Seminaries and Institutes
The Olive Leaf, Part 2, Lesson 35: Section 88:62–141

“The Olive Leaf, Part 2, Lesson 35: Section 88:62–141,” Doctrine and Covenants Instructor’s Guide: Religion 324–325 (1981), 69–70

“Lesson 35,” Doctrine and Covenants Instructor’s Guide, 69–70

The Olive Leaf, Part 2

Lesson 35

Section 88:62–141

Theme

The Saints are to prepare themselves* to be sanctified and are to warn the world of that which is to come, that they may be protected from the judgments of God which must come upon the wicked.

Theme Analysis

  1. Those who seek the Lord diligently will be filled with light.

    1. God will manifest himself to those whose minds are single to him and who have been sanctified.

    2. The Saints are to prepare and purify themselves from the blood of this generation.

    3. The righteous who endure faithfully will receive peace in this world and eternal life in the world to come.

  2. The Saints are commanded to teach one another and to carry the warning voice to the world.

    1. They are to study and learn the gospel and also learn of temporal things.

    2. As laborers in the last days, all Saints have the responsibility to warn their neighbors by giving them the gospel message.

  3. The Saints are given specific counsel by the Lord for their temporal and spiritual welfare.

    1. A house was to be built wherein the Saints could be edified and instruct one another.

    2. The manner in which the Saints are to conduct their lives was revealed.

    3. The order and procedure for the School of the Prophets was given.

Study Sources

Student Manual

Section 88:62–141; Enrichment A, “The Warning Voice”; Enrichment H, “The Last Days”; Enrichment K, “Seek Learning, Even by Study and Also by Faith”

Use material from Historical Background and Notes and Commentary to teach this revelation in its historical context.

Standard Works

Basic Library

  • Teachings, pp. 12–13. Every man is responsible for his own knowledge and growth. Who are they that are promised to see and know the things of God for themselves?

  • M of F, pp. 354–55. What attitude must a person develop in order to be sanctified?

  • Teachings, pp. 160–61. What are the prophecies concerning wickedness and judgments to come in the last days?

  • DS, 3:3–4. What must precede God’s judgments?

  • DS, 2:294–98. What is the significance of the first and the second resurrections?

  • DS, 3:59–60. There is a different time of resurrection for different types of people.

  • Discourses, pp. 254–57. What should we study?

  • Ezra Taft Benson, in CR, Apr. 1978, pp. 45–49. There are prophetic warnings and responsibilities for the Saints in our time. What is the solution to the world’s problems and to those who are to endure the tribulations of the last days?

Some Suggestions for Presentation

(Ideas Other Teachers Have Used)

Being Effective Servants in Days of Tribulation (Discussion)

Discuss the preparations needed for the Saints to meet the challenges of this dispensation. Use Ezra Taft Benson’s talk (see Conference Report, Apr. 1978, pp. 45–49) or one similar to it to teach the students the manner in which they can effectively move the Lord’s work forward. Refer to the scriptures and quotes that Elder Benson used as well as others of your choosing to show that the Lord’s work will triumph, and his Saints will be preserved if they will first prepare and then courageously perform the work to which they have been called.

To Draw Near to the Lord Is to Receive His Peace (Scripture Chain)

Ask the students some motivational questions such as:

  1. How do you draw near to the Lord?

  2. How do you know if the Lord is accepting your present life and labor?

  3. What does it mean to receive “peace in this world”? (D&C 59:23).

  4. What is the relationship between this mortal existence and eternal life in the world to come? Can mortals know anything about their eternal possibilities?

It is suggested that the questions be left largely unanswered at first, with the understanding that the answers will come through a study of some scriptures from the Doctrine and Covenants. Be sure, however, that you resolve the questions satisfactorily with the students before you conclude the discussion.

  • D&C 88:63. Notice the reciprocal relationship promised the man who truly draws near the Lord.

  • D&C 88:63–64; 50:28–29. What is our personal responsibility in drawing near the Lord, even before we “ask” and “knock”?

  • D&C 88:64–65; 50:28–29. How is it that one could ask something of God that would turn to his own condemnation? (If he has not repented and he asks not of the Spirit.) Compare Doctrine and Covenants 84:44–48; 88:74, 83.

  • D&C 88:67. In light of the above study, what does it mean to have one’s eye “single to my glory” and one’s body “filled with light”?

  • D&C 88:68. Is it clear now why the Lord instructs those who would draw near unto him to “sanctify” themselves?

  • D&C 88:68–69. Is there anything particular that should be remembered about having one’s mind “single to God”? Compare Doctrine and Covenants 121:45.

  • D&C 88:68. Is the promise that “you shall see him” attainable in this life? (Yes, notice the phrase “unveil his face unto you” which refer to the removal of the veil that separates mortal man from his Savior.) Compare Doctrine and Covenants 121:45; 84:19–21; John 14:15–16, 21–23.

  • D&C 59:23. What are the natural consequences of righteousness, available in mortality, for those who receive the promise of “eternal life in the world to come”? Compare Moses 6:59–61.

  • D&C 6:7, 13; 14:7. What is the greatest gift in all eternity that God is able to give to man?

  • D&C 88:63. What should be our deepest, heart-felt desire on a continual, daily basis?

We should have courage in the process of drawing near the Lord, for he has promised to make our weaknesses become strengths as we sincerely strive for such (see Ether 12:27).