Doctrine and Covenants 58-59 Quotes and Notes

D&C 58 August 1, 1831

Twelve days prior to this revelation, Joseph Smith identified the place of the New Jerusalem and the building of the great temple of the latter days— that place being Independence, Missouri. Two days after this revelation was received, the Prophet dedicated the land for this purpose.

Introducing this revelation, he noted that “the first Sabbath after our arrival in Jackson county, Brother W. W. Phelps preached to a western audience over the boundary of the United States, wherein were present specimens of all the families of the earth; Shem, Ham and Japheth… fully represented themselves as pioneers of the West. At this meeting two were baptized, who had previously believed in the fulness of the Gospel.

“During this week the Colesville branch, referred to in the latter part of the last revelation, and Sidney Rigdon, Sidney Gilbert and wife and Elders Morley and Booth, arrived. I received the following.”^[1]Smith, History of the Church, 1:190-91.

58.2 Blessed is he that keepeth my commandments, whether in life or in death. 

Death is the temporary separation of the body and the spirit. The spirit goes to a world of spirits to await the day of resurrection, the inseparable union of body and spirit. These simple truths, lost to the Bible- believing world and restored to us in the Book of Mormon (Alma 40), bring with them the understanding that those who were prevented from complying with the full law of the gospel in this life will have that opportunity to do so in the worlds to come. Thus that world is an extension of the present world, to which the desires of our hearts follow us. Someone who kept the commandments here will keep them there. Those who loved light and truth here will love it there. Those who would have embraced the gospel here and valiantly defended the truth but died without the opportunity will have it there. Thus death enhances the righteous in the pursuit of godliness and grants light to all who desire to see the light.^[2]McConkie and Ostler, Revelations of the Restoration, A Commentary on the Doctrine and Covenants and Other Modern Revelations, Deseret Book, 2000, p. 417-418.

58.3-5 When? Soon!

These verses (58.3-5) contain the Lord’s answer to the Prophet’s question as to when the wilderness would blossom as a rose and Zion be built up in her glory. The Lord knew that it would be “many years” before the Saints received inheritances in the land of Zion (D&C 58.44) and that only the path of tribulation would lead to the glory they sought. The Saints of the early 1830s could scarcely have conceived the ugly scenes that awaited them. Where the glory of heaven is destined to rest we can but expect the legions of the adversary to wage their best fight.^[3]Ibid., p. 418.

Elder McConkie gave this answer to the question:

“In the true sense, the wilderness shall blossom as the rose when the earth is renewed and receives its paradisiacal glory. In the full sense, Zion shall regain her ancient glory, and attain that grandeur and might promised in the prophetic word, only during the Millennium, though the work of establishing Zion and building the New Jerusalem must precede our Lord’s return. And as to the temple unto which all nations shall come in the last days, it shall be built in the New Jerusalem before the Second Coming, all as a part of the preparatory processes that will make ready a people for their Lord’s return.”^[4]Elder Bruce R. McConkie, New Witness to the Articles of Faith, 595.

Being patient in tribulation

Bryce mentioned in this podcast the importance of being patient in tribulation and shared this quote:

I ask you to stop this criticism. You are discussing a matter you know nothing about. Cold historic facts mean nothing here for they give no proper interpretation of the questions involved. Mistake to send the Hand Cart Company out so late in the season? Yes. But I was in that Company. We suffered beyond anything you can imagine and many died of exposure and starvation, but did you ever hear a survivor of that company utter a word of criticism? No one of that company ever apostatized or left the church because every one of us came through with the absolute knowledge that God lives for we became acquainted with him in our extremities. I have pulled my hand cart when I was so weak and weary from illness and lack of food that I could hardly put one foot ahead of the other. I have looked ahead and seen a patch of sand or a hill slope and I have said I can go only that far and there I must give up for I cannot pull the load through it. I have gone on to that sand and when I reached it the cart began pushing me. I have looked back many times to see who was pushing my cart but my eyes saw no one. I knew then that the angels of God were there. Was I sorry that I chose to come by hand cart? No. Neither then nor any minute of my life since. The price we paid to become acquainted with God was a privilege to pay and I am thankful that I was privileged to come in the Martin Hand Cart Company. ^[5]Francis Webster, The Relief Society Magazine, Jan. 1948, 8; also Ensign, May 1979, 53. One historian gives this analysis of this quotation: Although Francis Webster’s assertion that none … Continue reading

Several men reprimanded in this section [Edward Partridge (15), Unnamed naysayers (29-33) Martin Harris (35-39), W.W. Phelps (40-42), Ziba Peterson (60)]

Edward Partridge 58.15

The Lord had called Bishop Edward Partridge to direct the efforts to build the city of Zion. In so doing, the Lord instructed Bishop Partridge and Sidney Gilbert to stay in Missouri to manage the properties of the Church and purchase land in and around Independence, Missouri (D&C 57.7–8). As the Saints prepared to purchase land, Bishop Partridge argued with Joseph Smith about the quality of the land that had been selected. He felt that different parcels of land should be purchased instead. This disagreement led to a rebuke from the Lord.^[6]Bishop Partridge argued with Joseph Smith about the quality of the land that had been selected in Missouri. He felt that different parcels of land should be purchased instead. The Lord chastened … Continue reading

Unnamed Doubters 58.29-33

But he that doeth not anything until he is commanded, and receiveth a commandment with doubtful heart, and keepeth it with slothfulness, the same is damned. Who am I that amade man, saith the Lord, that will hold him guiltless that obeys not my commandments? Who am I, saith the Lord, that have promised and have not fulfilled? I command and men obey not; I revoke and they receive not the blessing. Then they say in their hearts: This is not the work of the Lord, for his promises are not fulfilled. But wo unto such, for their reward lurketh beneath, and not from above (D&C 58.29-33).

Heber J. Grant shared this counsel, “Never be found among the number that try to see how little they can do; but always be found among the number that try to see how much they can do.”^[7]Heber J. Grant, Gospel Standards, 97.

58.29-33 They say in their hearts… his promises are not fulfilled

In the aftermath of the 1838 Missouri War, John Corrill, a man of great faithfulness until 1838, wound up testifying against the Prophet Joseph Smith. The conflict, to him, was evidence that God was not with the Saints. He is reported as stating the following:

When I retrace our track, and view the doings of the church for six years past, I can see nothing that convinces me that God has been our leader; calculation after calculation has failed, and plan after plan has been overthrown, and our prophet seemed not to know the event till too late. If he said go up and prosper, still we did not prosper; but have labored and toiled, and waded through trials, difficulties, and temptations, of various kinds, in hope of deliverance. But no deliverance came.^[8]Richard Bushman, Rough Stone Rolling, p. 379.

Ziba Peterson 58.60

Ziba’s mission to the Lamanites, and eventually to Lafayette had a lasting impact on his future church involvement and later life. Some of the new converts that Ziba found resided in western Lafayette County, near the Jackson County line. This appears related to Peterson’s decision to accept a teaching job in nearby Lone Jack. Soon after, on August 11, 1831, he married Rebecca Hooper, a convert to the Church, in the summer of 1833. Ziba and Rebecca would eventually have eight children.^[9] See: Garrett, H. Dean (2000). “Peterson, Ziba.” In Richard O. Cowan; Donald Q. Cannon; Arnold K. Garr (eds.). Encyclopedia of Latter-day Saint History. Salt Lake City, Utah: Deseret … Continue reading Ziba Peterson is reprimanded by the Lord in D&C 58.60 on August 1, 1831. Ziba was also publicly reprimanded at a Church conference four days after the revelation of Section 58. Because his marriage to Rebecca came so soon after the reprimand, some wondered if the two events were related; however, there is no historical evidence to support this relationship.^[10]See: H. Dean Garrett, Ziba Peterson, from missionary to hanging sheriff, p. 30. Ziba leaves the church shortly after his marriage to Rebecca, and eventually moves to California in 1848, moving to a town then known as Dry Diggins (now Placerville) where he is elected sheriff. Garrett (p. 31-32) sums up Ziba’s life as follows: “Ziba Peterson’s life had many different facets. As a convert, he became a firm believer. He served his God in missionary work and traveled though difficult country and bore powerful testimony to many who were converted and baptized. Eventually, Ziba apostatized and left the Church. He settled in Missouri, and, according to the land records, made a living by farming. He later moved to Dry Diggins, California, where he became the local sheriff. From New York to California and from missionary to hanging sheriff, Peterson lived a varied life. He had the opportunity to bear witness of the truthfulness of the rested gospel; sadly, however, he died a long way from the truth and without the association of the Saints.

58.18 A judge in Israel

It must be remembered that bishops judge only for one’s standing or one’s stewardship in the Church (see D&C 64:40; 107:72–74) and are not to be thought of as empowered to judge infractions of civil law or to impose punishments for crimes (see D&C 42:79–86).^[11]H. Dean Garrett and Stephen E. Robinson, Commentary on the Doctrine and Covenants, Volume 2.

Reference is to judges and officers that sat in the gates of the cities of ancient Israel. To them were brought the disputes and legal matters of the community, which they were to settle. Judges also taught the law of God to the Lord’s people and instructed them in the ways of righteousness. Moses, the great judge among the Old Testament prophets, and his successor, Joshua, had the additional responsibility of dividing the land of Canaan among the various tribes of the house of Israel. The reception of the land of Canaan was in fulfillment of Abraham’s covenant with God, wherein the Lord promised Abraham: “I will give unto thee, and to thy seed after thee, the land wherein thou art a stranger, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession” (Genesis 17:8). In this revelation the Lord restored the principle of receiving a land inheritance that was integral to the Abrahamic covenant. Bishop Edward Partridge filled a similar role to the ancient judges when Saints received inheritances at his hand. This land assignment also prefigured the day when the Saints will literally inherit the earth.^[12]McConkie and Ostler, p. 421.

58.28 Anxiously Engaged… Agents unto themselves

The doctrine of agency finds place among the plain and precious things lost from the text of the Bible. In his inspired translation of the book of Genesis, Joseph Smith first learned about our premortal estate, the Grand Council in heaven, Lucifer’s rebellion and his desire to destroy the gift of agency that God had given to all of his spirit children (Moses 4:1-4).

In a revelation received in September 1830, the Prophet learned that the Lord charged Adam to be an agent unto himself while in Eden (D&C 29:35). After the Fall, when Adam and Eve became parents, the Lord said, “It is given unto them to know good from evil; wherefore they are agents unto themselves” (Moses 6:56).

As an agent unto yourself, you have the power of self-action. That is, you determine how you are going to act or what you are going to do. In the dictionary of Joseph Smith’s day, agency was defined as “exerting power” or the “state of being in action.” An “agent” was defined as one “entrusted with the concerns of another.” The dictionary cited as examples an attorney or a minister (Webster, Dictionary, 1828, s.v. “agent”). There is no hint or intimation that the word has anything to do with choosing or the freedom of choice.

Teaching this principle, Joseph Fielding Smith said: “I have heard people say, and members of the Church too, ‘I have a right to do as I please.’ My answer is: No, you do not. You haven’t any right at all to do just as you please. There is only one right that you have, and that is to do just what I read to you: keep the commandments of Jesus Christ. He has a perfect right to tell us so. We have no right to refuse. I do not care who the man is; I do not care where he lives, or what he is— when the gospel of Jesus Christ is presented to him, he has no right to refuse to receive it. He has the privilege. He is not compelled to receive it, because our Father in heaven has given to everyone of us, in the Church and out, the gift of free agency. That free agency gives us the privilege to accept and be loyal to our Lord’s commandments, but it has never given us the right to reject them. Every man who rejects the commandments of our Father in heaven is rebellious.“^[13]Conference Report, April 1967, 120-21.

Scripture speaks of our being moral agents (D&C 101:78). A moral agent is someone who is obligated to act morally. To act morally is more than being moral. All infants are moral beings; they simply cannot do things that are wrong. They are not, however, moral agents because they do not have the power to act, the power to bring about change. The more mature the child, the greater his or her agency and ability to grow up into the power to act for himself, to make his own choices.

Similarly, as we grow in intelligence—meaning light and knowledge—in obedience, and faith, our agency grows proportionately. To increase in faith and knowledge of spiritual things is at the same time to increase in agency. Thus, God becomes the perfect example of a moral agent. No one has a greater power to act in a responsible and moral manner than he does.

Salvation can be granted only to moral agents, for only moral agents have the ability to distinguish between right and wrong and they alone have the capacity to be righteous.^[14]McConkie and Ostler, p. 423-424.

58.50 Sidney Rigdon is instructed to write a description of the Land of Zion

This verse should be cross-referenced with D&C 63.55-56, where the Lord instructs Sidney to write a different description of the land of Zion. Joseph Fielding Smith explains:

Sidney Rigdon was also called by revelation to write a description of it, to be sent “unto all the churches.” (DC 58:50-51) One object of this description was to stir up the Saints to donate for the purchase of the lands, by placing in the hands of the bishop money for that purpose… The first description written was rejected by the Lord, and Sidney Rigdon was commanded to write another.^[15]Joseph Fielding Smith, Essentials in Church History [Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1950], 111. Our present records do not contain any further description of the land written by him.

A description of the land

As we had received a commandment for Elder Rigdon to write a description of the land of Zion, we sought for all the information necessary to accomplish so desirable an object. The country is unlike the timbered states of the East. As far as the eye can reach the beautiful rolling prairies lie spread out like a sea of meadows; and are decorated with a growth of flowers so gorgeous and grand as to exceed description; and nothing is more fruitful, or a richer stockholder in the blooming prairie than the honey bee. Only on the water courses is timber to be found. There in strips from one to three miles in width, and following faithfully the meanderings of the streams, it grows in luxuriant forests. The forests are a mixture of oak, hickory, black walnut, elm, ash, cherry, honey locust, mulberry, coffee bean, hackberry, boxelder, and bass wood; with the addition of cottonwood, butterwood, pecan, and soft and hard maple upon the bottoms. The shrubbery is beautiful, and consists in part of plums, grapes, crab apple, and persimmons.

The soil is rich and fertile; from three to ten feet deep, and generally composed of a rich black mold, intermingled with clay and sand. It yields in abundance, wheat, corn, sweet potatoes, cotton and many other common agricultural products. Horses, cattle and hogs, though of an inferior breed, are tolerably plentiful and seem nearly to raise themselves by grazing in the vast prairie range in summer, and feeding upon the bottoms in winter. The wild game is less plentiful of course where man has commenced the cultivation of the soil, than in the wild prairies. Buffalo, elk, deer, bear, wolves, beaver and many smaller animals here roam at pleasure. Turkeys, geese, swans, ducks, yea a variety of the feathered tribe, are among the rich abundance that grace the delightful regions of this goodly land-the heritage of the children of God.

The season is mild and delightful nearly three quarters of the year, and as the land of Zion, situated at about equal distances from the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, as well as from the Alleghany and Rocky mountains, in the thirty-ninth degree of north latitude, and between the sixteenth and seventeenth degrees of west longitude, it bids fair-when the curse is taken from the land-to become one of the most blessed places on the globe. The winters are milder than the Atlantic states of the same parallel of latitude, and the weather is more agreeable; so that were the virtues of the inhabitants only equal to the blessings of the Lord which He permits to crown the industry of those inhabitants, there would be a measure of the good things of life for the benefit of the Saints, full, pressed down, and running over, even an hundred-fold. The disadvantages here, as in all new countries, are self-evident-lack of mills and schools; together with the natural privations and inconveniences which the hand of industry, the refinement of society, and the polish of science, overcome.

But all these impediments vanish when it is recollected what the Prophets have said concerning Zion in the last days; how the glory of Lebanon is to come upon her; the fir tree, the pine tree, and the box tree together, to beautify the place of His sanctuary, that He may make the place of His feet glorious. Where for brass, He will bring gold; and for iron, He will bring silver; and for wood, brass; and for stones, iron; and where the feast of fat things will be given to the just; yea, when the splendor of the Lord is brought to our consideration for the good of His people, the calculations of men and the vain glory of the world vanish, and we exclaim, “Out of Zion the perfection of beauty, God hath shined.”^[16]History of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 7 vols., introduction and notes by B. H. Roberts [Salt Lake City: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1932-1951], 1: … Continue reading

58.52-55 Wisdom… order… purchase

Much wisdom is laid out in these verses, especially in hindsight. Were the Saints at fault in being dismissed by the settlers of Jackson County? It is certainly complicated.

One historian noted, “The Saints themselves may not have been totally without blame in the matter. The feelings of the Missourians, even though misplaced, were undoubtedly intensified by the rhetoric of the gathering itself. They were quick to listen to the boasting of a few overly zealous Saints who loudly declared a divine right to the land. As enthusiastic millennialists, they also proclaimed that the time of the gentiles was short, and they were perhaps too quick to quote the revelation that said ‘the Lord willeth that the disciples and the children of men should open their hearts, even to purchase this whole region of country, as soon as time will permit.’ (D&C 58:52.) Though the Saints were specifically and repeatedly commanded to be peaceful and to never shed blood, some seemed unwisely to threaten warfare if they could not fulfill the commandment peacefully. In July 1833 Church leaders reemphasized the importance of legally purchasing land, but by then a combination of factors was leading to confrontation.”^[17]James B. Allen and Glen M. Leonard, The Story of the Latter-day Saints, Deseret Book, 1992, p. 94.

58.57 Let my servant Sidney Rigdon dedicate and consecrate this land

“On the second day of August,” wrote the Prophet Joseph Smith, “I assisted the Colesville branch of the Church to lay the first log, for a house, as a foundation of Zion in Kaw township, twelve miles west of Independence. The log was carried and placed by twelve men, in honor of the twelve tribes of Israel. At the same time, through prayer, the land of Zion was consecrated and dedicated by Elder Sidney Rigdon for the gathering of the Saints. It was a season of joy to those present, and afforded a glimpse of the future, which time will yet unfold to the satisfaction of the faithful.”^[18]History of the Church, 1:196.

John Whitmer, in his History of the Church, gave further details about that date from a statement of Oliver Cowdery’s: “‘On the second day of August, 1831, Rigdon stood up and asked, saying,

“‘Do you receive this land for the land of your inheritance with thankful hearts from the Lord?’

“Answer from all: ‘We do.’

“‘Do you pledge yourselves to keep the law of God in this land which you never have kept in your own lands?’

“‘We do.’

“‘Do you pledge yourselves to see that others of your brethren who shall come hither do keep the laws of God?’

“‘We do.’

“After prayer, he arose and said: ‘I now pronounce this land consecrated and dedicated unto the Lord for a possession and inheritance for the Saints, and for all the faithful servants of the Lord to the remotest ages of time. In the name of Jesus Christ, having authority from Him. Amen'”^[19]Smith, History of the Church, 1:196.

Whitmer also recorded that on 3 August 1831, in obedience to these instructions, “eight elders, viz., Joseph Smith Jr., Oliver Cowdery, Sidney Rigdon, Peter Whitmer Jr., Frederick G. Williams, Wm. W. Phelps, Martin Harris, and Joseph Coe, assembled together where the Temple is to be erected. Sidney Rigdon dedicated the ground where the city is to stand: and Joseph Smith Jr. laid a stone at the northeast corner of the contemplated temple in the name of the Lord Jesus of Nazareth. After all present had rendered thanks to the great ruler of the universe, Sidney Rigdon pronounced this spot of ground wholly dedicated unto the Lord forever: Amen.”^[20]“Book of John Whitmer,” 11.

D&C 59

Historical Context: The weeks preceding this revelation had been very eventful. The Prophet and his party had arrived in Jackson County, Missouri; by the spirit of revelation he had designated the site for the temple, held conferences with the Saints in the area of Independence, directed the dedication of the land of Zion for the gathering of the Saints, and the day that this revelation was received he spoke at the funeral of a dear Saint and personal friend, Polly Knight, the aged wife of Joseph Knight Sr., who had died the day before. This revelation was received on Sunday, which it identifies as the day of worship for the Saints. It restored the law of the Sabbath as it had been given to ancient Israel. It was by this ancient covenant that the Lord’s people were always to be known.^[21]McConkie and Ostler, p. 428.

59.2 Those that die shall rest

“Though not mentioned by name in the Doctrine and Covenants, Polly Knight, mother of the family who so faithfully stood by the Prophet, became the first Latter-day Saint laid to rest in Zion, and earned her place in Doctrine and Covenants history. Traveling to settle in Missouri, she became so ill that her son, Newel, was dispatched from the river boat to buy lumber for her coffin. Despite her illness, she insisted on completing the journey, and died soon after reaching the gathering place.

After burying his wife in Missouri, Joseph Knight recorded the following: “She was Burried in the woods a spot Chosen out By ourselves. I was along By where she was Buried a few Days after and I found the hogs had Began to root where she was Buried. I Being verry unwell But I took my ax the nex Day and went and Bilt a pen round it. It was the Last I done for her.” Her faithful sacrifice bears the Lord’s benediction. Soon after her death, the Lord told Joseph Smith, ‘Those that die shall rest from all their labors, and their works shall follow them; and they shall receive a crown in the mansions of my Father, which I have prepared for them.’ (D&C 59:1-2.)”^[22]Dale S. Cox, “To Hear or Not to Hear,” Ensign, Jan. 1993, 45-46. The author continues, “Others also distinguished themselves by quiet faithfulness. John Murdock, recipient of … Continue reading

59.4, 59.9-19 Good things of the earth… will bring forth its strength… go to the house of prayer… rest… the fulness of the earth if yours… food… raiment… please the eye and gladden the heart

Compare these verses to Isaiah 25, specifically look at Isaiah 25.6:

And in this mountain shall the LORD of hosts make unto all people a feast of fat things, a feast of wines on the lees, of fat things full of marrow, of wines on the lees well refined (Isaiah 25.6 KJV).

The LXX of Isaiah 25.6 is as follows:

καὶ ποιήσει κύριος σαβαωθ πᾶσι τοῗς ἔθνεσιν ἐπὶ τὸ ὄρος τοῦτο πίονται εὐφροσύνην πίονται οἶνον χρίσονται μύρον.

The breakdown: καὶ ποιήσει κύριος σαβαωθ πᾶσι τοῗς ἔθνεσιν= And the Lord of Sabaoth will make for all nations

ἐπὶ τὸ ὄρος τοῦτο= upon this mountain

πίονται εὐφροσύνην= they will drink joyfully/with cheer/with gladness

πίονται οἶνον= they will drink wine

χρίσονται μύρον = they will be anointed with muron/perfumed oil (from the Hebrew word מור, myrrh, ointment).

My translation: And the Lord of Sabaoth will create for all nations (who come to Zion) upon this mountain (Mount Zion) a feast that they will drink joyfully, yes, they will drink wine and they will be anointed with the holy anointing oil.

There is more going on in Isaiah 25 and D&C 59 than meets the eye. These are promises associated with the earth, fertility, temple, and becoming kings and queens.^[23]Note D&C 59.23, “he who doeth the works of righteousness shall receive his reward, even peace in this world, and eternal life in the world to come.”

D&C 59.9-10 Sabbath… unspotted from the world

Over a lifetime of observation, it is clear to me that the farmer who observes the Sabbath day seems to get more done on his farm than he would if he worked seven days. The mechanic will be able to turn out more and better products in six days than in seven. The doctor, the lawyer, the dentist, the scientist will accomplish more by trying to rest on the Sabbath than if he tries to utilize every day of the week for his professional work. I would counsel all students, if they can, to arrange their schedules so that they do not study on the Sabbath. If students and other seekers after truth will do this, their minds will be quickened and the infinite Spirit will lead them to the verities they wish to learn. This is because God has hallowed his day and blessed it as a perpetual covenant of faithfulness.^[24]See Ex. 31:16. See: James E. Faust, “The Lord’s Day,” Ensign, Nov. 1991, 34.

President Hinckley stated it thus:

I wish I had the power to convert this whole Church to the observance of the Sabbath. I know our people would be more richly blessed of the Lord if they would walk in faithfulness in the observance of the Sabbath.^[25]Earl C. Tingey, “The Sabbath Day and Sunday Shopping,” Ensign, May 1996, 10.

A word of caution: The Power of Teaching Principles

“Well-taught doctrines and principles have a more powerful influence on behavior than rules. When we teach gospel doctrine and principles, we can qualify for the witness and guidance of the Spirit to reinforce our teaching, and we enlist the faith of our students in seeking the guidance of that same Spirit in applying those teachings in their personal lives.”^[26]Henry B. Eyring, ‘The Book of Mormon Will Change Your Life’, CES Symposium on the Book of Mormon, 17 August 1990.

Elder Dallin H. Oaks stated it this way:

Teachers who are commanded to teach “the principles of [the] gospel” and “the doctrine of the kingdom” (D&C 88:77) should generally forgo teaching specific rules or applications. For example, they would not teach any rules for determining what is a full tithing, and they would not provide a list of dos and don’ts for keeping the Sabbath day holy. Once a teacher has taught the doctrine and the associated principles from the scriptures and the living prophets, such specific applications or rules are generally the responsibility of individuals and families. Well-taught doctrines and principles have a more powerful influence on behavior than rules. When we teach gospel doctrine and principles, we can qualify for the witness and guidance of the Spirit to reinforce our teaching, and we enlist the faith of our students in seeking the guidance of that same Spirit in applying those teachings in their personal lives.^[27]Elder Dallin H. Oaks, “Gospel Teaching,” Ensign, Nov. 1999, 78-80.

---