[1] Elder Bruce R. McConkie taught (B. R. McConkie, NT Commentary, 3:337):

[The Second Comforter] is the privilege of those who have had their calling and election made sure, meaning those who are sealed up unto eternal life, meaning those who are “sealed with that holy Spirit of promise” (Ephesians 1:13)…

[2]J. Smith, Jr., Teachings, 27 June 1839, p. 151. See also D&C 88:3-5, 68; J. Smith, Jr., Words, Before 8 August 1839 (3), pp. 13-15.

[3] In the public domain. Detail from Mount Sinai and the Tabernacle, in the Tours Pentateuch, also known as the Ashburnham Pentateuch.  (accessed August 4, 2008). Bibliothque Nationale, nouv. acq. lat., no. 2334, folio 76 recto.

[4] Revelation 3:20.

[5] John 15:13-15.

[6] Following a reading of the parable of the vine and its branches (John 15:1-6), Joseph Smith reaffirmed this idea: “If we keep the commandments of God, we should bring forth fruit and be the friends of God, and know what our Lord did” (J. Smith, Jr., Teachings, 19 December 1841, p. 194).

[7] James Tissot (French, 1836-1902). The Last Sermon of Our Lord, 1886-1894. Image: 9 1/4 x 11 9/16 in. (23.5 x 29.4 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Purchased by public subscription, 00.159.225. In J. F. Dolkart, James Tissot, p. 209. With permission.

[8]W. E. Vine, Dictionary, p. 694.

[9] James Tissot (French, 1836-1902). Meal of Our Lord and the Apostles, 1886-1894. Image: 5 15/16 x 9 5/16 in. (15.1 x 23.7 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Purchased by public subscription, 00.159.346.In J. F. Dolkart, James Tissot, p. 282. With permission.

[10]S. Sandmel et al., New English Bible, John 21:15-17, p. 137. Harvey notes that “Peter’s threefold profession of love for Jesus may be intended to balance his threefold denial” (A. E. Harvey, Companion 1970, p. 393).

Some have expressed the opinion that the word agape, used by Christ,represents a higher form of love than the word philo, used by Peter. Others downplay the significance of the distinction between these two terms for love used in this passage-see, e.g., T. W. Mackay, Resurrected Lord, pp. 464-467 and H. N. Ridderbos, John, pp. 665-666. However, the dialogue taken from John’s account of the Last Supper is a second witness of how Jesus used the term philo in a specific way to describe the intimate relationship that He enjoyed with his disciples as friends. His careful use of language parallels the way He called out His the special use of the common term shalom earlier in the same discourse (John 14:27).

It is interesting to note that in verses 15-17 two different verbs are also used for feed/tend, two or three nouns for sheep/lambs, and two verbs for know. Elder Robert D. Hales has written: “Feeding the lambs could well be missionary labors working with newly baptized members, who must be nurtured and given caring warmth and fellowship in the family of Saints. Feeding the sheep could well refer to the mature members of the Church, some active and some less active, who need to be cared for and brought back to the flock” (R. D. Hales, Converted, p. 83. Copyright Intellectual Reserve, Inc. Used by permission).

[11] “In this use of Peter’s original name [Simon] some scholars see Jesus taking a certain distance from Peter. It seems that Jesus wants to make Peter feel that, before going further with him, he must first make a fresh beginning with him.” “Jesus is treating him less familiarly and thus challenging his friendship’ (Brown, Comm. II, p. 1102)” (H. N. Ridderbos, John, p. 665). Does the Savior add the surname “son of Jonas [Jonah]” to the form of address to Peter as a subtle reminder of how he had temporarily abandoned his mission to again go fishing, just as Jonah had at first forsaken his mission to the Ninevites and taken to sea?

[12] Meaning, I think, “more than the other disciples.

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” “The words… more than these’ might refer to the way in which Peter has until now taken the lead in comparison to the other disciples, to Peter’s earlier statement that he was willing to give Jesus his all (13:37; Mark 14:29), and to what Peter will experience in the future (vss. 18, 19). In any case, thus formulated, this question is designed to let Peter know that loving and following Jesus can have more implications for him than he perhaps has thought and practiced in the past (cf. vs. 18a)” (ibid., p. 665).

[13] “Peter’s affirmative answer is without hesitation and appeals to Jesus’ knowledge of him. The appeal does not have the sense of Why ask me? You know me, don’t you?’ Jesus’ knowledge is, rather, the last thing on which Peter can base an appeal before Jesus. His own actions have witnessed against him, and more than these’ seems to mock him more than justify him. All that is left to Peter is, You know that I love you,’ an appeal to Jesus’ knowledge of him as one of his own (10:14; cf. Luke 22:32)” (ibid., p. 665).

[14] Commenting to the sisters of the Nauvoo Relief Society on Luke 22 and John 21, Joseph Smith said (J. Smith, Jr., Teachings, 9 June 1842, p. 241):

How mild the Savior dealt with Peter, saying, “When thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren.” At another time, He said to him, “Lovest thou me?” and having received Peter’s reply, He said, “Feed my sheep.” If the sisters loved the Lord, let them feed the sheep, and not destroy them. How oft have wise men and women sought to dictate Brother Joseph by saying, “O, if I were Brother Joseph I would do this and that”; but if they were in Brother Joseph’s shoes they would find that men or women could not be compelled into the kingdom of God, but must be dealt with in long-suffering, and at last we shall save them. The way to keep all the Saints together, and keep the work rolling, is to wait with all long-suffering, till God shall bring such characters to justice. There should be no license for sin, but mercy should go hand in hand with reproof.

[15] John 15:14; cf. John 14:15. Painting with permission of Lester Yocum. In (accessed February 15, 2012).

[16] That this consecration would be total and complete seems to be emphasized by the passage immediately following these verses containing the Lord’s description of the death that Peter would suffer for His sake (John 21:18-19).

[17]J. Smith, Jr., Teachings, 19 October 1840, p. 174.

[18]B. C. Hafen, Anchored, pp. 28, 29. Figure with permission of Liz Lemon Swindle.

[19] D&C 6:20.

[20] E.g., D&C 1:17, emphasis added.

[21] D&C 84:77, emphasis added.

[22] John 15:15, emphasis added.

[23]N. A. Maxwell, Choose, p. 46.

[24] Cited in B. C. Hafen, Disciple’s Life, p. 20.

[25] See D&C 122:1-8. Francis Webster was remembered for his eloquent testimony that he and others in his handcart company became “acquainted with [God] in our extremities,” by this means obtaining an “absolute knowledge that God lives” (C. M. Orton, Francis Webster, p. 140). Citing the experience of Stephen, who saw the Lord “in the agonies of death,” Elder Orson Hyde taught (O. Hyde, 6 October 1853, p. 125):

True it is, that in the most trying hour, the servants of God may then be permitted to see their Father, and elder Brother. “But,” says one, “I wish to see the Father, and the Savior, and an angel now.” Before you can see the Father, and the Savior, or an angel, you have to be brought into close places in order to enjoy this manifestation. The fact is, your very life must be suspended on a thread, as it were. If you want to see your Savior, be willing to come to that point where no mortal arm can rescue, no earthly power save! When all other things fail, when everything else proves futile and fruitless, then perhaps your Savior and your Redeemer may appear; His arm is not shortened that He cannot save, nor His ear heavy that He cannot hear; and when help on all sides appears to fail, My arm shall save, My power shall rescue, and you shall hear My voice, saith the Lord.

[26] Cf. D&C 132:23-24. The Prophet Joseph Smith further explained: “No one can truly say he knows God until he has handled something, and this can only be in the holiest of holies” (J. Smith, Jr., Documentary History, 1 May 1842, 4:608). Elder Bruce R. McConkie elaborates (B. R. McConkie, New Witness, p. 492):

What greater personal revelation could anyone receive than to see the face of his Maker? … And is it an unseemly or unrighteous desire on man’s part to hope and live and pray, all in such a way as to qualify for so great a manifestation? There is a true doctrine on these points, a doctrine that is spelled out as specifically and extensively in the revealed word as are any of the other great revealed truths. There is no need for uncertainty or misunderstanding and surely, if the Lord reveals a doctrine, we should seek to learn its principles and strive to apply them in our lives. This doctrine is that mortal man, while in the flesh, has it in his power to see the Lord, to stand in His presence, to feel the nail marks in His hands and feet, and to receive from Him such blessings as are reserved for those only who keep all His commandments and who are qualified for that eternal life which includes being in His presence forever.

In another place, Elder McConkie wrote (B. R. McConkie, Promised Messiah, pp. 582-584):

“Therefore, sanctify yourselves that your minds become single to God”-and now we come to the crowning promise of the Gospel-“and the days will come that you shall see him; for he will unveil his face unto you, and it shall be in his own time, and in his own way, and according to his own will” (D&C 88:68). That is the Lord’s promise, His great promise, His crowning promise, His last promise. What is there that can excel in importance the obtaining of that spiritual stature which enables one to see the Lord? And so the next words spoken by the Lord to His friends were: “Remember the great and last promise which I have made unto you” (D&C 88:69).

Then follows some counsel relative to right living, which is climaxed with these words, the full import of which is known only by those who are endowed with power from on high in holy places: “Sanctify yourselves; yea, purify your hearts, and cleanse your hands and your feet before me, that I may make you clean; That I may testify unto your Father, and your God, and my God, that you are clean from the blood of this wicked generation” (D&C 88:74-75; cf.

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, e.g., J. Smith, Jr., Documentary History, 23 January 1833, 1:323-324). Why? “That I may fulfill this promise, this great and last promise,” this promise that you shall see me and that I will unveil my face, that I may fulfill this promise “which I have made unto you, when I will” (D&C 88:75). To those of understanding, we say: The purpose of the endowment in the House of the Lord is to prepare and sanctify His saints so they will be able to see His face, here and now, as well as to bear the glory of His presence in the eternal worlds.

“How do men obtain a knowledge of the glory of God, His perfections and attributes?” asked the Prophet Joseph Smith. His answer: “By devoting themselves to His service, through prayer and supplication incessantly strengthening their faith in Him, until, like Enoch, the Brother of Jared, and Moses, they obtain a manifestation of God to themselves” (L. E. Dahl et al., Lectures, Lecture 2 Questions and Answers, p. 64, see also 2:55, p. 51).

In his charge to the Twelve Apostles in modern times, Oliver Cowdery said the following (see J. Smith, Jr., Documentary History, February 1835, 2:195-196, 198):

… [I]t is necessary that you receive a testimony from heaven for yourselves; so that you can bear testimony to the truth of the Book of Mormon, and that you have seen the face of God. That is more than the testimony of an angel. When the proper time arrives, you shall be able to bear this testimony to the world. When you bear testimony that you have seen God, this testimony God will never suffer to fall, but will bear you out; although many will not give heed, yet others will. You will therefore see the necessity of getting this testimony from heaven.

Never cease striving until you have seen God face to face. Strengthen your faith; cast off your doubts, your sins, and all your unbelief; and nothing can prevent you from coming to God. Your ordination is not full and complete till God has laid His hand upon you. We require as much to qualify us as did those who have gone before us; God is the same. If the Savior in former days laid His hands upon His disciples, why not in latter days?….

You have our best wishes, you have our most fervent prayers, that you may be able to bear this testimony, that you have seen the face of God. Therefore call upon Him in faith in mighty prayer till you prevail, for it is your duty and privilege to bear such testimony for yourselves.

Commenting on this charge, Elder McConkie wrote (B. R. McConkie, Promised Messiah, pp. 594-595):

Few faithful people will stumble or feel disbelief at the doctrine here presented that the Lord’s apostolic witnesses are entitled and expected to see his face, and that each one individually is obligated to “call upon Him in faith in mighty prayer” until he prevails. But the Twelve are only a dozen in number. There are seldom more than fifteen men on earth at a time who have been ordained to the holy apostleship, which brings us to another statement made by Elder Cowdery in his apostolic charge (J. Smith, Jr., Documentary History, 2:196): “God does not love you better or more than others.” That is, apostles and prophets do not gain precedence with the Lord unless they earn it by personal righteousness. The Lord loves people, not office holders. Every elder is entitled to the same blessings and privileges offered the apostles. Indeed, “an apostle is an elder” (D&C 20:38); such is the title by which he is proud to be addressed. The priesthood is greater than any of its offices. No office adds any power, dignity, or authority to the priesthood. All offices derive their rights, virtues, authorities, and prerogatives from the priesthood. It is greater to hold the Melchizedek Priesthood than it is to hold the office of an elder or of an apostle in that priesthood. The Lord loves his priesthood holders, all of whom are given the same opportunity to do good and work righteousness and keep the commandments. All of the elders in the kingdom are expected to live the law as strictly as do the members of the Council of the Twelve, and if they do so live, the same blessings will come to them that flow to apostles and prophets.

Apostles and prophets are named as examples and patterns of what others should be. The Quorum of the Twelve should be a model quorum after which every elders quorum in the Church might pattern its course….

I repeat: apostles and prophets simply serve as patterns and examples to show all men what they may receive if they are true and faithful. There is nothing an apostle can receive that is not available to every elder in the kingdom. As we have heretofore quoted, from the Prophet’s sermon on the Second Comforter (J. Smith, Jr., Teachings, 27 June 1839, p. 149): “God has not revealed anything to Joseph, but what He will make known unto the Twelve, and even the least saint may know all things as fast as he is able to bear them.” It follows that everything stated by Elder Oliver Cowdery in his charge to the apostles could also be given as a charge to all elders. Every elder is entitled and expected to seek and obtain all the spiritual blessings of the Gospel, including the crowning blessing of seeing the Lord face to face.

[27] Licensed from iStockphoto.

[28]T. G. Madsen, Souls, p. 289. I have changed “grandson” to “granddaughter” in this story for consistency with the photograph.