Before He ever taught the sweet doctrine of communion or the symbolic power of the sacrament, Jesus declared to many of his professed disciples, that unless they drank His blood, and ate His flesh, they would have no part with him. (John 6)
Those disciples who had no frame of reference and lacked spiritual context, were burdened by the interpretations of the world, and suffered from reliance on their reason alone, so they were unable to accept His teachings.
The scripture records that after that declaration, many “walked no more with Him”. However, upon seeing those disciples leave, Jesus turned to his apostles, and asked; “will ye also go away?” They too lacked context, they too must have been weighed down with the bizarre nature of what they had just heard. Yet they also had knowledge of, and a deep abiding faith in, Jesus, sufficient to overwhelm their flesh-based fears. Said Peter “Lord, to whom shall we go? thou hast the words of eternal life. And we believe and are sure that thou art that Christ, the Son of the living God.” John 6:68-69.
Entering a study of 132 with the context that God is a true and loving being, that agency is a precious thing He would not destroy, that Joseph Smith was a good, honorable and moral individual, ordained as God’s prophet to restore the fullness of the Gospel to the earth, provides a backdrop, so that until one comes to fully understand the teachings of 132, and God’s other laws, they can rest on that witness.
Imagine the sweet experience it was, when those apostles who stayed with Jesus even in the face of His apparently bizarre teaching, were later taught, in the sacred upper chamber, the deep, powerful and life changing meanings behind what Jesus had earlier taught as they partook of the sacrament with Him!....... So, it can be with Section 132.
Since D&C 132 is inextricably wound up in the promises to Abraham, and his actions regarding plural marriage, it is very helpful to reread Chapters 16 and 21 of Genesis regarding Abraham, Ishmael, Hagar, Sarah, and Isaac. It is good to review how it came about that Abraham married Hagar, the motivations and eternal promises that were in play and what the subsequent actions of Abraham, Sarah and God were. That story brings clarity to many of the references in Section 132.
Finally, I would recommend that one read Elder Holland's powerful sermon on human Intimacy “Of Souls, Symbols and Sacraments” as a refreshing reminder of how our Heavenly Parents look upon the sacred role of intimacy in marriage, particularly focusing on the concept of perfect unity.
Next: The New and Everlasting Covenant D&C 132:1-27