Come, Follow Me Insights by Gogo Goff Doctrine and Covenants 64-66

I hope you enjoy some insights from my Come, Follow Me for Doctrine and Covenants 64-66, If you missed last week's insight, Doctrine and Covenants 60-63 click here for it. Please share this with your friends or use this picture to save this pin to read later:

The Command To Forgive.

"I, the Lord, will forgive whom I will forgive, but of you it is required to forgive all men."
Doctrine and Covenants 64:10

As Latter-day Saints, we are under direct command to forgive our ALL men, yet often we think we only need to forgive if someone has repeated. But that is not what the Lord has commanded us to do. We are to forgive all men. All trespasses. Regardless of if they ever repent. Some might not like this, they might think that they have been hurt because of the actions of another person. But we often forget Christ was hurt by our actions. Is not the death of the Son of the Living God enough to forgive each other?

"It is not right to go back and open up some ancient wound that the Son of God Himself died trying to heal. Let people repent. Let people grow. Believe that people can change and improve."
Jeffrey R. Holland

Where are the Keys?

"The keys of the kingdom of God are committed unto man on the earth, and from thence shall the gospel roll forth unto the ends of the earth, as the stone which is cut out of the mountain without hands shall roll forth, until it has filled the whole earth."
Doctrine and Covenants 65:2

The Priesthood is the power by which God created the universe and administers the ordinances of exaltation. Priesthood Authority is given to men to act in the name of Christ and to righteously weld the power of the Priesthood. Priesthood Keys are given to those who are called by God to lead and direct His Church on the Earth, declare doctrine, and most importantly, it is only under the direction of priesthood keys that the conferral of priesthood authority to worthy members is allowed and the exalting ordinances are administered.

The priesthood keys are the power Jesus Christ gave to the Apostles when He was on earth. After the ascension of Christ, the Apostles used the keys to spread the gospel 'to all the world.' They used the keys to confer the priesthood and ordain bishops and other leaders throughout the Church. But, just as the people were rejected Christ and true doctrine, so too eventually the people fell into apostasy and started to reject the apostles and true doctrine they taught. As the people rejected and/or killed each Apostle these keys were lost.

The question can be asked, Does anyone on earth today hold the priesthood keys? Does anyone have a legitimate claim to priesthood authority? The answer to both of those questions in a resounding, YES! There are keys on earth once again. In May of 1829 Peter, James and John, acting under the direction of Jesus Christ, appeared to the Prophet Joseph Smith and restored the priesthood key, these same keys Joseph Smith conferred upon the 12 Apostles in Nauvoo before his death. These keys have remained with the First Presidency and the 12 Apostles since then.

Ask, Seek, Knock, then Receive.

"Lay your hands upon the sick, and they shall recover. Return not till I, the Lord, shall send you. Be patient in affliction. Ask, and ye shall receive; knock, and it shall be opened unto you."
Doctrine and Covenants 66:9

Many people have the idea that we simply need to pray to receive revelation, but receiving revelation requires footwork. The very first step is to ask. Often we mistakenly think the first step is to ponder our questions or study them out. Whereas that is a vital step we should first ask God and then you must seek an answer. Asking God for help to understand our questions is like knocking on the doors of Deity, how can we expect to be let in if we do not knock?

The process is sure, knocking and seeking an answer from Diety works! But the final ingredient is important, it will come in His timing. Patience is required. Our society teaches us that we need things now, fast food, instant messages, and microwaveable pizza are just a few examples. But with the Lord, we must understand everything is on His timetables. Some prayers get answered immediately, others take time, some won't get answers until the next life. That is ok when you realize we are eternal beings. Whereas we may not understand a doctrine or something that happened in our history, the promise is sure: If we ask, seek, and knock on the doors of Deity we will receive the peace and understanding that we need, we may not know everything but it will be enough.

"If we expect to receive, we must ask, seek, and knock"
Carol F. McConkie