"Anxiously Engaged in a Good Cause"

Bryan Mark Taylor (American, born 1977)
Jaipur Fruit Market (2020)
Oil on panel, 16 x 20 inches
Collection of the artist
Artist’s website
Used with permission of the artist

Section 59 is about the Lord’s Day, to rest from labor, “…to go to the house of prayer and offer up thy sacraments upon my holy day” (D&C 59:9). The scripture includes promises for keeping the day holy: “And inasmuch as ye do these things with thanksgiving, with cheerful hearts and countenances…, the fulness of the earth is yours, the beasts of the field and the fowls of the air, and that which climbeth upon the trees and walketh upon the earth; Yea, and the herb, and the good things which come from the earth…, all things which come of the earth, in the season thereof, are made for the benefit and the use of man, both to please the eye and to gladden the heart” (D&C 59:15, 16, 18). The painting, Jaipur Fruit Market, by Bryan Mark Taylor depicts an open-air market. He writes, “This Jaipur fruit market depicts the colorful bounty of fruits and vegetables found in markets all throughout India.”

Gospel Questions

"For after much tribulation come the blessings" (D&C 58:4). Why do you think this is God's ordering?
Jesus said, "Men [and women] should be anxiously engaged in a good cause, and do many things of their own free will, and bring to pass much righteousness; for the power is in them, wherein they are agents unto themselves. And inasmuch as men [and women] do good they shall in nowise lose their reward" (D&C 58:27-28). What "good causes" have you chosen to be part of in your community and how have you seen good come of these causes?
President Nelson speaks often of the gathering of Israel. In these verses, Jesus instructs: "And let the work of the gathering be not in haste, nor by flight; but let it be done as it shall be counseled by the elders of the church at conferences, according to the knowledge which they receive from time to time" and "let all these things be done in order" (D&C 58:55-56). What does this teach about the pace and care to be taken in our gathering efforts?

For Children

Hi. No matter where you live on the planet, your world is full of wonderful things. In Section 59, the Lord describes how these gifts of the earth, “whether for food or for raiment [clothing], or for houses, or for barns, or for orchards, or for gardens, or for vineyards” (D&C 59:17) are to be used for our benefit, “both to please the eye and to gladden the heart” (D&C 59:18). What does a glad heart feel like? Are you glad when you have food on the table, when you see beautiful things bloom in the spring, or when you are surrounded by products of the earth? Do they please your eye? You can tell by the painting above that the artist’s eye was pleased, can’t you? Think of all of these things as gifts from God.

Art project

We cannot see God's plans with our own eyes (D&C 58:3). But what if you had a special pair of glasses that helped your "natural eyes" to see things the way God sees them? Design a pair of glasses with this type of vision. When you put on these glasses and look at your reflection in the mirror, what do you see?

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