Learning Truth: A Commandment?

Yes. It is a commandment to learn truth. I have been studying truth and knowledge the last little while and specifically Doctrine and Covenants this morning and came across a cool little gem. I love it when this happens: you are reading and concentrating just hard enough to see certain words pop out and jog your memory of something else you learned some other time studying. I was reading D&C 88:77-78:

77 And I give unto you a commandment that you shall teach one another the doctrine of the kingdom.
78 Teach ye diligently and my grace shall attend you, that you may be instructed more perfectly in theory, in principle, in doctrine, in the law of the gospel, in all things that pertain unto the kingdom of God, that are expedient for you to understand;

So, let's dissect this. First off, He, Christ, is giving us, His children, a commandment to teach each other the doctrine of the kingdom. Doctrine of the kingdom being, the gospel of Jesus Christ; the gospel of Jesus Christ being, according to Elder McConkie, the Atonement.

So it is a commandment to teach one another about the Atonement, essentially.

78: We should teach each other diligently (with dedication, eagerly, earnestly, fervently)and His (Christ's) grace shall attend us. Pause. What is grace? According to the Bible Dictionary, "It is through the grace of the Lord Jesus, made possible by his atoning sacrifice, that mankind will be raised in immortality, every person receiving his body from the grave in a condition of everlasting life. It is likewise through the grace of the Lord that individuals, through faith in the atonement of Jesus Christ and repentance of their sins, receive strength and assistance to do good works that they otherwise would not be able to maintain if left to their own means. This grace is an enabling power that allows men and women to lay hold on eternal life and exaltation after they have expended their own best efforts.

Grace is the enabling power of Jesus Christ: the Atonement. So, if we put that in context of this scripture, verse 78, we should teach each other diligently and Christ's grace, His enabling power or His Atonement, will attend us. We will have His enabling power to strengthen us so "that [we] may be instructed more perfectly in theory, in principle, in doctrine, in the law of the gospel, in all things that pertain unto the kingdom of God, that are expedient for [us] to understand;"

The Atonement of Jesus Christ is not just there to help us repent from our sins or for us to have pain taken away. The Atonement covers everything. He is in and through all things. Literally. He will help us learn and grow as we seek Him.

Grace. The enabling power of Jesus Christ.