D&C 67:1-14
Doctrine & Covenants > Section 67
Contents
Historical setting
Outline and brief summary
D&C 67 is addressed to __
D&C 67 can be outlined as follows:
Detailed discussion
Verse 10
Here the Lord promises those he is speaking to that have been ordained to this ministry that if they strip themselves of jealousies and fears and humble themselves, they will see the Lord and know that he is. This is then followed with the statement "not with the carnal neither natural mind, but with the spiritual." Though this statement could refer only to (a) seeing God, or only to (b) knowing that God is, it makes sense to assume it applies to both. As it applies to seeing God (a), this is a promise to see God with spiritual eyes. This is similar to what Moses says about seeing God in Moses 1:11 and what the Lord says about it in D&C 67:11-13. (See related links for more on seeing God with spiritual eyes.) If this statement applies to the knowledge that the Lord is (b), this is a promise to know with the spiritual mind that God is. This is similar to what Paul says in 1 Cor 2:14.
Verse 11-14
Verse 13 tells us that those at the conference (see section heading) were not ready to be in the presence of God. This is given as an explanation for why they had not seen God; they had not seen Him because they were not ready to be in His presence. The last phrase of verse 13 "continue in patience until ye are perfected" and the the phrase "when ye are worthy" in verse 14, along with verses 11 and 12, suggest that those at the conference addressed here were not yet ready to see God because they were not yet sufficiently spiritual.
The point of these verses seems to be to explain why promises previously given--promises to see God--hadn't yet been fulfilled. Under this interpretation "that which was conferred upon you by the hands of my servant Joseph Smith, Jun." refers to a promise previously given by Joseph Smith (possibly through the laying on of hands) to see God.
Relation to other scriptures
Related sections and chapters
- Click the edit link above and to the right to add related passages
Parallel passages
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Text transmission and circulation
- The oldest surviving copy of D&C 67 is __.
- D&C 67 was first published in __.
- D&C 67 was first included in the Doctrine & Covenants in the 18__ edition.
- The text of D&C 67 in significant editions of the Doctrine & Covenants can be found at: <NEED TO UPDATE REFERENCES>
- Changes to the text of D&C 67:
Questions for further study and reflection
Verse 3
- What blessing is being referred to with the phrase "the blessing which was offered unto you"?
Verse 10
- How do we strip ourselves of fear (see D&C 63:16)?
Verse 11
- Why does the Lord tell us that someone must be quickened by the Spirit of God to see God?
Verse 14
- What is the Lord telling them not to do when he says "let not your minds turn back"? What would it mean to turn back their minds?
Footnotes
Additional resources
- See the sub-page Seeing God with spiritual eyes for a possible explanation of the reason the scriptures emphasize this point.
- We can overcome pride, fear, and jealousy through Belief Work.
