LDS Doctrine and Covenants Critique
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The Doctrine and Covenants
Section 3
Revelation given to Joseph Smith the Prophet, at
Harmony, Pennsylvania, July 1828, relating to the loss of 116 pages of
manuscript translated from the first part of the Book of Mormon, which
was called the book of Lehi. The Prophet had reluctantly allowed these
pages to pass from his custody to that of Martin Harris, who had served
for a brief period as scribe in the translation of the Book of Mormon.
The revelation was given through the Urim and Thummim. (See section 10.)
1–4, The Lord’s course is one eternal round; 5–15, Joseph Smith must
repent or lose the gift to translate; 16–20, The Book of Mormon comes
forth to save the seed of Lehi.
1 The works, and the designs, and the purposes of God cannot be frustrated, neither can they come to naught.
Note: The will of God is the salvation of people not of a bogus book.
And Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me
shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst. But I
said to you that you have seen Me and yet do not believe. All that the
Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will by
no means cast out. For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own
will, but the will of Him who sent Me. This is the will of the Father
who sent Me, that of all He has given Me I should lose nothing but
should raise it up at the last day. And this is the will of Him who
sent Me, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him may have
everlasting life; and I will raise him up at the last day.” John 6:35-40
2 For God doth not walk in crooked paths, neither doth he turn to the
right hand nor to the left, neither doth he vary from that which he
hath said, therefore his paths are straight, and his course is one
eternal round.
Note: LDS defined eternal round as God not changing.
Divine Consistency: As noted in scriptures like Doctrine and Covenants
3:2 and 1 Nephi 10:19, the phrase signifies that God does not vary from
His words, walk in crooked paths, or change over time, making His
promises completely reliable.
Note: LDS later redefined God as having been a man.
Progression and Human Potential: Latter-day Saint doctrine later
emphasized that God the Father has a physical, perfected body and that
humans are literal spiritual offspring of God who can potentially
progress eternally, famously summarized by a couplet from President
Lorenzo Snow: "As man is, God once was; as God is, man may become."
3 Remember, remember that it is not the work of God that is frustrated,
but the work of men; 4 For although a man may have many revelations,
and have power to do many mighty works, yet if he boasts in his own
strength, and sets at naught the counsels of God, and follows after the
dictates of his own will and carnal desires, he must fall and incur the
vengeance of a just God upon him.
Note: Joseph Smith incurred the vengeance of God and was murdered.
Joseph Smith was involved in approximately 30 criminal actions and at least 30 civil suits throughout his life.
5 Behold, you have been entrusted with these things, but how strict
were your commandments; and remember also the promises which were made
to you, if you did not transgress them. 6 And behold, how oft you have
transgressed the commandments and the laws of God, and have gone on in
the persuasions of men. 7 For, behold, you should not have feared man
more than God. Although men set at naught the counsels of God, and
despise his words— 8 Yet you should have been faithful; and he would
have extended his arm and supported you against all the fiery darts of
the adversary; and he would have been with you in every time of
trouble. 9 Behold, thou art Joseph, and thou wast chosen to do the work
of the Lord, but because of transgression, if thou art not aware thou
wilt fall. 10 But remember, God is merciful; therefore, repent of that
which thou hast done which is contrary to the commandment which I gave
you, and thou art still chosen, and art again called to the work; 11
Except thou do this, thou shalt be delivered up and become as other
men, and have no more gift. 12 And when thou deliveredst up that which
God had given thee sight and power to translate, thou deliveredst up
that which was sacred into the hands of a wicked man, 13 Who has set at
naught the counsels of God, and has broken the most sacred promises
which were made before God, and has depended upon his own judgment and
boasted in his own wisdom. 14 And this is the reason that thou hast
lost thy privileges for a season— 15 For thou hast suffered the counsel
of thy director to be trampled upon from the beginning.
Note: Joseph Smith produced a false prophecy for the missing 116 pages.
The loss of the manuscript provided opponents of Mormonism, such as the
19th-century clergyman M. T. Lamb, with additional reasons to dismiss
the religion as a fraud. Fawn Brodie has written that Smith "realized
that it was impossible for him to reproduce the story exactly, and that
to redictate it would be to invite devastating comparisons. Harris's
wife taunted him: 'If this be a divine communication, the same being
who revealed it to you can easily replace it.'" Martin Harris was
permitted by Smith to be one of the Three Witnesses. He mortgaged his
farm for $3,000 (equivalent to $90,700 in 2025) as security in the
event that the Book of Mormon did not sell, and when in fact, it did
not, he lost both his farm and his wife. Wikipedia Encyclopedia
16 Nevertheless, my work shall go forth, for inasmuch as the knowledge
of a Savior has come unto the world, through the testimony of the Jews,
even so shall the knowledge of a Savior come unto my people—
Note: Jews generally disregarded Jesus Christ as their Messiah.
I tell the truth in Christ, I am not lying, my conscience also bearing
me witness in the Holy Spirit, that I have great sorrow and continual
grief in my heart. For I could wish that I myself were accursed from
Christ for my brethren, my countrymen according to the flesh, who are
Israelites, to whom pertain the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the
giving of the law, the service of God, and the promises; of whom are
the fathers and from whom, according to the flesh, Christ came, who is
over all, the eternally blessed God. Amen. Romans 9:1-5
17 And to the Nephites, and the Jacobites, and the Josephites, and the Zoramites, through the testimony of their fathers—
Note: Native Americans were polytheistic pagans having many gods.
Itzamnaaj (Itzamná): The supreme creator god who ruled the heavens,
day, and night, and introduced writing, knowledge, and calendar systems
to humanity.
18 And this testimony shall come to the knowledge of the Lamanites, and
the Lemuelites, and the Ishmaelites, who dwindled in unbelief because
of the iniquity of their fathers, whom the Lord has suffered to destroy
their brethren the Nephites, because of their iniquities and their
abominations.
Note: Native Americans were polytheistic pagans having many gods.
Chaac (Chac): The vital god of rain, thunder, and lightning, often
depicted wielding a lightning axe to bring life-sustaining water for
maize crops.
19 And for this very purpose are these plates preserved, which contain
these records—that the promises of the Lord might be fulfilled, which
he made to his people;
Note: Native Americans were polytheistic pagans having many gods.
Ixchel: The powerful jaguar goddess of midwifery, medicine, childbirth,
fertility, and the moon, closely associated with water cycles.
20 And that the Lamanites might come to the knowledge of their fathers,
and that they might know the promises of the Lord, and that they may
believe the gospel and rely upon the merits of Jesus Christ, and be
glorified through faith in his name, and that through their repentance
they might be saved. Amen.
Note: Native Americans were polytheistic pagans having many gods.
Kukulkan: The iconic feathered serpent god of wisdom, wind, and creation, famously honored at the pyramid of Chichen Itza.