Doctrine and Covenants 88 – “Establish … a House of God”

August 9, 2021 to August 15, 2021

In December 1832, Joseph Smith received a revelation that helped him understand what he was to do to build Zion, including building a house of God in Kirtland and instructing the Saints about the order of heaven.

 

“Historical Context and Background of D&C 88,” Steven C. Harper and Casey Paul Griffiths, Doctrine and Covenants Central

D&C 88 connects the ordinary world with the order of heaven. It teaches of the present, the end times, and a glorious future.

“The Olive Leaf and the Family of Heaven,” Samuel Morris Brown, Ye Shall Have My Word

Sam Brown suggests that the Olive Leaf contained the kernels of the doctrines that constitute what he terms the divine anthropology, in which God, humans, and angels are all members of the same family, the family of heaven.

“School of the Prophets,” The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints website

A brief history of the School of the Prophets in Kirtland and in later years.

“‘A House for Our God,’” Lisa Olsen Tait, Revelations in Context

D&C 88 instructs the Saints to build a house of God, but the Saints in Kirtland at first did not understand that they would be building a temple.

“Thy Mind, O Man, Must Stretch,” John W. Welch, BYU Speeches

D&C 88 stretches our mind, and with that comes an openness to multiplicity. We speak of plural revelations, degrees of glory, kingdoms, and saviors on Mount Zion.