I really appreciate the ways in which Rosalynde Welch approaches scriptures and interpretation of scriptures. I’ve mentioned this in my review of Seven Visions of Christ in the Doctrine and Covenants, but Rosalynde also shared some of her insights in a recent interview at the Latter-day Saint history site, From the Desk. What follows here is a copost to the full interview.

Rosalynde Welch on Seven Visions of Christ in the Doctrine and Covenants

One area that Rosalynde Welch focuses on in her thoughts on the Doctrine and Covenants is on the glory of Christ. “I wanted to highlight the paradox that Christ’s glory and power arise from his submission and humility.” She went on to elaborate:

In the Doctrine and Covenants, we often see Christ portrayed in elevated and glorified terms. At the beginning of Section 19, he introduces himself as “I am Alpha and Omega, Christ the Lord; yea, even I am he, the beginning and the end, the Redeemer of the world” (D&C 19:1).

But we misunderstand the particular quality of his divine glory if we forget that it arises from his humility. The very next verse of section 19 reminds us that Christ’s power to subdue all things is a consequence of his submitting his own will to the Father: he “accomplished and finished the will of him whose I am, even the Father, concerning me” (D&C 19:2).

Further, she points out that the glory does have meaning and purpose when used in the scriptures:

The Greek doxa is usually translated as glory, and it refers to the brilliant light that radiates from God’s presence—in other words, glory is the visible manifestation of God’s presence.

When I started to read glory as “the sign that God is present in this place,” suddenly it was no longer a filler word. It took on actual meaning in the passages where I encountered it.

Glory is a signifier of the presence of God in the Doctrine and Covenants.

The presence of both God and Christ in our lives here and now are something that Welch also focused on. She noted:

The sobering message of Doctrine and Covenants 88 is that Christ has already come to us, but we’ve failed to recognize him. We’ve seen him but not perceived him. We’ve slept through our theophany: “Nevertheless, he who came unto his own was not comprehended” (88:48).

In some ways, this marked an important moment in the developing spiritual experiences of the early Latter-day Saints:

That’s genuinely the plain sense of the revelation: Christ is present with us now. He has already come.

Section 88 reads to me like a turning point in Joseph Smith’s prophetic ministry: the dawning understanding that his people didn’t need to wait for the Second Coming, didn’t need to wait until Zion was built and prospering, to see Christ and enjoy the presence of God. They could build a house for God now and meet him there.

We can already experience the presence of Christ in our lives.

Welch’s commentary on section 130 further underscored the importance of this knowledge:

I had one of those “duh” moments when I was studying to write my letter on Doctrine and Covenants 130. I’ve quoted D&C 130:2 many times to make the point that our eternal relationships will be of the same kind, and embedded in the same sacred network, as our sealed earthly relationships:

And that same sociality which exists among us here will exist among us there, only it will be coupled with eternal glory, which glory we do not now enjoy.

D&C 130:2.

This is the “families can be together forever” teaching, and I treasure and believe it.

But all these years, I think I’ve missed the most important, very obvious, point of that verse: Christ is at the center of that circle of sociality both here and there.

In other words, “That same sociality [including myself, my associates, and the Savior] which exists among us here will exist among us there.” This means that the quality of relationship that I am willing to share with Christ in this life, here and now—my “sociality” with Christ in the present—is essentially the same quality that will define my eternal life in his presence.

Whatever intensity or fullness is added by the coupling of eternal glory, it doesn’t radically change the fundamental basis of the relationship. That tells me I better get awfully close to Christ now, in this life.

This life is a time to prepare to meet God, but can also be a time where we continually meet with God’s presence and Christ’s presence in a variety of ways.

---

 

For more insights from Rosalynde Welch on Seven Visions of Christ in the Doctrine and Covenants, head on over to the Latter-day Saint history and theology blog From the Desk to read the full interview.