Lectionary Readings for Saturday, December 28th, 2019

Seventh-Day Sabbath

Book of Discipline Chapter 11

God showeth that the renunciation of the Uzians is necessary.

1. Hearken, O man, to the discourse of thy God upon the second resurrection in heaven, and apply thou these principles to founding Jehovih’s kingdom on earth.

2. Many come to my holy place, saying: Hear me, O God, I am weary of the first resurrection and of the earth. Open the gates of paradise unto thy servant.

3. And I say unto them: Whoso will put aside all that is below, shall dwell in this heaven; but whoso cannot in heart, and mind, and soul renounce all that is below is not prepared to enter.

4. Hath not Jehovih said on earth: Husband and wife shall be the model and key of My kingdom?

5. As woman forsaketh father, mother, brother and sister and becometh one with her husband, so do they of the first resurrection forsake all the earth and the lowest heaven in order to become one with the kingdom of thy God.

6. For, save the mind and heart be one with my holy place, the love of improvement will also depart out of that man’s soul.

7. Isolation belongeth below the second resurrection, but unity is within it.

8. He who hath disciplined himself to be honest in his own sight may be in error; he who striveth to do good on his own account may be in error as to an ultimate good; and in all cases man alone is weak.

9. Yet no man can practice the highest whilst living with those who are inclined downward.

10. In the second resurrection the angels are relieved of individual responsibility, all matters being under the wisdom of the Holy Council, whose head is thy God.

11. First on earth, monarchies, then republics, then fraternities, the latter of which is now in embryo, and shall follow after both the others.

12. Behold, how hard it is for an ignorant man to conceive of a state without a master, or for the people of a republic to understand a state without votes and majorities, and a chief ruler. Yet such shall be the fraternities.

13. Have they not resolved their colleges into teachers and pupils? By their superior knowledge do these heads receive their places, yet not as rulers, but teachers.

14. Have they not resolved jurisprudence so that testimony governs the rulings? According to evidence adduced and the knowledge of the judge, so shall he decide, and not according to his own volition.

15. Out of the wisdom of the college and the court shalt thou discover the rules of fraternity, and by relieve-watch preserve the brotherhood against caste and dictatorship.

16. See to it then, in departing out of Uz, that thou take with thee only things that have proved good–the rest leave behind.

17. As Jehovih gave woman to man, and the twain became one in their aspiration, hope and labor, and especially with reference to their offspring, so shall the members of the fraternity be such as having renounced all the world, can become one with one another, and especially for raising up the young to become the Father’s edifice on earth.

18. As the husband is the representative head of the family, yet he shall not tyrannize over them, nor by his rulings make himself a separate entity from the rest.