LDS Doctrine and Covenants Critique
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The Doctrine and Covenants
SECTION 24
Revelation given to
Joseph Smith the Prophet and Oliver Cowdery, at Harmony, Pennsylvania,
July 1830. Though less than four months had elapsed since the Church
was organized, persecution had become intense, and the leaders had to
seek safety in partial seclusion. The following three revelations were
given at this time to strengthen, encourage, and instruct them.
1–9, Joseph Smith is called to translate, preach, and expound
scriptures; 10–12, Oliver Cowdery is called to preach the gospel;
13–19, The law is revealed relative to miracles, cursings, casting off
the dust of one’s feet, and going without purse or scrip.
1 Behold, thou wast called and chosen
to write the Book of Mormon, and to my ministry; and I have lifted thee
up out of thine afflictions, and have counseled thee, that thou hast
been delivered from all thine enemies, and thou hast been delivered
from the powers of Satan and from darkness! 2 Nevertheless, thou art
not excusable in thy transgressions; nevertheless, go thy way and sin
no more.
Note: Joseph Smith was rotten.
In late June 1830, Smith, Emma,
Cowdery, and John and David Whitmer visited Colesville and baptized
Joseph Knight Sr., many of his family, and several others in the area.
This activity, and the recent exorcism of Newel Knight, aroused the
animosity of a group of local residents, leading to Smith's arrest by
the local constable on "disorderly person" (vagrancy) charges. Smith
was transported to South Bainbridge, New York. His two-day trial took
place in late June, ending on July 1, 1830, and he was defended by two
attorneys hired by Joseph Knight, who got him acquitted. Immediately
after his release, however, he was arrested again and transported back
to Colesville for a second trial, for which he was also acquitted.
3 Magnify thine office; and after
thou hast sowed thy fields and secured them, go speedily unto the
church which is in Colesville, Fayette, and Manchester, and they shall
support thee; and I will bless them both spiritually and temporally; 4
But if they receive thee not, I will send upon them a cursing instead
of a blessing.
Note: Joseph Smith would use fear for personal purposes.
Back at his home in Harmony,
Pennsylvania, Smith dictated a revelation indicating that he and
Cowdery should begin acting more as full-time clergy. After planting
crops in Harmony, they would begin visiting the church's branches in
Colesville, Fayette, and Manchester, "devote all [their] service in
Zion", and while traveling, they would receive clothes, food, and money
from the church as needed. John Whitmer, who had begun living with
Joseph and Emma, was also given a full-time clerical role.
5 And thou shalt continue in calling upon God in my name and writing
the things which shall be given thee by the Comforter, and expounding
all scriptures unto the church. 6 And it shall be given thee in the
very moment what thou shalt speak and write, and they shall hear it, or
I will send unto them a cursing instead of a blessing.
Note: Joseph Smith would use fear for personal purposes.
Smith, with the assistance of John
Whitmer, then began to copy and compile the revelations Smith had
dictated up to that point, while Cowdery returned to Fayette. Cowdery
and most of the Whitmer family in Fayette became alarmed, however, when
they learned that Smith had added a phrase to the "Articles and
Covenants of the Church of Christ", requiring good works as a
prerequisite for baptism, and Cowdery commanded Smith to retract the
added phrase. Smith had to travel to Fayette to convince Cowdery and
the Whitmers "that the sentence was reasonable, and according to
Scripture".
7 For thou shalt devote all thy
service in Zion; and in this thou shalt have strength. 8 Be patient in
afflictions, for thou shalt have many; but endure them, for, lo, I am
with thee, even unto the end of thy days.
Note: Joseph Smith would use God for personal purposes.
In August 1830, back in Harmony,
Smith began once again to arouse resentment with the neighbors, and
Emma's parents finally turned against him. On the urging of Nathaniel
Lewis, a Methodist deacon who was married to Isaac Hale's sister, Isaac
Hale indicated he would no longer offer Smith and other church members
his protection. As he began to fear for his safety, he dictated a
revelation that it was not safe to buy wine or liquor from the church's
enemies, and that any wine or liquor consumed by church members,
including sacramental wine, must be made by church members.
9 And in temporal labors thou shalt
not have strength, for this is not thy calling. Attend to thy calling
and thou shalt have wherewith to magnify thine office, and to expound
all scriptures, and continue in laying on of the hands and confirming
the churches.
Note: Joseph Smith would use God for personal purposes.
After the June 9, 1830 conference and
a brief return home to Harmony, with Knight's exorcism in recent
memory, Smith dictated what was described as a secret vision of Moses,
not to be shown "unto any except them that believe", in which Satan
attempted to convince Moses that he was Jesus. Much later, while
speaking about the early history of the church, Smith said he had heard
"[t]he voice of Michael on the banks of the Susquehanna, detecting the
devil when he appeared as an angel of light". Although Smith did not
give a date for this event, it could have occurred during this time
when he was thinking about exorcisms and appearances of the devil near
the Susquehanna.
10 And thy brother Oliver shall
continue in bearing my name before the world, and also to the church.
And he shall not suppose that he can say enough in my cause; and lo, I
am with him to the end. 11 In me he shall have glory, and not of
himself, whether in weakness or in strength, whether in bonds or free;
12 And at all times, and in all places, he shall open his mouth and
declare my gospel as with the voice of a trump, both day and night. And
I will give unto him strength such as is not known among men.
Note: Oliver Cowdery began believing wild revelations.
In Fayette, Smith found that Hiram
Page, one of the Eight Witnesses, had been dictating revelations using
his own seer stone, and that Oliver Cowdery, the Whitmer family, and
most church members had been accepting them as the word of God. Page's
revelations had to do with the establishment of Zion, including the
location of the "New Jerusalem" city predicted in the Book of Mormon
(Ether, ch. 13).
13 Require not miracles, except I
shall command you, except casting out devils, healing the sick, and
against poisonous serpents, and against deadly poisons;
Note: The Holy Bible was plagiarized.
“they will take up serpents; and if
they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them; they will
lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.” Mark 16:18
14 And these things ye shall not do,
except it be required of you by them who desire it, that the scriptures
might be fulfilled; for ye shall do according to that which is written.
Note: Scriptures were fulfilled by Jesus Christ not Joseph or Oliver.
Therefore, when He came into the
world, He said: “Sacrifice and offering You did not desire, but a body
You have prepared for Me. In burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin You
had no pleasure. Then I said, ‘Behold, I have come—In the volume of the
book it is written of Me— to do Your will, O God.’” Hebrews 10:5-7
15 And in whatsoever place ye shall
enter, and they receive you not in my name, ye shall leave a cursing
instead of a blessing, by casting off the dust of your feet against
them as a testimony and cleansing your feet by the wayside.
Note: The Holy Bible was plagiarized.
“Whatever house you enter, stay
there, and from there depart. And whoever will not receive you, when
you go out of that city, shake off the very dust from your feet as a
testimony against them.” Luke 9:4-5
16 And it shall come to pass that whosoever shall lay their hands upon
you by violence, ye shall command to be smitten in my name; and behold,
I will smite them according to your words, in mine own due time.
Note: Joseph Smith was not a Christian.
“But I tell you not to resist an evil
person. But whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to
him also.” Matthew 5:39
17 And whosoever shall go to law with thee shall be cursed by the law.
Note: Joseph Smith was not a Christian.
“If anyone wants to sue you and take away your tunic, let him have your cloak also.” Matthew 5:40
18 And thou shalt take no purse nor
scrip, neither staves, neither two coats, for the church shall give
unto thee in the very hour what thou needest for food and for raiment,
and for shoes and for money, and for scrip.
Note: Joseph Smith would use God for personal purposes.
Given the resentment in Harmony, and
the continued open hostility in Colesville, Smith moved in September
1830 to Fayette, where the Whitmer family had once again offered him
residence.
19 For thou art called to prune my
vineyard with a mighty pruning, yea, even for the last time; yea, and
also all those whom thou hast ordained, and they shall do even
according to this pattern. Amen.
Note: Believers will abide in Jesus Christ not in Joseph Smith.
“I am the vine; you are the branches.
He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you
can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a
branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the
fire, and they are burned. If you abide in Me, and My words abide in
you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you. By
this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so, you will be
My disciples.” John 15:5-8