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D&C 1:4

D&C 1:4 And the voice of warning shall be unto all people, by the mouths of my disciples, whom I have chosen in these last days. And: After explaining that the rebellious will be pierced with sorrow, the Lord is adding more, giving additional information. the voice of warning: The voice is of God.  He starts out identifying Himself, and this voice as His.  He is giving the words that all need to hear.  Now He explains that His voice is a voice of warning, sounding the alarm that everyone will see, hear, and know in their hearts, and each must make a decision to obey, or not.  It is warning that those who don’t obey His voice will be pierced.  Each and every soul must repent or suffer.  We all have agency, and can choose to obey, or not.  There are no other real choices.  The only real choice we have is to repent, or suffer.  We are all being warned so we may know to obey His voice that is going to be pronounced in the Doctrine and C...

D&C 1:3

D&C 1:3 And the rebellious shall be pierced with much sorrow; for their iniquities shall be spoken upon the housetops, and their secret acts shall be revealed. And: Also, adding to the fact that the Lord just explained that everyone will know, he now goes on to explain what will happen to those who know His will, but don’t do it - the disobedient souls. the rebellious: Those who are not keeping the commandments, who are not listening, or who will not hearken or obey the word of God.  They will know.  They will see.  They will hear, and will understand with their hearts, but will not obey.  Some people are wicked because of disobedience out of ignorance, but these are not ignorant, they know, their hearts have been penetrated, but they rebel against what they know, because of pride. shall be: There is no ambiguity, there is no softening of the blow, those who are rebellious will all be pierced. pierced: The word used here is almost synonymous with the pr...

D&C 1:2

D&C 1:2 For verily the voice of the Lord is unto all men, and there is none to escape; and there is no eye that shall not see, neither ear that shall not hear, neither heart that shall not be penetrated. For : thus; the Lord is explaining His reasoning by what follows.  God doesn’t just say stuff and expect instant and full compliance.  We are sentient beings, intelligent AND free.  We need to know the underlying reasoning behind the commandment.  “Why must we listen and obey?” verily : Truth.  God is speaking the truth.  This is the reason, and it is truth.  God’s word is always true as He explains the reality of why. the voice of the Lord : This is not the voice of Joseph Smith, Jr. (prophet) or Oliver Cowdery (scribe), it is the voice of the Lord.  Those who wonder at the scriptures and the words of the prophets can be assured that the person speaking is the Lord, and they have heard His voice when they read. is unto : Definitely...

D&C 1:1

D&C 1:1 Hearken, O ye people of my church, saith the voice of him who dwells on high, and whose eyes are upon all men; yea, verily I say: Hearken ye people from afar; and ye that are upon the islands of the sea, listen together. Hearken : Listen and do.  This is more than just to hear, it is to obey.  The very first word in the D&C is “Obey” which is the first law of Heaven. O ye people of my church : The term “O” is “an exclamation introducing an invocation, entreaty, or wish.”  The Lord is entreating the people who have joined His church, who have desires to serve Him, who have made a covenant with Him through baptism, and are seeking His will.  This is a plea from the Lord to them.  He wants them to listen to His voice and obey His word, which will follow in this revelation. my church : This is not the church of man or devils, it is the church of God.  He claims it as His own.  He set it up, and organized it.  It is not the chur...

Foreword

I read a book called The Chosen , by Chaim Potok, last week that changed how I look at scripture.  There was a lot in the book about the way the Jews study Talmud, one word or phrase at a time, with multiple commentaries on each.  Questions are asked about everything, "Why was that word used?  What does it mean?  Why were those words put together that way?"  Even the numbers of the letters are taken into account during the study.  Hours were spent on a single line to develop a meaning, and prove it. Upon finishing the book, I wanted to do the same.  I wanted to study the scriptures in that way, to go into depth, instead of just breadth.  Rather than just read the scriptures, I want to know them in depth.  I know the word of God is not superficial, the words have infinite depth of meaning - they go on forever. I have chosen the Doctrine and Covenants to begin my study because it is the purest scripture we have in English, being given direc...