What if a dollar had the same value as Monopoly money. Eventually, it does. (D&C 37-40)

37:1; 38:2

It’s hard to get away from our individual perspective on the events and conditions of our lives. We see things from one point of view. We are only aware of what we perceive. It’s, of course, limiting.

We also are experiencing time in a linear way. Time moves along one second at a time. Our present is the present for a moment and then it becomes the past. Our future is always ahead of us.

God is existing in a reality that is not limited by perspective or time. He sees everything and all time is his present. This allows him to give us direction that will always be right. The only question is whether we will accept what he directs as absolutely right. The question is whether we will fully trust Him. The Lord told Joseph in D&C 38:2 “The same which knoweth all things, for all things are present before mine eyes.”

“Behold, I say unto you that it is not expedient in me that ye should translate any more until ye shall go to the Ohio, and this because of the enemy and for your sakes.” I don’t know if this made sense to Joseph and Sidney to stop translating. Perhaps they were on a roll! Maybe the translation was going well and they had a good rhythm working together. It may have been confusing for them to receive a revelation to stop.

But, God knew what the enemy was doing. He know it would be for their good and the good of the work if they stopped translating. They obviously followed this direction. The question is will you or I do the same when we feel directed to do something that we don’t fully understand.

37:4

The Lord explains one of the basic, foundational principles of the universe. “Behold, here is wisdom, and let every man choose for himself until I come. Even so. Amen.” Our growth depends 100% on our ability to choose. Without agency, we become things that are acted upon rather than things that act. Only those things that can act can progress to become like our Heavenly Father. It’s a perfect system. The only question is whether we will choose correctly.

38:7

“But behold, verily, verily, I say unto you that mine eyes are upon you. I am in your midst and ye cannot see me.” Just because we cannot see the Lord doesn’t mean that he isn’t here. There are many scriptures that explicitly tell us that Jesus is with us. He isn’t some far away place.

We must understand that, if Jesus were to suddenly appear for us in our homes, our agency to make choices on ourselves would be limited. It would be very similar to the premortal world. We would be learning directly from the source. Faith wouldn’t be a part of it. It would simply be about obedience.

Asking for obedience without developing faith is a less-effective strategy. It is acting in faith that develops our ability to be obedient. Taking the faith aspect out of the plan would damn most of us because we would be living in a fallen world with sure knowledge and no faith.

A not-so-great metaphor would be if we were visited personally by Roger Federer (the all-time leading tennis champion). Perhaps he would give us a perfect lesson in tennis - literally the most awesome lesson that has ever been given. Would we be able to perform according to what we were taught? Would we have the strength of character to do the thousands of workouts that would lead to actually being able to follow his lesson? Probably not. In fact, we would likely feel overwhelmed and more likely to quit the process entirely. We would be constantly comparing ourselves with the perfect example in Roger. I would actually be disheartening.

Anyway, it’s a flawed metaphor but maybe it’ll help.

38:8

“But the day soon cometh that ye shall see me, and know that I am; for the veil of darkness shall soon be rent, and he that is not purified shall not abide the day.” For many, to know that they will soon see Jesus may fill them with terror or shame or embarrassment. I must admit, I don’t feel quite ready.

In the last General Conference, President Nelson talked about having confidence in the presence of the Lord. He taught that we could have confidence, not just at a future date, but right now. He pointed to a scripture in D&C 121:45, “Let thy bowels also be full of charity towards all men, and to the household of faith, and let virtue garnish thy thoughts unceasingly; then shall thy confidence wax strong in the presence of God.” This, he said, was the answer to the question of HOW to feel confident in the presence of God…RIGHT NOW!

The key is charity and virtue. I know that I have much to work on with both of these areas. I’m often judgmental and critical. I often think the worst of people - especially those who are driving stupidly. I often am cynical in my thoughts. I watch shows that aren’t overflowing with virtue.

I love that the verse talks about “garnishing” our thoughts with virtue. President Nelson obviously was considering that word when he said, “On the other hand, imagine what will happen when you add virtue to an impure thought, a cruel thought, or a depressing thought.” A little dash of virtue to any negative thought can drive that thought away.

Adding virtue to all of our thoughts will have a purifying effect. If we are virtuous, we will be able to abide the presence of Jesus Christ. As President Oaks, said, we will “comfortably abide” in his presence. I want to see the Savior. I also desperately want to be comfortable around him.

38:10-12

“Verily I say unto you, ye are clean, but not all; and there is none else with whom I am well pleased; For all flesh is corrupted before me; and the powers of darkness prevail upon the earth, among the children of men, in the presence of all the hosts of heaven— Which causeth silence to reign, and all eternity is pained, and the angels are waiting the great command to reap down the earth, to gather the tares that they may be burned; and, behold, the enemy is combined.” There’s a lot going on in these few verses.

The Lord says that they are clean but not all. This can be said of all of the disciples of Christ. Every single one of us has something that we can do better or improve. We can find some area where we can be more Christlike. We can still root out any evidence of our favorite sins. When we accept that we are all corrupted in some way, we will be more likely to find that area that needs some repentance.

This is a fallen world and the “powers of darkness prevail.” This is Satan’s home turf. He has power here. You could say that, in his mind, he is the “God of this world.” There is likely more wickedness than righteousness in this fallen world.

The wickedness is in full view of the “hosts of heaven.” Our ministering angels are witnessing it all. They see our actions. It’s interesting that this wickedness in the presence of the hosts of heaven “causeth silence to reign.” I’m not totally sure what that means but I can imagine that the angels who are witnessing the many ways we’ve figured out to sin are speechless. They are so taken back that they have nothing to say.

The angels who are assigned to reap the wicked are standing, at attention, ready to begin their work. One word from God and they’ll get right to it.

The wicked people and forces of the world have a cumulative effect. All of their small and large efforts combine to make this world a difficult and challenging place. There is a “compounding interest” of wickedness. Evil added onto evil is more evil than the two separate evils. We must know that our enemy is currently prevailing. In the end, he will not prevail but he’s currently winning the battle.

38:23

“But, verily I say unto you, teach one another according to the office wherewith I have appointed you.” We all have a responsibility to teach each other - especially when that is our specific calling. Having said that, almost all callings in the church have a teaching element. Whether you’re a bishop, primary teacher, music leader, RS president, minister, gospel doctrine teacher - you’re teaching. Even when I was in the nursery, we taught.

I love this about our church. It isn’t a “sit in the audience and be entertained” kind of church. We all lift each other and a primary way that this happens is through teaching.

38:29

“Ye hear of wars in far countries, and you say that there will soon be great wars in far countries, but ye know not the hearts of men in your own land.” This could be extended to mean that we are good at seeing the problems in other people, families, churches, political preferences - but have a much harder time seeing our own problems.

It’s so easy to be critical of others. We all could earn a healthy living as critics if we chose to. For some reason, it’s in our nature to be critical. I think it has something to do with pride. If I can find the problems in everyone else, it somehow makes me feel better about myself. We need to actively not do that.

38:30

“I tell you these things because of your prayers; wherefore, treasure up wisdom in your bosoms, lest the wickedness of men reveal these things unto you by their wickedness, in a manner which shall speak in your ears with a voice louder than that which shall shake the earth; but if ye are prepared ye shall not fear.” We each need to ponder thoroughly the truthfulness of the gospel. We need to each study as much as possible. We should be familiar with the argument for, and even against, the church being true. We’ve got to gather all of the wisdom about the truthfulness of this gospel that we can.

Why? Because someday, someone or something will test that. Someone will speak of an opinion and wrap it convincingly to look like truth. I’ve heard of people having their faith “deconstructed” in three hours. Their testimonies were affected by the wicked, loud voices that are becoming more and more prevalent in the world. Social media and YouTube and podcasts are making those cynical voices louder and louder.

But, if we are “prepared ye shall not fear.”

38:32

“Wherefore, for this cause I gave unto you the commandment that ye should go to the Ohio; and there I will give unto you my law; and there you shall be endowed with power from on high.” Laws are given. They aren’t enforced. The laws of God are a gift that he has given.

How so? Well, if we are asked to do something complicated or travel to a far off place, we would want directions. We would want instructions so that we’re doing something correctly or headed in the right direction. You’d have to be a fool to not want some guide.

To receive instructions and guidance and warning and guardrails is to be endowed with “power from on high.” We’re given directions from the person who knows everything and sees everything and “all things are present” to him. Just like we would listen to an expert chef about how to make lobster bisque, we should listen to the creator about how to live a life.

38:39

“And if ye seek the riches which it is the will of the Father to give unto you, ye shall be the richest of all people, for ye shall have the riches of eternity; and it must needs be that the riches of the earth are mine to give; but beware of pride, lest ye become as the Nephites of old.” Our Heavenly Father is concerned only about the riches of eternity. The riches of this world are almost meaningless to him.

It’s as if we are at summer camp as children and, while at camp, we can earn Monopoly money that can be used for whatever at camp for the week we are there. Imagine that the real reason we are going to this camp is to learn survival skills, build character, find out what’s really important in life. Once the camp is over, we have to turn in our Monopoly money because it isn’t real - it won’t benefit us outside of our short camp. The only thing we take with us are the skills we’ve acquired and the character we’ve built.

Do you think our parents would care about blessing us with the Monopoly money or those things that will matter for the rest of our lives? Of course the fake, temporarily useful money is practically meaningless to our parents. They wouldn’t really even think about it. The only thing that matters is what matters AFTER camp.

The Monopoly money could actually be a problem if we started to think that acquiring the fake money was the objective of the camp. What would make it worse is to think that we are successful if we acquire a lot of that money. We may see the treats and camp supplies that we can purchase as the only thing that matters. What would make it even worse is if we started to be prideful about the amount of Monopoly money we gathered. What if we started thinking we were better than others and looked down on those who hadn’t been as successful at gathering the same amount. That would be a disaster.

So, yes, God wants to give us riches but he only really cares about the type of riches that would last in eternity. Riches that will last 80 years don’t matter much to God.

38:42

“And go ye out from among the wicked. Save yourselves. Be ye clean that bear the vessels of the Lord. Even so. Amen.” We are meant to be in the world but not of the world. We are meant to be peculiar. As the world digresses, we will stand out more. It will require more “thrust” to pull away from the gravity of worldliness. We must see clearly how and where and when we must diverge from the direction that the world is going.

39:6

“And this is my gospel—repentance and baptism by water, and then cometh the baptism of fire and the Holy Ghost, even the Comforter, which showeth all things, and teacheth the peaceable things of the kingdom.” Jesus Christ is the Prince of Peace. His gospel brings peace to a people and to a person. What are examples of gospel principles that are peaceful? Some examples:

Christ has overcome the world through his life and atonement. No earthly struggle or trial will continue into eternity.
Loving our enemies brings peace.
Understanding the concepts of justice and grace brings peace.
Repentance is a source of peace.
Finally submitting our will to God’s brings peace - there is no longer a battle of wills.
Knowing that you are being obedient and doing the right thing at the right time brings peace.

Anything that the Holy Ghost “shows” will always bring peace. Anything that the Spirit prompts us to do will eventually, inevitably bring peace. Even when the Spirit guides us to separate from family or friends or take a stand against a wicked influence, that temporary conflict will ultimately bring peace.

39:7-10

James Covel was a Methodist preacher for about 40 years. He then was converted to the gospel and covenanted with God that he would obey any commandment that the Lord would give him through the Prophet Joseph Smith.

The Lord gives James a revelation through Joseph Smith. He says, “And now, behold, I say unto you, my servant James, I have looked upon thy works and I know thee. And verily I say unto thee, thine heart is now right before me at this time; and, behold, I have bestowed great blessings upon thy head.” It seems clear to me, because of the qualifiers (“now right, at this time), that the Lord is seeing that this current condition is temporary.

The Lord does give him some correction. “Nevertheless, thou hast seen great sorrow, for thou hast rejected me many times because of pride and the cares of the world.” I don’t know what he did specifically but it is clear that Covel had repeatedly chosen worldly priorities - status, reputation, or comfort - over following Christ, despite having felt spiritual promptings in the past. He had a pattern of hearing truth but not acting on it, likely because he feared the cost (social, professional, or personal) of committing fully. This had brought him sorrow in the past. I’m guessing that James didn’t totally enjoy hearing this in a revelation.

This does illustrate the Lord’s ability to forgive. James had rejected the Lord “many times” in the past. Jesus was willing to look past that and bless him to “receive my spirit, and a blessing so great as you never have known.” What a promise!

40:1-3

Unfortunately, James didn’t follow through with his commitment that he made. In a revelation given THE NEXT DAY, the Lord revealed to Joseph and Sidney, “Behold, verily I say unto you, that the heart of my servant James Covel was right before me, for he covenanted with me that he would obey my word. And he received the word with gladness, but straightway Satan tempted him; and the fear of persecution and the cares of the world caused him to reject the word.“

James had a lot to lose. I’m sure he had a lot of influence in his area after being a minister for 40 years. He had built relationships with a lot of people who respected him. It must have been hard to turn away from all of that.

Honestly, I get from chapter 39 that James wanted to go to the eastern countries. In verse 14, we read, “Behold, verily, verily, I say unto thee, thou art not called to go into the eastern countries, but thou art called to go to the Ohio.” Perhaps James was turned off because he didn’t understand why he needed to go to Ohio. Perhaps it made more sense to him to go to the eastern countries. He disagreed with where the Lord (through Joseph) was telling him.

He may have thought he new better than Joseph. He was clearly much older. Joseph smith was 25 years old in 1831. James likely was in his sixties. His disagreeing with this young whipper-snapper but having to do what he said likely was a problem.

Whether it was this or entirely fear of persecution and the cares of the world, the problem with James was his pride. He wasn’t sufficiently humble to accept his call and submit fully to God regardless of the persecution that he faced.

It is the same today. Pride is the reason that many are leaving the church:

They may not agree with a recent policy of the church.

A leader offended them.
Seeing how the doctrine of the church is affecting their child who is LBGT offends them. They see their child’s preference as being superior to the doctrine of the church.
They see their personal study as being superior to what they receive at church.
Their personal logic trumps doctrine. “God gave me a brain and I am supposed to use it and that doesn’t make sense to me so it must be false.” They don’t understand a gospel principle - like the eternal nature of gender or why men only hold the priesthood.
Disappointment in church leaders. Either current or in the past. They judge.
They decide that the church isn’t right for them. They hold “my truth” as being higher than “the truth.” Their God has become their own authenticity. Being true to themselves becomes the thing that they worship.

We must all believe that we can be the next James Covel. We cannot allow pride to pull us off of the covenant path. None of us are above it. We must continually practice our humility and submission to God and his prophets.