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D&C 45 covers a lot of different things, from the role of the Savior to the safety of Zion. In the last few decades our LDS culture has also made a lot of this section\u2019s observation that His disciples will \u2018stand in holy places, and \u2026 not be moved.\u2019 As an image that description suggests both that there are specific physical locations in which we should stand, and that we should remain in those locations. But I think these images are metaphors, and not physical sites \u2014 wasn\u2019t the Good Samaritan \u2018standing in holy places?\u2019 It seems to me that he \u2018stood in holy places\u2019 by moving.<\/p>\n
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In this sense, all scripture is about how we \u2018stand in holy places.\u2019 The lesson finds several ways to do this. We can rely on Christ, our advocate with the Father. We can provide a standard to the Nations. We can look forward to Christ\u2019s return. And we can create Zion, as a place of safety for others.<\/p>\n
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The idea of Christ as an advocate leads to unusual imagery today\u2014you might think of a court, with Christ as your lawyer. But such imagery carries with it a legalistic and adversarial system that seems out-of-step with my understanding of our Heavenly Father. Maybe I\u2019m wrong, or maybe the system is more merciful than that, if nothing else because of Christ\u2019s intercession on our behalf.<\/p>\n The following poem catches an alternative way of seeing advocacy. Here the support we get is through mercy, rather than through justice in a court. The poet is Lucy Minerva Woodward Hewlings (1817-1901), who was one of the unusual non-Mormon immigrants to Utah in the 1870s, following children who joined the Church. She was active in both feminist and temperance efforts during her life and was well integrated in Utah society. Her work appeared frequently in the Woman\u2019s Exponent.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n by L. M. Hewlings<\/span><\/p>\n 1891<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Despite what many today think, standing in holy places isn\u2019t exclusive. By its mere outside look, Zion, or a holy places, naturally attracts others. It doesn\u2019t need advertising, promotion or even a flag; Zion is its own standard! And standing in holy places means eagerly accepting and encouraging others to come stand with you in holy places.<\/p>\n Parley P. Pratt, the most innovative of our early writers, here sees a metaphorical flag, a standard, that invites all to come to Zion, where all can stand in holy places.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n by Parley P. Pratt<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n 1856<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Zion, as a holy place, is connected to the idea of the return of Jesus Christ, and the early millennial poetry of the Latter-day Saints (as well as the D&C) reflects that orientation. Here, hymn writer W. W. Phelps gives his vision of the second coming and how Christ will bring Zion with him. I\u2019m not sure whether Phelps is correct, that Christ will bring Zion, or whether, on the other hand, Zion is a kind of pre-requisite for Christ\u2019s coming. Regardless, having some kind of Zion is desirable.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n by William W. Phelps<\/p>\n 1834<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n We can see \u2018stand in holy places\u2019 in either a positive or negative way. We might think that standing in holy places means we are going towards a better place, or we might think that we are fleeing something worse.<\/p>\n Poet Sarah Maeser (1860-1944) is an example, I think. She was known as one of the many women in Utah involved in the sufferage movement, trying to better live where she was standing, making life there more holy. She married Reinhold Maeser (son of Karl G. Maeser) in 1882, and continued her activities in favor of women for the next nearly 40 years.<\/p>\n The following poem, written in 1918, is a reaction to World War I, instead of the situation of women (although I bet her feminist sentiments can be read in this poem). As a reaction to the war, the poem sees Zion, where we \u2018fearless\u2019 stand, as a refuge from the world, instead of a place being made holy. The circumstantial contrast here may be worth thinking about.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n by Sarah C. Maeser<\/p>\n 1918<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The idea of Zion as a refuge is where this lesson ends. Where Sarah Maeser saw the need for refuge in 1918, during World War I, the poet J. H. Flanigan sees it in 1848, as he heads to the British Isles. He is not wrong, since in 1848 much of Europe was in revolution, and even in the U.S. things were far from secure. And \u2018Zion\u2019, as Deseret was considered, was barely established\u2014the first pioneers had arrived less than a year before. Still, Flanigan saw it as a refuge.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n by J. H. Flanigan<\/p>\n 1849<\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" D&C 45 covers a lot of different things, from the role of the Savior to the safety of Zion. In the last few decades our LDS culture has also made a lot of this section\u2019s observation that His disciples will \u2018stand in holy places, and \u2026 not be moved.\u2019 As an image that description suggests both that there are specific physical locations in which we should stand, and that we should remain in those locations. But I think these images are metaphors, and not physical sites \u2014 wasn\u2019t the Good Samaritan \u2018standing in holy places?\u2019 It seems to me that he \u2018stood in holy places\u2019 by moving.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":111,"featured_media":49785,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2895,2904,53,50],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-49688","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-come-follow-me-currculum","category-doctrine-and-covenants","category-latter-day-saint-thought","category-sunday-school-lesson-doctrine-and-covenants"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/timesandseasons.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/IMG_2143.jpeg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/timesandseasons.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49688","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/timesandseasons.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/timesandseasons.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/timesandseasons.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/111"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/timesandseasons.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=49688"}],"version-history":[{"count":13,"href":"https:\/\/timesandseasons.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49688\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":49798,"href":"https:\/\/timesandseasons.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49688\/revisions\/49798"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/timesandseasons.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/49785"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/timesandseasons.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=49688"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/timesandseasons.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=49688"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/timesandseasons.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=49688"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"\"](\"https:\/\/timesandseasons.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/IMG_2145-601x800.jpeg\")
The Christian’s Support<\/span><\/h3>\n
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The gospel is a standard to the nations.<\/h2>\n
The Standard of Zion<\/span><\/h3>\n
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Jesus Christ will return in glory.<\/h2>\n
The Savior is Coming<\/span><\/h3>\n
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I can \u201cstand in holy places\u201d and not be moved.<\/h2>\n
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In Faith We Fearless Stand<\/span><\/h3>\n
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Zion is a place of safety for the Saints of God.<\/h2>\n
Safety in Zion<\/span><\/h3>\n
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