May 17–23

Doctrine and Covenants 51–57

“A Faithful, a Just, and a Wise Steward”

Studying the scriptures helps you recognize the Lord’s voice, for the scriptures were given by Him through His Spirit (see Doctrine and Covenants 18:34–36).

For Church members in the 1830s, gathering the Saints and building the city of Zion were spiritual as well as temporal works, with many practical matters to address: Someone needed to purchase and distribute land where the Saints could settle. Someone needed to print books and other publications. And someone needed to run a store to provide goods to those in Zion. In the revelations recorded in Doctrine and Covenants 51–57, the Lord appointed and instructed people to handle these tasks, and He identified Independence, Missouri, as “the center place” of Zion (Doctrine and Covenants 57:3).

But while skills in such things as purchasing land, printing, and running a store are valuable to the temporal work of building Zion, these revelations also teach that the Lord desires His Saints to become spiritually worthy to be called a Zion people. He calls each of us to be “a faithful, a just, and a wise steward,” having a contrite spirit, “stand[ing] fast” in our appointed responsibilities (see Doctrine and Covenants 51:19; 52:15; 54:2). If we can do that—regardless of our temporal skills—the Lord can use us to build Zion, and He “will hasten the city in its time” (Doctrine and Covenants 52:43).

First Furrow, by James Taylor Harwood