D&C 12

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 them of his visions and spiritual experiences. Joseph Knight Sr., believed, along with other members of his family, including his wife, Polly, and sons, Joseph Knight, Jr., and Newel Knight. Father Knight assisted Joseph Smith on numerous occasions, supplying provisions and money, which enabled the Prophet and his scribe to continue the work of translating. Among other things, Brother Knight gave Joseph money to buy paper for his scribe to write on during the translating of the gold plates. Father Knight was baptized June 28, 1830. The Prophet Joseph Smith gave us the background to the receiving of this section as follows: ‘About the same time an old gentleman came an old gentleman came to visit us oh whose name I wish to make honorable mention- Mr. Joseph Knight, Sen., of Colesville, Broome county, New York, who, having heard of the manner in which we were occupying out time, very kindly and considerately brought us a quantity of provisions, in order that we might not be interrupted in the work of translation by the want of such necessaries of life; and I would just mention here, as in duty bound, that he several times brought us supplies, a distance of at least thirty miles, which enabled us to continue the work when otherwise we must have relinquished it for a season. Being very anxious to know his duty as to this work, I inquired of the Lord for him, and obtained the following: (D&C 12.’” There are some interesting points here that I hadn’t considered at first, but that caught my attention this time around. First was that, like Martin Harris, Joseph Knight Sr. supplied the prophet and his associates with temporal means to sustain the work, though it might have been on a smaller scale. This reminds me of the parable of the servants who were given the talents when the master went away. Martin Harris could be like the servant with the ten talents, and his contribution quantity was very great, but Joseph Knight could have been like the servant who was given 5 talents, though not as much but gave just as freely, and it appears, without asking. He must have been very observant to not only notice that there was a need for supplies, but to know what to get and when and how to deliver it, the logistics were probably mentally consuming. Also the faith demonstrated by this man is incredible. He heard JS’s account and did what was in his scope to do to further the work, he didn’t ask to see the plates or hear the voices of angels, he was simply anxious to do his “duty” to God. Duty is an interesting word, it denotes work and dedication and sacrifice, but it also infers humility and patience and submission. 12:1-7 – The first 6 verses are, again, similar to that of other sections, and I finally realized, though it’s pretty obvious, that when these revelations were received, there was no book of the Doctrine and Covenants that the people could read and study, this would have been kind of like a patriarchal blessing to those who were the intended recipients, in that they were general principles but very personalized. I imagine that receiving a revelation with no prior background knowledge of how the Lord works would have needed these introductions. Not only were there no D&C, there was no searchable Book of Mormon publicly either, it was still being translated. Verses 1-5 are interesting with DJR’s own interpretation thrown in there. In the parenthesis, “A great and marvelous work (the restoration of the gospel in the last days, before the Second Coming of Christ) is about to come forth among the children of men (the people of the world.) Behold, I am god; give heed to my word, which is quick (living, alive) and powerful, sharper than a two-edged sword (which is effective in all directions), to the dividing asunder (separating) of both joint and marrow (symbolic of cutting through false doctrines and philosophies, exposing them to the light of truth); therefore, give heed unto my word. Behold, the field (the world) is white already to harvest; therefore, whoso desireth to reap (to help with the harvesting) let him thrust in his sickle with his might, and reap while the day lasts, that he may treasure up for his soul everlasting salvation in the kingdom of God (that he may save his own soul.) Yea, whosoever will (has the desire and will take action to do so) thrust in his sickle and reap, the same is called of God. Therefore, if you will ask of me you shall receive; if you will knock it shall be opened unto you (constant revelation is available to those who help with this work.)” A lot of topics are dealt with in these verses that we have been studying in the last couple of sections. The D&C is definitely being built upon the foundation of repentance, faith, keeping the commandments, being properly prepared then called. I liked the further descriptions of what the Lord might have meant when he described his word as being quick and powerful. I also liked that he used another way to say that thrusting in your sickle to reap in the harvest of souls ultimately saves your own soul first and foremost. Speaking directly to Joseph Knight, the Lord says, “Now, as you have asked, behold, I say unto you, keep my commandments, and seek to bring forth and establish the cause of Zion.” DJR comments, “It is interesting to note that, just as was the case with Hyrum Smith, the Lord emphasized personal preparation first, as a top priority.” As is the case with, I would assume all, canonized scripture, this is not just guidance for Joseph Knight or Hyrum Smith, but for all of us, as the Lord says, “Behold, I speak unto you, and also to all those who have desires to bring forth and establish this work.” I just had the thought that, really, why would anyone be interested, anxious even, to bring forth and establish the work of God, especially considering the specific circumstances that were facing the Saints in the early restoration, persecution, death, harassment, torture, deprivation, all types of terrible things, but still people, as illustrated by the many personalized revelations given from Jesus to JS, were still chomping at the bit to get out there and spread the gospel. This begs the question, if doing so invited much hardship and gave no temporal rewards, as is evidenced by the much financial losses sustained by the early church members, then why would anyone embark on that service anyway? The only reasonable answer has to be, because the gospel was of great worth to these early Saints and they desired this joy and comfort for all of God’s children. It was motivated only by love. 12:8-9 – Interestingly, I had that thought, why would anyone take on the task of sharing the gospel, if it only seemed to bring earthly hardship? The answer is love. I had that thought, which of course fed directly into verse 8 “And no one can assist in this work except he shall be humble and full of love, having faith, hope, and charity, being temperate in all things, whatsoever shall be entrusted to his care.” I don’t necessarily think that the Lord included this in the revelation because Joseph Knight didn’t possess those characteristics, he must have or he wouldn’t have desired to serve the Lord in the first place, perhaps the Lord was making it clear that earthly rewards might not be forth coming with the work. The issue of humility is interestingly noted here because, as we discussed earlier, Joseph Knight appears to have been very humble, as he was greatly anxious to fulfill his duty to God. The Lord’s admonition shows that it is His work and he directs it and all who wish to be involved must bend to his will, there can’t be any power struggles with God here. The IM quotes Elder Spencer W. Kimball as teaching, “If the Lord was meek and lowly and humble, then to become humble one mist do what He did in boldly denouncing evil, bravely advancing righteous works, courageously meeting every problem, becoming the mast of himself and the situations about him and being near oblivious to personal credit… Humble and meek properly suggest virtues, not weaknesses. They suggest a consistent mildness of temper and an absence of wrath and passion. Humility suggests no affectation, no bombastic actions. It is not turbid nor grandiloquent. It is not servile submissiveness. It is not cowed nor frightened. No shadow or the shaking of a leaf terrorizes it. How does one get humble? To me, one must constantly be reminded of his dependence. On who dependent? On the Lord. How remind hone’s self? By real, constant, worshipful, grateful prayer.’” When it comes to administering in the kingdom, it really must be done the Lord’s way. If we try to do it our way, only one person will be harmed, us, the Lord will not bend his will to us, but we will break ourselves against him in a painful and debilitating way. Commenting on the aspect of love, the IM teaches, “Love is a motivator. When a person is full of love for God and his fellowman, he is motivated to serve both. The Prophet Joseph Smith taught that ‘Love is one of the chief characteristics of Deity, and ought to be manifested by those who aspire to be the sons of God. A man filled with the love of God, is not content with blessing his family alone, but ranges through the whole world, anxious to bless the whole human race.’” Finally, the Lord “signs” his declaration saying, “Behold, I am the light and the life of the world, that speak these words, therefore give heed with your might, and then you are called. Amen.” I always wondered why the Lord would give a sort of “seal” on his words, because really if JS was just making them up, then he could just write those words on there and say they were from God, but it would seem that he’s alluding to the fact that he is the light, perhaps as in the guide post, and the life, perhaps referring to the atonement and the saving powers of his sacrifice. So he might be signing it, not “I am the light and the life of the world,” in a condescending fashion, but in a way that says, “following me will make you happy, and I have the power to let you be happy,” if that makes sense. The IM teaches, “it is our Lord who is speaking. He calls Himself the Light and the Life of the World… The Savior frequently quotes in these Revelations; or, rather, expressions familiar to the readers of John’s writing meet us here again and again. John had a prominent part in the ushering in of this dispensation. On the Isle of Patmos he saw the coming, in our day, of the ‘mighty angel’ with the ‘little book open,’ and it was said to this, ‘Thou must prophesy again before many people, and nations, and tongues, and kings.’ In fulfilment of this prediction, he and two fellow Apostles conferred the Melchizedek Priesthood upon Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery. No wonder if the spirit of the teachings of these Apostles, and especially that of John, the last of the first Twelve, should be discernible in these Revelations.” I had not considered before that the Lord might be identifying himself as the same God of the Bible, which is the only scripture that the first Saints would have been familiar with. Thinking about it, if I were to receive a “revelation” from JS, and the Lord used words that I was familiar with from the Bible, it would not only grant more credibility, but it would also make it more personal, link the dispensations together, and invite the Spirit to testify of the truth of that revelation and to teach me how to be obedient to it. Very interesting.