By HILARY ROSS
Learning from the people in the scriptures was a focus of the Wednesday morning honor's devotional by Susan Easton Black, associate dean of general education and honors.
Black asked students why many of the people mentioned in the Doctrine and Covenants have been forgotten.
'One good reason is how we name the sections in the Doctrine and Covenants,' she said.
Black said the sections are numbered because Orson Pratt was the one who named the sections, and he was a mathematician. Most other scriptures are named after the person who wrote the book, so it's easier to remember the names, she said.
'Another reason is that we are told often to liken the scriptures to ourselves. The bad news is that when you do this you totally distort history,' Black said. 'Once you know how people fit into the scriptures then (the scriptures) come alive and apply to our lives.'
Stemming from her desire to understand the people in the scriptures, Black said she began a four-year search of the lives of each person mentioned in the Doctrine and Covenants.
She said she discovered that only 55 percent of those mentioned in the Doctrine and Covenants stayed faithful.
Black talked about the life of Thomas B. Marsh, who was a president of the quorum of the Twelve Apostles. She said she wanted students to more fully understand the scriptures given as revelation to him.
Marsh was converted immediately upon reading a few pages of the Book of Mormon, and was later called as the president of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, she said.
Later, Marsh's wife, Elizabeth, was involved in a dispute with another woman over their decision to share cow's milk. Elizabeth withheld some of her milk from the other woman, but Marsh refused to admit that she had done so.
During this time, Marsh received a personal revelation.
'In the revelation he (Marsh) learned that someone in the quorum (of Twelve Apostles) would fall,' Black said. 'He began to have personal priesthood interviews with each individual quorum member. Thomas looked outward, but he never looked inward to himself.'
Marsh later was excommunicated from the LDS Church. He sent an affidavit to Missouri Gov. Lilburn Boggs telling him that Joseph Smith was guilty of treason. This affidavit directly led to the issuance of the Extermination Order, which in turn led to the end to the lives of many Latter-day Saints, Black said.
After 18 years Marsh realized he made a mistake and traveled to Salt Lake City to talk to Brigham Young. Marsh was allowed to be rebaptized, but fell away again a few years later, Black said. He died a high priest of the RLDS Church.
Black referred to D&C 121:10 which was revelation instructing Marsh to be humble. In the revelation, he was promised that if he remained humble, the Lord would lead him. She said his lack of humility directly lead to his downfall.
'Sometimes the Lord has a plan for you. ... When the Lord is there in your choice, the door is open and you have a chance to be who you want to be,' Black said.