LDS Doctrine and Covenants Critique
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The Doctrine and Covenants
SECTION 21
Revelation given to Joseph Smith the Prophet, at
Fayette, New York, April 6, 1830. This revelation was given at the
organization of the Church, on the date named, in the home of Peter
Whitmer Sr. Six men, who had previously been baptized, participated. By
unanimous vote these persons expressed their desire and determination
to organize, according to the commandment of God (see section 20). They
also voted to accept and sustain Joseph Smith Jr. and Oliver Cowdery as
the presiding officers of the Church. With the laying on of hands,
Joseph then ordained Oliver an elder of the Church, and Oliver
similarly ordained Joseph. After administration of the sacrament,
Joseph and Oliver laid hands upon the participants individually for the
bestowal of the Holy Ghost and for the confirmation of each as a member
of the Church.
1–3, Joseph Smith is called to be a seer, translator, prophet, apostle,
and elder; 4–8, His word will guide the cause of Zion; 9–12, The Saints
will believe his words as he speaks by the Comforter.
1 Behold, there shall be a record kept among you; and in it thou shalt
be called a seer, a translator, a prophet, an apostle of Jesus Christ,
an elder of the church through the will of God the Father, and the
grace of your Lord Jesus Christ,
Note: The office of prophet was eliminated by the New Covenant.
God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the
fathers by the prophets, has in these last days spoken to us by His
Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He
made the worlds; who being the brightness of His glory and the express
image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power,
when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down at the right hand of
the Majesty on high, having become so much better than the angels, as
He has by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they. Hebrews
1:1-4
2 Being inspired of the Holy Ghost to lay the foundation thereof, and to build it up unto the most holy faith.
Note: The Holy Spirit will testify of Jesus Christ.
“But when the Helper comes, whom I shall send to you from the Father,
the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He will testify of
Me. And you also will bear witness, because you have been with Me from
the beginning.” John 15:26-27
3 Which church was organized and established in the year of your Lord
eighteen hundred and thirty, in the fourth month, and on the sixth day
of the month which is called April.
Note: The Christian church was established at Pentecost.
When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord
in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a
rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were
sitting. Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and
one sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy
Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them
utterance. Acts 2:1-4
4 Wherefore, meaning the church, thou shalt give heed unto all his
words and commandments which he shall give unto you as he receiveth
them, walking in all holiness before me; 5 For his word ye shall
receive, as if from mine own mouth, in all patience and faith.
Note: The office of prophet was eliminated by the New Covenant.
“The law and the prophets were until John. Since that time the kingdom
of God has been preached, and everyone is pressing into it.” Luke 16:16
6 For by doing these things the gates of hell shall not prevail against
you; yea, and the Lord God will disperse the powers of darkness from
before you, and cause the heavens to shake for your good, and his
name’s glory.
Note: The gates of hell have not prevailed against the true church.
Simon Peter answered and said, “You are the Christ, the Son of the
living God.” Jesus answered and said to him, “Blessed are you, Simon
Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My
Father who is in heaven. And I also say to you that you are Peter, and
on this rock (confession) I will build My church, and the gates of
Hades shall not prevail against it.” Matthew 16:16-18
7 For thus saith the Lord God: Him have I inspired to move the cause of
Zion in mighty power for good, and his diligence I know, and his
prayers I have heard. 8 Yea, his weeping for Zion I have seen, and I
will cause that he shall mourn for her no longer; for his days of
rejoicing are come unto the remission of his sins, and the
manifestations of my blessings upon his works.
Note: Joseph Smith was a perpetual sinner.
Joseph Smith, the founder of the Latter Day Saint movement, was the
subject of approximately twenty-one documented criminal cases between
1826 and 1844 across New York, Ohio, Missouri, and Illinois. In New
York, Smith was repeatedly charged with being a "disorderly person", a
misdemeanor related to his activities as "seer".
9 For, behold, I will bless all those who labor in my vineyard with a
mighty blessing, and they shall believe on his words, which are given
him through me by the Comforter, which manifesteth that Jesus was
crucified by sinful men for the sins of the world, yea, for the
remission of sins unto the contrite heart.
Note: The Holy Bible is the word of God not Joseph Smith.
But I know you, that you do not have the love of God in you. I have
come in My Father’s name, and you do not receive Me; if another comes
in his own name, him you will receive. How can you believe, who receive
honor from one another, and do not seek the honor that comes from the
only God? Do not think that I shall accuse you to the Father; there is
one who accuses you—Moses, in whom you trust. For if you believed
Moses, you would believe Me; for he wrote about Me. But if you do not
believe his writings, how will you believe My words?” John 5:42-47
10 Wherefore it behooveth me that he should be ordained by you, Oliver
Cowdery mine apostle; 11 This being an ordinance unto you, that you are
an elder under his hand, he being the first unto you, that you might be
an elder unto this church of Christ, bearing my name—12 And the first
preacher of this church unto the church, and before the world, yea,
before the Gentiles; yea, and thus saith the Lord God, lo, lo! to the
Jews also. Amen.
Note: Oliver Cowdery came to realize that Joseph Smith was rotten.
By early 1838, the relationship between Smith and Cowdery had
deteriorated significantly. Cowdery felt that Smith's integration of
economic and political plans into his theology and ecclesiastical
structure was encroaching on the separation of church and state.
Cowdery also expressed his concerns of Smith's relationship with Fanny
Alger, a teenage maid living with the Smiths in Kirtland. In a January
1838 letter to his brother Warren: "[We] had some conversation in which
in every instance I did not fail to affirm that which I had said was
strictly true. A dirty, nasty, filthy affair of his and Fanny Alger's
was talked over in which I strictly declared that I had never deserted
from the truth in the matter, and as I supposed was admitted by
himself."