I just love section 76 of the Doctrine and Covenants. That was this week’s reading for the Come, Follow Me study of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I also loved all the videos I watched this week relating to it. In the video above, Emily Belle Freeman tells a fun story about a visit her family took to Disneyland, during a super hard time in her family’s life. She tells of how a friend offered her family the trip to mercifully give them a break and happy time during this trial. On top of that, he offered them the trip to Disneyland with an amazing guide. At first she didn’t want to receive the gift, but then she took him up on it. She was so glad she did, because the guide allowed them to have the most wondrous, magical trip to Disneyland that they could ever have. Imagine a trip to Disneyland with Walt as your guide! That’s probably what this felt like. Everything she said made it sound like Walt himself was guiding them, telling them all these secrets, and showing them hidden Mickeys. She said he was like a “human fast pass,” getting them on all the rides as fast as they could. In 90 minutes they did 9 rides! He told them the best places to eat and how to get the most out of the trip.

Emily said she’s saving her ticket from that trip forever to remind her of how much happiness they experienced. So what does that Disneyland trip have to do with section 76? It’s that Jesus Christ is the ultimate tour guide, the ultimate fast pass, and the ultimate Walt Disney magic maker for all of us. As Emily and David say in the notes on YouTube, “Our best advice: Don’t refuse the guide.” Section 76 tells us what Jesus does for us as The Guide: He cleanses us, sanctifies us, and allows us to receive all that the Father us. He gives us mercy and grace and delights to honor us when we serve Him.

I highly encourage you to watch the video to hear the story from Emily and then watch the whole thing after that. The part about privileges and responsibilities for teens at 12:29 is especially helpful for parents. Here are the time stamps to help you in watching it, thanks to a guy named Christopher Patch.

Time Stamps:

00:00 See the Board

00:06 Welcome and Introduction to D&C 76

00:53 All About Disneyland

02:18 Quote from Spencer W. Kimball

03:04 Emily’s story about a Disneyland Guide

07:39 Emily’s story about teaching D&C 76

08:23 Study Tip for D&C 76 + Emily’s conversation with her friend

09:05 Cross Reference 1 Corinthians 15 verses 39-41

10:49 David’s thoughts on “Eternal Life”

12:29 Conditions/Responsibilities and Privileges

14:56 Emily’s story of family “Levels of Responsibilities and Privileges”

23:06 Emily’s story of conversations with friends of other faiths

25:26 Intro to the Degrees of Glory + Background on D&C 76

26:49 Telestial Glory

29:44 Terrestrial Glory

30:14 Quotes from Joseph Fielding Smith

34:22 Celestial Glory

37:32 Emily’s favorite part of D&C 76: Introducing the Guide (D&C 76 verses 1-6)

40:27 D&C 76 verse 22

41:15 Vision of Perdition

42:29 D&C 76 verses 37-42

44:16 D&C 76 verse 69

46:02 Conclusion

47:19 D&C 76 verses 116-118

48:21 D&C 76 verse

Here’s a video I love that shows our need for the Savior Jesus Christ, and what would life be like without the Savior.

Then here’s a video by my husband’s cousin Lynne about section 76. She focuses on the phrase, “The Holy Spirit of promise” that is used frequently in the section. Interestingly, she gives the context of Joseph receiving this revelation, as does the heading for section 76. She further elaborates on that, for which I’m grateful. In the handout that accompanies the video here, she writes that the section 76 was a vision that came to Joseph while he was translating the Bible from the King James Version to the Inspired Version (what we now call the Joseph Smith Translation). Joseph was reading and then dictating a new translation to Sidney Rigdon, who was his scribe. They came upon John 5:29. Here are the changes Joseph made:

“And shall come forth; they that who have done good, unto in the resurrection of life, the just; and they that who have done evil, unto in the resurrection of damnation the unjust.”

Lynne writes, “On the original manuscript, at the point where Sidney wrote the last letter in the word ‘unjust,’ a visible ink blot is seen followed by a faint line as if his pen fell. This textual evidence appears to have come right at the time that the vision known as D&C 76 opened.”

This is what Joseph wrote in D&C 76 said, “And while we meditated upon these things, the Lord touched the eyes of our understandings and they were opened, and the glory of the lord shone round about. And we beheld the glory of the Son, on the right hand of the Father, and received of his fulness; And saw the holy angels, and them who are sanctified before his throne, worshiping God, and the Lamb, who worship him forever and ever.” (D&C 76:19-21)

I just love the truths shared in this Vision found in section 76. It shows that God the Father and His Son Jesus Christ have such a grand, generous, glorious plan for all of their children. This plan is much better than any of us could come up with on our own. It involves everyone! Those who are super faithful to them, those that are sometimes faithful, those who don’t know about them and therefore can’t be expected to be faithful, and those few who are truly rebellious.

The next videos also all relate to section 76 and all show great insights. Watch them all and you will learn, learn, learn!

On YouTube’s site where I got the above video, someone named Ron Palmer wrote the following as a comment below it. I love that it shows someone being humble enough to receive the truth that there is more scripture besides the Bible:

“I am 83 years old and a former Baptist minister my father also a former Baptist minister, we both along with our families joined this the Restored Church of Jesus Christ 51 years ago. I was preaching a sermon and the Holy Spirit shot in my mind these words when I said something about no other scripture than the Holy Bible such as the Book of Mormon, the Holy Spirit Said “How do you know that is True, I thought I don’t, only that I’ve been taught that the Mormons are not Christian and the Book of Mormon is not true. So I obtained a Book of Mormon and took the discussions from the missionaries. I knew that what they taught was True and that God would reward according to merit but that the Resurrection is by Grace and the Holy Bible teach more than one heaven but the Baptist did not. I know now, with all my heart, that Joseph Smith, Jr is the prophet of the Restoration. I was a witness when I was 9 years old when Israel was Restored, in one day in 1948 I heard it on my shortwave radio when the United Nations took the vote to Restore the Promised Land to the Jews. So I was looking for the Restored Church of Jesus Christ but did not know where to find it. Four months later my Father read the Book of Mormon and joined this Church also. Fourteen members of our family, which included 4 generations, joined this Church the 1st years.”

I just love, love this comment from another YouTube viewer, of the Part 2 video above, named Claire Balmforth:

“I have stopped thinking of the degrees of glory as 3 separate places- I think of Christ as the light, the closer you are to the light the brighter it is. As you move further away it is less so. We will choose where we are most comfortable in that light. There isn’t a cut off (ie “You need 3 more points to get in”). I may be wrong but that’s my thinking.” That makes total sense to me. We will each be rewarded for what is the most justice possible. How wonderful our Savior and our Heavenly Father are! I testify that they live, they love us, and that Joseph Smith restored the church of Jesus Christ. The Book of Mormon is another testament of Jesus Christ and President Russell M. Nelson is His prophet and the president of His church today. There’s a place in heaven for all of us! That is the good news that Joseph revealed to the world!