D&C 6-9 Show notes
Section 6-9 of the Doctrine and Covenants deal with how the Lord speaks to us, and how we can invite revelation. So much of these sections are about actual application and relevance, so we will start with these ideas in the show notes. We begin with the list of scriptures that we spent the most of our time examining in the podcast.
Revelation from God to our Heart/General Impressions from God:
1 Desire to do good. D&C 11:12.
2 Mighty change of heart. Mosiah 5:2.
3 Courage. Alma 17:12.
4 Confidence. D&C 121:45.
5 Comfort. Mosiah 24:13-15; John 14:26; 15:26; 16:7.
6 Strength. 84:88, 80; Isaiah 40:27-31.
7 Softens hearts. 1 Ne. 2:16.
8 Cleansing. 2 Nephi 31:17.
Revelation to the Mind/Specific Communication from Heaven:
1 Peace. D&C 6:23; John 14:27; 16:33.
2 Voice. Enos 1:10.
3 Feel it is right. D&C 9:8.
4 Feel it is wrong. D&C 9:9.
5 Remind. John 14:26.
6 Tell you what to say. Luke 12:11-12.
7 Show. 1 Nephi 18:1.
How to Invite Revelation:
1 Things of God must be sought after. D&C 4 Heading; D&C 6:11, 14; 8:1, 11.
2 Believe His words first, then you shall see. D&C 5:7, 16.
3 After you receive a witness, testify of what you have learned. D&C 5:25; 6:11; 17:2-3.
4 Trifle not with sacred things. D&C 6:12.
• Share too much. D&C 5:26; Alma 12:9.
• Ask for things/ponder things we ought not. D&C 8:10; See D&C 130:14-15.
• Treat revelation lightly. See D&C 84:54; 90:5; 101:8.
5 Treasure revelation in our hearts. D&C 6:20; D&C 84:85.
6 Gather with His followers/united in pray. D&C 6:32; 29:6.
7 Study out in your mind, ask if it be right. D&C 9:8.
Learning to Listen to the Right Voice
Elder Boyd K. Packer said:
“As an Apostle I listen now to the same inspiration, coming from the same source, in the same way, that I listened to as a boy. The signal is much clearer now.”[1]Elder Boyd K. Packer, Ensign, Nov. 1979, 21.
Joseph Smith put it this way:
“A person may profit by noticing the first intimation of the spirit of revelation; for instance, when you feel pure intelligence flowing into you, it may give you sudden strokes of ideas, so that by noticing it, you may find it fulfilled the same day or soon. Those things that were presented unto your mind by the Spirit of God, will come to pass; and thus by learning the Spirit of God and understanding it, you may grow into the principle of revelation, until you become perfect in Christ Jesus.”[2]Joseph Smith, HC, 3:381; Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, p. 151.
He also said: The things of God are of deep import; and time, and experience, and careful and ponderous and solemn thoughts can only find them out.[3]Joseph Smith, Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, p. 137. “The things of God are of deep import; and time, and experience, and careful and ponderous and solemn thoughts can only find them out. … Continue reading
A Caution Regarding Revelation
The Lord has warned his Saints to “not cast pearls before swine.” This teaching can be meant for us to be careful with what we share, and with whom. Not everything we know should be shared with others. Joseph Smith said, “The reason we do not have the secrets of the Lord revealed unto us, is because we do not keep them but reveal them…even to our enemies. I can keep a secret till Doomsday.”[4]Joseph Smith, HC, 4:479; Teachings, p. 195.
Early Morning Revelation
President Packer shared years ago how a man who had a business that was struggling learned to listen to the voice of the Spirit. Even as his business was failing, this very experience was a catalyst to open the doors of revelation in his life. This story has had a powerful influence in my life.
I have a friend who bought a business. A short time later he suffered catastrophic reverses. There just didn’t seem to be any way out for him, and finally it got so bad that he couldn’t sleep. So, for a period of time he followed the practice of getting up about three o’clock in the morning and going to the office. There, with a paper and pen, he would ponder and pray and write down every idea that came to him as a possible solution or a contribution to the solution of his problem. It wasn’t long before he had several possible directions that he could go, and it was not much longer than that until he had chosen the best of them. But he had earned an extra bonus. His notes showed, after going over them, that he had discovered many hidden resources that he had never noticed before. He came away more independent and successful than ever he would have been if he hadn’t suffered those reverses.
There’s a lesson in that. A year or two later he was called to preside over a mission in one of the foreign lands. His business was so independent and well set up that when he came back he didn’t return to it. He just has someone else managing it, and he’s able to give virtually all of his time now to the blessing of others.
I counsel our children to do their critical studying in the early hours of the morning when they’re fresh and alert, rather than to fight the physical weariness and mental exhaustion at night. I’ve learned that the dictum “Early to bed, early to rise” is powerful. When under pressure—for instance, when I was preparing this talk—you wouldn’t find me burning the midnight oil. Much rather I’d be early to bed and getting up in the wee hours of the morning, when I could be close to Him who guides this work. [5]President Boyd K. Packer, Self Reliance, BYU Devotional, March 2, 1975.
Historical Context of Sections 6-9
These sections this week deal with the Lord’s communications with Joseph and Oliver as they work on the Book of Mormon translation in 1829. For reference in this podcast, I have included a Book of Mormon Translation Timeline to use as a reference, so that we can get our bearings as to what is happening during this time.
Book of Mormon Translation Timeline
1827
September 21, 1823 – Joseph meets Moroni. Joseph is 17 years old.
September 22, 1827 – Joseph receives the plates.
Oct.-Dec., 1827 – Joseph moves due to persecution- he moves to Harmony, Pennsylvania with Emma- 100 miles away, Martin Harris gives him $50.
1828
Jan.-Feb. – Joseph translates, Emma scribes.
Feb.-March – Martin Harris visits Charles Anthon in New York City.
April 12- Martin Harris believes and scribes for the Prophet Joseph.
June 14- Martin Harris takes the 116-page manuscript[6]There is considerable historical evidence which indicates that this manuscript is much longer than 116 pages. For a detailed account of the historical eye witnesses accounts to the length of the … Continue reading to Palmyra.
June 15- Alvin Smith born to Emma & Joseph- Alvin dies the same day.
July- Joseph heads to Palmyra- Martin has lost the manuscript.
July-September- Joseph loses the gift of translation- plates taken by Moroni, Section 3 of the Doctrine & Covenants received.
September 22- Joseph gets the plates back from Moroni.
1829
Feb.-March- A “few” pages are translated with Emma as scribe, Joseph is told to wait (D&C 5:30).
April 5- Oliver Cowdery arrives in Harmony, Pennsylvania.
April 7- Translation resumes in full force. [D&C 6-9 are received]
May 15- John the Baptist restores the Aaronic Priesthood.
May-June Peter, James & John restore the Melchizedek Priesthood.
June 1- Joseph & Oliver move to Fayette to complete the translation.
June 30- The translation of the Book of Mormon is complete.
1830
March 26- The first copies of the Book or Mormon went on sale in Palmyra.
Oliver Cowdery Hears of the Book of Mormon – Fall 1828
Oliver Cowdery lay awake wondering if the stories he heard were true. The 22-year-old schoolteacher was boarding at the Palmyra, New York, home of Joseph Smith Sr. in the fall of 1828. Soon after he arrived in the area, he started hearing stories of the Smiths’ son Joseph Jr., his encounters with angels, and his discovery of golden plates.
His curiosity piqued, he had plied his landlord with questions, eager to learn more. At first Joseph Sr. was reluctant to share, but he eventually gave way to his boarder’s pleading and told him about Joseph Jr.’s experiences. Oliver needed to know if such wonderful things were true. He prayed. A peace came to him, convincing him that God had spoken and confirming the stories he had heard.[7]See Revelations in Context. See also: Joseph Smith, “History, 1838–1856, volume A-1 [23 December 1805–30 August 1834],” 15, josephsmithpapers.org.
Oliver did not tell anyone of his spiritual experience, but at the same time he came to think of himself as being called by God to come and help Joseph in the work of translation, and knew that his skills as a scribe could be helpful to the work. He came to believe that God was calling him to be a scribe for Joseph Smith as he translated.[8]Revelations in Context. See also: Lucy Mack Smith, “Lucy Mack Smith, History, 1844–1845,” book 8, page 1, josephsmithpapers.org. When the school term ended in the spring of 1829, Oliver traveled the 120 miles south east to Harmony, Pennsylvania, where Joseph was living with his wife, Emma, farming land owned by Emma’s father, Isaac Hale.
Translation of the plates had stopped for a time after Joseph’s scribe Martin Harris lost the manuscript the previous summer. Despite this setback, Joseph had reassured his mother, telling her that an angel told him the Lord would send him a scribe. “And I trust his promise will be verified,” Joseph said.[9]Revelations in Context. See also: Lucy Mack Smith, Biographical Sketches of Joseph Smith the Prophet and His Progenitors for Many Generations (Liverpool, England: S. W. Richards, 1853), 126. In a short time the Lord did send a scribe, and to the surprise of Joseph’s mother and father it was Oliver Cowdery, the very man they had helped prepare. Oliver arrived at Joseph and Emma Smith’s home on April 5, 1829.
Joseph and Oliver wasted little time. After attending to some business on April 6, they began the work of translation together the following day. As Oliver and Joseph worked on the translation, Oliver began to have doubts about Joseph’s gift of translation. He asked Joseph to ask the Lord for a revelation. The results of this inquiry is Section 6 of the Doctrine and Covenants. In this section the Lord gives specific counsel to Oliver, telling him to “seek not for riches but for wisdom,” (D&C 6.7), and reminding Oliver that God had previously enlightened his mind (verse 15), and that he was to “stand by my servant Joseph” (D&C 6.18).
Oliver Desires to Translate
As Joseph and Oliver continued their work, Oliver grew anxious to play a greater part in the translation. The Lord had promised him the opportunity to translate, and he wanted to claim it. Joseph dictated another revelation. In it, the Lord assured Oliver he could have the gift he desired. He said, “behold, I grant unto you a gift, if you desire of me, to translate, even as my servant Joseph” (D&C 6.25).
In another section of the Doctrine and Covenants received at this time the Lord told Oliver how the process was to work. The Lord declared: “I will tell you in your mind & in your heart by the Holy Ghost which Shall come upon you & which shall dwell in your heart.” Revelation had always come in this manner. The revelation declared this was the means or “spirit by which Moses brought the children of Israel through the red Sea on dry ground.”[10]Revelations in Context. See also: D&C 8.2-3. See also: “Revelation, April 1829–B [D&C 8],” in Revelation Book 1, 12–13, josephsmithpapers.org; see also Doctrine and Covenants … Continue reading
This Gift of Aaron D&C 8.7
A change was made in the Doctrine and Covenants Section 8 that relates to Oliver’s use of “working with a rod.”
Book of Commandments: “Now this is not all, for you have another gift, which is the gift of working with the rod: behold it has told you things: behold there is no other power save God, that can cause this rod of nature, to work in your hands….” (7:3).
1835 change: Doctrine and Covenants: “Now this is not all thy gift, for you have another gift, which is the gift of Aaron; behold, it has told you many things; “Behold, there is no other power, save the power of God, that can cause this gift of Aaron to be with you” (8:6-7).
A careful examination will show that the phrase “working with the rod” and “rod of nature” has been changed by 1835 to say “the gift of Aaron.” Why did this change take place? And what was going on in the original text and what does it tell us about Oliver, Joseph, and their views on God and how he communicates with man? Finally, does this even matter? What is the relevance for us today?
Oliver Cowdery lived in a culture steeped in biblical ideas, language, and practices. The revelation’s reference to Moses likely resonated with him. The Old Testament account of Moses and his brother Aaron recounted several instances of using rods to manifest God’s will (see Exodus 7:9–12; Numbers 17:8). Many Christians in Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery’s day similarly believed in divining rods as instruments for revelation. Oliver was among those who believed in and used a divining rod.[11]Revelations in Context. David D. Hall noted, “People in the seventeenth century inherited a lore that stretched back to the Greeks and Romans… Whenever the colonists spoke or wrote of wonders, … Continue reading Divining rods were used in the 1800’s by several clergymen throughout New England at this time period, despite being existing efforts to quell their use,[12]Historian Michael Quinn relates, “Despite the fact that folk magic had widespread manifestations in early America, the biases of the Protestant Reformation and Age of Reason dominated the … Continue reading something which would be a surprise to modern readers![13]In 1825 a Massachusetts magazine noted with approval that a local clergyman used a forked divining rod. Likewise, a Methodist minister wrote twenty-three years later that a fellow-clergymen in New … Continue reading
The Lord recognized Oliver’s ability to use a rod: “Thou hast another gift which is the gift of working with the sprout [or rod].” Confirming the divinity of this gift, the revelation stated: “Behold there is no other power save God that can cause this thing of Nature to work in your hands for it is the work of God.”[14]“Revelation, April 1829–B [D&C 8],” in Revelation Book 1, 13, josephsmithpapers.org; see also Doctrine and Covenants 8:6–11. This revelation refers to Oliver Cowdery’s “gift of … Continue reading
If Oliver desired, the revelation went on to say, the Lord would add the gift of translation to the revelatory gifts Oliver already possessed.
Original Context Matters
What does this passage mean in its original context? To me, this passage indicates that the Lord did not take issue with Oliver’s use of divining rods, something that is foreign to modern students of scripture. While this may seem strange to us, it was not to Joseph and Oliver. This was one way that they communicated spiritually. While we do not do this today, we must not judge them by our standards of what we consider to be acceptable. By doing this, we are guilty of presentism, the uncritical adherence to present-day attitudes, especially with the tendency to interpret past events or beliefs of others in terms of our own cultural modern values and beliefs.
One author proposed that Oliver may have used this rod in his attempt to translate the plate text. He wrote:
“It seems evident that the Lord entrusted Oliver with a sacred instrument through which he could translate by the Spirit of revelation. Having received instructions on the use of the sacred instrument which he possessed, Oliver Cowdery sought to translate from the Plates of Mormon, probably through the instrument which had been entrusted into his care. But he failed.”[15]Hyrum L. Andrus, Doctrinal Commentary on the Pearl of Great Price, Deseret Book Co., 1967, 6.
Today we would say that opening the scriptures, pondering God’s ways of communicating to us, meditation, prayer, temple attendance, and solitude are ways that we can communicate with heaven. While I agree with these ideas, I certainly see how Joseph and Oliver lived in a time where people viewed certain objects as having a special connection with the divine.
Joseph Fielding Smith had this to say about this “gift of Aaron”:
There was another gift bestowed upon Oliver Cowdery, and that was the gift of Aaron. Like Aaron with his rod in his hand going before Moses as a spokesman, so Oliver Cowdery was to go before Joseph Smith. Whatever he should ask the Lord by power of this gift should be granted if asked in faith and in wisdom. Oliver was blessed with the great honor of holding the keys of this dispensation with Joseph Smith, and like Aaron [Ex. 4:10-17], did become a spokesman on numerous occasions. It was Oliver who delivered the first public discourse in this dispensation.[16]Joseph Fielding Smith, Church History and Modern Revelation, 1947, Volume 1, p. 48.
Why the change in the Revelation?
Time, experience, and maturity, had helped Joseph see the work of the Restoration in a great context. So much was happening in his life that would have later impact on thousands of followers of Christ. As he grew and developed, he began to see ways in which the Lord has communicated with man that went beyond the expectations of his youth. He also was able to see the power of the written word. By 1835 when the change to this revelation was made, Joseph saw in greater detail how the church was perceived by outsiders. It is likely that this change was made so as to not offend those that had differing views regarding divining rods. Perhaps Joseph’s views on these things had also changed. This is the nature of scripture. It goes through editing processes. We see this throughout our sacred texts, if we examine them closely enough.
One historian put it this way:
By the time that Joseph Smith approached the reinterpretation and rewording of this document for the 1835 edition of the Doctrine and Covenants, he had had time and experience necessary to place his 1829 assessment of the meaning of Cowdery’s gift of working with the rod in a somewhat more accurate perspective. Both he and Cowdery had developed away from an emphasis on the religious or mystical meanings in such mechanical objects as the water witching rod. Joseph’s 1835 wording of this document…left behind the apparent 1829 reliance upon external media, which by 1835 had assumed in Joseph’s mind overtones of superstition and speculative experimentation.[17]Richard P. Howard, Restoration Scriptures: A Study of Their Textual Development, Independence, Mo., Department of Religious Education, Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, 1969, … Continue reading
How did Oliver’s Attempt at Translation Go?
Though we know very few details about Oliver Cowdery’s attempt to translate, it apparently did not go well. There is some evidence that perhaps Oliver took part in receiving the revelation known as Section 7 of the Doctrine and Covenants, but the evidence is, in my mind, inconclusive.[18]Dave LeFevre, Oliver Cowdery Translating, September 28, 2016. LeFevre writes, “The oldest recorded copy of this set of revelations gives us a hint. When John Whitmer copied the individual … Continue reading
It is apparent that even though he worked to translate, he was unable to do so, at least from all historical evidence that we now have. In the aftermath of Oliver’s failed attempt at translation of the plate text, Joseph Smith received another revelation, counseling Oliver, “Be patient my son, for it is wisdom in me, and it is not expedient that you should translate at this present time.” Oliver was also told he had not understood the process. He was told: “You must study it out in your mind; then you must ask me if it be right, and if it is right, I will cause that your bosom shall burn within you.”[19]Revelations in Context. See also: “Revelation, April 1829–D [D&C 9],” in Book of Commandments, 20–21, See also Doctrine and Covenants 9:3, 7–8.
The Rod of Aaron, The Tree of Life, and the Cross of Jesus
One pastor had this to say about the rod of Aaron and the cross of Jesus:
Our Lord Jesus Christ was crucified upon a cross consisting of an upright, standing post and a cross beam. Roman crucifixions took place by many means born of the imaginations of the Roman soldiery and torturers. Different forms of crosses are associated, for example, with the deaths of several of the apostles who were likewise executed by the Romans. The scriptures, however, use another word in addition to ‘cross’ (in Greek stavros) to describe the means of Christ’s death. This word, xylon in Greek, is most often used for wood as a substance but is often used and translated as ‘tree’ in much the same way in which a forested area in English is referred to as ‘woods’ or ‘woodland’. The use of this term in reference to Christ’s death (Acts 5:30; 10:39; 13:29; Gal 3:13; 1 Pet 2:24) serves to connect the cross to thematic traditions regarding trees in the ancient world…
Within the scriptures, this theme begins in the second chapter of Genesis with the presence of the tree of life in the midst of Paradise (Gen 2:9). Paradise is the place where God dwells, meaning that the tree of life itself, at the center associated with the source of the rivers flowing out to fill the world with the waters of life (v. 10-14), is associated with the presence of God himself. It is from the tree of life that humanity must be exiled in order to prevent their eternal condemnation (3:22-23). Cherubim are the angelic beings who guard the throne of God himself and it is not a coincidence that it is the cherubim with the flaming sword who are given to guard the tree of life from any attempt of man to return (3:24). Through this memory, the tree of life became a symbol in the ancient world for the presence of the Most High God who bestows life upon the world and specifically of Yahweh the God of Israel.
The tree of life of Eden combines three primary themes surrounding sacred trees in the Ancient Near East. As seen in Genesis 2 in which the tree of life is associated with the source of the dividing waters of life, the tree represents fertility in the sense of the giving of new life. The budding forth of fruit exemplifies this life-giving capacity. The bearing of fruit is bringing life and order into the world rather than death and destruction. The sacred tree also designates sacred space. In both Mesopotamian and Greek sources, the dwellings of gods and other sacred areas are enclosed gardens of fruit trees. It is the divine life and order within these gardens which designates them as sacred. Paradise is, by its nature, such an enclosed and sacred space. It is a temple into which man is placed to serve as both divine image and priest. Finally, the tree served as the symbol of the power and rule of the king. To this end, it was often depicted within a palace setting and guarded by lions, apkallu, or other divine beings such as cherubim. These three themes are not discrete, but intertwine and relate to one other, flowing into one another as should be apparent. It is this complex of ideas to which Genesis 2 and 3 are clearly alluding. Genesis presents itself as describing the truth and ultimate origin of this nexus of ideas. The imagery of the sacred tree continues throughout the Hebrew scriptures. Throughout the Hebrew scriptures, when Yahweh reveals himself… it takes place in the presence of a tree. Likely the most well-known of these is the visit of Yahweh and two angels to Abraham at the oaks of Mamre (Gen 18). There are, however, other significant examples in which a tree is associated with the presence of God (eg. Num 33:9; Josh 24:26; 1 Kings 19:4-8). In addition to trees being thus used to signify the presence of God, they are also frequently used to represent kingship and rule (eg. 1 Samuel 14.2; 22.6). The tree is portrayed generally as being at the center of the realm of the king’s rule and so, for example, in the case of Nebuchadnezzar’s dream, it is in the midst of the whole earth (Dan 4:7-13). The tree of life itself is referenced four times in the book of Proverbs (3:18; 11:30; 13:12; 15:4). Here it is tied to wisdom…
In literature from the Second Temple period, this tree imagery becomes part of the eschatological hope of the earth, building from the imagery of Ezekiel 47:12. A prime example of this is found in 1 Enoch. “This high mountain which you saw, whose peak is like the throne of God, is the seat where the Most Holy One, the Lord of Glory, the King of Eternity, will sit when he comes down to visit the earth in goodness. And this fragrant tree, no flesh has the right to touch it until the great judgment, in which there will be vengeance on all and a consummation forever. Then it will be given to the righteous and the pious, and its fruit will be food for the elect. And it will be transplanted to the holy place, by the house of God, the King of Eternity. Then they will rejoice greatly and be glad and they will enter into the sanctuary. Its fragrance will be in their bones, and they will live a long life on the earth such as your fathers lived also in their days and torments and plagues and suffering will not touch them” (24:3-6). These ideas are directly applied to the life of the world to come in the Apocalypse of St. John (2:7; 22:2, 14, 19).[20]Fr. Stephen De Young, The Tree of the Cross, September 17, 2019.
The rod of Aaron, the rod of Moses, Nephi’s rod, and the iron rod in his vision, to me are all linked together in a matrix of ideas associated with the temple and kingship. John sees in his apocalypse that the kingdom of God will be ruled with an iron rod one day. The very rod that Oliver had is associated with the rod of Aaron in the original revelation of Doctrine and Covenants 8.7. This, to me, is also tied to the seer stone that Joseph had. All of these symbols were tangible, actual things that were relics in the early church that symbolized mankind and his connection to the heavens. Later leaders in the church continued to hold and use relics, something that we do not discuss much today.[21]Heber C. Kimball had a cane that he used constructed out of what was thought to be from a coffin Joseph Smith was buried in. This cane was used for healing purposes, and is owned by members of his … Continue reading
One author wrote, “Trees symbolized divinity. They were regarded as oracles, vehicles of knowledge and wisdom, through which the divine communicated… Rashi said the Tree of Knowledge was a fig tree; the Ark of the Covenant was its symbol. “The Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil represented the axis mundi and as such was the link for humans to access divinity.” (George and George 2014: 120). The two great pillars leading into the First Temple were adorned with lilies and were decorated as two large trees covered with two-hundred pomegranates each (1 Kings 7.19-20). Over time, the sacred tree evolved into many other forms: columns, pillars, standing stones, towers, altars, vines, stalks, ladders, stairways, scepters, and ultimately the cross itself.”[22]Dinah Dye, The Temple Revealed in the Garden: Priests and Kings, Torah Publishing, 2015, p. 62. For more on the connection of trees, world tree motifs, kingship, and Egyptian lotus symbolism, see: … Continue reading
Heart and Mind – General and Specific Impressions
The Savior said, “I will tell you in your mind and in your heart, by the Holy Ghost” (D&C 8:2; italics added). I would explain to the students that an impression to the mind is very specific. Detailed words can be heard or felt and written as though the instruction were being dictated. A communication to the heart is a more general impression. The Lord often begins by giving impressions. Where there is a recognition of their importance and they are obeyed, one gains more capacity to receive more detailed instruction to the mind. An impression to the heart, if followed, is fortified by a more specific instruction to the mind. In a moment I will use the example of Enos to illustrate how communication can come in cycles.[23]Richard G. Scott, Helping others to be spiritually led, CES Symposium, August 11, 1998.
For example, someone might have the idea to immediately pull over to the side of the road and stop the car. Which type of impression is this one? This would be a mind type of impression from the Holy Ghost.
Let’s go through a few scriptures and find examples of when God speaks to our hearts. Go to section 11.12: “And now, verily, verily, I say unto thee, put your trust in that Spirit which leadeth to do good—yea, to do justly, to walk humbly, to judge righteously; and this is my Spirit.”
Give an example of what the Holy Ghost does in D&C 11:12- what is perhaps the most common example of the Holy Ghost- a general feeling of “I want to do good… I want to be a better person.” “I want to be the kind of person that miracles happen to.”
Is that revelation? You better believe it.
Have there been times when you have been impressed with the desire to just be a good person? Have you ever been in the presence of someone remarkable and felt the desire to be good?
In your mind –specific instruction
President Nelson worked as a heart surgeon for his profession before being called as an apostle. He describes a time when he had to perform a surgery in which he did not know what to do, yet after prayer, it was impressed upon him that the surgery would work out. President Nelson said, “This saintly soul suffered much because of a failing heart. He pleaded for help, thinking that his condition resulted from a damaged but repairable valve in his heart. Extensive evaluation revealed that he had two faulty valves. While one could be helped surgically, the other could not. Thus, an operation was not advised. He received this news with deep disappointment… (later) visits ended with the same advice. Finally, in desperation, he spoke to me with considerable emotion: “Dr. Nelson, I have prayed for help and have been directed to you. The Lord will not reveal to me how to repair that second valve, but He can reveal it to you. Your mind is so prepared. If you will operate upon me, the Lord will make it known to you what to do. Please perform the operation that I need, and pray for the help that you need.”
His great faith had a profound effect upon me. How could I turn him away again? Following a fervent prayer together, I agreed to try. In preparing for that fateful day, I prayed over and over again, but still did not know what to do for his leaking tricuspid valve. Even as the operation commenced,22 my assistant asked, “What are you going to do for that?”
I said, “I do not know.”
We began the operation.[24]This operation was performed 24 May 1960. After relieving the obstruction of the first valve, we exposed the second valve. We found it to be intact but so badly dilated that it could no longer function as it should. While examining this valve, a message was distinctly impressed upon my mind: Reduce the circumference of the ring. I announced that message to my assistant. “The valve tissue will be sufficient if we can effectively reduce the ring toward its normal size.”
But how? We could not apply a belt as one would use to tighten the waist of oversized trousers. We could not squeeze with a strap as one would cinch a saddle on a horse. Then a picture came vividly to my mind, showing how stitches could be placed—to make a pleat here and a tuck there—to accomplish the desired objective. I still remember that mental image—complete with dotted lines where sutures should be placed. The repair was completed as diagrammed in my mind. We tested the valve and found the leak to be reduced remarkably. My assistant said, “It’s a miracle.”
I responded, “It’s an answer to prayer.”[25]President Russell M. Nelson, Sweet Power of Prayer, Elder Russell M. Nelson, April 2003 conference, or May Ensign 2003, p.7.
To me, this is a perfect example of a very specific instruction to the mind. God can and does communicate with man in specific ways, giving pictures into the mind of man that can specifically outline what they are to do.[26]There are numerous examples alongside President Nelson’s experience where individuals receive specific communication in their minds. One of the first descriptions of this comes to us from Joseph … Continue reading In the circumstance of this specific revelatory blessing that saved the life of this man with the two faulty heart valves, this was something that required the exacting preparation of the mind of President Nelson. This communication from heaven to President Nelson was something that he diligently paid the price over years of study and experimentation in order to have a mind that could receive the answer. In other words, another principle of revelation is this: God has to have somewhere to put the revelation he desires to give you! If we have not prepared ourselves, there are certain limits that are placed upon revelation.
Another consideration is culture. President Nelson could not have received this revelation if he lived in a time and place where the tools for fixing this brother’s heart did not exist. In other words, time, place, and culture play a part in God’s communication with man. This is one reason why the Bible reads the way it does: it came out of culture. God spoke to those prophets and poets in the language of their time and place. I have written about this in other posts, but I wanted to re-emphasize this idea, as it is an attack used against Christianity so much today: the idea that because the language, ideas, or cultural expressions do not match those of the present reading these ancient texts, that these texts must not be inspired by God.[27]Mike Day, Scripture Comes in its Cultural Packaging, 11/15/2017.
Joseph Smith experienced this throughout his life: the expectations of those around him were often drenched in apostate ideas, and many people anticipated Joseph having to be perfect. They expected the revelations of the Restoration to be perfect in expression, grammar, language, and so forth. We must understand that God meets us where we are, and that he speaks to us after the manner of our language (D&C 1.24).
References
| ↑1 | Elder Boyd K. Packer, Ensign, Nov. 1979, 21. |
|---|---|
| ↑2 | Joseph Smith, HC, 3:381; Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, p. 151. |
| ↑3 | Joseph Smith, Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, p. 137. “The things of God are of deep import; and time, and experience, and careful and ponderous and solemn thoughts can only find them out. Thy mind, O man! if thou wilt lead a soul unto salvation, must stretch as high as the utmost heavens, and search into and contemplate the darkest abyss, and the broad expanse of eternity—thou must commune with God. How much more dignified and noble are the thoughts of God, than the vain imaginations of the human heart! … Let honesty, and sobriety, and candor, and solemnity, and virtue, and pureness, and meekness, and simplicity crown our heads in every place; and in fine, become as little children, without malice, guile or hypocrisy. And now, brethren, after your tribulations, if you do these things, and exercise fervent prayer and faith in the sight of God always, He shall give unto you knowledge by His Holy Spirit, yea by the unspeakable gift of the Holy Ghost [see D&C 121:26].” History of the Church, 3:295–96; paragraph divisions altered; from a letter from Joseph Smith and others to Edward Partridge and the Church, Mar. 20, 1839, Liberty Jail, Liberty, Missouri; parts of this letter were later included in the Doctrine and Covenants as sections 121, 122, and 123. |
| ↑4 | Joseph Smith, HC, 4:479; Teachings, p. 195. |
| ↑5 | President Boyd K. Packer, Self Reliance, BYU Devotional, March 2, 1975. |
| ↑6 | There is considerable historical evidence which indicates that this manuscript is much longer than 116 pages. For a detailed account of the historical eye witnesses accounts to the length of the manuscript, as well as a reconstruction of main stories in this text, and its significance in helping students further their understanding of the Book of Mormon, see Don Bradley, The Lost 116 Pages: Reconstructing the Book of Mormon’s Missing Stories, Greg Kofford Books, 2019. |
| ↑7 | See Revelations in Context. See also: Joseph Smith, “History, 1838–1856, volume A-1 [23 December 1805–30 August 1834],” 15, josephsmithpapers.org. |
| ↑8 | Revelations in Context. See also: Lucy Mack Smith, “Lucy Mack Smith, History, 1844–1845,” book 8, page 1, josephsmithpapers.org. |
| ↑9 | Revelations in Context. See also: Lucy Mack Smith, Biographical Sketches of Joseph Smith the Prophet and His Progenitors for Many Generations (Liverpool, England: S. W. Richards, 1853), 126. |
| ↑10 | Revelations in Context. See also: D&C 8.2-3. See also: “Revelation, April 1829–B [D&C 8],” in Revelation Book 1, 12–13, josephsmithpapers.org; see also Doctrine and Covenants 8:2–3. |
| ↑11 | Revelations in Context. David D. Hall noted, “People in the seventeenth century inherited a lore that stretched back to the Greeks and Romans… Whenever the colonists spoke or wrote of wonders, they drew freely on this lore; theirs was a borrowed language… High or low, learned or unlearned, these people had absorbed a host of older beliefs.” See: David D. Hall, “A World of Wonders: The Mentality of the Supernatural in Seventeenth-Century New England,” in Gary B. Nash and Cynthia J. Shelton, eds., The Private Side of American History, vol. 1 (1984; New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovish, 1987), p. 55, 75.See also: Robert C. Fuller, Spiritual, but Not Religious: Understanding Unchurched America (New York: Oxford University Press, 2001), 15, 17; see also Mark Ashurst-McGee, “A Pathway to Prophethood: Joseph Smith Junior as rodsman, village seer, and Judeo-Christian prophet” (master’s dissertation, Utah State University, 2000), 126–48. |
| ↑12 | Historian Michael Quinn relates, “Despite the fact that folk magic had widespread manifestations in early America, the biases of the Protestant Reformation and Age of Reason dominated the society’s responses to folk magic. The most obvious effect was that every American colony (and later U.S. state) had laws against various forms of divination. In particular, many early Americans regarded participation in the folk magic of treasure-seeking as disreputable… substantial evidence of their (Joseph Smith’s family) participation in treasure-seeking in no way discredits Joseph Smith or his family. This was even the view of some of their neighbors who had no interest in the family’s religious claims. Magic and treasure-seeking were an integral part of the Smith family’s religious quest. Joseph Smith’s family was typical of many early Americans who practiced various forms of Christian folk magic. As a New York medical journal reported in 1812: “These irrational and preposterous opinions are still found to predominate over the minds of a numerous class of honest, but credulous and unlettered citizens. Indeed, they are sometimes cherished by those who have just pretensions to information above mediocrity.” The latter phrase was the academic publication’s condescending acknowledgement that even well-educated Americans shared many of the beliefs of the “credulous and unlettered citizens.” Folk magic’s folk included all social and educational classes. See: D. Michael Quinn, Early Mormonism and the Magic World View, Signature Books, 1998, p.30. |
| ↑13 | In 1825 a Massachusetts magazine noted with approval that a local clergyman used a forked divining rod. Likewise, a Methodist minister wrote twenty-three years later that a fellow-clergymen in New Jersey used a divining rod up to the 1830s to locate buried treasure and the “spirits [that] keep guard over buried coin.” In the mid-1820s a New Hampshire clergyman accompanied treasure- diggers seeking to confront a spirit treasure-guardian because the “minister [was] well qualified to lay the evil spirit …” Without censure, these lay ministers in Massachusetts, New Jersey, and New Hampshire functioned as divining rodsmen and treasure-seekers… Reverend Joseph Avery (1751-1824) demonstrated that folk-magic was something that functioned within mainstream Christianity in his day. In 1821 a student wrote to him as an expert on divining rods. Avery wrote back to the student, instructing him how to construct a divining rod, who could use it, and how it was to be used. See: Magic World View, p. 25, 28. |
| ↑14 | “Revelation, April 1829–B [D&C 8],” in Revelation Book 1, 13, josephsmithpapers.org; see also Doctrine and Covenants 8:6–11. This revelation refers to Oliver Cowdery’s “gift of working with the sprout.” Sidney Rigdon changed “sprout” to “rod” in preparation for the revelation’s publication in the Book of Commandments in 1833. The 1835 edition of the Doctrine and Covenants is the first source to call it “the gift of Aaron” (see “Book of Commandments, 1833,” 19, josephsmithpapers.org; see also “Doctrine and Covenants, 1835,” 161, josephsmithpapers.org). The word “sprout” meant the end of a branch or shoot (see Noah Webster, American Dictionary of the English Language [New York: S. Converse, 1828]). Larry Morris relates, “The historical record is silent as to how or when Oliver obtained his divining rod.” Morris, Oliver Cowdery’s Vermont Years and the Origins of Mormonism, BYU Studies Quarterly, volume 39, issue 1, article 7, p. 116. Historian Richard Bushman suggests that Oliver used his divining rod to locate water and minerals, like many others in New England at the time. See: Richard Bushmann, Joseph Smith and the Beginnings of Mormonism, University of Illinois Press, 1987, p. 98. See: Revelations in Context. Joseph Fielding McConkie and Craig Ostler take an alternate view of these verses, disagreeing with the historians I have read on this topic. McConkie writes, “In the Book of Commandments this was called the “rod of nature,” which has caused considerable speculation that Oliver Cowdery had some kind of a divining rod by which he could receive reve lation. Then comes the supposition that in changing this text to read “the gift of Aaron,” Joseph Smith decided he was telling more than he intended. Such conclusions do not seem to represent good doctrine, good history, or a correct appraisal of the Prophet’s purpose in making this change. Consider the following:
First, there is no record or statement tracing to either Joseph Smith or Oliver Cowdery that so much as hints that Oliver had or used any sort of a rod to receive revelation. Second, the divinely ordained system by which the Book of Mormon was to be translated was the Urim and Thummim. There is no justification for the supposition that Oliver, when granted the privilege of translating, would do so by some other means. Here the Lord said he had been given the “gift of Aaron.” True it is that Aaron had a rod which became a serpent when he cast it down before Pharaoh (Exodus 7:10), but he did not use it to receive revelation. Aaron had another gift, the Urim and Thummim, for that purpose (Exodus 28:30; Leviticus 8:6-9). Third, in Doctrine and Covenants 6, Oliver was told that he had a gift by which he could ask and receive and even obtain a knowledge of the mysteries of heaven (D&C 6:3-12). He was also told that he would be given the gift by which he could translate “even as my servant Joseph” (D&C 6:25). If he was to translate even as Joseph, he would have to translate by the same means used by the Prophet, the Urim and Thummim. Fourth, in this section, Oliver is again told that he would be granted the spirit of revelation, and in addition to that he would be given another gift, the “gift of Aaron,” by which he had already learned many things. Certainly the things he had learned included that which is contained in Doctrine and Covenants 6 and 7, both of which were received by the use of the Urim and Thummim. Fifth, it would be difficult to suppose that Joseph was attempting to obscure anything in making the change from “rod of nature” (Book of Commandments) to “gift of Aaron” (1835 Doctrine and Covenants), given that he left intact the promise that Oliver would hold this gift in his hands. We know of no seeric device that Oliver could have held in his hands except the Urim and Thummim. Finally, both Joseph and Oliver had been promised the “keys of this gift” (D&C 6:28). Joseph never used a rod in translation. The gift he used, in common with Oliver, was the Urim and Thummim. Lucy Mack Smith said that Joseph referred to the Urim and Thummim as “a key.” It was by this key that “the angel manifested those things to him that were shown him in vision; by which also he could at any time ascertain the approach of danger, either to himself or the record, and for this cause he kept these things constantly about his person” (Smith, History of Joseph Smith, 1996, 145). In yet another instance, Lucy Mack Smith recorded that Joseph told her he had “a key” by which he translated. She said she did not know what he meant, but he placed the “article in [her] hands and, examining it with no covering but a silk handkerchief, found that it consisted of two smooth three- cornered diamonds set in glass, and the glasses were set in silver bows connected with each other in much the same way that old-fashioned spectacles are made” (Smith, History of Joseph Smith, 1996, 139). We conclude, therefore, that the gift promised to Oliver Cowdery could be nothing other than the Urim and Thummim and that Joseph’s purpose in making this change was to clarify rather than conceal its meaning. This change assumes that the reader will know that the gift given the high priest in ancient times was the Urim and Thummim, but then the whole story of the Restoration assumes knowledge of the ancient order of things. It may be that the Urim and Thummim were referred to as a rod because they were connected by a rod to the breastplate Joseph received with the plates. The Prophet’s brother William described the means by which the Urim and Thummim were attached to the breastplate, saying “A pocket was prepared in the breastplate on the left side, immediately over the heart. When not in use the Urim and Thummim was placed in the pocket, the rod being of just the right length to allow it to be deposited. This instrument could, however, be detached from the breastplate when away from home, but Joseph always used it in connection with the breastplate when translating, as it permitted him to have both hands free to touch the plates” (Smith, Rod of Iron 1, 3 [February 1924]: 7). See commentary on Doctrine and Covenants 10:1. As to “nature” in the phrase “rod of nature,” the dictionary of Joseph Smith’s day defined nature as comprehending “the works of God” (Webster, Dictionary, 1828). See: McConkie and Ostler, Revelations of the Restoration, p. 86-88. |
| ↑15 | Hyrum L. Andrus, Doctrinal Commentary on the Pearl of Great Price, Deseret Book Co., 1967, 6. |
| ↑16 | Joseph Fielding Smith, Church History and Modern Revelation, 1947, Volume 1, p. 48. |
| ↑17 | Richard P. Howard, Restoration Scriptures: A Study of Their Textual Development, Independence, Mo., Department of Religious Education, Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, 1969, p. 211-214. Melvin J. Petersen wrote, “The meaning of this revelation as recorded in the Book of Commandments and in the Doctrine and Covenants is not clear. History does not record that Oliver Cowdery or anyone else living at the time it was given had a problem understanding it, but today some of the revelation (as given in the original) is unclear to us.” Melvin J. Petersen, “Preparing Early Revelations for Publication,” Ensign, Feb. 1985, 20. Accordingly, when the text of the revelation was prepared for review in 1835, it was altered. But who changed it? Both Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery were part of the “committee to revise the Book of Commandments when the wording of this 1829 revelation was changed.” “The Mature Joseph Smith and Treasure Searching” by Richard Lloyd Anderson, BYU Studies, vol. 24 (1984), Number 4 – Fall 1984. |
| ↑18 | Dave LeFevre, Oliver Cowdery Translating, September 28, 2016. LeFevre writes, “The oldest recorded copy of this set of revelations gives us a hint. When John Whitmer copied the individual revelations into Revelation Book 1, he appears to have tried to enter them in the order in which they were received. Using the section numbers as we know them today, he copied them in the order 6, 8, 7, and 9. That means that D&C 7 was likely received exactly between the offer to translate in D&C 8 and the explanation about why he could no longer do so in D&C 9. D&C 7 is a revelation about John the apostle, answering a very old question about whether he died or lived on, based on John 21:20-23. The text is ambiguous in its current form and opinions have come down on both sides. Joseph and Oliver had the same question, and took the question to the Lord using “the Urim and Thummim” (probably one of Joseph’s seer stones at this stage). The resulting revelation was recorded in Joseph’s history as “the word which we received.” That would seem to indicate that it was a joint revelation, received in some manner by both men. In the first publication of D&C 7 in the 1833 Book of Commandments, the description in the heading has, “Translated from parchment, written and hid up by himself [John the beloved].” The words are remarkably similar to the kind of texts Oliver was promised he could translate, those “which have been hid up” and are “part of my Scriptures”(D&C 8.1,11). This evidence makes it possible, if not likely, that D&C 7 was at least in part Oliver’s translation effort. But the experience must have had challenges Oliver hadn’t anticipated, which caused him to go back to writing for Joseph instead of continuing the hard work of translation, and D&C 9 soon followed. Did Oliver translate any part of the Book of Mormon as well? That question cannot be answered with available evidence. We have no evidence that he did, such as Joseph Smith’s handwriting, but the original manuscript for the Book of Mormon is not extant for the section where they were probably working at this time in April 1829; the text is missing for everything from Mosiah 1 to Alma 10:30, having been damaged when it was placed in the cornerstone of the Nauvoo House. Still, if the chronological order is correct with D&C 8, 7, and 9, and the references to translating documents do indeed align with the background of D&C 7, it makes a compelling case that Oliver’s effort to translate was with John’s hidden up parchment. |
| ↑19 | Revelations in Context. See also: “Revelation, April 1829–D [D&C 9],” in Book of Commandments, 20–21, See also Doctrine and Covenants 9:3, 7–8. |
| ↑20 | Fr. Stephen De Young, The Tree of the Cross, September 17, 2019. |
| ↑21 | Heber C. Kimball had a cane that he used constructed out of what was thought to be from a coffin Joseph Smith was buried in. This cane was used for healing purposes, and is owned by members of his family today. Kimball is quoted to have testified of the virtue of this cane when he asked, “How much would you give for even a cane that Father Abraham had used, or a coat or ring that the Savior had worn?” Steven G. Barnett, The Canes of the Martyrdom, BYU Studies Quarterly, Volume 21, Issue 2, Article 8. 4/1/1981, p. 208-211. |
| ↑22 | Dinah Dye, The Temple Revealed in the Garden: Priests and Kings, Torah Publishing, 2015, p. 62. For more on the connection of trees, world tree motifs, kingship, and Egyptian lotus symbolism, see: J. Andrew McDonald, Influences of Egyptian Lotus Symbolism and Ritualistic Practices on Sacral Tree Worship in the Fertile Crescent from 1500 BCE to 200 CE. Religions. 2018; 9(9):256. |
| ↑23 | Richard G. Scott, Helping others to be spiritually led, CES Symposium, August 11, 1998. |
| ↑24 | This operation was performed 24 May 1960. |
| ↑25 | President Russell M. Nelson, Sweet Power of Prayer, Elder Russell M. Nelson, April 2003 conference, or May Ensign 2003, p.7. |
| ↑26 | There are numerous examples alongside President Nelson’s experience where individuals receive specific communication in their minds. One of the first descriptions of this comes to us from Joseph Smith when he was speaking to Moroni, who was describing to Joseph where the Book of Mormon plates were located. Joseph relates, “While he was conversing with me about the plates, the vision was opened to my mind that I could see the place where the plates were deposited, and that so clearly and distinctly that I knew the place again when I visited it” (Joseph Smith History 1.42). Another example comes from Allan Burgess’ story of the young man who was specifically told in his mind to go to the football field one Saturday morning, enfolding a series of events that would eventually save the life of his friend. See: Go to the Football Field, 11/16/2016. |
| ↑27 | Mike Day, Scripture Comes in its Cultural Packaging, 11/15/2017. |
Thank you both for sharing your knowledge of the scriptures with us. I have asked myself the question President Nelson has challenged us to, “Hear Him”. Do I hear Him? Your lesson this week has helped me better understand that question. It has also taught me, that I need to bear my testimony a little more that I currently do. This show has allowed me to see someone else’s perspective on the scriptures. You guys are awesome!
One addition to the mind/specific communication, comes from a former stake president of mine. He quoted D&C 128:1 where Joseph Smith said, the subject “seems to occupy my mind, and press itself upon my feelings the strongest”. I love this idea of the Holy Ghost pressing an idea to our mind so we ponder it constantly. Thank you for sharing each week.
I would like to know where the reference came from that Joseph Smith translated the small plates 1 Nephi through Omni after the rest of the Book of Mormon?
That is fascinating and I’m curious about it.
Thanks