D&C Section One Hundred

It is amazing to me that in spite of the great problems in Missouri and some in Kirtland, the Lord still sends Sydney Rigdon and Joseph Smith on a mission to the eastern states and Canada. No matter what problems the world brings upon the church, the work of the Lord has always gone forward. No matter what persecution there is, no matter what the opposition is, the Lord's work has always progressed. Even after the pioneers arrived in Salt Lake, which wasn't even a part of the United States at that time, almost from the moment they arrived, they prospered and grew. In the midst of the great migration west, missionary work still continued and converts continued to come.

I like one word that the Lord uses in this section. He promises that as they bear testimony that is solemn and in the spirit of meekness, the Holy Ghost will be shed forth in bearing record unto all things whatsoever they will say. The word shed in this usages means to effusively be present. To pervade everything or envelope everything. Missionaries find his to be true. No matter what the reaction of the people may be, the Holy Ghost accompanies each testimony they bear. Those who hear usually feel something, but don't always act on what they feel because their mind fights it. Their traditions keep them from being open to something new. Earlier, in Section 93, the Lord said that two things keep people from accepting truth, Satan and the traditions of men.

Another promise in this section is Sidney would be strong in expounding the scriptures while Joseph would be strong in bearing testimony. There is an account of when the two of them were preaching to a large crowd in New York. Sidney spoke first and using the Bible taught all around the restoration of the gospel without mentioning it, teaching gospel principles that he thought the crowd would accept, but it was all to no effect. Joseph then stood and said that if Sidney was not going to bear witness of the restoration he would. He then bore witness of the the first vision, of the Moroni and the Book of Mormon and the restoration of priesthood keys. After he was finished, large numbers of people came forward wanting to be baptized..