Doctrine and Covenants 124

President Thomas S. Monson:

“Those who understand the eternal blessings which come from the temple know that no sacrifice is too great, no price too heavy, no struggle too difficult in order to receive those blessings. There are never too many miles to travel, too many obstacles to overcome, or too much discomfort to endure. They understand that the saving ordinances received in the temple that permit us to someday return to our Heavenly Father in an eternal family relationship and to be endowed with blessings and power from on high are worth every sacrifice and every effort” (“The Holy Temple—a Beacon to the World,” Ensign or Liahona, May 2011, 92).

Doctrine and Covenants 124:2–3

In 1975 President Ezra Taft Benson was serving as President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. On behalf of his brethren in the Quorum of the Twelve, he reaffirmed the message of the proclamation written by the Apostles in 1845 in response to the command in Doctrine and Covenants 124:2–3. (See Ezra Taft Benson, “A Message to the World,” Ensign,Nov. 1975, 33–34.)

Doctrine and Covenants 124:15

Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin:

“To me, integrity means always doing what is right and good, regardless of the immediate consequences. It means being righteous from the very depth of our soul, not only in our actions but, more importantly, in our thoughts and in our hearts. Personal integrity implies such trustworthiness and incorruptibility that we are incapable of being false to a trust or covenant” (“Personal Integrity,” Ensign, May 1990, 30).

Doctrine and Covenants 124:28

President Joseph Fielding Smith:

“Every man who is faithful and will receive these ordinances and blessings obtains a fulness of the priesthood, and the Lord has said that ‘he makes them equal in power, and in might, and in dominion’ [D&C 76:95; see also D&C 88:107]. … The Lord has made it possible for every man in this Church, through his obedience, to receive the fulness of the priesthood through the ordinances of the temple of the Lord. This cannot be received anywhere else” (in Doctrines of Salvation, comp. Bruce R. McConkie, 3 vols. [1954–56], 3:132–33).

Doctrine and Covenants 124:45

President Boyd K. Packer:

“During a very difficult time, the Lord gave the sternest warning that I know of in all scripture. It had to do with the building of the Nauvoo Temple. The Saints knew from experience that to proceed to build a temple would bring terrible persecution, so they delayed. The Lord extended the time and said, ‘If you do not these things at the end of the appointment ye shall be rejected as a church, with your dead, saith the Lord your God’ [D&C 124:32].

“Often overlooked in that revelation is a marvelous promise: ‘If my people will hearken unto my voice, and unto the voice of my servants whom I have appointed to lead my people, behold, verily I say unto you, they shall not be moved out of their place’ [D&C 124:45].

“Remember this promise; hold onto it. It should be a great comfort to those struggling to keep a family together in a society increasingly indifferent to, and even hostile toward, those standards which are essential to a happy family. …

“I repeat the promise that those who hearken to the voice of these men whom the Lord has raised up ‘shall not be moved out of their place’ [D&C 124:45].

“But the promise was followed with this caution: ‘But if they will not hearken to my voice, nor unto the voice of these men whom I have appointed, they shall not be blest’ [D&C 124:46]” (“The Twelve Apostles,” Ensign, Sept. 2005, 20).

Doctrine and Covenants 124:84–86

Almon Babbitt was a member of Zion’s Camp and was appointed a member of the First Quorum of the Seventy on February 28, 1835. Almon had a history of disregarding the counsel of Church leaders and leading others to follow his personal decisions.

In Doctrine and Covenants 124:84, the Lord used the analogy of the golden calf (see Exodus 32) to describe Almon Babbitt’s behavior. Almon had set up his counsel as what the Saints should follow instead of the Lord’s counsel given through the First Presidency.

Doctrine and Covenants 126

Brigham Young:

“I was determined to go to England or to die trying. My firm resolve was that I would do what I was required to do in the Gospel of life and salvation, or I would die trying to do it” (Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Brigham Young [1997], 5).

John Taylor and Wilford Woodruff, both still sick from malaria, left for Great Britain on August 8, 1839. When Brigham Young and Heber C. Kimball departed on September 18, 1839, they were so ill that they had to be helped into a wagon. Brigham’s wife, Mary Ann, had been caring for him at the Kimball’s home.

“All of the Kimball household were bedridden except [their] four-year-old [son], who could just manage to carry water to the sick.

“As the men drove off, Heber said he felt that ‘my very inmost parts would melt within me at leaving my family in such a condition, as it were almost in the arms of death. I felt as though I could not endure it. I asked the teamster to stop, and said to Brother Brigham, “This is pretty tough, isn’t it; let’s rise up and give them a cheer.” We arose, and swinging our hats three times over our heads, shouted: “Hurrah, hurrah for Israel.” Vilate [Heber’s wife], hearing the noise, arose from her bed and came to the door. She had a smile on her face. Vilate and Mary Anne Young, cried out to us: “Goodbye, God bless you”’ [in Orson F. Whitney, Life of Heber C. Kimball, 3rd ed. (1967), 266]” (Church History in the Fulness of Times Student Manual, 2nd ed., [Church Educational System manual, 2003], 227–28).

Doctrine and Covenants 126:1

“In April 1840, when the other Apostles arrived in the British Isles, Brigham Young, who had assumed leadership of the Church in the British Mission, summoned the brethren to Preston for a general conference of the Church. … The first order of business was the ordination of Willard Richards [who had been serving in the mission presidency] to the apostleship in accordance with the 1838 revelation [see D&C 118:6]. … There were now eight members of the Twelve in the British Isles, namely Brigham Young, Heber C. Kimball, Parley P. Pratt, Orson Pratt, John Taylor, Wilford Woodruff, George A. Smith, and Willard Richards. Two others, William Smith and John E. Page, did not fulfill missions in Britain. Orson Hyde arrived later, labored with his brethren for several months in England, and then proceeded to Palestine to dedicate that land for the return of the Jews. One vacancy in the Twelve still remained open at that time” (Church History in the Fulness of Times Student Manual, 2nd ed. [Church Educational System manual, 2003], 231).

As Brigham Young directed the expansion of the missionary work throughout the British Isles, he demonstrated great spiritual and administrative ability. Under the direction of Brigham Young and the other Apostles, the Church experienced phenomenal growth in Great Britain. By the time most of the Apostles left England in late April 1841, between 7,000 and 8,000 people had joined the Church, with approximately 1,000 of them having emigrated to Nauvoo a few months earlier.

“This mission was an important time of training and maturing for the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. Brigham Young was able to strengthen the leadership skills that he would soon be called upon to exercise in Nauvoo. … Through trials and sacrifices in Britain, as well as laboring for a common goal, the Twelve were united in a way that assured the Church strong leadership in the years ahead” (Church History in the Fulness of Times, 234).

Doctrine and Covenants 126:3

“At age 23 he married Miriam Angeline Works. Two daughters were born to the young couple. Brigham supported his family by making and repairing chairs, tables, and cupboards and installing windows, doors, stairways, and fireplace mantels. …

“When Miriam contracted tuberculosis, Brigham assumed much of the burden of her work in addition to his own. As she became progressively more bedridden, he regularly prepared breakfast for the family, dressed his daughters, cleaned up the house, and ‘carried his wife to the rocking chair by the fireplace and left her there until he could return in the evening,’ when he cooked supper, got his family into bed, and finished the household chores [Susa Young Gates and Leah D. Widtsoe, The Life Story of Brigham Young (1930), 5]. His experiences in his youth and early marriage in caring for children and managing a home taught him much about family cooperation and housekeeping. Years later he counseled the Saints on these subjects and teasingly boasted that he could beat ‘most of the women in [the] community at housekeeping’ [Deseret News, Aug. 12, 1857, 4]” (Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Brigham Young [1997], 2).

“In addition to being able to spend more time with his family after this revelation [D&C 126] than he had been able to in the previous several years, Brigham Young was also near the Prophet Joseph Smith much of the time (twenty-eight of the last thirty-six months of Joseph’s life).

“It seems clear that the Lord, knowing Brigham Young’s future and the future of the Church, kept Brigham near Joseph so he could learn what he would need to know to lead the Church after Joseph’s death” (Doctrine and Covenants Student Manual,2nd ed. [Church Educational System manual, 2001], 313).