249.1: Trials, Mistakes, and Failure (D&C Gospel Doctrine Lesson 27, Updated)

“They Must Needs Be Chastened and Tried, Even as Abraham”

 

Have you ever noticed that we almost never hear about failure in the Church? The stories we do hear are uplifting, because the mistakes or seeming-failure lead to even better outcomes.

Yet the gospel teaches us there is power, even necessity, in acknowledging our mistakes and weakness (Ether 12:27). This episode discusses the paradoxical importance of building Zion from a place of acknowledging mistakes, weakness, and failure, as well as the importance of correct interpretation and assignment of accountability.

 

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You can access my Lesson Notes here (or PDF).

New Church Resources

• “Waiting for the Word of the Lord”: This article discusses the crisis created by early persecution of the Saints in Jackson County, Missouri, and the role that revelation played in the Saints’ response.
• “The Acceptable Offering of Zion’s Camp”: This article uses the perspective of Nathan Baldwin to help tell the story of Zion’s Camp.
• “Revelation, 16–17 December 1833 [D&C 101]”: This page from the Joseph Smith Papers website gives in-depth historical background for Doctrine and Covenants 101.

Thanks to Trent Oliphant for editing the updated episode.