This week's episode was brought to you by Living Scriptures, if you want to support us you can by subscribing to their streaming here bit.ly/3jEa8wO​​ Come Follow Me Free Printable Lessons available here: www.livingscriptures.com/fhe-lessons/ 27-28 Line upon Line It’s Sept. 1830, in Fayette, New York, the church is only 6 months old, and Joseph is facing a crisis. His good friend, Hiram Page, is using a seer stone and claiming to receive revelations for the fledgling church. New members are wondering, “Can everyone take turns receiving revelations for the church like some religions do? Or, should there be only one spokesman for the Lord?” Now, Hiram Page, was one of the 8 witnesses of the golden plates and was married to the Whitmer daughter Catherine. They lived in the Whitmer home when they heard and accepted the gospel, but problems arose when he professed to receive revelations through the seer stone he’d found. Wait a minute...what is a seer stone? Well, a true seer stone is a divine instrument, like the Urim and Thummim, for receiving revelation from the Lord by someone called as a seer and revelator. These stones have been used throughout time in both ancient Israel and ancient America. Unfortunately, Satan, the master deceiver, had twisted this practice to deceive and confuse these early church members with revelations that sounded real, but were mixed with lies. Many members, including Oliver Cowdery, believed Hiram Page’s revelations about the establishment of Zion and the organization of the church even though they contradicted some things found in the New Testament and Joseph’s revelations. Now remember, these brand-new members came from diverse religious backgrounds and they were still figuring out right and wrong. Understandably, a genuinely concerned Joseph spent that night agonizing over what he should do, and in Section 28, the Lord gives His clear answer. Yes, even though we can, and should each receive personal revelations for ourselves, our family, and our callings, only his called prophet can receive revelations for his entire church. #comefollowme #doctrineandcovenants #lineuponline Mercifully then, the Lord tells Oliver to take Hiram aside and lovingly teach him that he’d been deceived. Yikes! Not an easy conversation. And so, a few days later, this group of new members gathered in the Whitmer Home for the second conference of the church. They discussed Hiram’s false revelations, and, while it took some convincing, all, including Hiram, agreed they were false. Crisis averted!! The rest of the conference lasted 3 days filled with “peace, hope, and charity.” The Lord taught them that everything in His church should be done in order, and by common consent -through raising one’s hand. In Sections 27 and 28, the Lord further explains several of the keys necessary to run His kingdom on earth. These crucial keys were given to Joseph by several ancient prophets who visited him. So does our prophet carry around a really big key ring...like a janitor? No, priesthood keys aren’t physical keys you hold in your hand but are authority from the Lord to lead His work. The gospel is the same, you can’t confirm someone unless you have the keys or authority to confirm. And you can’t receive revelation for the entire church, unless you have those keys. Without proper priesthood keys, you're just sitting in the car. Great to look at, but no power. Speaking of keys to confirm, although Emma Smith and Sally Knight were baptized in June, they weren’t confirmed members yet because of the intense persecution that kept disrupting the meetings. Weeks later, when Sally and her husband Newell visited the Smiths in Harmony, they again tried to have a confirmation meeting. Joseph wanted to follow Christ’s example in the Book of Mormon of administering the sacrament before giving the gift of the Holy Ghost, so he prepared for a sacrament service by going out to buy wine for the meeting. Don’t worry, they didn’t have the Word of Wisdom yet. A short distance from his home, an angel stopped him and said, “Don’t buy any wine from your enemies.” (There were definitely bad guys hanging out that wanted to harm “them Mormons.”). The angel also explained that what they ate or drank for the sacrament doesn’t really matter as long as it’s done with the proper authority and, “with an eye single to God’s glory.” So, Joseph quickly returned home where they made some wine, and the sacrament and confirmations finally took place. Now obviously today we use water and some people use rice cakes or crackers instead of bread, but what really matters is we all do it in remembrance of Christ’s sacrifice as we follow His example. Well, tune in next time when a very heated discussion between six of the elders leads to a very eye-opening revelation.

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