Mark 16:15

Mark 16:15

15 And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.

Kendall:thought...vicarious work

“Through Joseph Smith was restored the doctrine of the gospel being preached to the dead in the spirit world to those who did not have a fair chance on earth to hear it (see D&C 128:5–22; see also D&C 138:30–34). This was not the invention of a creative mind; it was the restoration of a biblical truth. Peter had long ago taught, ‘For this cause was the gospel preached also to them that are dead, that they might be judged according to men in the flesh, but live according to God in the spirit’ (1 Peter 4:6).”

Tad R. Callister, “Joseph Smith—Prophet of the Restoration,” Ensign, Nov. 2009, 36

FHE Lesson : Vicarious Work

What comes to mind when you first hear the term vicarious work? Those of us who are Latter-day Saints have heard this term on several if not many occasions within the church. The word vicarious means "performed or suffered by one person as a substitute for another or to be the benefit or advantage of another." This means that one do something for and inbehalf or someone else. When we say vicarious work we do indeed mean "work." The vicarious work that we do is well put by Bruce R. McConkie, "Salvation itself is based on the vicarious atoning sacrifice of Christ. Through his suffering, death, and resurrection, immortality comes to all men and eternal life to those who obey the full gospel law. He acted on man's behalf, that is, vicariously, paying the penalty for our sins on condition of repentance, ransoming us from the effects of Adam's fall. In conformity with this pattern of vicarious service, the gospel law enables worthy members of the Church to act on behalf of their dead ancestors in the performance of the ordinances of salvation and exaltation. Baptism is essential to salvation in the celestial kingdom, endowments and sealings to an exaltation therein. The living saints, acting on a proxy basis, perform these ordinances for and in behalf of those who have died and who did not have an opportunity while in this life to receive the ordinances personally."
There will be people who will say, "it is impossible for someone to do a vicarious action." But I would say to them, wasn't Christ's life a perfect example of Vicarious work? We too can and should find ourselves participating in such vicarious ordinances as is the plan of our Heavenly Father because this is the Plan of Salvation. Of this I do testify, Amen.

VICARIOUS WORK --D&C 138: 33

"These were taught faith in God, repentance from sin, vicarious baptism for the remission of sins, the gift of the Holy Ghost by the laying on of hands"

Scripture: Word of Wisdom

D&C 89

A WORD OF WISDOM, for the benefit of the council of high priests, assembled in Kirtland, and the church, and also the saints in Zion--

2 To be sent greeting; not by commandment or constraint, but by revelation and the word of wisdom, showing forth the order and will of God in the temporal salvation of all saints in the last days--

3 Given for a principle with promise, adapted to the capacity of the weak and the weakest of all saints, who are or can be called saints.

4 Behold, verily, thus saith the Lord unto you: In consequence of evils and designs which do and will exist in the hearts of conspiring men in the last days, I have warned you, and forewarn you, by giving unto you this word of wisdom by revelation--

5 That inasmuch as any man drinketh wine or strong drink among you, behold it is not good, neither meet in the sight of your Father, only in assembling yourselves together to offer up your sacraments before him.

6 And, behold, this should be wine, yea, pure wine of the grape of the vine, of your own make.

7 And, again, strong drinks are not for the belly, but for the washing of your bodies.

8 And again, tobacco is not for the body, neither for the belly, and is not good for man, but is an herb for bruises and all sick cattle, to be used with judgment and skill.

9 And again, hot drinks are not for the body or belly.

10 And again, verily I say unto you, all wholesome herbs God hath ordained for the constitution, nature, and use of man--

11 Every herb in the season thereof, and every fruit in the season thereof; all these to be used with prudence and thanksgiving.

12 Yea, flesh also of beasts and of the fowls of the air, I, the Lord, have ordained for the use of man with thanksgiving; nevertheless they are to be used sparingly;

13 And it is pleasing unto me that they should not be used, only in times of winter, or of cold, or famine.

14 All grain is ordained for the use of man and of beasts, to be the staff of life, not only for man but for the beasts of the field, and the fowls of heaven, and all wild animals that run or creep on the earth;

15 And these hath God made for the use of man only in times of famine and excess of hunger.

16 All grain is good for the food of man; as also the fruit of the vine; that which yieldeth fruit, whether in the ground or above the ground--

17 Nevertheless, wheat for man, and corn for the ox, and oats for the horse, and rye for the fowls and for swine, and for all beasts of the field, and barley for all useful animals, and for mild drinks, as also other grain.

18 And all saints who remember to keep and do these sayings, walking in obedience to the commandments, shall receive health in their navel and marrow to their bones;

19 And shall find wisdom and great treasures of knowledge, even hidden treasures;

20 And shall run and not be weary, and shall walk and not faint.

21 And I, the Lord, give unto them a promise, that the destroying angel shall pass by them, as the children of Israel, and not slay them. Amen.

Lesson on the Word of Wisdom

Most of us have grown up in the Church and are well aware of what the word of Wisdom entials. Put simply it is a law of health revealed by the Lord for the spiritual and physical benefit of his children. Heavenly Father loves us more then we can comprehend, and this law is one of the greatest ways that he shows his love by protecting our minds, bodies, and spirits. When the revelation was given to Joseph Smith in 1833, modern medicine had yet to reveal that most of the substances in the word of widsom were even bad for our bodies. For example, it took over a hundred years after the revelaion for the FDA to finally realize that tobacco smoke was terrible for your lungs and could cause cancer and other diseases. How blessed were the Saints back in the day to have such an inspired set of laws to protect them from harm that they otherwise would have been completely unaware of!
We are taught that our bodies are a temple and we therefore need to take care of them. Specifically the word of wisdom states that we are to stay away from "tea, coffee, liquor, tobacco, or anything else that is habit-forming, or harmful." And along with that I believe it is also our responsibility to try to eat healthy and exercise as our way of taking care of our bodies as well. Even food can become an addiction and can end up being abused.
So if "to every law is predicated a blessing"- what blessings do we recieve when we do follow the word of wisdown? D&C 89 spells it out for us:
"And all saints who remember to keep and do these sayings, walking in obedience to the commandments, shall recieve health in their navel and marrow to their bones; "
"And shall find wisdom and great treasures of knowledge, even hidden treasures;"
"And shall run and not be weary, and shall walk and not faint."
"And I the Lord give them a promise, that the destroying angel shall pass by them, as the children of Israel, and not destroy them."

What a GLORIOUS promise! I testify that these promises are real and that we truly are protected as we stay away from harmful substances. I have loved ones that I have watched struggle for years with addictions and have seen the effects of which break hearts, break lives, and break up families. May we all continue to be wise and prudent with our bodies and truly treat them as a temple of God.

Word of Wisdom

Over one hundred fifty years ago a revelation from God was given through the Prophet Joseph Smith. At that time few could understand the reasons for many of the restrictions placed upon them in the matter of their dietary and health habits. As a result, no doubt there were many who did not choose to observe what came to be known as the Word of Wisdom.

On the other hand, there were others who, because of their faith and their desire to be obedient to the word of the Lord, accepted and heeded the counsel and instruction.

I feel that the promise given in the last four verses of this revelation is one of the most glorious promises that the Lord has pronounced for our benefit.

“And all saints who remember to keep and do these sayings, walking in obedience to the commandments, shall receive health in their navel and marrow to their bones;

“And shall find wisdom and great treasures of knowledge, even hidden treasures;

“And shall run and not be weary, and shall walk and not faint.

“And I, the Lord, give unto them a promise, that the destroying angel shall pass by them, as the children of Israel, and not slay them.” (D&C 89:18–21; italics added.)

Too often we think of the promise as pertaining only to observance of the Word of Wisdom, but note in the first sentence, it states, “walking in obedience to the commandments,” which means that we observe not only the counsel in this revelation, but keep the other commandments in order to obtain the promise.

This revelation has such far-reaching effects on so many aspects of our lives, and on the social behavior of those in our communities, that I believe most of the ills of society today could be cured by the acceptance and observance of the Word of Wisdom.

Consider the spiritual, moral, physical, and economic problems caused by the use of tea, coffee, tobacco, and alcohol or the use of illegal drugs and misuse of legal drugs.

No one would knowingly go into his garden or a forest of beautiful trees and pour a mixture of poisons at the roots of flowers or shrubs. Yet there are those who make no effort to stop, but actually assist in getting people to use the habit-forming substances which eventually poison the bodies and minds of those who indulge, causing many forms of illness, and even death.

Surely the Lord gave a revelation and a promise for the benefit and blessing of his children.

May we continue to stand for physical, mental, and spiritual health through observance of the Word of Wisdom and receive the blessings predicated upon obedience to the word of the Lord.