D&C 10-11 Quotes and Notes

Historical Background – Martin Harris

By 1827, Martin Harris had built a comfortable life for himself in Palmyra, New York. He married his cousin Lucy in 1808, fought in the war of 1812, and by 1827 Martin had had acquired 320 acres of farmland, made them profitable through his industry and progressive ideas, and built a handsome frame home.^[1]See Revelations in Context. See also: Ronald W. Walker, “Martin Harris: Mormonism’s Early Convert,” Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought, vol. 19, no. 4 (Winter … Continue reading He married Lucy Harris in 1808, and the couple had five children, three of whom lived to be adults. Martin’s talent and prosperity had not gone unnoticed by his neighbors, who thought of him as “an industrious, hard-working farmer, shrewd in his business calculations, frugal in his habits, and … a prosperous man in the world.”^[2]Ibid. See also: Susan Easton Black and Larry C. Porter, “For the Sum of Three Thousand Dollars,” Journal of Book of Mormon Studies, vol. 14, no. 2 (2005), 7.

Now at age 45 and enjoying the fruits of his labors and the respect of his peers, Martin even considered hiring someone to care for his farm for several months so he could do some travel. But just when he began to contemplate this excursion, he received a visit from Lucy Mack Smith, who bore some intriguing news.

Martin Harris knew most of the story: An angel had visited Joseph Smith and revealed to him the existence of a record on ancient metallic plates buried in a hill near his home. For three years, Joseph had watched and waited.

Now Lucy Smith had come to tell Martin that her son had, at length, obtained the plates from the angel and was intent on seeing them translated. Joseph and his family were not in a position to pay to publish the translation, but Martin Harris was. Lucy Mack Smith asked Martin if he would come visit Joseph. He agreed, and his wife, Lucy Harris, insisted she would come also.

Joseph Smith likely considered Martin Harris a friend. He had previously confided in Martin regarding his angelic visits and the existence of the plates. Martin apparently returned his friendship; he had hired Joseph Smith as a day laborer on his farm and found him to be a reliable hand.

But Martin probably harbored some doubts. He later told an interviewer that when he first heard the story of the plates, he assumed that Joseph and his money-digging friends had simply found an old brass kettle. Still, Martin was a religious man. Perhaps it was this openness to the presence of the supernatural in daily life that allowed him to at least consider Joseph’s claims. Lucy Harris promptly kept her promise to visit Joseph, even offering to help finance the translation of the plates herself. Martin, however, remained aloof, perhaps needing some time to think it over.

During the fall and early winter, hostile neighbors made several attempts to steal the plates from Joseph. In this precarious situation, he decided to move with his wife, Emma, to her parents’ home in Harmony, Pennsylvania. Whatever the cause of Martin’s earlier hesitation, he concluded that he needed to help Joseph. He met him in a tavern in Palmyra, gave him $50 in silver, and said, “I give [this] to you to do the Lords work.”^[3]Ibid. See also: Lucy Mack Smith, “Lucy Mack Smith, History, 1844–1845,” book 6, page 6, josephsmithpapers.org. When Joseph insisted it be considered a loan, Martin reaffirmed his desire to contribute freely to the cause.

Meanwhile, Lucy Harris had begun to doubt Joseph’s story, possibly due to his insistence on keeping the plates hidden from view. This suspicion led her to resent Martin’s increased interest and involvement with Joseph. Martin’s relationship with his wife was already strained, and his support of Joseph Smith caused the rift between them to deepen. At the same time that Lucy had doubts, she also experienced a dream in which it was manifested unto her that the Book of Mormon was indeed what it purported to be. So the history here is complicated.^[4]Lucy Harris (1792-1836) is sometimes characterized as a villain in the Martin Harris story. She marries Martin Harris on March 27, 1808 at the age of 15. She has her first child Henry in 1810, … Continue reading

Lucy Harris’ Remarkable Dream

Lucy Mack Smith remembered Lucy Harris having a “remarkable dream” that evening. When she awoke the next morning, she declared that a “personage had appeared to her the night before and said to her that in as much as she had disputed the servant of the Lord and said that his word was not to be believed and asked him many improper questions that she had done that which was not right in the sight of God.” However, after the chastisement from the personage, she was shown the plates in her dream and in the morning she was able to describe the record in detail to her daughter and the Smith family. After discussing the dream and pondering its meaning, Joseph handed Lucy Harris and her daughter the wooden box containing the plates.

The physicality of the item and sheer weight of the plates served as the evidence that Lucy Harris needed to begin believing that the plates were real. The sound of the plates inside the box may have been convincing to both Lucy and Martin, as well as the feeling of the plates shifting inside the wooden box while they held them. Martin Harris remembered that his “daughter said, they were about as much as she could lift. . . . [His] wife said they were very heavy.” As a result of her dream, and feeling the weight of the plates in the box they were contained, Lucy Harris insisted on giving Joseph $28 to assist with the costs associated with translating the plates.^[5]This would amount to over $700 USD in today’s currency (2021). CPI Inflation calculator estimates it at a value of $767.71. See: CPI Inflation Calculator. This gift of $28 would thus make Lucy the first recorded donor to the Book of Mormon translation.^[6]Susan Easton Black and Larry C. Porter, “For the Sum of Three Thousand Dollars,” Journal of Book of Mormon Studies, Volume 14, Number 2, Article 3, 2005, p. 7. See also: William H. Homer, … Continue reading Even though she knew that Joseph possessed what seemed to be a set of plates, Lucy Harris’ experiences slowly faded from her mind, and she eventually discounted her evening at the Smiths’ as evidence that the plates existed.^[7]Lucy’s story is not unlike many others who have had a spiritual witness of the truth, only to later doubt these messages from heaven. The weight of what others were saying about her and her husband … Continue reading

His wife’s experience sparked Martin’s interest again. Possibly within days of Lucy Smith’s visit to his home, he traveled to the Smith home to speak with Joseph Smith and to inquire about seeing the gold plates. Harris was surprised to find that Joseph had already planned to include him in the forthcoming effort to translate the plates. As Harris later explained, Joseph had seen him in his seer stone after an angel had told Joseph that he would identify “the man that would assist him.”^[8]Joel Tiffany reports from his interview with Martin that Joseph Smith said, “He told him to go and look in the spectacles, and he would show him the man that would assist him. That he did so, and … Continue reading Martin, like his daughter and wife, lifted the box with the plates inside. As some object shifted back and forth in the box, Martin concluded that the object was a set of plates and that their weight indicated that they could have been made of gold. Like a child investigating a wrapped gift, Harris surmised the contents. He knew that Joseph “had not credit enough to buy so much lead,” let alone gold or some other expensive metal. Harris realized that Joseph Smith neither had the means to fabricate nor purchase metal plates. In fact, so destitute were the Smiths, the family had struggled to supply Joseph even with a wooden box. Harris calculated that the plates must have weighed around sixty pounds, which made him believe that, given the size of the box, the plates must have been “lead or gold.”^[9]Michael Hubbard MacKay and Gerrit J. Dirkmaat, From Darkness into Light: Joseph Smith’s Translation and Publication of the Book of Mormon, Brigham Young University, 2015, p. 43-44 electronic … Continue reading

A Sealed Book

A short time after the Smiths arrived in Harmony, Martin paid them a visit and expressed his desire to assist Joseph. He proposed to journey east to New York City with a transcription of some of the characters on the plates to show them to scholars. Perhaps he wanted additional reassurance that the plates were authentic, or he may have thought a testimonial would help them borrow money to publish the translation. In any event, he insisted that the Lord had prompted him to make the trip.

Making Copies of the Characters

Without showing them the plates, Joseph had others help him duplicate some of the characters. Emma Smith aided Joseph in making copies of the characters, but she never saw the plates herself. It is possible that Joseph was making copies of the characters by making a rubbing of them by placing a paper over the plates and rubbing a piece of charcoal over them. Joseph may have created rubbings of dozens of the plates, then handed them over to Emma to trace or copy the characters onto another piece of paper. Emma would have done her best to replicate the rubbing (if that was how Joseph actually made the copies), but she did not copy characters directly from the plates.^[10]From Darkness, p. 49 electronic version.

Aside from his wife, Joseph apparently had others help him make copies of the characters as well. Late interviews of Harmony residents indicate that Reuben Hale, Emma’s brother, may have also helped create copies of the characters. One local historian reported that Reuben “assisted Joe Smith to fix up some characters such as Smith pretended were engraven on his book of plates.”^[11]Ibid., see also: Blackman apparently interviewed a local resident, who stated that Reuben “assisted Joe Smith to fix up some characters such as Smith pretended were engraven on his book of … Continue reading Though the historian’s report was skeptical toward their authenticity, it pointed towards an additional person who may have helped Joseph make copies.^[12]Ibid., see also: Joseph may have made rubbings and had scribes create handwritten copies, or he may have copied them and used scribal assistance to make better copies or multiple copies, but … Continue reading If Joseph produced only one sheet of copied characters, as the history has traditionally been told, why would Joseph have employed two scribes in this period? Furthermore, if there was only one sample, and Joseph had already made the copy himself directly from the plates, why have any scribe at all? Yet there are records indicating not only that Joseph Smith used Emma and Reuben Hale as scribes, but also that he had Martin Harris create other copies of some characters, presumably after Emma and Reuben had assisted.^[13]From Darkness, see also: Joseph Smith, History, circa Summer 1832, in JSP, H1:15.

Lucy Harris was also able to acquire a copy of the characters from the plates around this time, as Martin had a copy of the characters, Lucy convinced Flanders Dyke, a suitor of Martin and Lucy’s daughter, to sneak Martin’s copy away from him so that a copy could be made. In return for this favor, Lucy promised Flanders that she would give him permission to marry her daughter. Once Lucy Harris had her copy, she conveniently pulled it from her pocket each time her husband displayed his copy to others so she could prove that “Smith was not the only one that was in possession of this great curiosity.” Lucy Smith remembered that Lucy Harris “had the same characters and they were quite as genuine as those displayed to them by Mr. H[arris].”^[14]From Darkness, p. 91. see also: Lucy Mack Smith, History, 1844–1845, book 6, [9]. Lucy Harris’s possession of the characters opened a new avenue for people to see them, expanding the number of potential viewers.

Martin’s Journey – February 1828

At the time, neither Joseph nor Martin knew much about the language on the plates. They knew only as much as the angel Moroni had told Joseph: that it was an ancient American record. Thus, rather than seeking a scholar with a knowledge of Egyptian (Joseph later learned that the language on the plates was called “reformed Egyptian”), Martin left Joseph in Harmony and traveled towards New York City in February 1828 and visited several scholars with an interest in antiquities, especially American antiquities.^[15]Revelations in Context, see also: See Lucy Mack Smith, “Lucy Mack Smith, History, 1844–1845,” books 6 and 7, josephsmithpapers.org. One historian writes, “Everyone knows about the … Continue readingMartin visited at least three men with reputations as able linguists. In Albany, New York, he talked with Luther Bradish, a diplomat, statesman, world traveler, and student of languages. In New York City he visited Dr. Samuel Mitchill, vice president of Rutgers Medical College. After examining the characters, Mitchill sent Martin to Charles Anthon at Columbia College, a man who knew several languages including Hebrew and Akkadian (Babylonian). Professor Charles Anthon was probably the most qualified of Martin’s contacts to judge the characters on the document. He was among the leading classical scholars of his day. At the time of Martin Harris’s visit, Charles Anthon was adjunct professor of Greek and Latin. He knew French, German, Greek, and Latin, and was familiar, if books in his library are evidence, with the latest discoveries pertaining to the Egyptian language including the early work of Champollion.^[16]Church History in the Fulness of Times, p. 46. See also See Stanley B. Kimball, “I Cannot Read a Sealed Book,” Improvement Era, Feb. 1957, pp. 80–82, 104, 106; “Charles Anthon and the … Continue reading

Martin claimed that Anthon declared the characters authentic until he learned how Joseph Smith had acquired them. He suggested Martin bring him the plates. Martin refused, and Anthon replied, paraphrasing a verse in Isaiah, “I cannot read a sealed book.” Though Anthon later denied the details of Martin’s account of their meeting, we do know this: Martin came away from his visits with the eastern scholars more convinced than ever that Joseph Smith was called of God and that the plates and characters were ancient. He and Joseph viewed the visit to Anthon as a fulfillment of Isaiah’s prophecy (also mentioned in the Book of Mormon itself) of “a book that is sealed, which men deliver to one that is learned, saying, Read this, I pray thee: and he saith, I cannot; for it is sealed.”^[17]In History of the Church, 1:20. See also Michael Hubbard MacKay and Gerrit J. Dirkmaat, From Darkness unto Light: Joseph Smith’s Translation and Publication of the Book of … Continue reading

The Significance of Martin’s Trip to New York City

Martin Harris’s trip was significant for several reasons. First, it showed that scholars had an interest in the characters and were willing to give them serious consideration as long as an angel was not associated in any way with the provenance of the text. Second, it was, in the view of Martin and Joseph, the direct fulfillment of prophecy relative to the Book of Mormon. Third, it was a demonstration that translating the record would require the assistance of God; intellect alone was insufficient (see Isaiah 29:11–12; 2 Nephi 27:15–20). Finally, it built up Martin’s own faith. He returned home confident that he had evidence to convince his neighbors of Joseph Smith’s work. He was now ready to wholeheartedly commit himself and his means to the bringing forth of the Book of Mormon.^[18]Church History in the Fulness of Times, p. 47.

Section 10

Joseph Receives the Ability to Translate Again

D&C 10.1 By the means of the Urim and Thummim. The reference to the “Urim and Thummim” in this text was added in the 1835 edition of the Doctrine and Covenants. Prior to that, the word interpreters was used instead. It appears that while Joseph Smith was laboring on the translation of the Old Testament, he became acquainted with the revelatory device known to the ancients as the Urim and Thummim. Recognizing this term to be the same as the instrument that he had been given to translate the Book of Mormon and use in the receipt of revelation, he adopted the Bible term and added clarification by inserting “Urim and Thummim” in the appropriate texts.

The Book of Mormon spoke of “two stones” fastened into the “two rims of a bow” as the “interpreters” (Mosiah 28:13, 20; Ether 3:23). This is one reason why it seemed natural for the earliest members of the Church to speak of the “interpreters” (later to be called Urim and Thummim) as seer stones.

The description of the Urim and Thummim being fastened to the breastplate of the high priest of Israel, as recorded in Exodus 28, most likely opened the Prophet’s mind to association between the two. The translation of the material in this chapter of Exodus was recorded sometime between 2 February and 2 July 1833 (Robert J. Matthews, Plainer Translation, 79). Earlier references to the interpreters as the Urim and Thummim are tentative. For example, in January 1833 William W. Phelps, editor of the Church newspaper, The Evening and the Morning Star, wrote regarding the Book of Mormon: “It was translated by the gift and power of God, by an unlearned man, through the aid of a pair of interpreters, or spectacles- (known perhaps, in ancient days as Teraphim, or Urim and Thummim)” (1:58).

After the Prophet’s experience with translating the Old Testament, references to the Nephite interpreters as the Urim and Thummim were more definite. For instance, in October 1834, Oliver Cowdery testified: “Day after day I continued, uninterrupted, to write from his [Joseph’s] mouth, as he translated, with the Urim and Thummim, or, as the Nephites would have said, ‘Interpreters,’ the history, or record, called ‘The book of Mormon'” ^[19]Messenger and Advocate, 1:14.

At the time of the publication of the Doctrine and Covenants in 1835, wording of the revelations was reviewed by the publication committee, which included the Prophet Joseph Smith. Three years later, when the Prophet dictated his history, he made clear the association between the interpreters, or seer stones, and the Urim and Thummim. He explained that “these stones, fastened to a breastplate, constituted what is called the Urim and Thummim” ^[20]Joseph Smith-History 1:35.

The Provenance of the Urim and Thummim

The night that Moroni first appeared to Joseph, he explained to him “that there were two stones in silver bows . . . deposited with the plates; and the possession and use of these stones were what constituted ‘seers’ in ancient or former times; and that God had prepared them for the purpose of translating the book” (Joseph Smith-History 1:35). Previously, these stones were given to the brother of Jared to be included with his writings. At that time, the Lord told the brother of Jared, “The language which ye shall write I have confounded; wherefore I will cause in my own due time that these stones shall magnify to the eyes of men these things which ye shall write” (Ether 3:24). In Doctrine and Covenants 17 the connection between the stones given to the brother of Jared and the Urim and Thummim is confirmed. That revelation stated that the Three Witnesses would view “the Urim and Thummim, which were given to the brother of Jared upon the mount, when he talked with the Lord face to face” (D&C 17:1).

The Book of Mormon tells us that Limhi’s people discovered the plates of Ether, which contained the brother of Jared’s writings. Subsequently, the plates were given to King Mosiah who “translated them by the means of those two stones which were fastened into the two rims of a bow” (Mosiah 28:13). How Mosiah received the stones is not known. Neither is it evident who placed them in the rims of a bow. Mormon wrote that over the centuries the stones had “been kept and preserved by the hand of the Lord” (Mosiah 28:15). The interpreters were passed from one record keeper to the next until Mormon gave them to Moroni. Moroni then placed them in the Hill Cumorah with the plates and the breastplate in the stone box specially prepared to contain these items.

The Prophet Joseph Smith described the Urim and Thummim as “two transparent stones set in the rim of a bow fastened to a breastplate” (History of the Church, 4:537). Lucy Mack Smith was able to inspect the Urim and Thummim the morning after Joseph had obtained them from the Hill Cumorah. She stated that she “took 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.”^[21]Lucy Mack Smith, History of Joseph Smith, 1996, 139.

D&C 10.2 Your mind became darkened. The mental faculties of the Prophet Joseph Smith were affected by his disobedience in allowing the 116-page manuscript to leave his possession. “That wicked one cometh and taketh away light and truth, through disobedience, from the children of men” (D&C 93:39). Once the Spirit, or light, had been taken away, Joseph could no longer translate.

D&C 10.3 It is now restored unto you again. Both the Urim and Thummim and the plates were taken from Joseph as a consequence of losing the manuscript. Later, when the plates and the interpreters were returned to him, and the Lord granted the gift of translation once again. “I continued my supplications to God, without cessation,” Joseph explained, “and on the twenty-second of September [1828], I had the joy and satisfaction of again receiving the Urim and Thummim, with which I have again commenced translating, and Emma writes for me, but the angel said that the Lord would send me a scribe, and I trust that it will be so. The angel was rejoiced when he gave me back the Urim and Thummim, and he told me that the Lord was pleased with my faithfulness and humility, and loved me for my penitence and diligence in prayer, in the which I had performed my duty so well as to receive the Urim and Thummim and was able to enter upon the work of translation again.”^[22]McConkie and Ostler, Revelations of the Restoration, p. 104. See also: Lucy Mack Smith, History of Joseph Smith, 1996, 176.

Continue on unto the finishing of the remainder of the work of translation. Joseph Smith was not to retranslate the engravings from the plates of Lehi. He commenced translating where he left off. He had already translated the abridgment made by Mormon up to the book of Mosiah. This means that he had translated the accounts from the time of Lehi leaving Jerusalem through the time of King Benjamin. The renewed efforts of translation began in a section where Benjamin is working to pass the throne to his son Mosiah.

After finishing the translation of the plates through the book of Moroni, Joseph then continued as instructed in this revelation to translate the small plates of Nephi, or what we know as First and Second Nephi, Jacob, Enos, Jarom, Omni, and the Words of Mormon.^[23]Book of Mormon Central, How Does the “Mosiah-First” Translation Sequence Strengthen Faith? KnowWhy#503, February 22, 2019.

Why the Manuscript was Stolen

Section 10 of the Doctrine and Covenants essentially lays out for Joseph why the manuscript was taken and a general description of who took it. Understanding their motives helped Joseph to see more clearly why it was so important to protect this work, something he would learn and never again repeat, at least in the context of the Book of Mormon translation. I believe this experience also caused Joseph to never let the manuscript out of his sight, and to even reproduce it, thus creating a “printer’s manuscript,” so that in case the printer misplaced anything, Joseph would still have a manuscript in his possession.

By having Joseph translation the Small Plates of Nephi instead of going back and retranslating the work of Mormon and his abridgement of the accounts of Lehi all the way to King Benjamin, the Lord was able to provide enough history and doctrine in the 116 pages of the replacement text to give readers a context and understanding of what was happening in the Book of Mormon, thus filling a critical gap of what was probably a significant portion of missing text. Doctrine and Covenants 10.1-43 give Joseph the details of their plan to destroy the work.

Much of section 10 also outlines the motives and methods of the Adversary, referred to in the revelation as “Satan,” a name that means “accuser,” at least in the Hebrew of the Bible.^[24]“Satan,” New World Encyclopedia.  The nominative satan in Hebrew שָׂטָן, referring to an “adversary” or “accuser,” as well as the Arabic shaitan, … Continue reading We read that he inspires “wicked men” (D&C 10.8-9), that he has “evil designs” (D&C 10.14, 31), that he likes to “stir” people “up to anger” (D&C 10.22, 24), that he likes to “catch a man” to “destroy” him (D&C 10.25), and that he “flattereth” people (D&C 10.26, 29). By understanding how the Adversary works, we can liken the scriptures unto ourselves and work to avoid these pitfalls ourselves.

Another take away from this section is that the Lord’s work will roll on. The Lord himself makes this declaration when he said:

“I will not suffer that they shall destroy my work; yea, I will show unto thme that my wisdom is greater than the cunning of the devil” (D&C 10.43).

Who is Righteous? Who is the Church?

The Savior tells Joseph that “whosoever repenteth and cometh unto me, the same is my church” (D&C 10.67). From this reading, especially when we consider the date it was given (1829, before the official Restoration), we can see the Lord’s expansive view of “his church.” It would seem that it would include all who repent and truly want to come unto him. This could have included Christians of all denominations in 1829, as well as the honest truth seekers in Joseph’s day. How does this apply today? Could it not also be true that all those who seek truth, who truly repent, or want to improve their personal worthiness to the degree in which they understand it, are part of the Lord’s “church”? Perhaps.

Hugh Nibley put it this way:

“Who is righteous? Anyone who is repenting. No matter how bad he has been, if he is repenting he is a righteous man. There is hope for him. And no matter how good he has been all his life, if he is not repenting, he is a wicked man. The difference is which way you are facing. The man on the top of the stairs facing down if much worse off than the man on the bottom step who is facing up. The direction we are facing, that is repentance; and that is what determines whether we are good or bad.”^[25]Hugh Nibley, Approaching Zion: The Collected Works of Hugh Nibley, Volume 9, Deseret Book, 1989, p. 301-302.

Section 11 – May 1829 (After 25 May)

This revelation appears to have been given after the restoration of the Aaronic Priesthood, which took place 15 May 1829.^[26]“The messenger who visited us on this occasion and conferred this Priesthood upon us, said that his name was John, the same that is called John the Baptist in the New Testament, and that he … Continue reading Joseph Smith explained, “We were forced to keep secret the circumstances of having received the Priesthood and our having been baptized, owing to a spirit of persecution which had already manifested itself in the neighborhood. We had been threatened with being mobbed from time to time, and this, too, by professors of religion. And their intentions of mobbing us were only counteracted by the influence of my wife’s father’s family (under Divine providence), who had become very friendly to me, and who were opposed to mobs, and were willing that I should be allowed to continue the work of translation without interruption; and therefore offered and promised us protection from all unlawful proceedings as far as in them lay.

“After a few days, however, feeling it to be our duty, we commenced to reason out of the Scriptures with our acquaintances and friends, as we happened to meet with them. About this time my brother Samuel H. Smith came to visit us. We informed him of what the Lord was about to do for the children of men, and began to reason with him out of the Bible. We also showed him that part of the work which we had translated, and labored to persuade him concerning the Gospel of Jesus Christ, which was now about to be revealed in its fulness. He was not, however, very easily persuaded of these things, but after much inquiry and explanation he retired to the woods, in order that by secret and fervent prayer he might obtain of a merciful God, wisdom to enable him to judge for himself. The result was that he obtained revelation for himself sufficient to convince him of the truth of our assertions to him; and on the twenty- fifth day of that same month in which we had been baptized and ordained, Oliver Cowdery baptized him; and he returned to his father’s house, greatly glorifying and praising God, being filled with the Holy Spirit.

“Not many days afterwards, my brother Hyrum Smith came to us to inquire concerning these things, when at his earnest request, I inquired of the Lord through the Urim and Thummim, and received for him the following . . .”^[27]Revelations of the Restoration, p. 112-113. See also History of the Church, 1:43-45.

11.19 We do not understand the text to be saying that Hyrum would play a role in translating the the Book of Mormon but rather that he would assume a prominent role in proclaiming the book and its truths. It appears to be this assistance in bringing forth the Book of Mormon that qualified Hyrum Smith to become one of the Eight Witnesses (Ether 5:2; Testimony of the Eight Witnesses).^[28]Revelations of the Restoration, p. 114.

11.21-22 The special gift given Hyrum would center in his ability to declare with great power the message of the Restoration. Given that we cannot teach which we do not know, it was required that he prepare himself that he might be a suitable companion of the Holy Spirit. The scriptures were to constitute the foundation of his understanding. Hyrum was to become a student of the Bible (“my word which hath gone forth among the children of men”) and the Book of Mormon (“my word which shall come forth among the children of men”). Building upon the foundation of these books, he would enjoy the Spirit of revelation and much would be added to his understanding that reached beyond the written word.^[29]Ibid., p. 114, emphasis added.

Explaining the principle here involved, Elder Bruce R. McConkie has said, “Those who preach by the power of the Holy Ghost use the scriptures as their basic source of knowledge and doctrine. They begin with what the Lord has before revealed to other inspired men. But it is the practice of the Lord to give added knowledge to those upon whose hearts the true meanings and intents of the scriptures have been impressed. Many great doctrinal revelations come to those who preach from the scriptures. When they are in tune with the Infinite, the Lord lets them know, first, the full and complete meaning of the scriptures they are expounding, and then he ofttimes expands their views so that new truths flood in upon them, and they learn added things that those who do not follow such a course can never know. Hence, as to ‘preaching the word,’ the Lord commands his servants to go forth ‘saying none other things than that which the prophets and apostles have written, and that which is taught them by the Comforter through the prayer of faith’ (D&C 52:9). In a living, growing, divine church, new truths will come from time to time and old truths will be applied with new vigor to new situations, all under the guidance of the Holy Spirit of God”^[30]Bruce R. McConkie, Promised Messiah, 515-16. I would add that this principle works both ways. If we seek darkness, if we desire to read and study arguments against faith, then we will lose the … Continue reading