This week’s lesson was filled with instruction to the early saints, regarding the law and order with which God would work with them. In one of the last verses from this section we read the counsel to “Treasure these things up in your hearts, and let the solemnities of eternity rest upon your minds. … Be sober.” In our day, when receiving counsel and teachings regarding the family, the prophet and apostles use similar language to “solemnly declare” important truths. These truths are best understood as we “treasure them in our hearts” and let them “rest upon [our] minds” over time. Learning important principles of the gospel, and gaining a testimony of them takes time. It also comes as we approach them soberly with the weight and seriousness they deserve. In part this means we don’t speak casually, carelessly, or disrespectfully about them. A definition of the word sober, near the time it would have been used in the Doctrine & Covenants is explained as “calm, temperate, reasonable, not wild or under the influence of passion.” So in considering the teachings of the family, “be sober.” In calmness, the spirit can teach of these critical and important things of eternity. It’s ok if it takes time. Important things usually do.
Week 16: Doctrine and Covenants 37-40
