April 12–18

Doctrine & Covenants 37-40

“If Ye Are Not One Ye Are Not Mine”

Recording impressions as you study is one way you can obey God’s counsel to “treasure up wisdom” (Doctrine and Covenants 38:30).

To the early Saints, the Church was more than a place to hear some preaching on Sunday. Throughout His revelations to Joseph Smith, the Lord described the Church with words like cause, kingdom, Zion, and, quite often, work. That may have been part of what attracted many early members to the Church. As much as they loved the Church’s restored doctrine, many also wanted something they could dedicate their lives to. Even so, the Lord’s 1830 command to the Saints to gather in Ohio was not easy for some to follow. For people like Phebe Carter, it meant leaving comfortable homes for an unfamiliar frontier (see “Voices of the Restoration” at the end of this outline). Today we can see clearly what those Saints could see only with the eye of faith: the Lord had great blessings waiting for them in Ohio.

The need to gather to Ohio has long since passed, but Saints today still unite around the same cause, the same work: to “bring forth Zion” (Doctrine and Covenants 39:13). Like those early Saints, we forsake “the cares of the world” (Doctrine and Covenants 40:2) because we trust the Lord’s promise: “You shall receive … a blessing so great as you never have known” (Doctrine and Covenants 39:10).

Saints Move to Kirtland, by Sam Lawlor