A little polka dot umbrella and you were all cute. And like, maybe like, I don't know, some pumps, cute little skirt.

Tammy 3:22
You're such a romantic.

Becky 3:24
I don't know, I like it. And then I'm picturing like, Frank Sinatra kind of playing in the background, you know?

Tammy 3:30
Or was it just hot and humid and you were miserable?

Monica 3:32
It was hot, it was humid.

Tammy 3:36
'Cuz I've been to China and it's pretty hot and humid there.

Monica 3:41
It is hot! But it was very romantic anyway.

Tammy 3:46
That is so cute; I love it. Oh my gosh, we're gonna have so much fun today with Monica and her stories. So. It's gonna be awesome. Because we already told Monica everybody knows everything about Farley and I. So this is gonna be the Monica show. And we, I hope it is, because I hope you share your story because it is such a good story.

Well, if you want to know more information about my friends and read their bios and see pictures, you can find it at LDSLiving.com/SundayonMonday. All right, Farley, Monica. Do you guys like to wait?

Becky 4:13
No.

Monica 4:14
No.

Tammy 4:14
I always have to wait for Farley. That is the running joke in our friendship. I'm always early and Farley is notoriously late. I'll give you some slack. (laughs) But how do you feel about waiting though, when people make you wait?

Monica 4:28
It's not nice.

Becky 4:30
Oh, well, I can't be too unhappy because I'm always kind of the one that everybody's always waiting for. So.

Monica 4:40
Yeah, but to that point, there's people that you can wait for your whole life, you know.

Tammy 4:45
You're right. I'd wait for Farley any day and she's worth the wait. There you go. Yeah.

Becky 4:51
Right back, right back at you.

Tammy 4:53
Well, we're gonna see what the Lord has to teach us about waiting in today's lesson. I'm so excited because that for me was the theme of everything we read. So friends, grab your scriptures and let's dig in.

What we need to know, first off, is the background for these sections. And it is such a tumultuous time in Missouri. This is the time in the history of the Saints that you read about and your heart breaks, where these people were just experiencing such severe persecution. Their land was being taken, their belongings were being taken, they were being beaten and robbed and ridiculed. And just every type of abuse you could imagine was happening to the saints at this time.

Here's what we need to know, though, the reason for this persecution. So what's going on at this time is, we have to understand there's about 1,000 members now living in Jackson County, Missouri. They've come from Ohio to Missouri. And you know, this rapidly rising increase in the population, it caused some great alarm among the non Latter-day Saint population there, because they were worried about being the religious, political, and economic minority among an LDS majority. But what is so interesting is that Section 98 - that's where we're gonna start today in our studies.

Now, according to the section heading, look at this, because it's so cool. It was in July, that the mobs began their reign of terror. And Joseph won't actually find out about it until Oliver Cowdery brings him word in the middle of August. So this revelation is received before Joseph actually receives a physical word from Oliver Cowdery about how difficult it was for the Saints.

And so the Lord, at the beginning of August says, "Listen, the Saints are going to need some advice from me, they're going to need my help. And you're going to send it by way of letter." And so here's what He writes. So turn the page in Section 98 and we're going to look at just verse 1. That's the only verse I want us to start with, because it's so powerful. And Becky, we'll start with you; will you please read verse 1.

Becky 6:42
1 "Verily I say unto you my friends, fear not, let your hearts be comforted; yea, rejoice evermore, and in everything give thanks;"

Tammy 6:53
I mean, just looking at that advice the Lord gives them; He first calls them My friends, which again, is one of our favorite words we've learned this year, a covenant word. And then the advice He gives them. He tells them, first of all, to fear not. So Farley, as a certified mindfulness coach, why is that significant?

Becky 7:12
Okay, so I just think that you have to accept fear. If you are fearful, you have to let it come in. But you also have to know that it is a choice to let it stay. And sometimes I think about,with my kids, when they would be so scared, and I would go in and rub their back at night, you know, before maybe a math test or something, and just have that moment of letting them rest. Almost like just resting in the fact that yeah, this is coming up, but it's going to be okay. So it's not taking away the fear, but it's saying that it's okay to let it go. Sometimes we just hold on, hold on, hold on, hold on to it. But Heavenly Father's saying, Fear not, it's okay to let it go.

Tammy 8:02
I love that you said that Becky, cuz look at the rest of the advice in verse one. Then He's like, let your hearts be comforted. Rejoice evermore, in everything give thanks.

Becky 8:13
I just want to talk about that last sentence. "And in everything, give thanks". And how important that is to us that, even though it's a real, just hard thing, whatever it is, if you can say, "You know what? Someday, someday I'm going to maybe see something from this. Even if it just means I don't know why I'm thanking you, Heavenly Father, but I'm going to try to thank You and know that You're going to help me with figuring this mess out one day, and that it will be past."

Tammy 8:52
It's a hard ask, in everything, give thanks? Not just the good times, in everything.

Becky 8:59
Well, and I think first, you've gotta fear not. Then you've got to be comforted. Then you can give thanks. It's like a 1-2-3.

Tammy 9:08
Oh, I like that.

Monica 9:10
I really appreciate what Becky's sharing. Because when you let fear go, it's probably the time when the miracle will come. And that's why you will give thanks; you're making the space for that power to come in and make the miracle happen.

Tammy 9:27
Yes. Oh, Monica. I love how she just said, when you let fear go, the miracle happens. In that space where you're trying to let it go and you're trying to give thanks, I love the advice the Lord gives in verses 2 and 3. I just love this. So Monica will you read verses 2 and 3. And then when we're done, tell us what is it the Lord wants us to do?

Monica 9:48
2 "Waiting patiently on the Lord, for your prayers have entered into the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth, and are recorded with this seal and testament - the Lord has sworn and decreed that they shall be granted.

3 "Therefore, he giveth this promise unto you, with an immutable covenant that they shall be fulfilled; and all things wherewith you have been afflicted shall work together for your good, and to my name's glory, saith the Lord."

Tammy 10:16
Thank you. What does he tell us to do? What does he want us to do in the meanwhile?

Monica 10:21
We need to wait.

Tammy 10:22
Yeah, highlight that, "waiting patiently upon the Lord." Here's what Elder Hales has to say about waiting patiently on the Lord. And Farley, will you read this quote for us.

Becky 10:33
Elder Hales said, "What then does it mean to wait upon the Lord? In the Scriptures, the word 'wait' means to hope, to anticipate, and to trust. To hope and trust in the Lord requires faith, patience, humility, meekness, long-suffering, keeping the commandments, and enduring to the end.

Tammy 10:56
Thank you. So when the Lord tells us to wait patiently upon the Lord, I just kind of want you to think about that. Because now knowing the history behind Section 98, how do you think these three verses might have been received by the Saints, with all that they were going through?

Becky 11:12
Okay, so the thing in that verse 2 where it says "waiting patiently on the Lord, for your prayers have entered into the ears of the Lord," I think, "Wow, if you actually knew that God had heard your prayer, you could wait at that moment." I'm all the time repeating myself with my husband, Doug, you know, because, sometimes he doesn't got good hearing. And I'm like, "Uh, did you hear me? Wait, did you hear me? But did you, did you hear me?" "I heard you. Okay, I heard you the first time."

If we actually could recognize God heard our prayer. Heavenly Father heard our prayer; it's in His ears, and He's just waiting for the right time. And if you knew that, and you had the faith in that, like that quote said, you had the faith. "Oh, yeah. Okay, he's heard, it's OK, I'll sit back and wait for the right time."

Tammy 12:07
And I love how specific it is that your prayers have entered into the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth, the Lord of armies, as we've learned in Hebrew. That's awesome. What about you, Monica?

Monica 12:18
I feel like knowing that He's hearing my prayer will just wash away the fear, the anxiety, and bring that peace. Like Becky said, it is important to acknowledge that we are being heard by a heavenly being, a heavenly Celestial Father.

Tammy 12:39
Perfect. So I want us to kind of think about this idea of waiting on the Lord. We're going to use this throughout this whole episode today. In fact, someone once taught me there's two ways of looking at this: we can wait: w-a-i-t on the Lord. Or we can weight on the Lord: w-e-i-g-h-t, where you give your weight or your burdens to the Lord. Like, there's two kinds of waiting, we're waiting on the Lord and we're really weighting on the Lord. And so kind of think about that as we do this, because in the next segment, we're going to tackle verse 3, where all things wherewith you have been afflicted shall work together for your good, and decide if that's just a nice platitude from the Lord or if it is something that really will work.

Tammy 13:32
Okay, I just want to jump into verse 3, because I know Farley has so much to say about it. It starts out by saying, "Therefore, he giveth this promise unto you, with an immutable covenant that they shall be fulfilled;" Now, everybody, mark "immutable." Here's what that word means. It means unable to change or not capable of changing. So He's saying, I'm going to give unto you a promise, with an unchangeable covenant. I'm going to covenant right now because you're my friends. You've already made a covenant with me, so here's what I'm going to promise you. And my promise to you is: "all things wherewith you have been afflicted shall work together for your good. And to my name's glory, saith the Lord."

Okay, highlight "all things wherewith you have been afflicted shall work together for your good." For reals? Because this almost seems like a platitude, where someone would come up and pat your back and go, "Well don't, I know, I know, it's hard. This will all be for your good." You're like, "Get out of my face. What I'm going through is really hard." So Farley, you have taught me a very powerful lesson about verse 3 with the cube. Can you share with us what that cube represents?

Becky 14:39
If you have a cube in your life, and you're looking at it, and it's all you can see is the top. Well, you got to flip it over and see the bottom or you got to see the left side of you got to see the right side. But when we're just in it, all we can see is that one side; but cube has so many different angles, that you can turn it and look at it and see it from all different angles.

Tammy 15:02
And I remember you taught that to me because I was going through something difficult and all I could see was the top of that cube. And you said, "There will be a day where you'll be able to flip that cube over onto the underside and see the good."

Becky 15:13
Did you?

Tammy 15:15
Yeah, I did, actually. It took a long time. I had to wait patiently for sure. And there's some cubes where I'm still waiting.

Becky 15:23
Yeah.

Tammy 15:24
But the good welcome.

Becky 15:26
Oh, yeah, it'll come. It's an immutable covenant.

Tammy 15:31
Monica, do you have any experiences where you feel like all things where you were afflicted with worked together for your good?

Monica 15:39
Oh, I do. It took me a long time to find my husband. I met him when I was 32 years old. That wait—since I returned from my mission, till we met—to me was eternity. It was long and it was painful. I was very impatient now that I think about it. But then meeting him, it was really beautiful, but then we got married and we're two different cultures. Our social environments are the way that we grew up, our ideas, everything's completely different. Our languages, even the things we like to eat. That conflict was, it was hard. Even thinking that one day we will be able to become one, it was hard to see that coming.

And as you were reading these, like, "all things will work together for our good," I think that sometimes we forget that we're eternal. And we focus so much on the right now. We want it all to be fixed right now. We want it all to work magically and beautifully in this moment. Whereas, the Lord's not promising that. But if you see it through that eternal glass, then it might work in a millennia, I don't know. But it will definitely work for your good.

And so six years later, now that I see how much I've learned to listen to people who have different beliefs and different lifestyles or all sorts of things. And I'm so grateful that it was so hard at the beginning. It helped me open my heart, my mind, my ears, my eyes, to different things, especially now that we see the world the way it is. And I can now appreciate other people's struggles, if I may say it that way? I can see it with different eyes. I can feel it with my heart, whereas before probably I was just judging. I was quick to judge because you're not doing it right, because you're not living right. Now I feel it. And I am grateful for that. So it will definitely work for our good.

Tammy 17:55
Monica, thank you so much. What I loved about what you said was that you reminded us that it is eternal, that these promises are eternal. Because it's so interesting that in Section 98, the Lord says all these things shall work together for your good. And then He's going to give them three laws that they have to keep. And those laws really are "the blessing is eternal." And so we're going to mark those in our scriptures really quick. In Section 98 there are three very clear laws that the Lord wants these people to live by. So grab three different colors of pencils if you can, or three different markers. And I'm going to have you bracket to the outside of some of these verses.

So the first law He teaches them is the Law of Retaliation. The Law of Retaliation is Section 98 verses 23-32. So bracket off 23-32. So verse 23, the Lord sets it up. "Listen, we're talking about you and your families." So if somebody does something bad to you, I love how He says, "Bear it patiently, revile not against them, neither seek revenge and you will be rewarded." How rewarded will we be? Oh, it's amazing. He says in verse 25, if the enemy does it to you a second time and you bear it patiently, you're gonna be blessed a hundredfold. Then in verse 26, He says, if they smite you a third time and you bear it patiently, you're going to be rewarded doubled unto you four-fold.

That's 800 times being blessed. And I can't even do the math: carry the one, pi R squared, I don't even know what this means. It's that crazy blessings for not seeking your own revenge. And those are some fun verses to read. And I encourage you to read them, but make sure you just have written to the outside, the Law of Retaliation.

Becky 19:33
Can I just say one thing about practical application with this? You think retaliation, "Oh, it's war." What if it's just that someone says something that offended you? Tam, you need to bear it patiently when I'm making you wait, right? You're going to get 800 times blessings when you're bearing it patiently.

Tammy 19:53
And the key is to not seek your own revenge. So, I'm not going to be like, oh, I'll show her. I'll be late next time. Nope, I'm just going to keep on being on time.

Becky 20:02
Yeah, you're not going to keep score.

Tammy 20:04
And that's what this is all about. Like, just don't find a way to seek revenge. That's what the Lord is saying like, "It's mine to do. So I'm just gonna keep on blessing you."

Becky 20:13
Oh, yeah.

Tammy 20:14
I like how you brought that up. It could be something so simple in our terms. That's great. And remember, we need to be reminded this is about seeking revenge. This has nothing to do with justice. This is your own retaliation and you wanting to get revenge on the person. So I think that's really important in these verses.

So turn the page because there's two more laws that the Lord gives the saints. Verses 33-37 is the Law of War. I mean, I just think it's so incredible, going back to how He starts out, Section 98. And now He's giving them, "By the way, you can't seek revenge. Oh, and don't go to war. Just seek peace." That's all He wants them to do, is be peaceful people. In fact, verse 33 is so good. Monica, will you read that for us?

Monica 20:37
33 "And again, this is the law that I gave unto mine ancients, that they should now go out unto battle against any nation, kindred, tongue, or people, save I, the Lord commanded them."

Tammy 21:11
Thank you. And when He says, "mine ancients," highlight that. I love the story - you can put Genesis 34 next to it - and we are going to study this next year, I'm so excited. But this is the story about Jacob and the 12 sons of Israel. And did you know they had a sister named Dinah? And there's a story in there about how Dinah is sexually assaulted by a prince of another nation.

And the brothers want to seek revenge. They go to their dad and say, "We are going to go in and fight this city. And we're going to take over." And Jacob's like, "No, we're not actually. We're not doing that; the Lord has commanded us not to seek revenge," just what this verse says. "We are not to go to war with these people. And we're not to take this matter in our own hands." And you know what? Simeon and Levi decided, nah we're going to go ahead and take it into our own hands. And they did, they went to war. Oh, I can't even tell you the end of it. But it's such a good story. And that's how they lost their birthright, was right there.

And so the Lord's like, "Listen, it's not new. I even told my ancient prophets, and I'm telling you right now, just don't go to war unless I tell you to." So it's such a good law, Law of War.

Becky 22:11
Okay, really quick, I just want to tell this story about, my daughter broke up with her boyfriend. And the boyfriend's mom called me saying some really harsh things, and really hurting me to the core. And just cutting me, just like she would if it were a knife. And I swear, I had the Spirit with me so strong to know that what she was saying wasn't true. The Spirit just kept testifying to me: "You know what, Becky, I do love you, you are doing a good job, you are a good mom." And I could stay calm. I stayed so calm during this whole conversation, that things could get so out of hand, and I don't know where it would have been gone.

There might have been real retaliation with this. But there wasn't, because Heavenly Father was just there so strongly in that conversation. And at the end, we got off the phone, and the next day she sent me a text that was, "I'm so sorry. I don't know what was going on with me. Please forgive me." And I sent her text and said, "Yeah, all's forgiven. We're friends, it's okay. No problem."

And I just think that that is that law, in practical real application. That when someone is offending you, calling you out, you know, saying things that cut you to the core. If you can just stop, and breathe, and pray, and listen to God's voice instead of that harsh voice, whether it's from your own head, whether it's from someone else, whoever it is, if you can listen to that. Boy, we could stop wars in this world. We can stop wars.

Tammy 24:01
You know, it's so interesting that you would share that story, because the very next law that the Lord teaches is what you just did, the Law of Forgiveness. And these are verses 39-48. So bracket that off, 39-48 and write to the outside, Law of Forgiveness. And this is so interesting, because in verse 39 it says, if your enemy comes upon you the first time, and he offends you, and repents and comes unto you praying for forgiveness, it says, "Thou shalt forgive him." So if he asks for forgiveness, forgive him.

But then it's interesting because it goes on and in verse 41 it says, you should forgive him, and this is where we get the 70 times seven, in verse 40. You just keep forgiving, whoever keeps asking for forgiveness, you forgive them. But then I like how the Lord says, however, in verse 41, if someone trespasses against you and repents not the first time, He says, nevertheless, thou shalt forgive him. It's kind of interesting, because it's sort of like a "four strikes and you're out" in these verses.

So the first time is in verse 41, forgive him. The second time is in verse 42, forgive him. The third time if he offends you and repents not, you forgive him. And then look at verse 44. And Monica, will you read verse 44, please.

Monica 25:10
44 "But if he trespass against thee the fourth time thou shalt not forgive him, but shall bring these testimonies before the Lord; and they shall not be blotted out until he repent and reward thee four-fold in all things wherewith he has trespassed against thee."

Tammy 25:29
Thank you. Then it talks like, in verse 46, He goes, if he doesn't ask for forgiveness, the Lord's going to take charge. And it's going to be "upon his children and upon his children's children, of all of them that hate me, unto the third and fourth generation." And then it says in verse 47, but if those children decide that they want to repent, and they want to apologize for what their family's done, then you shall forgive them and the Lord will forgive them.

I wonder if the Saints got this letter and were like, what? Like, but you don't even know, you're not here with us. You're not in Missouri. Like, we should be able to retaliate. And yes, let's go to war. And oh, by the way, no, I don't care if they said they're sorry. They've done it. You know, one time, shame on you. The second time, shame on me. But the Lord's like, "No, just keep forgiving." It brings up so many emotions in this, especially with the Law of Forgiveness. What, Farley?

Becky 26:17
I just said, it's so tricky. It's so tricky to take care of yourself, and yet still forgive. The spirit just has to guide you with this.

Tammy 26:30
Um hmm. Well like with your story, Becky. The Spirit was like, yeah, just wait.

Becky 26:34
Like, take it down,

Tammy 26:35
Bear it patiently. Yeah.

Monica 26:37
You might also think about what happens when you don't forgive. In my family, we have an experience from my great-grandparents. They lived in Oaxaca, Mexico, which is a really poor state. And it's a very small town where they used to live. And then two families had a conflict. So one of the family male members killed one of the other family members, and then they began attacking each other. And with attacking, I mean, they began to kill each other. That forced my great-grandmother to move to Mexico City. And we lost contact with my cousins.

So here I am a third generation and I decided to serve a mission. I was about to finish my mission and then I met this sister who had my mother's last name. We started talking and somehow we had our family history chart with us. And we realized that our great-grandparent was the same person. And my mom, when I told her - because I emailed her back in the day - she couldn't believe that this was her uncle, but they lost contact with for like, decades.

And so two families came together because of the gospel and because we were preaching the gospel. I was on my mission and my cousin, she was on her mission. And the Lord brought that family together, even though they were spread all over the country. So you know, when you forgive, you make that space for the Lord to bring the family together.

Tammy 28:19
Monica, that story is so cool, because look at verse 47. It says, but if the children shall repent, or the children's children, and turn to the Lord their God, with all their hearts and with all their might, mind, and strength, and restore four-fold for all their trespasses wherewith they have been trespassed, they'll be blessed. Oh, my gosh, that is your family. Like, your story is a perfect example of this law, and what the gospel did. Where did you serve your mission?

Monica 28:46
Sinaloa. It's in north part of Mexico.

Tammy 28:50
Oh, cool

Becky 28:52
What are the chances that your cousin, be on your same mission.

Tammy 28:58
Wow! That you haven't talked to, you had no knowledge of.

Becky 29:00
of all the missions that you could have gone on!

Monica 28:58
What's really, really crazy - and this is about obedience - but when I left on my mission, the president of the MTC in Mexico City, he asked every missionary to bring a family history chart. And throughout my whole mission for 17 months, I never used it. But I brought it because I was obedient, right? And then that one last month, when she came, she was transferred to my area. And then she had her family history chart. And then I was like, 'Thank you Heavenly Father!' There was no other way that we could have found out that we were related.

Tammy 29:43
Wow! Okay, that was seriously the coolest story. I mean, you just taught us about these three laws AND the importance of obedience. Monica, that was amazing. Thank you for sharing that. So now this discussion is a perfect setup for Section 99. We're gonna do that in the next segment because it is another law that the Lord wants to teach us. And it is about a man who was very familiar with waiting upon the Lord. And who was very obedient, just like you, Monica. You're the female version of this man in the next segment. So we'll talk about that coming up. Oh, so good.

Tammy 30:26
Okay, here's what I want us all to do. Now, if you're not doing something like driving right now, maybe just close your eyes and imagine you're at a store. And you're walking around the aisles and you cannot find what you're looking for. Or you have a question about a specific item. Now, except for Target, which is an American store where all the employees wear red, I want to know: What is something that an employee would have on to let you know that they can help you?

Becky 30:53
A name badge.

Tammy 30:54
Perfect. Okay. Like we are on a quiz show just then. Good job, Farley. 500 for Farley. Okay.

Becky 31:02
Catch up, Monica. Try catch up.

Tammy 31:05
Okay, now, Monica, here's my question for you: When it comes to the gospel, how do you know someone is a missionary?

Monica 31:13
Their name tags.

Tammy 31:14
Excellent. Okay, now. I want you to think about this, because without a tag, how in the world would someone know who you are or what you represent? You don't have to answer that question, I just want you to think about it, because we're talking about it today. Without your name tag, how in the world will anyone know who you are or what you represent? Because the section title for Section 99 is called "The Law of Representation." And this law is found in verses 2-4.

So go ahead and bracket off those verses, and write Law of Representation. And this revelation is given specifically to a man by the name of John Murdock. So I asked Farley if she would kind of give us the history of John Murdock. You're not gonna believe this man's story. So Farley, take it away.

Becky 31:59
The first thing to know is that John Murdock, he was baptized and then he went on his first mission, really early on. His wife was pregnant with twins, he came home in time to see the twins' birth, and his wife dies in childbirth. Then, if I'm right, Tam, I think it's two months after his wife dies, he's called on another mission. And that's when Section 99 is written.

So he doesn't know what to do with his kids. And around that same time, Emma gave birth to twins that died. And so he gives the twins to Emma and Joseph, but then he has three other kids. So he has to farm them out to other places. And then he's still grieving - his wife just died! He gives His kids to all of these people. Oh, I bet he probably doesn't know that well, because he hasn't been in that, in the Church for very long.

So these three other kids are farmed out, then he goes on his mission and serves his mission. I think he actually baptizes quite a few people, something like, I don't know, 70 people or something. And comes back and two of the families are so rotten; they're just jerks. I think one of them has actually already left the Church and said, "You know what? We took care of your kid, and now you're going to pay us." And then the other one, I don't know if that family left the church, or if they were just jerks. But they said you need to pay us. So he has to pay two of the families to take care of his kids.

And then his daughter dies. He tends his daughter for, I don't know, a month or two, and she ends up dying. And then he ends up going on another mission. And I think that's what this Section 99 says, is that now Edward Partridge is going to take your kids, and they're going to be taken care of at that moment. But honestly, I can't fathom going on a mission, coming home, having twins, losing my spouse, and then going again two months later, farming out my kids and then coming home, losing one of them. And then going again.

It does feel like it's too much. It does feel like it's too much. But, I mean, that promise in verse 2, "and who so receiveth you receiveth me." That's a pretty big promise. I think about just knowing that, okay, it's not going to be in vain. We got to look at the capital B - Big, Big promise, instead of little promise - that God's going to gather, and it's about all of the children of God. I mean, what's that, quote? "God cares more about our growth than he does about our comfort." And I think in this case, there was very little comfort for John Murdock. But boy, was there lot of growth.

Tammy 35:13
And Farley, you started that by reading verse two. So why don't you finish? Just read verses 2-4. And let's read about this Law of Representation. Because as you're telling the story about John Murdock, all I keep thinking is, what did he represent? So read these verses.

Becky 35:27
2 "And who receiveth you receiveth me; and you shall have power to declare my word in the demonstration of my Holy Spirit."

That's amazing. He still had power to declare God's word, even in his hardship. Sorry, I just had to bring that up.

Tammy 35:47
I'm glad you did.

Becky 35:49
3 "And who receiveth you as a little child, receiveth my kingdom; and blessed are they, for they shall obtain mercy.

4 "And whoso rejecteth you shall be rejected of my father and his house; and you shall cleanse your feet in the secret places by the way for a testimony against them."

That's amazing that 3, "who receiveth you as a little child receiveth my kingdom." I mean, when I think about going on my mission, and I think about, wow, lots of people didn't even listen, and nobody really, really is active anymore, or really even cares. But he had that promise that if someone received him and listened to him, they're going to receive the kingdom.

Tammy 36:35
"As a little child," isn't that beautiful there?

Becky 36:39
Yeah, I love that.

Monica 36:40
So he was promised that people were going to receive the kingdom. And if they rejected him, they were rejecting the Father. So I'm thinking, the power of his testimony, just listening to someone preaching, with the trials that he was sent to. The power of His Spirit must has been so glorious, so celestial. So I'm sure the Father was promising this because he had a message with power.

Tammy 37:10
And that's the Law of Representation. Who did John Murdock represent? He represented the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. You know, I love this quote by Elder Holland that I read. And so Monica, I want you to read this, because it makes me think of all of us on our missions, and then not on our missions. So when you think about that question, again, is: What do you represent without a name tag? This is a fun quote from Elder Holland. Will you go ahead and read this for us, Monica.

Monica 37:36
"A young returned missionary sister from Hong Kong told me recently that when she and her companion asked an investigator if she believed in God, the woman replied, 'I didn't until I met a member of your church and observed how she lived.' What exemplary missionary work. Asking every member to be a missionary is not nearly as crucial as asking every member to be a member. Thank you for living the gospel."

Tammy 38:02
Is that the best line - asking every member to be a member? I love that so much. So tell me, jump in. What are your thoughts about that?

Monica 38:13
That's the way we live the gospel here in China, because we are not allowed to preach. We don't have any missionaries. We don't have any church buildings. There's no real representation of the Church of Jesus Christ except the members. We do have a few restrictions here, but we're not restricted to love, serve, to smile, to learn the language, to embrace the culture. And those are ways in which you are being Christ-like. That's what He will do if He will come here.

Tammy 38:50
How do you go to church in China?

Monica 38:53
Well, at the moment, we're doing online meetings. Before that we had a house where we go meet every Sunday.

Tammy 39:02
You know what, Monica? Okay, what stood out to me is when you said, we're not restricted to love or to being kind. I mean, that is the perfect application of the law of representation. You are totally right, because that is exactly what the Savior did and will do when He comes again. I thought that was so cool. It's an excellent way to represent, to just love and be kind. Farley you look like you have something to say.

Becky 39:25
So, there was a time when Doug and I were going through a pretty difficult trial financially, and we went over to get a blessing from my dad. And in the blessing, he told Doug to just do what was in front of him. So often we're looking like Naaman, where he was looking for some big, huge, massive way that He would cure his leprosy. But instead, it was just dipping himself seven times in the dirty River Jordan.

For us, you can just be a member. And like Monica said, I love that. Smile, love. Just ask someone, How are you doing? Talk to your future husband at the bus stop. You never know what's gonna happen. You may have a miraculous thing happen by just being yourself, whatever that means. I have such a testimony of that. Because honestly, I can't do anything else besides be myself. And then God can create miracles with whatever I have right now; he can create miracles with that.

Wow. Thank you, Becky. Thank you so much, so much, both of you. Thank you for those comments. Well, I want us to kind of continue to think about this. What do you represent? And what does your wait on the Lord represent? Because in the next segment, we're going to read a revelation that was given to two men who definitely had to wait upon the Lord.

Tammy 41:11
Alright, let's talk about missionaries. Now all three of us have served missions. Farley and I have sent missionaries out. My question for you is, What would you say are some of the biggest concerns that missionaries have?

Monica 41:23
When I was a missionary I was worried about the numbers: I'm not baptizing enough, I am not talking to enough people. And I know probably that wasn't right, but I felt that pressure.

Tammy 41:34
Good one.

Becky 41:35
I was really worried about my family. I was worried about family and friends and what would happen, right?

Tammy 41:43
Yeah, absolutely. I, luckily, I went on a mission back when they had discussions, so I knew what to teach. But when they changed the missionary discussions to just the Preach My Gospel and following the spirit, I was like, Oh, my word, how are they going to know what to teach? At least I was told, and I had to memorize everything. Like, that blew my mind. When my daughter went out, that was it. You followed the spirit and you knew discussions. But yeah, how am I gonna know what to teach? All three of our concerns are very real. And they're addressed in Doctrine and Covenants Section 100.

So, let's jump into Section 100 because it addresses the concerns that Joseph Smith and Sidney Rigdon had when they were called on a month-long mission and they left their families behind. And in Joseph's own personal journal, he wrote, "I feel very well in my mind the Lord is with us, but have much anxiety about my family." He read your journal, huh, Becky Farley?

So let's look at Doctrine and Covenants, Section 100, verse 1, and see what the Lord had to say to Joseph and Sidney about their concerns over their families. And my question to you both is, What does this verse teach us about the Lord? So let's just read verse 1, and I will read it, and then you guys answer that question.

1 "Verily, thus saith the Lord unto you, my friends Sidney and Joseph, your families are well; they are in mine hands, and I will do with them as seemeth me good; for in me there is all power."

Becky 43:04
Uh, my feeling is, when you go on a mission, I've heard so often that there are blessings with your family. I've seen that, I saw it on my own mission, I saw it with my kids. We had our goddaughter, Gigi living with us for home MTC; she just left for her mission to Mesa, Arizona. And during it, we were able to have her mom and her brother come up and study the Book of Mormon scriptures with us at the same time.

And it was a huge blessing to our whole family. We became one family for that month. And just the discussions were so sacred, things that happened in our home with her family and our family. And I think that that was a real blessing. And I look at that last line, "I will do with them as seemeth me good; for in me there is all power." We felt a goodness and God's power in our home.

Tammy 44:11
Thank you, Farley. How about you, Monica, what does that verse tell you about the Lord?

Monica 44:16
I feel like being so far away from home, it's a great promise, knowing that He's in charge. There's no way that I can go back home easily or quickly. And so whatever happens, if I trust Him, I know that it's gonna be all right. And same with my mom, my dad. They know that I'm so far away that there's nothing they can do physically for me, but as long as the three of us, if we trust the Lord, we will be comforted and we will be protected and we will be fine.

Tammy 44:56
Monica, thanks for sharing that because I don't live far away from my family and you just changed the application of that for me, because it must be so hard to be away from your family. So thank you for sharing that. You really must have to rely on the Lord for that. That was awesome. Thank you, You know there's a powerful message in these next three verses that I want us to mark. At the end of verse 1, just write the number 12. And let's skip over to verse 12. We're going to connect these verses, because verse 12, is so cool, Becky, will you read that for us?

Becky 45:26
12 "Therefore, continue your journey and let your hearts rejoice; for behold, and lo, I am with you even unto the end.

Tammy 45:35
And then at the end of that verse, put 15-17. Let's read these three verses. Because there is such a powerful principle here and this teaching about waiting on the Lord. They were so nervous to go; they were so worried about their families while they were gone, and rightfully so. Lots of things were happening at this time. And the Lord says to them in verses 15-17, I'll read these.

15 "Therefore, let your hearts be comforted; for all things shall work together for your good to them that walk uprightly, and to the sanctification of the church.

16 "For I will raise up unto myself a pure people, that will serve me and righteousness;

16 "And all that call upon the name of the Lord, and keep his commandments, shall be saved. Even so, Amen."

Is there anything that specifically stood out to you about waiting on the Lord and trusting him?

Becky 46:23
So, many years ago, there was wording in the culture that felt very hurtful to me as a woman, and was difficult for me to process and understand. And I remember really struggling for years and years, with wondering if God saw me as a woman. And if I was just as loved and cared for. And when we got more revelation, and things started to come out, and I remember sitting in the temple and thinking my girls would never have to have that faith crisis or whatever you want to call it. I don't want to necessarily call it a crisis, but they wouldn't have to struggle with that the way that I struggled with it for decades. And I know that that wasn't the church that was talking; it was just people, you know, yeah, the culture at the time.

And I feel like that is so much of patiently waiting on the Lord. And if we just stay. Tam, you and I, we always talk about we're lifers, right? We're lifers, and I am. I'm a lifer in the Church. But boy, that was rough. Thank goodness that I married my husband, Doug. I knew he listened to me. And I knew that it was okay. But still, I wanted to know that God knew who I was. And what a blessing it was to wait it out.

Tammy 48:12
Thank you, Becky. And I look at verse 15. And I think "to them that walk uprightly"; you just didn't stop walking. And it was to the sanctification of the church and the people and you were blessed. Gosh, that was a great story. Thank you for sharing that.

Monica 48:28
I am grateful that you shared that because that's so tender. And the fact that you stayed and you waited. What would have happened if you didn't stay? Then the healing would have never come, not only for you, but for us. Because that same wound, having passed to the next generation and the next generation, and so thanks to your patience and to your trust in the Lord, now we have the chance to know who we are. And I am grateful for that. I am grateful that you waited.

Tammy 49:05
Me too, wow.

Becky 49:08
And you, too Monica, you waited. And you, too, Tam; we all waited.

Tammy 49:14
In both ways. We did in time and weighted. Boy, I handed a lot over to the Lord. Well, thank you, both of you so much. Thank you. Well, looking back in Section 100, there's three other verses we want to definitely mark and bracket off. They are verses 5-8. And this is significant because this kind of goes into, Well, what do I teach? And how am I going to teach it? They didn't have discussions back then. And so 5-8 is such great counsel on what the Lord will do for them. I love how He says I will give you thoughts and you speak the thoughts that I put in your heart. And that is so powerful. That's exactly what the church has decided to do.

Let's follow verses 5-8 and let's see how the missionaries do. Turns out - it worked. Workin real, real well. And I love those verses and the reason why we brought up these is because the title for Section 100 is "How and what to teach, promises." And we've just talked about the incredible promises found in Section 100. And so thank you, both of you for sharing your thoughts and your feelings on those promises. That was incredible.

All these segments, and our incredible discussion of them have led up to the heart and the deepest application of waiting on the Lord. Then the laws of war, retaliation and forgiveness. And we're gonna study this in the next segment.

Tammy 50:40
Doctrine and Covenants Section 101. This is the beginning of the end for the Saints in Missouri. I mean, the persecution is so intense, that their lives are being threatened, and mobs are driving them out of Jackson County. In fact, the section title is "Jackson County, why cast out?" That's what we're asking with this section. So I just want to start with these questions. You guys, as you read these verses, what did you mark, what did you think? I cried when I read these verses of scripture. What are some of the things you marked in the first couple of verses?

Monica 51:12
Verse 2, it says, "I, the Lord, have suffered the affliction to come upon them, wherewith they have been afflicted, in consequence of their transgressions;

3" Yet I will own them"......

Well, that's intense. Sometimes we fear pain and punishment. But we learn so much from pain, specifically. Pain teaches you, it changes you. I was just reading in the Book of Mormon, when Alma and Amulek, they witness that horrible scene of the women and the children being burned. That was a very difficult thing to see. And yet, the Lord allowed that to happen. When they came back to the people who actually fled and they were hiding, the first thing they preach was deliverance.

And so I thought, how did they talk about deliverance when they saw what they saw. Like, I can't imagine the power of the Spirit that worked in them; that the Lord healed his people through the testimony of Alma and Amulek. And the next generation had a wonderful Captain Moroni, a captain of the army who have that power of God, because of that testimony. And so when when I think about that, sometimes the Lord really let people suffer because there's a greater purpose that we don't see right now. But healing will come, great leaders will emerge from these terrible situations, and freedom will come. Protection will come for many other generations to come. So I find comfort in that.

Tammy 52:58
Oh, my gosh. Monica, I've never considered that perspective before. And it's interesting because in verse 4, "Therefore, they must needs to be chastened and tried, even as Abraham, who was commanded to offer his only son." I wrote to the outside of that 'I would love to be counted among the type of man of Abraham', because in James chapter two, verse 23, it says Abraham was a friend of God, meaning that Abraham was a covenant keeper. And he did what he was asked, and it was hard. It was so hard. That is why we are chastened and we go through these hard times in our life. But what is our witness?

Monica 53:34
Yes. I really like how you mentioned that word. If you read the Scripture in Alma of that story, Alma and Amulek were not watching, they were not looking. They were not terrified; they were witnessing. That's the word they used. They were witnesses of what was happening.

Becky 53:54
I love that. And I think it's true. The one I marked up was 5.

5 "For all those who will not endure chastening, but deny me, cannot be sanctified."

So I've thought about that word sanctification, and that it's being made holy. And I do believe that you're made holy by witnessing your emotions, by witnessing the hard things and allowing them to come in to change you, to turn to God. But I've never really thought about it, Monica, with that, and so I have another quick story. I had a stillborn 18 years ago, stillborn little boy, and I went through a pretty severe depression. And my daughter watched me go through the depression and watched me go to a therapist and try to move through it. And then I ended up learning how to meditate and being able to allow the emotions, see 'em come in.

And then she had a pretty hard moment in her life, where she went to a therapist. And she called me up and said, "I'm seeing a counselor to help me through this." And I said, "Wow, I'm so proud of you." And she said, "Mom, I watched you do it. And I knew that I could go have that, too." And that reminds me of that story that you told. Even the hard things if we allow our children to see that we are struggling. I mean, there was a long time that I was, it was pretty bad. And she was there witnessing that; even though she was just little, she witnessed it and then grew, because of seeing it.

Monica 55:52
Do you know that many people that's close to my mom, they will come and ask, "How can I help my children to obey, to become obedient? How can I change their course, because they're not taking right choices?" And she will always come and ask me, "What do I say?" And I say, "You have to heal yourself. It's not about the suffering; if they see you suffering, what do you do with that suffering? What do you do with your pain? If you're carrying on with you, and they experienced that with you, then they're going to carry that pain and that grief with them through their whole life."

Tammy 56:28
Monica, I'm curious to know, what, well what did you see your mom do? What stands out to you? How did she take care of herself? How did she heal?

Monica 56:37
So we have gone through really, really hard times. My parents are divorced now. So she went through, just like Becky said, she went through a really tough time in her life, where I saw her crying desperately and having four children alone. But trusting in the Lord and letting Him heal her wounds, her soul, that's what made me grow in faith and love and forgiveness.

Tammy 57:10
That's a beautiful example. Your mother. Oh, how sweet.

Becky 57:14
Yeah, we're not doing our kids any service if we act like we don't need Jesus.

Tammy 57:20
So cool. Well, thank you for that discussion. That was awesome. Okay, we don't even have time for all of Section 101. And it makes me so, so sad. So, really fast, I want you guys to mark verses 26-36 because those verses are about the Millennium. I love how in the middle of this revelation, He's like, By the way, let me tell you what the Millennium is going to be like. So study those on your own, it's so much fun. In verse 30, mark "Age of a tree." Joseph fielding Smith taught us that that is 100 years old. So make sure you mark that and know that. But in these verses, before we move on, is there anything else you wanted to point out or a verse that you love?

Becky 57:59
Verse 16 is my very favorite verse,

Tammy 58:01
Favorite of all time?

Becky 58:02
I think it is.

Ahh, can you read that verse for us?

16 "Therefore, let your hearts be comforted concerning Zion; for all flesh is in mine hands; be still and know that I am God."

I just think all flesh is in my hand. That's the good, the bad and the ugly. That's everybody. We don't have to worry about anybody else. I mean, one of my favorite things to say is there's three kinds of business. There's my business, there's your business, and there's God's business. And I gotta keep my nose out of your business and God's business. Quit your perfectionistic tendencies. Take a break. Eat some cheese. Take a breath. And know that God is God and you can be still.

Tammy 58:55
Farley, I'm so glad you brought that up. I didn't even know that was your favorite verse. It's so cool because when you said, "Be still and know that I am God," it is important for us to know this and to believe it in the world today. Gosh, especially when it comes to the parable in this next section that we're gonna study in the next segment. That was great timing. So thanks for sharing that Farley.

Tammy 59:23
Okay, we are going to just jump right back into the Section 101 because right in the middle of this section, the Lord inserts a parable. It starts in verse 44. And this is the parable of the nobleman, so you can bracket off verses 44 through basically 62 - it's long and glorious. So here's what we need to know. Verse 44, we have a certain nobleman. Highlight the word "nobleman" and put "the Lord," had a spot of land, very choice. So highlight the word "land," and he's talking specifically about Missouri right here.

44 "...and he said unto his servants: Go ye unto my vineyard, even upon this very choice piece of land, and plant twelve olive trees." Highlight "12 olive trees." In the context of this proverb, this means the settlements of the Saints in Missouri. But today the number 12, and in Hebrew, as we know, is equal of Israel and the whole Church. So this 12 olive trees is about all of us. And we learned last week, which was so cool, that we are the trees of Zion, we are the trees of Israel that the Lord has planted. So this is so cool how we're following up with this again of a tree analogy.

Then verse 45, "And set watchmen round about." Highlight "watchmen." This is the leaders in Missouri, or the leaders among the saints. So any of us in any type of leadership role - which is all of us, right? We're all leaders - it says, take them and build a tower. Now highlight the word "tower," because the word tower in this verse is a temple that they were commanded to build. And then it says, "that one may overlook the land round about and be a watchmen upon the tower."

So here we have this incredible parable. Now that you have the words, it's going to be so easy or easier, I should say, to read. And then look what the Lord says in this in verse 47.

47 "And while they were yet laying the foundation thereof, they began to say among themselves: And what need hath my lord of this tower?" or temple,

48 "And consulted for a long time, saying among themselves: What need hath my lord of this tower, seeing this is a time of peace?" - like nothing's going on, we're fine. Remember, the Lord said that people seek after me when they have difficult times. And in verse 49, they were even like, "Might not this money be given to the exchangers? For there's no need of these things?"

We're using some New Testament imagery there, but they are like, why would we spend so much money to build this temple? We're poor; we could use this money for so many other things. I mean, does that sound familiar? Monica, why are you smiling? Why are you laughing?

Monica 1:01:49
We don't, we don't really, we don't really value what's the true worth.

Tammy 1:01:54
Yeah, absolutely. And then look at verse 50.

50 "And while they were yet at variance one with another they became very slothful, and they hearkened not into the commandments of the lord. And then

51 "And the enemy came by night,..." Put a date next to that; it happened on October 31 1833.

So on October 30, 1833, the Saints sought legal action. They needed some help; they went into the local court in Independence, Missouri asking for troops, asking for any kind of help that they could get. And the mobs found out about this. So on October 31st, 1833, the mobs descended upon the Missouri Saints. So the Lord continues in this parable. And the nobleman comes in verse 52. And then he says to them in verse 53:

53 "Ought ye not to have done even as I commanded you". Highlight that and put "two years ago." Remember two years ago? I told you, I commanded you to build a temple, and you didn't do it. And if you had, we wouldn't be in this mess or in this scenario. So then in verse 55, he says, alright, here's what we're going to do.

55 "....take all the strength of mine house, which are my warriors, my young men, and they that are middle age, also among my servants, who are the strength of my house, save those only whom I have appointed to tarry," And put "Zions Camp" next to verse 55. He's kind of giving us sort of this prelude to what will happen. He's going to build up Zions camp, and they're going to have to go in and fight to get all of their land back. And then I love in this conversation back and forth between the servant and the nobleman in verses 58-60. So Becky, will you read that for us.

Becky 1:03:27
58 through 60?

Tammy 1:03:29
Yes, please.

Becky 1:03:30
58 "And inasmuch as they gather together against you, avenge me of mine enemies, that by and by I may come with the residue of mine house and possess the land.

59 "And the servant said unto his lord: When shall these things be?

60 " And he said unto his servant: When I will; go ye straightway, and do all things whatsoever I have commanded you;"

Tammy 1:03:55
Highlight the "when I will." I love this. I put "Michael Wilcox ambiguity" next to it. This is how the Lord loves ambiguity. Because he's like, well, when are you going to do this Lord, like, when I decide to, when I will. I'm not going to tell you the exact date or time, but here's what I want you to do. Just go straightway and do what I've asked you to do. And I think that is so wonderful. And then verse 62,

62 "And his servant went straightway, and did all things whatsoever the Lord commanded him; and after many days, all things were fulfilled."

There is this long interval between Zions camp, and this Redemption of Zion. And so that's kind of what it's alluding to also in those verses.

But then I love these next couple of verses talking about Zion, because in this proverb, the servant is Joseph Smith. But today, this is the Lord speaking to President Nelson. And I can just imagine President Nelson saying, "Well, when is all this going to happen?" And I love the Lord's like, "Whenever I decide, but you know what? Start telling the saints to gather, because we got some stuff to do." And so we have these really cool verses in 64; I put President Nelson's name next to verse 64. And Monica, will you please read verse 64.

Monica 1:05:03
64 "That the work of the gathering together of my saints may continue, that I may build them up unto my name upon holy places; for the time of harvest is come, and my word must needs to be fulfilled."

Tammy 1:05:17
Thank you. Okay, now in verse 65, circle the word "gather," and then go down to verse 67. And Monica, will you please read that verse for us.

Monica 1:05:27
67 "Therefore, a commandment I give unto all the churches, that they shall continue to gather together unto the places which I have appointed."

Tammy 1:05:35
Okay, highlight that word "gather." I'm going to give us a cross reference: it's Joel, chapter two, verse 16. And we don't need to go there. But if you do go there, in Joel chapter two, verse 16, it also uses the word gather in this same context - gathering before Christ comes again. So I looked up the word "gather" in Hebrew, in Joel chapter two, verse 16. And this is so cool. In Hebrew, it's "asef," and it means "to gather or collect men or people, as an army for fighting." Now, what are the Lord's intended benefits for us as saints in gathering, if we use the definition in Hebrew to gather as armies for fighting?

Monica 1:06:20
We're fighting for something good. We're protecting something good and so we need to be ready. You know that the Lord's is teaching us forgiveness, patience, love. But we also need to be ready to protect what's ours.

Tammy 1:06:42
Monica, that was spot on. I love that "we are fighting for something good." That was so great. I'm just thinking in my mind, like, how do you gather, Monica? I mean, how are you fighting for something good in a place where you can't openly do that? How are you fulfilling this parable in China?

Monica 1:07:00
That's a really good question. I feel like understanding the culture is helping me gather. I'm becoming one with a culture that I question. And I criticized a lot; I didn't feel like I belonged. But now I understand. And I appreciate, I see with so much admiration what the people has gone through in here. And I see how much love God has for each and every one of His children here in China.

And perhaps there are limitations in terms of the gospel, how we preach and how we gather as the Saints. But there are no limitations for us to embrace the people, the culture, the language. There's so much richness in this culture, and the Lord needs us to learn by.

Tammy 1:08:00
So I want to know, Monica, what prayer can we pray, as we're waiting on the Lord, for China?

Monica 1:08:07
You know what? Actually, President Nelson, he gave us a really good piece of advice back in 2018, I think it was a youth broadcast specifically about China. And he says that we need to pray for this land to be consecrated. We need to pray for the hearts of the people to be open. We need to learn the language, we need to learn the culture. There is 1.4 billion people in here. And many of them, they have no religion, they're not spiritual. Many of them have no knowledge of God, of Jesus Christ.

And so we cannot teach them the way that we're used to because they're a complete different people. They have a very different set of beliefs and values. And so we need to learn who they are first, before we try to teach them who Jesus Christ is, and how can He help them in their lives. So we should pray for them. We should pray for understanding, for learning.

Tammy 1:09:23
Okay, so can we just do this? Can we just pray for our brothers and sisters in China and for the country of China? Because I'm thinking in my mind, like, that is how we can help in the process of gathering. I can't go to China and physically do anything, but I can certainly pray for you guys. And so I really think that's what we need to do in helping this process of gathering. Let's just pray for this. Anything new for you, Becky? Any other thoughts about gathering or to be still and know that He is God?

Becky 1:09:51
I just loved listening to Monica with that and thinking that that just applies to anybody that maybe we don't understand. And I loved hearing, Monica, how you said that you criticized at the beginning. I just think so often what we don't know we criticize. So going back to that cube: turning it, turning it, looking at it from a different perspective, looking deeper. Seeing more.

Tammy 1:10:21
Yeah. I mean, look at verse 68, then about gathering.

68 "Nevertheless, as I have said unto you in a former commandment, let not your gathering be in haste, nor by flight; but let all things be prepared before you."

Like, wait on the Lord, take the time you need to gather, to learn about the culture, to pray for your brothers and sisters. Because we will be given power to gather; we are promised that - so much power to gather. So. Wow, thank you, both of you. Thank you. That's the end of our episode. Wow.

Monica 1:10:49
Thank YOU.

Becky 1:10:54
Yay,

Tammy 1:10:56
Really good. I loved that discussion. I couldn't have anticipated any of it, it was so good. There's a lot we didn't even get to. So for those of you who are listening, if you want go into our show notes; lots of quotes, all the information on John Murdock is there so go and check those out. And now I want you ladies to just kind of think about what was your takeaway from today? What's something you learned that you are going to just go, Oh, yeah, I'm gonna remember that.

Becky 1:11:17
I think mine is just Monica talking about learning the Chinese culture and gathering with them, and learning to love it. I just think that that is such a big thing to do now, because there's so many different viewpoints of everybody and everything and getting angry, and wanting vengeance. And wanting all of that doesn't really work. But loving and somehow gathering them in and understanding, listening to their viewpoint and not being afraid. That's what I'm going to take - is not to be fearful of other people that may have a different view than me. But that maybe it's also right, or I can learn something from it if I listen. And maybe they can learn something, from what I have to say.

Tammy 1:11:18
Thank you, Farley. What about you, Monica?

Monica 1:12:25
I think mine is the same. I do love how you spoke about gathering and in Zion. I do feel like the Millennium is gonna be a beautiful time for healing. We will have to get to know each other. We will have to embrace our identities, from our cultural backgrounds, to our political views, to everything that makes us who we are. And so a few weeks ago, when we were studying the Doctrine and Covenants 88, we read that. We are going to be quickened by the spirit with a portion of the Celestial glory.

Now imagine that combination: there could be a Chinese National with his portion of the Celestial glory, and a Mexican, and an American, and an Italian, and someone from the Middle East with their portion of the Celestial glory, and how that interaction is going to happen. We have to be ready; we have to be humble. We have to be accepting; we have to be inclusive, because Heaven is gonna look like that. All of us.

Yes, so good, Monica. Thank you, I love that. Wow. Ah, it's good.

Tammy 1:13:50
Okay, so my takeaway is: Monica, at the very beginning, you said, "When you let fear go, it's probably the time when the miracles come." And I really like that. Because in my experience in my life, fear is so damaging and controlling. And when God says to fear not, and if I can be still and know that He is God, you're right, the miracle will come. And it always has in my life. It hasn't been immediate, but it's come.

Thank you, ladies. Oh, thank you so much for being on this Week; that was a great discussion.

Monica 1:14:20
Thank you.

Tammy 1:14:21
Well, as always, we would love to hear your big takeaway from this episode. So if you haven't joined on Facebook or Instagram, just go do it, because it's so fun. It's such an incredible community. Everybody shares ideas and thoughts and they ask questions, so just go do it. And then usually on Saturday, we post a call for your big takeaway. So comment on the post that relates to this specific lesson. And just let us know what you learned. And it's really fun to read what everybody's learning throughout the week.

You can get to both our Facebook and Instagram by going to the show notes for this episode on LDSLiving.com/SundayonMonday and go there because you're going to find all of the references that we used and the quotes and a lot of information that we didn't even get to talk about today because it was just so packed, as well as a completely transcript of this discussion and glue-ins, so go check that out.

The Sunday on Monday study group is a Deseret Bookshelf Plus Original and it's brought to you by LDS Living. It's written and hosted by me, Tammy Uzelac Hall and today our incredible - oh my gosh, so great participants - were Monica Alvarado and Becky Farley. And you can find more information about these friends at LDSLiving.com/SundayonMonday. Our podcast is produced by Katy Lambert and me. It's recorded and mixed by Mix At Six Studios, and our Executive Producer is Erin Hallstrom.

Thanks for being here. We'll see you next week. And please remember that you really are God's favorite.

Brother Alvarado 1:15:37
Is there a KFC in Utah?

Becky 1:15:39
It's where KFC was founded - in Salt Lake City! KFC was founded, started here - Salt Lake City.

Tammy 1:15:54
K, it started in Utah. We'll take you to the 1st, original KFC,

The very first one original one, by Becky's house.

Becky 1:16:03
It's in Salt Lake.

Brother Alvarado 1:16:05
Which is pretty holy for me. You know, I'm a huge fan of KFC.

Becky 1:16:10
Chicken. Let's go get some chicken and biscuits and potatoes. We're on it!

Monica 1:16:16
China is obessed with KFC.

Tammy 1:16:18
Oh, they're everywhere. When I went to Asia, I ate at KFC every day. That's all I wanted. I'm not kidding.

Monica 1:16:26
I'm not the biggest fan but—

Brother Alvarado 1:16:28
I'm so happy to know you guys; finally I'm not lonely anymore.

Becky 1:16:31
No, just come. Come to Salt Lake and stay with us and we'll go, we'll go get KFC. Then we'll have to go get like, some, you know, Chick-Fil-A.

We'll do all the chicken.

Tammy 1:16:48
We'll do all the chicken, for sure. You guys are awesome.

Transcribed by Jenee Uzelac