Doctrine and Covenants 124: 22-24, 60-61

 

What would it be like if we are welcoming and accepting others more as the Lord wants us to?

"22 Let my servant George, and my servant Lyman, and my servant John Snider, and others, build a house unto my name, such a one as my servant Joseph shall show unto them, upon the place which he shall show unto them also.

23 And it shall be for a house for boarding, a house that strangers may come from afar to lodge therein; therefore let it be a good house, worthy of all acceptation, that the weary traveler may find health and safety while he shall contemplate the word of the Lord; and the cornerstone I have appointed for Zion.

24 This house shall be a healthful habitation if it be built unto my name, and if the governor which shall be appointed unto it shall not suffer any pollution to come upon it. It shall be holy, or the Lord your God will not dwell therein.

60 And let the name of that house be called Nauvoo House; and let it be a delightful habitation for man, and a resting-place for the weary traveler, that he may contemplate the glory of Zion, and the glory of this, the cornerstone thereof;

61 That he may receive also the counsel from those whom I have set to be as plants of renown, and as watchmen upon her walls." (Doctrine and Covenants 124: 22-24, 60-61)

And here's the commentary entitled: "The Lord wants me to welcome and accept others." :

"As you ponder the Lord’s instruction in Doctrine and Covenants 124: 22–24, 60–61, think about how you can make your home and your ward a place like what the Lord had envisioned for Nauvoo.

See also “A Friend to All” (video), ChurchofJesusChrist.org.

Detail from Joseph Smith at the Nauvoo Temple, by Gary E. Smith"

I can make my home a place like what the Lord had envisioned for Nauvoo by welcoming people to my home. This is something I would really love to do when I already have a place I call my own wherein I can offer a more proper spot for people to rest. For now, I'm doing something like this by inviting people into my life by connecting with them as the Savior wants me to. 

I can help make my ward become more a place like what the Lord had envisioned for Nauvoo by taking the time to reach out to the new faces, get to know them better and be a friend to them.