{"id":41335,"date":"2021-01-19T13:05:10","date_gmt":"2021-01-19T18:05:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.timesandseasons.org\/?p=41335"},"modified":"2021-01-19T13:09:24","modified_gmt":"2021-01-19T18:09:24","slug":"a-man-may-have-many-revelations","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/timesandseasons.org\/index.php\/2021\/01\/a-man-may-have-many-revelations\/","title":{"rendered":"\u201cA man may have many revelations\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"

We\u2019re four weeks into the year, and we\u2019ve finally reached the beginning of the Doctrine and Covenants.\u00a0 I know we started<\/em> the book weeks ago, but what I mean to say is that this week we\u2019re now working with the earliest material in the Doctrine and Covenants. \u00a0Section 3 is the first revelation from Joseph Smith for which a text has survived (even pre-dating the text of the Book of Mormon), while for Section 5 is the revelation for which we have the earliest extant copy of any of Joseph Smith\u2019s revelations (a copy created by Oliver Cowdery after his arrival, around April 1829).[1]<\/a>\u00a0 The prior two sections that we\u2019ve studied are placed before Section 3 because Section 1 was written as a preface for the Doctrine and Covenants and Section 2 is recalling events that occurred in 1823.\u00a0 Section 2, however, was written in 1838-1839 as part of an official history and added to the Doctrine and Covenants in 1876 (by comparison, our Section 3 is Section 2 in the Community of Christ\u2019s version of the Doctrine and Covenants), while Section 1 was written in 1831.\u00a0 All three of the revelations we are studying this week were received in the period before the Church itself was founded or the bulk of the Book of Mormon as we have it was dictated, spanning the period of July 1828-March 1829.\u00a0 As the earliest existing documents of the Latter Day Saint movement, they set some of the patterns about Joseph Smith\u2019s revelations that were followed for most of his life.<\/p>\n

One significant aspect of these revelations is that they allude to, quote, and use material found in the King James Version of the Bible as a part of their word choices on a regular basis.\u00a0 Kevin Barney pointed this out in a discussion about Section 1 and Isaiah 34:5<\/a> over at By Common Consent <\/em>a few weeks ago, but Section 4 is one of the clearest display of this.\u00a0 Consider the following table of comparisons:<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Section 4 verse<\/strong><\/td>\nPhrase<\/strong><\/td>\nScripture Reference<\/strong><\/td>\nReference Phrase<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
1<\/td>\nNow behold, a\u00a0marvelous work\u00a0is about to come forth among the children of men.<\/td>\nIsaiah 29:14<\/td>\nTherefore, behold, I will proceed to do a\u00a0marvellous\u00a0work<\/strong>\u00a0among this people,\u00a0even\u00a0a marvellous work and a wonder<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
2<\/td>\nTherefore, O ye that embark in the\u00a0service\u00a0of God, see that ye\u00a0serve\u00a0him with all your heart, might, mind and strength, that ye may stand\u00a0blameless\u00a0before God at the last day.<\/td>\nLuke 10:27<\/td>\nAnd he answering said, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy<\/strong> heart<\/strong>, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength<\/strong>, and with all thy mind<\/strong>; and thy neighbour as thyself.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
3<\/td>\nTherefore, if ye have desires to serve God ye are\u00a0called\u00a0to the work;<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
4<\/td>\nFor behold the\u00a0field\u00a0is white already to\u00a0harvest; and lo, he that thrusteth in his sickle with his might, the same layeth up in\u00a0store\u00a0that he perisheth not, but bringeth salvation to his soul;<\/td>\nJohn 4:35-36<\/td>\nSay not ye, There are yet four months, and\u00a0then<\/em>\u00a0cometh harvest? behold, I say unto you, Lift up your eyes, and look on the\u00a0fields<\/strong>; for they are white already to\u00a0harvest<\/strong>. And he that reapeth receiveth wages, and gathereth fruit unto life eternal: that both he that soweth and he that reapeth may rejoice together.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
5<\/td>\nAnd\u00a0faith,\u00a0hope,\u00a0charity\u00a0and\u00a0love,<\/td>\n1 Corinthians 13:13<\/td>\nAnd now abideth\u00a0faith,\u00a0hope,\u00a0charity<\/strong>, these three; but the greatest of these\u00a0is<\/em>\u00a0charity.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
5<\/td>\nwith an\u00a0eye\u00a0single<\/td>\nMatthew 6:22<\/td>\nThe light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine\u00a0eye\u00a0<\/strong>be\u00a0single<\/strong>, thy whole body shall be full of\u00a0light.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
5<\/td>\nto the\u00a0glory\u00a0of God,<\/td>\n1 Cor. 10:31 (see also Psalms 19:1; Proverbs 25:2; etc.).<\/td>\nWhether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do,\u00a0do\u00a0all to the glory of God<\/strong>.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
5<\/td>\nqualify him for the work.<\/td>\nEphesians 4:12 (see also Acts 13:2; Acts 14:26)<\/td>\nFor the\u00a0perfecting\u00a0of the saints, for the work<\/strong> of the ministry, for the\u00a0edifying\u00a0of the body of Christ:<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
6<\/td>\nRemember faith,\u00a0virtue, knowledge,\u00a0temperance,\u00a0patience,\u00a0brotherly\u00a0kindness,\u00a0godliness, charity,\u00a0humility,\u00a0diligence.<\/td>\n2 Peter 1:5-7<\/td>\nAnd beside this, giving all\u00a0diligence, add to your faith<\/strong>\u00a0virtue; and to\u00a0 virtue<\/strong>\u00a0knowledge<\/strong>; and to knowledge\u00a0temperance<\/strong>; and to temperance\u00a0patience<\/strong>; and to patience\u00a0godliness<\/strong>; And to godliness\u00a0brotherly\u00a0kindness<\/strong>; and to brotherly kindness\u00a0charity<\/strong>.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
7<\/td>\nAsk, and ye shall receive;\u00a0knock, and it shall be opened unto you. Amen.<\/td>\nMatthew 7:7-8<\/td>\nAsk<\/strong>, and it shall be\u00a0given\u00a0you;\u00a0seek, and ye shall find;\u00a0knock, and it shall be opened unto you<\/strong>: For every one that asketh receiveth<\/strong>; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

Similar observations can be made about Section 3.\u00a0 Phrases like \u201cafter the dictates of his own will\u201d (compare D&C 3:4 and Ephesians 1:11), \u201ca just God\u201d (compare D&C 3:4 with Isaiah 45:21), \u201cthe fiery darts of the adversary\u201d (compare D&C 3:8 and Ephesians 6:16), and \u201cGod is merciful\u201d (compare D&C 3:10 and 2 Chron. 30:9), among many other phrases, draw on the language of the King James Version.[2]<\/a><\/p>\n

There is more at work here, however, than just copying texts from the Bible.\u00a0 All these phrases are brought together from a variety of locations and woven into a coherent message in Section 4 about serving God.\u00a0 Philip Barlow has noted, in speaking of Section 3, that: \u201cIt would be a mistake, however, to think of Smith\u2019s revelation as merely a pastiche of biblical phrases. \u2026 Quite apart from the biblical building blocks of much of its prose, the revelation is an original religious creation. \u2026 For all the individual biblical phrases found in it, the revelation as a whole is literarily distinct.\u201d[3]<\/a>\u00a0 Phrases from Biblical texts are used like Lego pieces to use in building revelatory texts that conveyed the will of the Lord.<\/p>\n

In communicating in this manner, these early revelations set the pattern by which Joseph Smith would continue to convey God\u2019s will for many years.\u00a0 Sometimes called dialogic revelations by historians and theologians in the Church today, the texts of these revelations read as direct responses to situations and questions in the voice of the Lord (i.e., a response in a dialogue between Joseph and the Lord).\u00a0 In this regard, Joseph Smith\u2019s revelations are closest in style to the revelations in the Hebrew Bible in the books of Isaiah, Ezekiel, and some other prophets.<\/p>\n

Yet, even early Latter-day Saints wondered whether the texts represented verbatim transcripts of messages from God or whether they were Joseph Smith\u2019s words.\u00a0 I mentioned this in discussing Section 1 a few weeks ago<\/a>, and Section 1 openly admits that: \u201cthese commandments are of me & were given unto my Servents in their weakness\u00a0after the manner of their Language.\u201d[4]<\/a>\u00a0 Yet, just as with Book of Mormon translation, there are variations in understanding how tightly the Lord controlled the language of the revelations.\u00a0 These early revelations seem to have been dictated with the aid of seer stones or the Urim and Thummim, though Joseph Smith would discontinue using those for the revelations sometime around 1830.[5]<\/a> \u00a0For the majority of Joseph Smith\u2019s revelations, he dictated them, in the words of Elder Orson Pratt, \u201cas the inspiration of the Holy Ghost rested upon him.\u201d[6]<\/a>\u00a0 In both cases, having never spent time in Joseph Smith’s head, we aren’t entirely sure what the full process of receiving the revelations was like for him.\u00a0 As a result, even coming from a perspective of believing that the revelations were authentic, it is difficult to decide whether they are word-for-word accounts of what the Lord said or whether the revelations were conceptual in nature and then Joseph Smith worked to capture them in words.<\/p>\n

Part of the difficulty in answering the question is that the early Saints left contradictory evidence about the nature of the revelations.\u00a0 On the one hand, the early Saints certainly seem to have viewed these written documents as carrying more authority than oral pronouncements of Joseph Smith, especially in the early days of the Church.[7]<\/a> \u00a0The revelations themselves read as though it is the Lord speaking, not Joseph.\u00a0 In the words of Richard Lyman Bushman: \u201cThe speaker stands above and outside Joseph, sharply separated emotionally and intellectually.\u201d[8]<\/a> Even within a month of his own death, Joseph Smith assigned a special authority of inerrancy to his revelations and teachings despite personal weaknesses: \u201cI never told you I was perfect\u2014but there is no error in the revelations which I have taught.\u201d[9]<\/a> \u00a0Descriptions of Joseph receiving revelations like the one found in The Autobiography of Parley P. Pratt<\/em> tend to further this image with statements that Joseph Smith dictated his revelations without \u201chesitation, reviewing, or reading back\u201d and that they didn\u2019t \u201cundergo revisions, interlinings, or corrections. As he dictated them so they stood, so far as I have witnessed.\u201d[10]<\/a> These pieces of information imply that the Prophet was dictating for God and the texts that resulted from this dictation came out perfect.<\/p>\n

On the other hand, there is evidence that Joseph Smith and other early Church leaders didn\u2019t see the revelations as perfect representations of the Lord\u2019s voice.\u00a0 Joseph Smith received the revelations in an ongoing process, sometimes compiling multiple revelations received over a period of time into one revelation, or returning later to revise and update previous revelations.[11]<\/a> When a Church conference asked Joseph Smith in 1831 to \u201ccorrect those errors or mistakes which he may discover by the Holy Spirit,\u201d the request was both acceptable to the Prophet and carried out by him on multiple occasions.[12]<\/a>\u00a0 President Brigham Young also bluntly stated on one occasion that: \u201cI do not even believe that there is a single revelation, among the many God has given to the Church, that is perfect in its fulness.\u201d[13]<\/a>\u00a0 These seem to indicate that the process of recording the will of the Lord in text was seen as an ongoing, dynamic process that included the potential for refinement.<\/p>\n

When it comes to describing how revelations are received, the Doctrine and Covenants includes statements like \u201cyou must study it out in your mind,\u201d rather than simply asking with no thought beforehand (D&C 9:7-8), and that understanding comes \u201cby study and also by faith\u201d (D&C 88:118). Joseph Smith also described in one discourse that \u201cHoly Ghost has no other effect than pure inteligence” and that it works by \u201cexpanding the mind enlightening the understanding & storeing the intellect with present knowledge.\u201d Likewise, the \u201cSpirit of Revelation\u201d was characterized by \u201cpure Inteligence flowing into you\u201d and \u201csudden strokes of ideas.\u201d[14]<\/a> It may be that the ideas and pure intelligence were concepts and thoughts that came through the Spirit, but not necessarily specific words\u2014those had to be worked out later as an attempt to capture and communicate the actual revelation. While records of angelic visitations and visions of God indicate that this was not the only way the Prophet received revelations, it does seem to be a major part of the revelatory process for him.<\/p>\n

The information above seems to indicate that the revelations were not seen by Joseph Smith as pure dictations from God, but conceptual revelations followed by an effort on the Prophet\u2019s part to capture those revelations in the English language. After pointing out some of the evidence mentioned above, Philip Barlow noted that Joseph Smith \u201cdoes not generally seem to have conceived of his revelations as verbally exact dictations from God that he then recorded in secretarial fashion. More often, the language used is apparently his own attempt to convey the ideas of the revelations he experienced.\u201d\u00a0 As for why we find Biblical language so deeply engrained in these revelations, Barlow added that: \u201cthe Prophet\u2019s mind was \u2026 immersed in biblical language, whether by personal study of scripture, by listening to sermons, by natural participation in the biblical idioms of family conversation, or by some combination of these.\u201d\u00a0 Hence, \u201cwhen recording the impressions of his revelations, he naturally fell into the language accessible to him.\u201d[15]<\/a><\/p>\n

Whether the revelations are secretarial records of the Lord\u2019s words or whether they are Joseph Smith\u2019s words attempting to capture conceptional revelations, however, it is interesting to see how deeply interwoven the text of the revelations we read in the Doctrine and Covenants is with the text of the King James Version of the Bible, beginning with these very early revelations of 1828 and 1829.<\/p>\n

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Further Reading:<\/strong><\/p>\n