Two days after the revelation on war given in Doctrine and Covenants 87, the Prophet Joseph Smith received a breath of fresh air with a revelation on peace in section 88. This section is known as the “olive leaf” revelation, containing eternal truths about our relationship with God and a command to draw closer to Him in a temple. We now live in the world they wished for—where temples dot the earth, and Zion can be anywhere we gather.
Segment 1
Scriptures:
D&C 88:6-13 (The Savior is light)
1 Thessalonians 5:5 (We are the children of light)
Segment 2
Scriptures:
D&C 88 (An Olive Leaf revelation)
D&C 38:27 (If ye are not one, ye are not mine)
Segment 3
Scriptures:
D&C 88:87-91 (Fear of the millennium)
D&C 88:119 (Organize a temple)
D&C 95:3 (Chastisement for not building the temple)
Words of the General Authorities:
Regular worship in the house of the Lord increases our capacity for both virtue and charity. Thus, time in the temple increases our confidence before the Lord. Increased time in the temple will help us prepare for the Second Coming of our Savior, Jesus Christ. We do not know the day or the hour of His coming. But I do know that the Lord is prompting me to urge us to get ready for that “great and dreadful day.” (Russell M. Nelson, “Confidence in the Presence of God”, April 2025 General Conference)
Segment 4
Scriptures:
D&C 88:14-40 (Laws of the kingdom)
D&C 88:121-124 (Cease the small evils)
D&C 88:125 (Clothe with charity)
2 Nephi 4:33 (The robe of God’s righteousness)
Definitions:
Mantle - A cover; that which conceals; as the mantle of charity (Websters 1828 Dictionary)
Words of the General Authorities:
The Final Judgment is not just an evaluation of a sum total of good and evil acts—what we have done. It is an acknowledgment of the final effect of our acts and thoughts—what we have become…The gospel of Jesus Christ promises the incomparable inheritance of eternal life, the fulness of the Father, and reveals the laws and principles by which it can be obtained. (Dallin H. Oaks, “The Challenge to Become”, October 2000 General Conference)
In the Church we not only learn divine doctrine; we also experience its application. As the body of Christ, the members of the Church minister to one another in the reality of day-to-day life. All of us are imperfect; we may offend and be offended. We often test one another with our personal idiosyncrasies. In the body of Christ, we have to go beyond concepts and exalted words and have a real “hands-on” experience as we learn to “live together in love.” This religion is not concerned only with self; rather, we are all called to serve. (D. Todd Chrisofferson, “Why the Church”, October 2015 General Conference)
Quotes:
Perfect honesty and simplicity consists not in devoting attention to oneself, even when one’s aims are lofty, but in forgetting oneself and responding to others in love, according to their needs. We are not oysters or abalones, existing in shells—even though that is how we may feel when we become self-involved. We are members one of another, connected to each other, and especially to God, by spiritual sensitivities and obligations profound as eternity. And just for that reason, we become most ourselves when we are most true to God and to one another. We become most right with ourselves when we are most right with them. (C. Terry Warner, “Honest, Simple, Solid, True”, BYU Speeches delivered on January 16, 1996)
Segment 5
Scriptures:
D&C 88:63 (Seek, ask, and knock)
D&C 88:74-76 (Sanctify, purify, and cleanse)
D&C 88:77-81 (Be prepared)
Moroni 10:32 (Deny ungodliness to be perfect)
D&C 88:139-141 (Washing the feet)
Study Helps:
As the construction of the Kirtland Temple neared completion, Joseph Smith explained to members of the school that the “ordinance of washing of feet” was a restoration of the New Testament practice “calculated to unite our hearts” and prepare the elders for an endowment of spiritual power. He further taught that the ordinance needed to be performed in a place “aside from the world.” (Washing of Feet, Church History Topics)
Segment 6
Scriptures:
D&C 88:51-61 (Parable of the servants in the field)
Tarry Scripture Chain:
D&C 88:56,70,84
3 Nephi 17:5
Luke 24:28-29
Matthew 26:38
Mark 14:34
Definitions:
Tarry - Remain, stay, stay in expectation (Websters 1828 Dictionary)
Stay - yashab = dwell, sit with, settle
View transcript here.