Section 88 Part 1, The Second Comforter
Section 88 of the Doctrine and Covenants is chock full of fascinating insights that I cannot focus on just one or two main points like I typically do in these messages. So, I hope to be able to break it up into several messages over the next week or two. The next Section of the Doctrine and Covenants I will discuss after 88 is 93, which may also take more than one week to cover.
Something that bewilders me about the common belief in mainstream Christianity is the idea that all we have to do is confess Jesus as Lord, and we are saved. Another way to say it is to receive Jesus into our lives. Many Christians remember vividly the moment they felt saved. I do not doubt their sincerity or that they experienced something profound enough to change their lives. However, we do not receive salvation or Jesus with a single act, even if that act sets us on a path to salvation. I believe that is one’s first experience with the Holy Ghost, or the First Comforter.
Section 88 begins with the concept of “another Comforter”, that is called “the Holy Spirit of promise”. It says it this way, “Wherefore, I now send upon you another Comforter, even upon you my friends, that it may abide in your hearts, even the Holy Spirit of promise; which other Comforter is the same that I promised unto my disciples, as is recorded in the testimony of John. This Comforter is the promise which I give unto you of eternal life, even the glory of the celestial kingdom; Which glory is that of the church of the Firstborn, even of God, the holiest of all, through Jesus Christ his Son—“. That is the promise of salvation.
So, how do you go about receiving this second Comforter? According to the history surrounding this revelation, “The revelation was given after high priests at a conference prayed separately and vocally to the Lord to reveal his will unto us concerning the upbuilding of Zion.” This implies a few important things regarding the intense focus and commitment of church leaders, and I am sure, their wives and families, to establish Zion. These were people committed to the cause; people willing to lay their all at the altar. This does not imply a simple confession of Jesus as Lord.
Where do we stand in our commitment and focus on establishing and building up the Kingdom of God on the earth? Are we obedient to God? Are we sacrificing for it? Are we living the gospel? Are we faithful, true, and chaste to our spouse? Are we willing to consecrate all we have to the cause? Those things do not constitute a single act of confession; they require constant and consistent action.
That is my thought for now. If circumstances allow me to write more during the week, I will eat the elephant, so to speak, and write more each day on Section 88.