It is because of thy Son that thou hast been thus merciful unto me] Zenos, Zenock, Ezias, and Neum-prophets on the brass plates whose words are not in our Bible-had the gospel in its purity and preached with that same purity. Their messages are gospel-centered and Christ-centered. Their understanding of God and the Godhead is like our own: they believed in God the Eternal Father, in his Son Jesus Christ the Redeemer, and in the Holy Ghost. They worshipped and prayed to the Father in the name of the Son. And they sought and preached forgiveness of sin through the condescension and mediation of that sinless Son of Man.
“To Stand and Testify”
The theme of the verses that follow is that, of necessity, there must be authority that controls and governs the manner in which the gospel is taught. That system is announced anew in a modern revelation which declares that those “preaching the word” are to do so “saying none other things than that which the prophets and apostles have written, and that which is taught them by the Comforter through the prayer of faith” (D&C 52:9).
Thus as we teach from the scriptures we partake of their spirit, the spirit of revelation, and our minds are enlightened, and we are then able to expound, expand, and apply the message of heaven to the circumstances and situation of those we are teaching. The scriptures are the seedbed for revelation.