This week I am focusing on just two topics: being wholly dedicated to the Lord and why the Lord chastens those He loves.
The surface meaning of “wholly”
Since the meaning of being whole means to be complete, being wholly something is to be completely dedicated or devoted to that thing. The Lord told Joseph Smith in section 94 that the printing house and the administrative buildings in Kirtland were to be “wholly dedicated unto the Lord.” The simple meaning therefore is that these structures were to be used for the purpose designated by God, and nothing else. That part, at least, is simple.
What the Lord means by “wholly”
In Doctrine and Covenants 94 the Lord treats the two buildings, the administration building and the printing house, as two separate subjects. When speaking of the first building, the offices of the Presidency, He says this.
7 And it shall be wholly dedicated unto the Lord for the work of the .
8 And ye shall not suffer any to come in unto it; and my shall be there, and my shall be there.
9 But if there shall come into it any , my glory shall not be there; and my presence shall not come into it.
Not only were the Saints to dedicate this building for a single purpose, that of the Presidency to receive revelation and to administer the affairs of the Lord’s kingdom on earth, but the Lord extends the responsibility of the Saints to not allow any unclean thing to enter the building, otherwise “my presence shall not come into it.” That’s a pretty specific commandment. In the case of the administration building, being wholly dedicated to the Lord includes being holy as a people as well.
In the case of the printing house the Lord says in verse 12 the following.
12 And this house shall be wholly dedicated unto the Lord from the foundation thereof, for the work of the printing, in all things whatsoever I shall command you, to be holy, undefiled, according to the pattern in all things as it shall be given unto you.
Now read this verse again and try to determine who or what the Lord is referring to when He says “to be holy, undefiled.” Is He referring to the building or to the people in the building, or both? Or maybe He is referring to what is being printed. I don’t know. The Lord continues His statement by saying that this is to be done “according to the pattern in all things.” What pattern is He referring to, the layout of the building, the commandments He has given as to what to do with the scriptures and other things being printed? Again, I don’t know. Any ideas? I don’t recall ever hearing any of the Apostles talk about these specific verses, so I don’t know if they have shed any light on their meaning.
The purpose of being chastened
First let’s look at the historical use of the term to chasten. Here is Hebrews 12:5-8. The lesson Paul is trying to teach the people is that God wants to treat them like sons and daughters, and not like a servant or a bastard that is not His own child. The behavior of a father to his children who are his heirs is different than it is to those who will not inherit all that he has. We need to stop seeing ourselves as disconnected from God, and begin to view ourselves as heirs to God’s kingdom, as His legitimate heirs.
5 And ye have forgotten the exhortation which speaketh unto you as unto children, My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of him:
6 For whom the Lord loveth he , and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth.
7 If ye , God dealeth with you as with ; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not?
8 But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons.
The rebukes of the Lord are meant to teach and improve us, not demean or belittle us. We shouldn’t be offended when the Lord corrects us, for His corrections are for our benefit, not for our punishment and humiliation. Sometimes we might feel like the Lord’s chastisement is a source of shame, and not the badge of love that it actually is.
The second New Testament reference to chastening comes from 1 Corinthians 11:31-32. Paul is teaching the Saints about the sacrament and how to think of it and how to approach taking the bread and wine. He is teaching them that partaking of the sacrament unworthily is deadly to one’s soul. He tells them in these verses that if it were up to us we would not judge ourselves, but God will judge us and chasten us. His implied lesson here is that the world will be judged and condemned. His Saints are judged and chastened. Refer back to the verses in Hebrews as to the difference.
31 For if we would ourselves, we should not be judged.
32 But when we are judged, we are of the Lord, that we should not be condemned with the world.
We don’t want to be judged and condemned along with the rest of the world. We should prefer God’s chastening, because in so doing He is treating us as family, not strangers.
Modern purpose for chastening
This title is misleading, because the purpose for chastening us hasn’t changed one bit between the Lord and His covenant people from the days of Adam to the present. My point here is that God wants us to become His sons and daughters by way of the covenants we make. The purpose of Him chastising us is to help us repent and find happiness. Here is Doctrine and Covenants 95:1-2.
1 Verily, thus saith the Lord unto you whom I love, and whom I I also chasten that their sins may be , for with the I prepare a way for their in all things out of , and I have loved you—
2 Wherefore, ye must needs be chastened and stand rebuked before my face;
This brings us right back to the same lesson we have been taught for many centuries – God only chastens those whom He loves. He does this for the purpose of encouraging repentance so we can find forgiveness and happiness. Happiness cannot be found eternally in sin, only in being reconciled with the commandments of God. He wants us to make ourselves pure and holy before Him, and that requires us to learn from our mistakes and repent of our wrong-doings so we can stand justified before God, and hence become sanctified, pure and holy. To be righteous is by definition to be holy. The unforgiven cannot be righteous, and are hence deprived of eternal happiness.
Purpose of repentance
There are very few verses of scripture that teach the essence of what the gospel is all about, but Doctrine and Covenants 95:1 is one that does. Let’s read it again, for it is so important that we embrace its teachings and take them to heart.
1 Verily, thus saith the Lord unto you whom I love, and whom I I also chasten that their sins may be , for with the I prepare a way for their in all things out of , and I have loved you—
Most of us have been tricked into believing that repentance is a punishment, a grievous task, or something to be avoided because it is painful or difficult. But repentance is the way we find the deliverance from temptation in all things. Repentance is our ticket out of misery and suffering of our own making. The Lord offers us this blessing, because He loves us. This doesn’t mean repentance is easy or enjoyable. It only means it is valuable and something to be cherished, because it opens the doors of relief and happiness that can last forever. It is our ultimate source of joy in life.
If you have ever wondered how to learn to appreciate the Savior in a proper way, just repent often enough. You will come to see that his gift of repentance is greater than any privilege available to us in either mortality or eternity. It truly is the only way we can be saved and find eternal peace and joy. The goal of the sacrament we take each week is to remind us to remember Christ all the time. The purpose of remembering Christ is to remind us that his gift of the Atonement offers us the only way back to God. Bringing our lives back into alignment with God’s commandments allows Christ’s sacrifice to heal us and lift us out of our sorrows and suffering caused by the choices we have made. So any chastisements given to us by the Lord are sources of privilege, not punishment. They are a demonstration of His love and ownership of our family relationship with Him. No one but covenant makers and keepers have this privilege.
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