D&C 19 What the Lord Said about Himself and About Martin Harris
It had been almost two years since Martin Harris became interested in the Lord’s work and approached Joseph Smith to give him fifty dollars at a time of great need. Martin had been through the experiences with Charles Anthon in New York, the lost 116 pages, and becoming one of the Three Witnesses who saw the angel and the plates and heard the voice of God. Still feeling somewhat troubled and perhaps a little weak in faith, Martin approached Joseph Smith, who in turn went to the Lord and received Section 19. As with all of us, the Lord continued working with Martin in order to help him become the servant the Lord wants. First, look for the things the Lord said about Himself and His work:
- Find in verses 1, 4, 10, 18, 24, 27, 31, 37 the many titles, names, or descriptions that the Lord used to describe Himself.
- Find in verses 2-3, 5, 18-19, 24, 27, 38 the things the Lord said He had done, was doing, or will do.
Also—in exacting terms—the Lord counsels and commands Martin:
- In verses 26, 34-35 the Lord commanded Martin to finance the printing of the first 5,000 copies of the Book of Mormon—at a cost of $3,000—by “freely” imparting his large and valuable farm to pay off the debt Joseph owed to the printer. Martin did so and never recouped the money, thus losing his farm.
- What other specific commands did the Lord give Martin? (see verses 13-15, 20-21, 23, 25, 28-31, 41).
- What promises did the Lord make to Martin, if he would be obedient? (see verses 23, 38).
- What did the Lord say would happen if Martin did not obey? (see verses 15, 20, 33; the Lord said to Martin in verse 20 that if he didn’t repent, his suffering and punishments would be “even in the least degree [that which] you have tasted at the time I withdrew my Spirit;” this is in reference to the horrific aftermath of the loss of the first 116 pages of the Book of Mormon translation; see Saints, 1:50-53).
Which of these commandments, promises, or warnings can best help you to become a better servant in the Lord’s hands?
D&C 19:4-20 “Repent, Lest I Humble You”
Again, the Lord reveals precious truths about Himself in this revelation:
- The Lord invites us to repent and warns us that failure to repent will result in our suffering, which can be “sore,” “exquisite,” and “hard to bear” (verses 4, 15, 17, 20).
- For those who refuse to repent, the Lord terms their suffering as “endless” and “eternal” (verses 4, 7) but He makes clear that they are labeled that way because the suffering, punishment, and damnation are imposed by Him and He is “endless” and “eternal” (verses 6, 10-12).
- However, the Lord also makes clear that the suffering will not last forever (verse 6). He explains that He uses such language to “work upon” our hearts, motivating us to turn to Him and repent (verse 7).
- The Lord invites us to repent and accept His suffering in our behalf, rather than suffer ourselves (verse 16).
This brings us to some key verses that need careful consideration:
- The Lord says in verse 18, “If they would not repent they must suffer even as I.” Some take this to mean that the suffering of the unrepentant will be identical to the Savior’s suffering, but this cannot be.
- It is impossible to suffer as Jesus did because He was perfect and because He was the offspring of a mortal mother and an eternal, perfect Father. Only Jesus could endure suffering and punishment beyond the ability of any and all mortals, without succumbing to death until His suffering satisfied all the demands of justice for all humankind (see Mosiah 3:7; Alma 34:14-16).
- The Atonement for all required the sacrifice of a God (see Alma 34:9-11). The point can also be made that if it were possible for a man to suffer as Jesus did, then he would not need Jesus, for he alone could satisfy the demands of justice. But this is not possible. We may suffer because of our sins, but we cannot pay the price for our sins.
- So why did Jesus say “they must suffer even as I”? Perhaps for the same reason, as He explained, that He used the terms endless and eternal to describe the suffering of the unrepentant, when it actually does have an end (again, see D&C 19:6). He is trying to work upon our hearts (verse 7).
More of the magnificent truths about the Atonement—and one of the few times our Redeemer spoke personally about it—are found in verses 18-19. Jesus reveals:
- His greatest concern was that He might “shrink” and not succeed (see also Matthew 26:39; Mark 14:35-36; Luke 22:42).
- His bleeding “at every pore” was literal, unlike the expression “his sweat was as it were, great drops of blood, falling to the ground” (Luke 22:44; Mosiah 3:7 also makes it clear that Jesus literally bled from every pore).
- After all this, the Savior still proclaimed, “Nevertheless, glory be to the Father, and I partook and finished.” As in all other God-like attributes, He is our perfect example in humility, obedience, and diligence. How does Section 19 “work upon” your heart?
