D&C 89:4-6

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Doctrine & Covenants > Section 89 > Verses 4-6
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Questions

Verse 4

  • Who are the "conspiring men" mentioned in verse 4, and why do we need to be warned about them?
  • How does the Word of Wisdom serve as a warning (verse 4)?

Verse 6

  • What is "pure wine of the grape of the vine"? Does this mean that the grape hasn't fermented, and is therefore "pure"?

Lexical notes

  • Click the edit link above and to the right to add lexical notes


Exegesis

Verse 4

With this verse, the tone of the revelation changes abruptly, introduced as it is by a three-fold summons to attention: "Behold," "verily," and "thus saith the Lord unto you." The three-fold summons, interestingly, answers to the rather common triplet in scripture: eyes, ears, and heart. One is to behold with the eyes, hear what the Lord saith with the ears, and recognize the truth (verity) of the revelation with the heart. At any rate, it becomes quite clear at this point that the revelation is a revelation.

Whereas the previous three verses have dwelt more precisely on questions of the relation between the spiritual and the temporal, this verse is quite a bit simpler about the roots of the revelation: it comes, quite explicitly, as a "consequence," as a "following-with." This causality of sorts allows one to view the revelation as a response on the Lord's part, as a reaction against a certain state of affairs. The state of affairs: "evils and designs which do and will exist in the hearts of conspiring men in the last days." There are a few different important points in this short phrase.

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