Blogging Through the Book of Mormon

Section 19 is an different animal, in that it is a commandment given to MH. The IM gives the introduction as follows: “President Joseph Fielding Smith gave the following background to this section: ‘this revelation was given some time in March, 1830 (in Manchester, New York). It would seem that Martin Harris had come to Joseph Smith seeking further assurance in relation to his standing before the Lord, being sorely troubled in spirit because of his transgression. He had already been granted the privilege, on his earnest solicitation, of being one of the Three Witnesses, and that wonderful vision had been given. Perhaps out of this came much serious reflection and he sought further light. However, there is no indication in the History of the Church as to the reason why the revelation was given, and the exact day is unknown when it was given. It was without question a revelation of great comfort to Martin, and it is one of the great revelations given in this dispensation; there are few o...

18:5-9 - Verse 5 is pretty standard but DJR has an interesting take on it, the Lord says, “Wherefore, if you shall build up my church, upon the foundation of my gospel and my rock, the gates of hell shall not prevail against you.” DJR comments that “Some members of the Church hesitate or decline to accept callings. What the Savior tells Oliver Cowdery next, in verse 5, applies to all of us and reminds us that if we accept and fulfilling callings, thus helping to ‘build up’ the Church, the ‘gates of hell’ will not ultimately win against us. This is a great benefit of being faithfully engaged in our church responsibilities.” I hadn’t considered it in that light before, but it makes total sense. This doesn’t just apply to the higher positions of the Church and it does just apply to people a long time ago, our efforts are working towards the kingdom of God now, no matter how insignificant we might think that our efforts are, and we are blessed and protected for our efforts. Interestingly, ...

I realized that I’ve been going about this all wrong. I’ve been reading the revelation and trying to fit the backstory into it, when it would make more sense if I tried to fit the revelation into the backstory. Meaning, I should be looking at where the askers were coming from when the revelation was given, what they already knew and what they wanted to know. For instance, it appears to me that JS and OC went to the Lord to learn more about the Melchizedek priesthood, and this was their answer. That’s what this revelation was an answer to, this revelation, in the words of JS “will further illustrate the nature of our calling to this Priesthood, as well as that of others who were yet to be sought after.” This revelation is describing some of the responsibilities of the Melchizedek Priesthood. 18:1-4 - DJR begins us off by teaching, “First, in section 18, the Lord specifically addresses Oliver Cowdery, acknowledging that He is aware of a matter Oliver has had on his mind, and assuring him...

Section 18 is very long and I'm very short on time tonight. Background information is interesting, I had trouble connecting the background information with the content of the revelation. The title of the section is "The Worth of a Soul" and the background information comes to us from the IM as follows: "After John the Baptist had appeared and foretold the restoration of a higher priesthood (see D&C 13), the Prophet Joseph and Oliver Cowdery 'how became anxious to have that promise realized to us, which the angel that conferred upon us the Aaronic Priesthood had given us, that provided we continued faithful, we should also have the Melchizedek Priesthood, which holds the authority of the laying on of hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost. We had for some time made this matter a sibject of humble prayer, and at lengeth we got together in the chamber of Mr. Whitmer's house, in order more particularly to seek of the Lord what we now so earnestly desired; and h...

Section 17 is short but has a lot of information. The introduction to the section says, “revelation given through Joseph Smith the Prophet to Oliver Cowdery, David Whitmer, and Martin Harris, at Fayette, Hew York, June 1829, prior to their viewing the engraved plates that contained the Book of Mormon record. Joseph and his scribe, Oliver Cowdery, had learned from the translation of the Book of Mormon plates that three special witnesses would be designated. See Ether 5:2-4; Also 2 Nephi 11:3 and 27:12. Oliver Cowdery, David Whitmer, and Martin Harris were moved upon by an inspired desire to be the three special witnesses. The Prophet inquired of the Lord, and this revelation was given in answer, through the Urim and Thummim.” I’ve actually been thinking about this concept the last few days, starting with the revelation to Hyrum Smith. I thought “why isn’t he more prominent in the early D&C? Why wasn’t he one of the three witnesses, instead of three men who apostatized?” I thought th...

Sections 15 and 16 will be considered together because they are identical, except for one word and that is the name of the recipient, 15 is John and 16 is Peter. Concerning the inclusion of personal revelations in to the D&C the IM quotes Elder John A. Widtsoe as teaching, “The Doctrine and Covenants is a compilation of the revelations received by Joseph Smith to individuals and for the guidance of the Church. From the first years of the work the Prophet kept every scrap of paper pertaining to the progress of the work. In fact this care of things that must have seemed trivial is one of the evidences of the sincerity of the man. For example, when John and Peter Whitmer asked for help, he received for each of them a revelation, substantially the same: (D&C 15-16). This simple revelations is directed to the individual and at first sight has no permanent value for the Church. Yet as a revelation from God it was preserved and published. An insincere man could have eliminated this an...

Sections 14,15, and 16 go together, in that they are to the three Whitmer brothers. DJR gives the background information as follows: “Sections 14-16 go together, in the sense that they are given to three brothers, David Whitmer, John Whitmer, and Peter Whitmer, Jr., all of whom desired to know what the Lord wanted them to do at this point in the restoration of the gospel. These three brothers were sons of Peter Whitmer, Sr., and Mary Whitmer, of Fayette, New York, who would play a prominent role in enabling the Prophet to complete the translation of the Book of Mormon. It is interesting to see how the Lord prepares things in advance, in order for His work to proceed. Joseph Smith had previously become acquainted with the Whitmer family. Oliver Cowdery had become especially good friends with David Whitmer, after having met him in Palmyra, and had developed a special interest in David’s sister, Elizabeth, whom he will later marry. As Joseph and Oliver continued the work of translating th...

Section 13 is short, only one verse, but is pretty loaded as far as background and content goes. The scriptural heading for this section says, “An extract from Joseph Smith’s history recounting the ordination of the Prophet and Oliver Cowdery to the Aaronic Priesthood near Harmony, Pennsylvania, May 15, 1829. The ordination was done by the hands of al angel, who announced himself as John, the same that is called John the Baptist in the New Testament. The angel explained that he was acting under the direction of Peter, James, and John, the ancient apostles, who held the keys of the higher priesthood, which was called the Priesthood of Melchizedek. The promise was given to Joseph and Oliver that in due time this higher priesthood would be conferred upon them.” The IM gives background as follows: “Universal apostasy followed the death of the Savior and His Apostles. Over the centuries that followed, man was no longer authorized to act for God. This condition helped to fulfill prophecy: ‘T...

Section 12 is very similar to section 11, and the background information is as follows, according to DJR, “This revelation was given in Harmony, Pennsylvania, in May of 1829. It was given through Joseph Smith to Joseph Knight, Sr. Joseph Knight was born on November 3, 1772, making him almost 33 years older than the Prophet Joseph Smith. At this point in history, Joseph Smith was 23 years old and Joseph Knight was 56. Father knight, as he was sometimes called, had first met Joseph Smith in 1826, when he hired him to do some work at his farm and grist mill in Colesville, New York, about 130 miles southeast of Palmyra. By this time, the 20 year old prophet had already seen the Father and Son, during the First Vision, and had also seen Moroni and had learned of the gold plates. In fact, he had already returned to the Hill Cumorah twice, as instructed by Moroni, on September 22 each year since 1823. Joseph Smith boarded with the Knight family while working for them, and he eventually told t...

11:15-20 - The IM gives a pretty comprehensive checklist of how to prepare to “serve the Lord,” saying, “In section 11 ‘the Lord… teaches Hyrum Smith several steps to be followed in preparing for a mission: 1. Desire to serve the Lord. (11:10,17.) 2. Live worthily to receive the Spirit of the Lord so it can ‘enlighten your mind, which shall fill your soul with joy.’ (11:13.) 3. Keep the commandments of the Lord, assisting in the work of the Lord in any way that you might be asked. (11:18-20.) 4. Seek to obtain the work of the Lord through (a) studying the word of the Lord that had already gone forth- the Bible- and (b) studying the word of the Lord that was then being translated- the Book of Mormon. (11:21-22.) 5. Build upon the gospel, denying not either the spirit of revelation nor the spirit of prophecy. (11:24-25.) The Lord indicates further that these suggestions are for ‘all who had good desires’ to serve. (11:27.)’” These seem pretty straight forward, have a desire to share the ...