{"id":42251,"date":"2021-11-24T16:14:32","date_gmt":"2021-11-24T21:14:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.timesandseasons.org\/?p=42251"},"modified":"2021-11-24T16:14:32","modified_gmt":"2021-11-24T21:14:32","slug":"the-word-and-will-of-the-lord","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/timesandseasons.org\/index.php\/2021\/11\/the-word-and-will-of-the-lord\/","title":{"rendered":"\u201cThe Word and Will of the Lord\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"

There is a story about President David O. McKay where a youth who wasn\u2019t active in the Church flippantly asked him, \u201cWhen was the last time you talked to God, President McKay?\u201d \u00a0President McKay answered in all seriousness that: \u201cIt was last week.\u201d\u00a0 The person who shared the story noted that: \u201cHe left everyone wondering what he really meant by that, whether he was praying, talking to God, or whether it was another kind of experience.\u00a0 But the way it was said, it really left this kid shaken up.\u201d[1]<\/a><\/p>\n

One of the ongoing tensions in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is reconciling the belief in ongoing revelations with both the number of written revelations produced by Joseph Smith and the lack of similar documents in our canon from later Church leaders.\u00a0 As noted in the document about the \u201cMartyrdom of Joseph Smith and his Brother Hyrum\u201d that was added to the Doctrine and Covenants in 1844 (now D&C 135), Smith \u201chas brought forth the\u00a0Book of Mormon \u2026 has brought forth the revelations and commandments which compose this book of Doctrine and Covenants, and many other wise documents and instructions\u00a0for the benefit of the children of men.\u201d[2]<\/a>\u00a0 On the other hand, out of the 140 main documents presented in the Doctrine and Covenants, only 2 are revelations or visions from later Church presidents, and 2 are press releases about changes resulting from other Church presidents having revelations.\u00a0 Even counting the last two, that means that less than 3% of all documents in the Doctrine and Covenants are from prophets after Joseph Smith.\u00a0 It is worth taking some of the time to discuss why that may be.<\/p>\n

A possible explanation rooted in Joseph Smith\u2019s time has to do with the growing importance of Church councils.\u00a0 As mentioned in a previous post<\/a>, Richard Lyman Bushman has argued that:<\/p>\n

After the organization of the Twelve Apostles, the frequency of canonical revelations dropped precipitously. \u2026 Instead, Joseph\u2019s history was filled with the minutes of the Twelve Apostles\u2019 meetings, as if they had become the source of inspiration. \u2026 At a moment when Joseph\u2019s own revelatory powers were at their peak, he divested himself of sole responsibility for revealing the will of God and invested that gift in the councils of the Church, making it a charismatic bureaucracy.[3]<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Almost \u00be of the documents presented in the current edition of the Doctrine and Covenants were recorded before the Quorum of the Twelve was organized in 1835.\u00a0 Among the documents that come from after that period, there are also several that are sermons or epistles from Joseph Smith rather than revelations presented in the voice of God.\u00a0 This is an indication that even Joseph Smith was largely (though not completely) moving away from presenting the will of God in the format of the \u201ccovenants\u201d or \u201ccommandments\u201d that we think of as his revelations today.<\/p>\n

After Joseph Smith\u2019s death, the Quorum of the Twelve assumed leadership of the Church as a quorum.\u00a0 In effect, this means that not only did the councils of the church have shared responsibility to reveal the will of God, but that one of those councils had taken the place of Joseph Smith in revealing the will of God.\u00a0 That council still leads the Church today, with the First Presidency existing as an extension of the Quorum of the Twelve rather than as an entity independent of that quorum.\u00a0 It makes sense, then, that decisions are generally made as a council through discussion and seeking inspiration as a group rather than an individual (even if that person is the President of the Church) unilaterally producing the will of God.\u00a0 For example, historian Thomas G. Alexander found when researching the developing importance of the Word of Wisdom at the turn of the Twentieth Century that Church leaders were concerned about the moral tone of their community and they \u201csought guidance from scriptures, from statements of earlier leaders, and from the Lord as they carried on their deliberations.\u201d\u00a0 He added that this is representative of many developments in Church doctrine and praxis in the 20th<\/sup> century, and that: \u201cThe evidence seems to suggest that change has ordinarily come about through the prayerful consideration over time of contemporary problems in the context of tradition (including previous scriptures and statement), immediate conditions (including political, social, and economic problems), and alternative courses of action.\u201d[4]<\/a>\u00a0 While this approach is a solid route to inspiration learning the will of the Lord through a council and then acting on it, it doesn\u2019t lend itself to presenting revelation in the same way that Joseph Smith did.<\/p>\n

Even as President Brigham Young stepped into his role at the head of the Church, he chose not to follow the same pattern as Joseph Smith.\u00a0 The only published document in the form of a dialogic revelation from Brigham Young is \u201cthe Word and Will of the Lord concerning the Camp of Israel in their journeyings to the West\u201d that he wrote in Winter Quarters on 14 January 1847.\u00a0 The document is important for providing the ideal organization and structure for companies of Latter-day Saint settlers moving west, for pushing the Latter-day Saints to refocus on the spiritual aspects of how to conduct themselves on the journey (commanding them to \u201cbe organized \u2026 with a covenant and promise to keep all the Commandments & Statutes of the Lord our God\u201d), affirming in the voice of the Lord that they needed to proceed \u201cunder the directions of the Twelve Apostles,\u201d and providing an explanation for why Joseph Smith died by stating that \u201cit was needful that he should seal his testimony with his blood, that he might be honored, and the wicked might be condemned.\u201d[5]<\/a>\u00a0 The revelation was important because it affirming the authority of the Quorum of the Twelve (and Brigham Young in particular, as the revelator behind the document) and, as Chad Orton wrote, \u201cthe revelation helped transform the westward migration from an unfortunate necessity into an important shared spiritual experience.\u201d[6]<\/a>\u00a0 Beyond this important revelation, however, there are no canonized revelations from President Brigham Young in the 33 years he led the Church.<\/p>\n

There are two unpublished revelations of which I know that do give some insights into Brigham Young\u2019s approach to revelations.\u00a0 Brigham Young\u2019s lack of dialogic revelations as a successor to Joseph Smith did not go unnoticed and opened the door to challengers who did offer more charismatic displays of prophetic ability.\u00a0 James Strang was the strongest contender in that regard\u2014though he was a relatively obscure convert in Wisconsin, he was able to gather a significant group of the Latter Day Saints by bolstering his claims with revelations, visions, and translations in the same style as Joseph Smith.\u00a0 Among those questioning Brigham Young was Reuben Miller, who was deeply impressed by James Strang and approached Brigham Young directly about his feelings.\u00a0 He told Young that: \u201cthe word of the Lord would be decidedly satisfactory to him.\u201d\u00a0 Brigham Young, appropriately (if a bit sarcastically) responded with a revelation:<\/p>\n

Thus Saith the Lord unto Reuben Miller through Brigham Young\u2014that Strang is a wicked & corrupt man & that his revelations are as false as he is\u2014therefore turn away from his folly\u2014& never let it be Said of Reuben Miller\u2014that he ever was led away & entangled by Such nonsense.[7]<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

While somewhat snappish in the nature of its delivery, it does demonstrate that Brigham Young was capable of capturing what he believed to be the will of the Lord in words when he chose, just that he generally did not choose to do so.<\/p>\n

The other revelation of Brigham Young does allow us to glean some of how he did choose to capture and convey what had been revealed unto him.\u00a0 Recently rediscovered by Christopher Blythe<\/a>, Brigham Young shared the revelation at the beginning of discourse given in St. George, Utah in February 1874.\u00a0 He stated:<\/p>\n

The word of the Lord that was reveal[e]d to his People, by his servant the Prophet sear and Reverlator, President Brigham Young, Feb[r]uary 1874[.] He speak unto the people saying, Thus saith the Lord it is my will that this people should enter into A Holy united order, by concentrating their labour, there time, and their means together for the interest of my Kingdom, and for their own mutual benefit, And I the Lord will bless them abundantly, they shall get along with less labour, and less means, And become a great deal richer, and happyer, and be enabled to do a great deal more good, And if not the curse of the Lord will be upon them, for we are got as far as we can get in our present position, for the time is fully come that we should enter into this Holy Order, the Lord is saying come, and Holy angles are saying come, and all good men are saying come, and I say come let us enter into this Holy Order, that the Kingdom of Heaven may continue to advance, till it fill the whole earth with the knowledge and love of God, Hear this oh Israil, I tell you the Kingdom of God cannot advance one step further until we enter into this Holy Order.[8]<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

While this revelation was shared in this form at that time to encourage the Latter-day Saints to join the United Order of Enoch and follow the Law of Consecration, Young chose to soften the presentation the next time he shared it by framing it as follows: \u201cThus saith the Lord unto my servant Brigham, Call ye, call ye, upon the inhabitants of Zion, to organize themselves in the Order of Enoch.\u201d[9]<\/a><\/p>\n

Blythe noted the change and provided some reasoning for why Brigham Young changed the wording to something other than a direct command from God to the Saints and eschewed written revelations in general.\u00a0 He wrote that: \u201cFirst, he argued that the Saints had not lived up to the revelations that Joseph Smith had already revealed,\u201d quoting President Young as saying: \u201cBut before we desire more written revelation, let us fulfil the revelations that are already written, and which we have scarcely begun to fulfil.\u201d\u00a0 He then added: \u201cSecond, Young believed that the Saints were more accountable when a revelation was framed in the voice of deity,\u201d quoting Young again as stating that if the will of the Lord is framed more softly, \u201cthe consequences of disobedience are not so dreadful, as they would be if the word of the Lord were to be written under the declaration, \u2018Thus saith the Lord.\u2019\u201d[10]<\/a>\u00a0 It seems like, based on this example, that Brigham Young avoided written revelations because he believed the Saints still needed to embrace the ones they had in that format and that to add more would make them more accountable than they were ready for.<\/p>\n

Brigham Young\u2019s successor, John Taylor, did not share the same reservations about revelation.\u00a0 Over the course of John Taylor\u2019s tenure as head of the Church, he recorded at least eight written revelations (not counting the controversial document attributed to Taylor by the fundamentalist Mormon groups).\u00a0 The revelations responded to a variety of circumstances, including settling Brigham Young\u2019s estate, plural marriage, the Council of Fifty, calls to the Quorum of the Twelve, approval of a proposed reorganization of the Seventies quorums, acceptance of the Logan Temple dedication, a call to restart the school of the prophets, and a warning of a time of trouble that was coming.\u00a0 Two of these were published in John Taylor\u2019s lifetime (the calls to the Quorum of the Twelve<\/a> and the reorganization of the Seventy<\/a>), and were even sometimes published in European editions of the Doctrine and Covenants.[11]<\/a>\u00a0 B. H. Roberts idolized President John Taylor and stated his opinion about Taylor\u2019s revelations: \u201cHis counsels, his warnings, his doctrines and promises received the most direct approval by the voice of God Himself, demonstrating that his teaching had all along been inspired.\u201d[12]<\/a><\/p>\n

Oddly, none of President Taylor\u2019s written revelations were ever added to the English versions of the Doctrine and Covenants.\u00a0 Perhaps it is due to concerns about the claims of fundamentalist Mormon groups about a 27 September 1886 revelation that states that: \u201cMy everlasting covenants cannot be abrogated nor done away with; but they stand forever,\u201d in reference to plural marriage. \u00a0Or it may be the fact that many of them are now dated in content. \u00a0The revelations are, however, on par with the ones we have in the Doctrine and Covenants. \u00a0Some of them, such as the May 1884 revelation about the Logan Temple<\/a>, would be very fitting additions to the Doctrine and Covenants, even now.\u00a0 Over 13 years ago, Richard Holzapfel, Christopher Jones, and Jared Tamez indicated that they were working on publishing a complete annotated transcription of the eight revelations they considered legitimate, though I can\u2019t find out if anything ever came of that project.[13]<\/a>\u00a0 In any case, John Taylor embraced the approach of sharing his revelations in a written format, presenting them as the words of the Lord.<\/p>\n

Subsequent presidents of the Church have not generally followed the same approach, favoring that of Brigham Young.\u00a0 Joseph F. Smith recorded his vision, which is now Section 138, and Wilford Woodruff shared some of his revelations (though some of them didn\u2019t really work out as planned).[14]<\/a>\u00a0 More often than not, Church leaders have shared the results of concepts of the revelations in other formats\u2014policy changes announced through official declarations or through the Church Handbook of Instructions, ideas shared in general conference addresses or First Presidency messages, and so forth.<\/p>\n

While it makes it feel harder to discern what is the actual mind and will of the Lord verses the thoughts of the men leading the Church, it seems likely that there are several reasons for this change.\u00a0 First, with the Church being led by a \u201ccharismatic bureaucracy,\u201d the nature of the leading councils lends itself more easily to these types of documents than to unilateral revelatory texts.\u00a0 Second, Brigham Young expressed concerns about the Saints failing to live up to previous written revelations and adding increased accountability through new written revelations.\u00a0 Third, circumstances and policies change over time, and when revelations encourage Saints to embrace a particular policy (such as the Brigham Young one about the United Order of Enoch), it\u2019s easier to move on from the past policy or doctrine if it\u2019s not canonized as scripture.\u00a0 These seem to be some of the main reasons that Church leaders since Joseph Smith (with the major exception of John Taylor) have generally eschewed writing out revelations in the voice of the Lord.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

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

Christopher Blythe, \u201cBrigham Young\u2019s Newly Located February 1874 Revelation\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

Richard Holzapfel and Christopher Jones, \u201c\u2018John the Revelator\u2019: The Written Revelations of John Taylor\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

The Mormon Eagle: John Taylor\u2019s Revelations<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Footnotes:<\/strong><\/p>\n

[1]<\/a> David Timmins interview.\u00a0 Cited in Gregory A. Prince and Wm. Robert Wright, David O. McKay and the Rise of Modern Mormonism <\/em>(Salt Lake City: University of Utah Press, 2005), 26.<\/p>\n

[2]<\/a> “Doctrine and Covenants, 1844,” p. 444, The Joseph Smith Papers, accessed November 23, 2021, https:\/\/www.josephsmithpapers.org\/paper-summary\/doctrine-and-covenants-1844\/446<\/a><\/p>\n

[3]<\/a> Richard Lyman Bushman, Joseph Smith: Rough Stone Rolling<\/em>, 257-258.<\/p>\n

[4]<\/a> Thomas G. Alexander, Mormonism in Transition: A History of the Latter-day Saints, 1890-1930<\/em>, 3rd<\/sup> ed. (Salt Lake City: Greg Kofford Books, 2012), 283-284.<\/p>\n

[5]<\/a> Hosea Stout Journal, 17 January 1847, in On the Mormon Frontier: The Diary of Hosea Stout, 1844-1861<\/em>, ed. Juanita Brooks (Salt Lake City: University of Utah Press, 1964, reprint edition 1982), 1:227-229.<\/p>\n

[6]<\/a> Chad M. Orton, \u201cThis Shall Be Our Covenant,\u201d in Revelations in Context<\/em>, https:\/\/www.churchofjesuschrist.org\/study\/manual\/revelations-in-context\/this-shall-be-our-covenant?lang=eng<\/a>.<\/p>\n

[7]<\/a> Brigham Young office files, 1832-1878 (bulk 1844-1877); Journals, 1832-1877; Brigham Young Journals, 1832- 1846; Journal, 1844 September 28- 1846 February 3 entry of Jan. 30, 1846; Church History Library, https:\/\/catalog.churchofjesuschrist.org\/assets\/de233849-df29-4851-b79d-ba78721d1476\/0\/123<\/a> (accessed: November 23, 2021).<\/p>\n

[8]<\/a> Thomas C. Haddon, writings, circa 1882, MS\u00a03216, Church History Library, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Salt Lake City.<\/p>\n

[9]<\/a> Brigham Young, in\u00a0Journal of Discourses,<\/em>\u00a026\u00a0vols. (Liverpool: F.\u00a0D. Richards, 1855\u201386),\u00a017:154 (August 1874).<\/p>\n

[10]<\/a> Christopher James Blythe, \u201cBrigham Young\u2019s Newly Located February 1874 Revelation,\u201d BYU Studies Quarterly <\/em>58:2, https:\/\/byustudies.byu.edu\/article\/brigham-youngs-newly-located-february-1874-revelation\/#footnote-000<\/a>.\u00a0 Brigham Young quotes are Journal of Discourses,<\/em> 6:319 (April 1852) and 12:127\u201328 (December 29, 1867).<\/p>\n

[11]<\/a> Richard Neitzel Holzapfel and Christopher C. Jones, \u201c\u2019John the Revelator\u2019: The Written Revelations of John Taylor,\u201d in Champion of Liberty: John Taylor<\/em>, ed. Mary Jane Woodger (Provo: BYU Press, 2009), https:\/\/rsc.byu.edu\/champion-liberty-john-taylor\/john-revelator-written-revelations-john-taylor<\/a>.<\/p>\n

[12]<\/a> B. H. Roberts,\u00a0The Life of John Taylor,\u00a0Third President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints\u00a0<\/em>(Salt Lake City: George Q. Cannon & Sons, 1892), 349.<\/p>\n

[13]<\/a> See Richard Neitzel Holzapfel and Christopher C. Jones, \u201c\u2019John the Revelator\u2019: The Written Revelations of John Taylor,\u201d in Champion of Liberty: John Taylor<\/em>, ed. Mary Jane Woodger (Provo: BYU Press, 2009), https:\/\/rsc.byu.edu\/champion-liberty-john-taylor\/john-revelator-written-revelations-john-taylor<\/a>.\u00a0 For a glance at the revelations, The Mormon Eagle <\/em>blog has published them, along with other revelations, online: http:\/\/themormoneagle.blogspot.com\/2012\/12\/november-19-1877.html<\/a>.<\/p>\n

[14]<\/a> Messages of the First Presidency 3:175.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

There is a story about President David O. McKay where a youth who wasn\u2019t active in the Church flippantly asked him, \u201cWhen was the last time you talked to God, President McKay?\u201d \u00a0President McKay answered in all seriousness that: \u201cIt was last week.\u201d\u00a0 The person who shared the story noted that: \u201cHe left everyone wondering what he really meant by that, whether he was praying, talking to God, or whether it was another kind of experience.\u00a0 But the way it was said, it really left this kid shaken up.\u201d[1] One of the ongoing tensions in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is reconciling the belief in ongoing revelations with both the number of written revelations produced by Joseph Smith and the lack of similar documents in our canon from later Church leaders.\u00a0 As noted in the document about the \u201cMartyrdom of Joseph Smith and his Brother Hyrum\u201d that was added to the Doctrine and Covenants in 1844 (now D&C 135), Smith \u201chas brought forth the\u00a0Book of Mormon \u2026 has brought forth the revelations and commandments which compose this book of Doctrine and Covenants, and many other wise documents and instructions\u00a0for the benefit of the children of men.\u201d[2]\u00a0 On […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10397,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[17,2895,13],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-42251","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-church-history","category-come-follow-me-currculum","category-scriptures"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/timesandseasons.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42251","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/timesandseasons.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/timesandseasons.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/timesandseasons.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10397"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/timesandseasons.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=42251"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/timesandseasons.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42251\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":42252,"href":"https:\/\/timesandseasons.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42251\/revisions\/42252"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/timesandseasons.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=42251"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/timesandseasons.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=42251"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/timesandseasons.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=42251"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}