“Stand Ye in Holy Places”
- CFMCorner
- Aug 5
- 8 min read
Videos, Podcasts, & Weekly Lesson Material
D&C 84
VIDEOS & PODCASTS
Media | Resource Links |
BYU RSC Library | |
Come Follow Church History with Lynne Hilton Wilson | |
Come Follow Me Kid | |
Come Follow Me Scott Woodward & Casey Griffiths | |
Come Follow Up | |
D&C Historical Background | |
Don't Miss This | |
Follow Him | |
Grounded with Barbara Morgan | |
Gospel For Kids | |
Seminary Decks | |
Hurricane Adult Religion Class | |
Latter Day Kids | |
Line Upon Line | D&C 85-87 |
Meridian Magazine Podcast | |
Our Mother's Knew It | |
Saving Talents | |
Scripture Study Central | D&C 85-87 |
Scripture Explorers | |
Scripture Gems | |
Scripture Insights | |
Talking Scripture | |
Teaching With Power | |
Thumb Follow Me | D&C 85-87 |
The Red Crystal | |
The Scriptures are Real | |
The Interpreter Foundation | |
Unshaken |
CHAPTER & SECTION SUMMARIES
I won't be able to plug these in this week, I'm sorry!
Saints:
Volume 1, Chapter 15
Volume 1, Chapter 42
Resources and Insights for this Week's Lesson
A Note to Readers:
Life has been hectic lately—between work responsibilities and some family medical emergencies, I'm navigating a bit more than usual. Thank you for your patience as I continue sharing these reflections amid some of life's spicy moments.
Although I won't have time to format and import my usual Chapter Outline Summaries this week, I'd like to share a few thoughts that stood out to me in the materials.
In Hebrew, the word for "wilderness"—midbar (מִדְבָּר)—carries a hidden treasure. It's built on the root davar (דָּבַר), which means "word" or "speech." At first glance, this seems paradoxical: how can the desolate wilderness be connected to divine speech? Yet this linguistic link reveals something profound about where and how God frequently chooses to speak to His children.
As we explore D&C 85-87 this week, we'll discover that the wilderness isn't just a place of wandering—it's where God's voice frequently becomes clearest, where competing voices fall silent, and where His people learn to hear again.
"From Egypt to Exodus: Finding God's Voice in the Wilderness"
Opening: The Sacred Pattern of Wilderness
Throughout scripture, God leads His people through the same pattern:
Out of Egypt (bondage to false systems)
Through the wilderness (midbar - where He speaks)
Into the promised land (covenant relationship)
This pattern appears in:
Ancient Israel's exodus
The Book of Mormon
The early Church's restoration
Our personal discipleship today
In D&C 85-87, we witness this pattern unfolding for the early Saints—and discover how it applies to us.
Part 1: Leaving Our Egypts Behind
Ancient Israel's Egypt
For 400 years, Israel absorbed Egyptian ways:
Their gods and hierarchies
Their understanding of power and provision
Their politics and customs
Their very imagination of what was possible
Even after the Red Sea miracle, they continued to carry the chains of Egypt in their hearts. When Moses delayed on Sinai, they built a golden calf—reflective of cultural idolatry.
The Early Saints' Religious Egypt
The early converts came from a society deeply divided by powerful ideologies:
Political divisions: Jacksonian Democrats vs. Whigs, states' rights vs. federal authority
The slavery question: Already tearing apart denominations and communities
Economic pressures: Land speculation fever, debt cycles, competitive individualism
Social hierarchies: Class distinctions, educational elitism, racial prejudices
Intellectual movements: Rationalism dismissing miracles, emotionalism mistaken for revelation
As revealed in D&C 86, truth had become mixed with error—wheat growing with tares. The cultural and political turmoil of 1830s America was both a preparation and a problem. Each ideology demanded allegiance, shaping how converts understood authority, community, and even revelation itself.
Our Modern Egypt
We too, carry influences that compete with God's voice:
Digital Egypt: The endless scroll, the algorithmic feed, the dopamine economy
Political Egypt: Partisan ideologies that demand ultimate allegiance
Cultural Egypt: Success metrics that measure worth by worldly standards
Economic Egypt: Consumerism, debt culture, the prosperity gospel
Intellectual Egypt: Philosophies that explain away the sacred
Reflection Question: What "Egyptian" influences still shape how you hear—or fail to hear—God's voice?
Part 2: The Wilderness as Decluttered Communication Space
(Midbar) מִדְבָּר: Where God Speaks
The Hebrew word for wilderness, midbar (מִדְבָּר), contains its own revelation. Built on the root דבר (davar - "speak, arrange"), the wilderness is literally the place of speech.
Consider the pattern:
Moses receives the Torah in the midbar of Sinai
Elijah hears the still small voice in the midbar cave
John the Baptist prepares the way in the midbar
Jesus defeats Satan with scripture in the midbar
Joseph Smith receives revelation in moments of displacement
The wilderness strips away competing voices until only God's davar remains.
D&C 85: Bringing Order from Chaos
The Lord's command to keep careful records (D&C 85) wasn't simply bureaucracy—it was a reset.
By establishing divine order, the Saints learned to distinguish between:
God's patterns vs. their former church, cultural, and social traditions
Priesthood authority vs. congregational democracy
Revelation vs. religious enthusiasm
The "one mighty and strong" (v. 7) would "set in order the house of God"—not through force, but through the word, establishing divine patterns that would gradually repair the corrupted worldly ones.
D&C 86: Patient Cultivation
"Let the wheat and the tares grow together until the harvest" (D&C 86:7)
This divine patience recognizes that refinement takes time. You can't rip out mental tares without damaging tender wheat. The Saints needed space and time to mature, to gradually:
Unlearn sectarian prejudices
Release competitive denominationalism
Embrace continuing revelation
Learn the priesthood order and keys
The field (community) and the wilderness (spiritual isolation) work together. In the field, wheat and tares mingle. In the wilderness, we learn to tell them apart.
Part 3: Learning to Hear Again
D&C 87: When Babylon Rages
The Christmas 1832 prophecy of war (D&C 87) adds urgency to wilderness preparation. When:
Nations rage against nations
Social order collapses
Familiar structures fail
...those who have learned to hear God's voice in the wilderness will know where to stand.
"Stand ye in holy places, and be not moved" (D&C 87:8)
Holy places are our personal midbar—spaces where we've learned to:
Recognize His voice among many voices
Trust His patterns over worldly wisdom
Find peace amid chaos
Creating Modern Wilderness Spaces
How do we cultivate midbar moments today?
Daily Wilderness:
Morning scripture before checking phones
Prayer walks without podcasts
Sabbath spaces free from screens
Temple attendance as a wilderness retreat
Mental Wilderness:
Questioning cultural assumptions
Examining inherited prejudices
Releasing political idolatries
Embracing holy curiosity
Communal Wilderness:
Family councils without devices and distractions
Testimony meetings focused on Christ
Service that disrupts comfort zones
Covenant communities that challenge worldly values
Part 4: From Wilderness to Harvest
The Promise Pattern
Each revelation contains a promise for those who enter the wilderness:
D&C 85: Your name will be recorded (numbered) in the Lamb's book of life
D&C 86: You are "lawful heirs" with a divine destiny
D&C 87: You will stand unmoved when everything shakes
The Harvest Vision
The wheat and tares won't grow together forever. The Lord sees the end from the beginning:
Every Egyptian influence will be stripped away
Every competing voice will be silenced
Every covenant child will be gathered
Every promise will be fulfilled
But first—the wilderness. First—learning to hear.
Family Application Activities
For Children: "Hearing God's Voice" Game
Play background noise (music, TV, conversation) while trying to hear a parent whisper instructions. Discuss how "wilderness quiet time" helps us hear God better.
For Youth: "Digital Detox Challenge"
Choose one hour daily this week as "wilderness time"—no distractions, just scripture, prayer, and pondering. Journal what you notice.
For Adults: "Egypt Inventory"
List influences that shape your thinking (news sources, social media, cultural expectations). Prayerfully identify which ones might be drowning out God's voice.
For Families: "Holy Place Mapping"
Together, identify your family's "holy places"—physical and temporal spaces where you best hear God. Commit to protecting these wilderness moments.
Synthesis: The Ongoing Exodus
We are all somewhere on the exodus journey:
Some are still discovering they're in Egypt
Some stand at the Red Sea, terrified to leave
Some are wandering in the wilderness, learning to hear
Some are beginning to glimpse the promised land ahead
Wherever we are, these revelations remind us:
God keeps a careful record of His covenant people (D&C 85)
He patiently cultivates wheat among tares (D&C 86)
He prepares holy places for coming storms (D&C 87)
The wilderness isn't punishment—it's preparation. It's where we unlearn Egypt and learn to hear the God who speaks.
Closing Testimony: He Still Speaks in the Wilderness
In Hebrew, the books of Moses tell the story:
Genesis (Bereshit): "In the beginning"—creation
Exodus (Shemot): "Names"—identity
Leviticus (Vayikra): "And He called"—holiness
Numbers (Bemidbar): "In the wilderness"—testing
Deuteronomy (Devarim): "Words"—covenant renewal
The pattern is eternal: God creates, calls, sanctifies, tests, and speaks His covenant again.
Today, He calls us into our midbar—not to abandon us, but to speak. In a world of competing voices, chaos, and confusion, He still whispers in the wilderness:
"Be still, and know that I am God."
Additional Resources
Scripture Chain for Personal Study:
Hosea 2:14-15 (Israel's restoration)
1 Kings 19:11-12 (Elijah's still small voice)
Matthew 4:1-11 (Jesus in the wilderness)
1 Nephi 8 (Lehi's wilderness vision)
D&C 101:16 (standing in holy places)
Journaling Prompts:
What Egyptian influences do I need to leave behind?
Where is my personal wilderness—my midbar?
What holy places is God preparing for me?
How can I better discern His voice among all others?
Maps:
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