This is a commentary on Sections 124-138 of the Doctrine and Covenants to be studied in the Come, Follow Me—for Home and Church manual from October 27 through December 28, 2025. It covers some of our Church’s history from April 1839 to November 1918. It also includes a commentary on the two Official Declarations, The Articles of Faith, and the Family: A Proclamation to the World. There is also some material on proxy ordinances, plural marriage, Joseph’s Smith’s wives and polyandry, the founding of the Relief Society, the social and historical background of Joseph and Hyrum’s murders, the following succession crisis in the Church with the eight options open to the Church, the manner of succession to the presidency of the Church today, the American-Mexican War, the Church context of the Civil War, the varying policies of the Church with regards to race and priesthood, the end of plural marriage in the Church, the creation of the state of Utah, politics for a Christian, gender issues around same sex attraction, marriage and how to make it work, a previously unpublished parable on the law of chastity, and an essay on Christmas with excursions into Luke and Matthew’s nativity narratives. And all this in only six hundred odd pages—another Xmas miracle! pp.608

This is a commentary on Sections 94-123 of the Doctrine and Covenants to be studied in the Come, Follow Me—for Home and Church manual from September 1 through October 26, 2025.  These sections contain revelations which encouraged and guided the building of the temple in Kirtland, the further organization of the priesthood and of the Twelve in particular, the dedicatory prayer for the temple, the restoration of further keys for gathering Israel, temple work, and the establishment of Zion. It also gives guidance for dealing with the expulsion of the Saints from Jackson County, Zion’s Camp, and the establishment of settlements in Far West and Adam-ondi-Ahman. There are sections on tithing and epistles to the Church from Joseph when he was in Liberty Jail. These sections concern these doctrines as well as the history of the Church from May of 1833 to April 22, 1839. That history goes from the high of the construction, dedication, and visions in the Church’s first temple, to the lows of the dissensions and apostasies in Kirtland and Far West. I have outlined the history of the Safety Society failure in Kirtland and the Missouri-Mormon War and its early aftermath with Joseph and other leaders’ imprisonment, the Saints’ expulsion from Missouri, and Joseph’s and his companions’ escape to Illinois.These revelations, letters, and prophetic insights came amidst the highs and lows over those six years of early Church history.

The temple in Kirtland will be built, dedicated, and serve some of its purposes. The saints will move in larger numbers to Missouri, form several stakes there, and then will be ultimately driven from the state by militia mobs and popular prejudice. The prophet and other leaders will be imprisoned in a dungeon jail that will function as a revelatory temple built on adversity. Revelations will take some of the saints to celestial heights and then plummet some of those same people into bitter apostasy. The majority would be refined by the fires of Missouri and the collapses in Kirtland.

It’s a fascinating history that brought forth great doctrinal insights and developments.   pp.472

2 Nephi also has the bulk of the “Isaiah chapters” in the Book of Mormon. For that reason (and my usual stream of consciousness writing), this is longer than some previous commentaries. It can be sampled in small bits without hurting anything. However, that said, we are commanded, urged, exhorted, and expected to study Isaiah. There’s seldom much time given to it in classes other than nervous laughter and few well-known proof texts read out on the subject of the week, so it’s not going to happen there. If you have a “snow-day”, malignant insomnia, or the flu, there’s a chance in here to dig in a little deeper. pp.512