Doctrine and Covenants 95

Lucy Mack Smith:

“Some were in favor of building a frame house, but others were of a mind to put up a log house. Joseph reminded them that they were not building a house for a man, but for God; ‘and shall we, brethren,’ said he, ‘build a house for our God, of logs? No, I have a better plan than that. I have a plan of the house of the Lord, given by himself.’” (History of Joseph Smith by His Mother, ed. Preston Nibley [1958], 230, 231.)

Doctrine and Covenants 95:1–2

President Dallin H. Oaks:

“God’s love is so perfect that He lovingly requires us to obey His commandments because He knows that only through obedience to His laws can we become perfect, as He is” (“Love and Law,” Ensign or Liahona, Nov. 2009, 27).

Elder D. Todd Christofferson:

“Though it is often difficult to endure, truly we ought to rejoice that God considers us worth the time and trouble to correct.

“Divine chastening has at least three purposes: (1) to persuade us to repent, (2) to refine and sanctify us, and (3) at times to redirect our course in life to what God knows is a better path. …

“Let us pray for His love-inspired correction” (“As Many as I Love, I Rebuke and Chasten,” Ensign or Liahona, May 2011, 98, 100).

Doctrine and Covenants 95:4

The phrase “my strange act” comes from Isaiah 28:21, where the Lord said He would correct a people who did not believe they had any need to repent. The Restoration of the gospel and the establishment of the true Church upon the earth is a strange occurrence to people who consider belief in revelation, heavenly visitations, and other spiritual matters to be foolishness. The message of the Restoration of the gospel is preached to many who believe they already have the truth. Some of these people may consider our efforts strange.

Doctrine and Covenants 95:8

President Thomas S. Monson:

“Until you have entered the house of the Lord and have received all the blessings which await you there, you have not obtained everything the Church has to offer. The all-important and crowning blessings of membership in the Church are those blessings which we receive in the temples of God” (“The Holy Temple—a Beacon to the World,”Ensign or Liahona, May 2011, 93).

Doctrine and Covenants 95:8–9

Elder Bruce R. McConkie:

“An endowment is a gift or a bequest. In the Church it usually refers to a temple ordinance in which members make certain promises and receive a gift of knowledge and spiritual power in return. The endowment spoken of here, however, is not the same as the ceremony administered in later temples. Priesthood members in Kirtland did participate in a ‘partial endowment, the full ordinance being reserved for a future performance when a temple designed for ordinance work itself should be built’ (‘A New Commandment: Save Thyself and Thy Kindred!’ Ensign, Aug. 1976, p. 10). The first complete endowment in this dispensation was given by Joseph Smith in Nauvoo on 4 May 1842.

Doctrine and Covenants Student Manual:

“The endowment received in Kirtland included washings and anointings, as well as the washing of feet for official priesthood brethren. The Lord also poured out His Spirit, or in other words endowed them with spiritual power, and many received revelations or other gifts (see History of the Church, 2:308–10)” (Doctrine and Covenants Student Manual, 2nd ed. [Church Educational System manual, 2001], 226).

Doctrine and Covenants 95:14

Joseph Smith, Sidney Rigdon, and Frederick G. Williams prayed together and saw the temple in vision. After viewing the exterior in detail, “the building seemed to come right over [them]” and they saw the interior of the building as if they were actually inside the building (see Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Joseph Smith[2007], 271). Later, when the temple was nearing completion, Frederick G. Williams said it looked like the model he had seen in vision to the smallest detail, and he could not tell the difference between it and the temple as built.

Doctrine and Covenants 97:3

Elder Parley P. Pratt:

“This class, to the number of about sixty, met for instruction once a week. The place of meeting was in the open air, under some tall trees, in a retired place in the wilderness, where we prayed, preached and prophesied, and exercised ourselves in the gifts of the Holy Spirit. Here great blessings were poured out, and many great and marvelous things were manifested and taught. The Lord gave me great wisdom, and enabled me to teach and edify the Elders, and comfort and encourage them in their preparations for the great work which lay before us. I was also much edified and strengthened. To attend this school I had to travel on foot, and sometimes with bare feet at that, about six miles. This I did once a week, besides visiting and preaching in five or six branches a week” (Autobiography of Parley P. Pratt, ed. Parley P. Pratt Jr. [1938], 93–94; see also Doctrine and Covenants Student Manual, 2nd ed. [Church Education System student manual, 2001], 228).

Seminary Teachers Manual:

Those who participated in the school of the elders studied scriptures, doctrine, and subjects like English grammar, other languages, history, literature, philosophy, arithmetic, and penmanship.

Doctrine and Covenants 97:13–14

Elder John A. Widtsoe:

“Temple work … gives a wonderful opportunity for keeping alive our spiritual knowledge and strength. … The mighty perspective of eternity is unraveled before us in the holy temples; we see time from its infinite beginning to its endless end; and the drama of eternal life is unfolded before us. Then I see more clearly my place amidst the things of the universe, my place among the purposes of God; I am better able to place myself where I belong, and I am better able to value and to weigh, to separate and to organize the common, ordinary duties of my life, so that the little things shall not oppress me or take away my vision of the greater things that God has given us” (in Conference Report, Apr. 1922, 97–98; see also Doctrine and Covenants Student Manual, 2nd ed. [Church Educational System student manual, 2001], 229).

Doctrine and Covenants 97:15–16

Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf:

“Every member who wants to go to the temple, regardless of age, needs to prepare for this sacred experience. Certain questions will be asked by your bishop and stake president, who hold keys of priesthood authority and are common judges in the Church. These vital questions will include: Are you honest? Are you morally clean? Do you keep the Word of Wisdom? Do you obey the law of tithing? And do you sustain the authorities of the Church? The answers to these key questions reflect your attitudes and actions.

“… The standards set by the Lord in the temple recommend questions are very similar to the standards found in For the Strength of Youth” (“See the End from the Beginning,” Ensign or Liahona, May 2006, 44).

Doctrine and Covenants 97:15–20

Elder David B. Haight:

“It is true that some have actually seen the Savior, but when one consults the dictionary, he learns that there are many other meanings of the word see,such as coming to know Him, discerning Him, recognizing Him and His work, perceiving His importance, or coming to understand Him” (“Temples and Work Therein,” Ensign, Nov. 1990, 61).

Doctrine and Covenants 97:25–28

Elder Parley P. Pratt:

The revelation in Doctrine and Covenants 97] “was not complied with by the leaders and church in Missouri, as a whole; notwithstanding many were humble and faithful. Therefore, the threatened judgment was poured out to the uttermost, as the history of the five following years will show” (Autobiography of Parley P. Pratt, ed. Parley P. Pratt Jr. [1938], 96).