DC 19:3 the last great day of judgment
Dallin H. Oaks
First, I speak of the final judgment. This is that future occasion in which all of us will stand before the judgment seat of Christ to be judged according to our works (see 1 Ne. 15:33; 3 Ne. 27:15; Morm. 3:20; D&C 19:3). Some Christians look on this as the time when individuals are assigned to heaven or hell. With the increased understanding we have received from the Restoration, Latter-day Saints understand the final judgment as the time when all mankind will receive their personal dominions in the mansions prepared for them in the various kingdoms of glory (see D&C 76:111; John 14:2; 1 Cor. 15:40–44). (“ ‘Judge Not’ and Judging,” Ensign, Aug. 1999, 7)
DC 19:15 repent, lest I smite you by the rod of my mouth
Vaughn J. Featherstone
Imagine the rod of the mouth of God punishing in His wrath those who commit incest or similar evils. How is it possible to comprehend the suffering through which the unrepentant will go? Their punishment will be Endless (God's) punishment. Those who have chosen not to repent will suffer until they have paid the full demands of justice. Once justice has been satisfied through their own personal suffering, then their debt will have been paid in full. But let there be no doubt—they will either repent or suffer. (The Incomparable Christ: Our Master and Model [Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1995], 20 - 21.)
Spencer J. Condie
This wonderful plan of happiness was provided at a very high price… Every drop of divine blood was payment for a costly plan that provided us with moral agency, the ability to become righteous or to sin, and the miracle of forgiveness, which enables us to become cleansed from our sins through repentance, priesthood ordinances, and endurance to the end. (“Agency: The Gift of Choices,” Ensign, Sept. 1995, 19)
DC 19:18 to bleed at every pore
Because the Luke version of Gethsemane states that “his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground” (Lu. 22:44, italics added), some historians have concluded that he didn’t really sweat blood—that his sweat merely fell to the earth as if it were blood. The Doctrine and Covenants and the Book of Mormon (Mosiah 3:7) make it abundantly clear that Jesus literally sweat blood.
Russell M. Nelson
The word Gethsemane comes from two Hebrew roots: gath, meaning “press,” and shemen, meaning “oil,” especially that of the olive.
There olives had been pressed under the weight of great stone wheels to squeeze precious oil from the olives. So the Christ in the Garden of Gethsemane was literally pressed under the weight of the sins of the world. He sweated great drops of blood—his life’s ‘oil’—which issued from every pore. (“Why This Holy Land?” Ensign, Dec. 1989, 17–18)
DC 19:18 to suffer both body and spirit
“The Atonement of Jesus Christ cost the blood and life and indescribable suffering of a God. Contrary to the thoughts of some, it was not mental suffering alone; it was intense prolonged anguish, ‘both body and spirit’ (D&C 19:18; emphasis added). It was physical, spiritual, intellectual, and emotional pain of the highest order, all wrapped into one.” (Tad R. Callister, The Infinite Atonement, 117)
DC 19:20 confess your sins, lest you suffer these punishments
Dennis B. Neuenschwander
I have asked myself, Why would the Lord require confession of us? He already knows everything to begin with. If He knows what we need before we ask, He must also know of our sins, iniquities, transgressions, and faults. Why would He require us to confess them to Him?…
Confession helps us take responsibility. Confession is a statement of personal responsibility for our actions…Our accountability to God, as our Father and Creator, is one of the most basic lessons of the gospel. Likewise, the assumption of responsibility for our own actions is one of the strongest indicators that we are becoming more like Him. We cannot develop ourselves spiritually by blaming another for our condition. To do so would be to deny the Atonement of Christ…
Confession helps us to be healed. Confession is the beginning of the healing process. Sin destroys our unity with God, for as He says, He “cannot look upon sin with the least degree of allowance” (D&C 1:31). I love to hear those coming back into the Church after having lost their membership say that they feel whole again….As we desire full and complete healing, so must our confession be full and complete to the Lord. It must also be completely voluntary. There can be no coercion in the confession that leads to healing.
Confession eliminates adversarial feelings. Confession eliminates every adversarial relationship in our reconciliation with God…Contrast this with others who will not or do not confess their transgressions. Their lives are filled with bitterness, anger, impatience, and harsh judgment toward others and with fierce justification of their actions. In the absence of true and full confession, we witness the presence of pride and a lack of responsibility for their own actions.
Confession opens the way to forgiveness and compassion. Elder Dallin H. Oaks of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles has taught that “since there is no repentance and no forgiveness without confession, all sins must be confessed to the Lord, and serious sins must be confessed to the bishop” (Counsel for Stake Presidencies, videocassette). Too many Church members fear that confession to the bishop or stake president will bring harsh judgment upon them. This indeed might be the case in some instances, but confession is not the key to judgment; confession is the key to compassion. (“The Path of Growth,” Ensign, Dec. 1999, 15-16)
DC 19:23 Learn of me, and listen to my words
Chieko N. Okazaki
These words give me the feeling of such closeness to, such intimacy with the Savior, looking at him, listening to him, learning from him, walking with him, and feeling his peace like his very arms around me. Within each of us is an intense hunger for this intimacy with and closeness to him. I think we all want to feel his spirit around us. (Lighten Up! [Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1993], 199.)
DC 19:25 Martin Harris’ 10 Commandments
Perhaps it is useful to examine the commandments given to Martin Harris in the form of a list. These can be applied to anyone who has been called to the ministry but has a serious need to repent. Are these any less important than the commandments which came from Sinai?
The 10 Commandments
1) I command you…to repent…and…confess your sins (v. 15, 20)
2) Preach naught but repentance, and show not these things unto the world (v. 21)
3) Learn of me, and listen to my words; walk in the meekness of my Spirit (v. 23)
4) Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s wife; nor seek thy neighbor’s life (v. 25)
5) Thou shalt not covet thine own property (v. 26)
6) Thou shalt pray vocally as well as in thy heart (v. 28, 38)
7) Thou shalt declare glad tidings…among every people that thou shalt be permitted to see (v. 29)
8) Of tenets thou shalt not talk, but thou shalt declare repentance and faith on the Savior, and remission of sins by baptism, and by fire, yea, even the Holy Ghost (v. 31, 37)
9) Impart a portion of thy property for the work (v. 34)
10) Pay the debt thou hast contracted…Release thyself from bondage (v. 35)
DC 19:35 Pay the debt thou hast contracted…Release thyself from bondage
Gordon B. Hinckley
I am troubled by the huge consumer installment debt which hangs over the people of the nation, including our own people. In March 1997 that debt totaled $1.2 trillion, which represented a 7 percent increase over the previous year… Consumer debt as a percentage of disposable income rose from 16.3 percent in 1993 to 19.3 percent in 1996.
Everyone knows that every dollar borrowed carries with it the penalty of paying interest. When money cannot be repaid, then bankruptcy follows. There were 1,350,118 bankruptcies in the United States last year. This represented a 50 percent increase from 1992…
We are beguiled by seductive advertising. Television carries the enticing invitation to borrow up to 125 percent of the value of one’s home. But no mention is made of interest.
President J. Reuben Clark Jr., in the April 1938 general conference, said from this pulpit: “Once in debt, interest is your companion every minute of the day and night; you cannot shun it or slip away from it; you cannot dismiss it; it yields neither to entreaties, demands, or orders; and whenever you get in its way or cross its course or fail to meet its demands, it crushes you” (in Conference Report, Apr. 1938, 103).
I recognize that it may be necessary to borrow to get a home, of course. But let us buy a home that we can afford and thus ease the payments which will constantly hang over our heads without mercy or respite for as long as 30 years…
Since the beginnings of the Church, the Lord has spoken on this matter of debt. To Martin Harris through revelation He said: “Pay the debt thou hast contracted with the printer. Release thyself from bondage” (D&C 19:35).
President Heber J. Grant spoke repeatedly on this matter from this pulpit. He said: “If there is any one thing that will bring peace and contentment into the human heart, and into the family, it is to live within our means. And if there is any one thing that is grinding and discouraging and disheartening, it is to have debts and obligations that one cannot meet” (Gospel Standards, comp. G. Homer Durham [1941], 111).
We are carrying a message of self-reliance throughout the Church. Self-reliance cannot obtain when there is serious debt hanging over a household. One has neither independence nor freedom from bondage when he is obligated to others. (“To the Boys and to the Men,” Ensign, Nov. 1998, 53)
D&C 19:38 Henry B. Eyring
In that scripture (DC 19:38-41), and in others, it is clear how often we should speak to God: regularly in words, continually in feelings. When the Savior appeared among the people on this continent, after his resurrection, he taught them how to pray. He used the words, “Pray always.” That doesn’t mean now and then. It doesn’t mean to pray only when you feel like it. (“To Draw Closer to God,” Ensign, May 1991, 66–67)
Hesed- Protect, protect, protect
Covenantal love
God shows His love for us. How can we show our love for Him?
Discussion with Rachel about tithing and HSA accounts, retirement. "He just wants to know you're willing to give it all."
The Savior chose to suffer so we could choose to repent.
“God’s anger is kindled not because we have harmed him but because we have harmed ourselves”
Our soul was bought with the blood of a God.
Not repent or not. Repent or suffer.
Later pain couldn’t lift me home.
Elder Christofferson “Suffering in and of itself doesn’t necessarily lead to repentance.”
Sin causes the suffering, not repentance.
I have suffered these things that they might not suffer.
Repentance isn’t something to run away from. It’s actually one of the greatest sources of joy that we have access to.
Repentance- hopeful and encouraging word in English dictionary.
New perspective
