Section 76

Sometimes when I teach, certain things about a section stand out. Maybe they aren't the most important, but to me they are very interesting.

According to Brigham Young, "When God revealed to Joseph Smith and Sidney Rigdon that there was a place prepared for all, according to the light they had received and the rejection of evil and practice of good, it was a great trial to many, and some apostatized because God was not going to send to everlasting punishment heathens and infants, but had a place of salvation, in due time, for all, and would bless the honest and virtuous and truthful, whether they ever belonged to any church or not."

It seems to me this has always been the case. Whenever the Lord reveals something that changes things, people have two reactions. They either rejoice that the Lord has given his people new knowledge or get angry because the new revelation contradicts some long held belief. If it contradicts what they believe, they can either do what Brigham Young said, "I used to think and pray, to read and think, until I knew and fully understood it for myself, by the visions of the Holy Spirit" or they can hold onto their preconceived notions about how God should run things.

Smart people will embrace the former and reject the latter.

Also, sometimes we fall into Satan's trap and believe that we are not celestial material. When we do our best, the atonement of Jesus Christ makes up the rest. If you haven't, read Stephen Robinson's BELIEVING CHRIST and FOLLOWING CHRIST. It will give you a whole new outlook on "making it to the top." I know these books changed how I looked about my relationship with the Savior.