Section 10
Background Information
Chronologically this revelation likely comes after section 6, although this is hard to know for certain because the different extant manuscripts all have different dates. After having lost the plates for a season, JS resumed translation by March 1829. OC began work as JS' scribe on April 5th. JS and OC picked up where JS and Martin Harris left of, which was in the book of Mosiah. As JS and OC approached the end of the Book of Mormon, they were unsure what to do with the lost portion -- should they retranslate it or not.
In section 10, the Lord tells them not to and explains the reasons. The Lord, moreover, provides JS and OC a substitute record which were "engraven upon the plates of Nephi", which covered the same period as the lost manuscripts, albeit more truncated.
Section
1 Now, behold, I say unto you, that because you delivered up those writings which you had power given unto you to translate by the means of the Urim and Thummim, into the hands of a wicked man, you have lost them. 2 And you also lost your gift at the same time, and your mind became darkened [disobedience causes our minds to darken, because to be disobedient is to reject truth and the rejection of truth creates a vacuum for darkness to enter]. 3 Nevertheless, it [Urim and Thummim] is now restored unto you again; therefore see that you are faithful and continue on unto the finishing of the remainder of the work of translation as you have begun. 4 Do not run faster or labor more than you have strength and means provided to enable you to translate; but be diligent unto the end. 5 Pray always, that you may come off conqueror; yea, that you may conquer Satan, and that you may escape the hands of the servants of Satan that do uphold his work [verses 4-5 are the Lord instructions for how JS can finish the translation: 1) be moderate and 2) pray so that he can receive help from the Lord].
6 Behold, they [servants of Satan -- those seeking to alter the lost manuscript] have sought to destroy you; yea, even the man in whom you have trusted [Martin Harris?] has sought to destroy you. [the Lord explains how/clarifies what he means when he said the man (likely MH) sought to destroy him] 7 And for this cause [for this reason] I said that he is a wicked man, for [because] he has sought to take away the things wherewith you have been entrusted; and he has also sought to destroy your gift [how?]. 8 And because you have delivered the writings into his hands, behold, wicked men have taken them from you. 9 Therefore, you have delivered them up, yea, that which was sacred, unto wickedness.
10 And, behold, Satan hath put it into their hearts to alter the words which you have caused to be written, or which you have translated, which have gone out of your hands. 11 And behold, I say unto you, that because they have altered the words, they read contrary from that which you translated and caused to be written; 12 And, on this wise, the devil has sought to lay a cunning plan, that he may destroy this work; 13 For he hath put into their hearts to do this, that by lying [by intentionally altering the manuscript] they may say they have caught you in the words which you have pretended to translate [they will lie to "catch" JS in a lie].
14 Verily, I say unto you, that I will not suffer that Satan shall accomplish his evil design in this thing. 15 For behold, he has put it into their hearts to get thee to tempt the Lord thy God, in asking to translate it over again. 16 And then, behold, they say and think in their hearts—We will see if God has given him power to translate; if so, he will also give him power again; 17 And if God giveth him power again, or if he translates again, or, in other words, if he bringeth forth the same words, behold, we have the same with us, and we have altered them; 18 Therefore they will not agree, and we will say that he has lied in his words, and that he has no gift, and that he has no power; 19 Therefore we will destroy him, and also the work; and we will do this that we may not be ashamed in the end, and that we may get glory of the world [The reason Satan has power of these men hearts is because they seek for glory from the world. This impure desire opened up the door for Satan to tempt them].
20 Verily, verily, I say unto you, that Satan has great hold upon their hearts; he stirreth them up [in anger] to iniquity against that which is good; 21 And their hearts are corrupt, and full of wickedness and abominations; and they love darkness rather than light, because their deeds are evil [evil deeds/works attract darkness]; therefore they will not ask of me [because they are in darkness, they can't comprehend the light]. 22 Satan stirreth them up, that he may lead their souls to destruction. 23 And thus he has laid a cunning plan, thinking to destroy the work of God; but I will require this at their hands, and it shall turn to their shame and condemnation in the day of judgment. 24 Yea, he stirreth up their hearts to anger against this work. 25 Yea, he [Satan] saith unto them [the men altering the manuscript]: Deceive and lie in wait to catch, that ye may destroy; behold, this is no harm. And thus he flattereth them, and telleth them that it is no sin to lie that they may catch a man in a lie, that they may destroy him. 26 And thus he flattereth them, and leadeth them along until he draggeth their souls down to hell; and thus he causeth them to catch themselves in their own snare. 27 And thus he goeth up and down, to and fro in the earth, seeking to destroy the souls of men.
- Appeal to Pride: Satan's tactic with these men was subtle. Instead of appealing to their wickedness, he appeals to their pride (which CS Lewis refers to as the "insidious kind"). That is, he causes the men to believe that what they are doing is not evil because they are exposing a liar. Thus although what the men are doing is objectively evil, the men don't realize they are "being" evil.
- On this point, I heard a former US Army Ranger, who fought in Afghanistan, say "I've seen a lot of good people and a lot of evil people, and none of them thought they were wrong." CS Lewis echoed a similar statement, when he said that wickedness is the "pursuit of some good in the wrong way." The men seeking to alter the manuscript likely believed that they were justified in what they were doing. They believed JS was a liar and sought to expose him (the good -- as we should want liars exposed) but they went about it in the wrong way (altering the manuscript)
- We should take this point to heart and ask ourselves: are we pursuing something that is good but in the wrong way?
- Seeking for financial success to support one's family and help others (the good) but being unethical in earning the money and/or ignoring family responsibilities (the wrong way)
- Believing that a person's opinion is wrong and you want to correct him (the good) but instead of addressing his arguments, you attack the person's character (the wrong way)
- Believing that a certain political view (the good) but refusing to take with those who disagree with you (the wrong way)
- Seeking for salvation (the good) but spending more focus on the attending church instead of helping others (the wrong way)
- Each of these pursuits are good. And that is where Satan can trick us. He can convince us our "wrong way" of pursuing the good is not evil or wicked because we are pursuing something good. Thus we rationalize our wicked behavior because we are aiming for the good.
28 Verily, verily, I say unto you, wo be unto him that lieth to deceive because he supposeth that another lieth to deceive, for such are not exempt from the justice of God 29 Now, behold, they have altered these words, because Satan saith unto them: He hath deceived you—and thus he flattereth them away to do iniquity, to get thee to tempt the Lord thy God [the Lord explains that lying to catch someone else you think is lying is not justifiable].
30 Behold, I say unto you, that you shall not translate again those words [the lost manuscript/book of Lehi] which have gone forth out of your hands; 31 For, behold, they [the wicked men] shall not accomplish their evil designs in lying against those words. For, behold, if you should bring forth the same words they will say that you have lied and that you have pretended to translate, but that you have contradicted yourself. 32 And, behold, they will publish this, and Satan will harden the hearts of the people to stir them up to anger against you, that they will not believe my words. 33 Thus Satan thinketh to overpower your testimony in this generation [JS and OC's testimony (witness) attesting to the veracity of the Book of Mormon would be called into question], that the work may not come forth in this generation.
34 But behold, here is wisdom, and because I show unto you wisdom, and give you commandments concerning these things [what to do about the lost manuscript], what you shall do, show it not unto the world until you have accomplished the work of translation. 35 Marvel not that I said unto you: Here is wisdom, show it not unto the world—for I said, show it not unto the world, that you may be preserved. 36 Behold, I do not say that you shall not show it unto the righteous; 37 But as you cannot always judge the righteous, or as you cannot always tell the wicked from the righteous, therefore I say unto you, hold your peace until I shall see fit to make all things known unto the world concerning the matter [because JS and OC can't discern who is good, the Lord tells them, to play it safe, to not sure .
38 And now, verily I say unto you, that an account of those things that you have written, which have gone out of your hands [the lost manuscript], is engraven upon the plates of Nephi [referring to the small plates of Nephi, which consist of the book of Nephi, Jacob, Enos, Jarom, and Omni]; 39 Yea, and you remember it was said in those writings [small plates of Nephi] that a more particular account was given of these things upon the plates of Nephi. 40 And now, because the account which is engraven upon the plates of Nephi is more particular concerning the things which, in my wisdom, I would bring to the knowledge of the people in this account [it appears that the small plates discuss the things of the Lord in more plainness that the book of Lehi and discussed the more important things]— 41 Therefore, you shall translate the engravings which are on the plates of Nephi, down even till you come to the reign of king Benjamin, or until you come to that which you have translated, which you have retained; 42 And behold, you shall publish it as the record of Nephi; and thus I will confound those who have altered my words.
43 I will not suffer that they [the wicked men] shall destroy my work; yea, I will show unto them that my wisdom is greater than the cunning of the devil. 44 Behold, they have only got a part, or an abridgment of the account of Nephi. 45 Behold, there are many things engraven upon the plates of Nephi which do throw greater views upon my gospel; therefore, it is wisdom in me that you should translate this first part of the engravings of Nephi, and send forth in this work. 46 And, behold, all the remainder of this work [not clear: could be referring to the remainder of the plates of Nephi or could refer to the writings that come after the small plats of Nephi (Mosiah onward). It depends what "this work" is referring to] does contain all those parts of my gospel which my holy prophets, yea, and also my disciples, desired in their prayers should come forth unto this people [The writings of the Book of Mormon (whatever that consists of) were the words that the writers in the Book of Mormon desired would come forth].
47 And I said unto them [the writers of the Book of Mormon], that it should be granted unto them according to their faith in their prayers; 48 Yea, and this was their [the writers of the Book of Mormon] faith—that my gospel, which I gave unto them [the writers of the Book of Mormon] that they might preach in their days, might come unto their brethren the Lamanites, and also all that had become Lamanites because of their dissensions. 49 Now, this is not all—their [the writers of the Book of Mormon] faith in their prayers was that this gospel should be made known also, if it were possible that other nations should possess this land; 50 And thus they did leave a blessing upon this land in their prayers, that whosoever should believe in this gospel in this land might have eternal life; 51 Yea, that it might be free unto all of whatsoever nation, kindred, tongue, or people they may be. 52 And now, behold, according to their [the writers of the Book of Mormon] faith in their prayers will I bring this part of my gospel to the knowledge of my people. Behold, I do not bring it to destroy that which they have received, but to build it up.
- The writers of the Book of Mormon desired that the words they shared with their people (which were recorded in the Book of Mormon) would come forth to the Lamanites and those who possess their land (the United States). The Lord brought forth the Book of Mormon to the Gentiles (us) because of the faith and prayers of the the writers of the Book of Mormon. As a reminder this was what Enos prayed earnestly for:
15 Wherefore, I [Enos speaking] knowing that the Lord God was able to preserve our records, I cried unto him continually, for he had said unto me: Whatsoever thing ye shall ask in faith, believing that ye shall receive in the name of Christ, ye shall receive it. 16 And I had faith, and I did cry unto God that he would preserve the records; and he covenanted with me that he would bring them forth unto the Lamanites in his own due time. 17 And I, Enos, knew it would be according to the covenant which he had made; wherefore my soul did rest. 18 And the Lord said unto me: Thy fathers have also required of me this thing; and it shall be done unto them according to their faith; for their faith was like unto thine. (Enos 1)
53 And for this cause [the faith of the writers of the Book of Mormon] have I said: If this generation [referring to the people alive during JS' time] harden not their hearts, I will establish my church among them [JS' generation]. 54 Now I do not say this to destroy my church, but I say this to build up my church; 55 Therefore, whosoever belongeth to my church need not fear, for such shall inherit the kingdom of heaven. 56 But it is they who do not fear me, neither keep my commandments but build up churches unto themselves to get gain, yea, and all those that do wickedly and build up the kingdom of the devil—yea, verily, verily, I say unto you, that it is they that I will disturb, and cause to tremble and shake to the center.
57 Behold, I am Jesus Christ, the Son of God. I came unto mine own, and mine own received me not. 58 I am the light which shineth in darkness, and the darkness comprehendeth it not. 59 I am he who said—Other sheep have I which are not of this fold—unto my disciples, and many there were that understood me not. 60 And I will show unto this people that I had other sheep, and that they were a branch of the house of Jacob; 61 And I will bring to light their marvelous works, which they did in my name; 62 Yea, and I will also bring to light my gospel which was ministered unto them, and, behold, they shall not deny that which you have received, but they shall build it up, and shall bring to light the true points of my doctrine, yea, and the only doctrine which is in me.
63 And this I do that I may establish my gospel, that there may not be so much contention; yea, Satan doth stir up the hearts of the people to contention concerning the points of my doctrine; and in these things they do err, for they do wrest the scriptures and do not understand them [despite the learning of sects at the time, they misunderstand the scriptures and thus err]. 64 Therefore, I will unfold unto them this great mystery; 65 For, behold, I will gather them as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, if they will not harden their hearts; 66 Yea, if they will come, they may, and partake of the waters of life freely.
67 Behold, this is my doctrine—whosoever repenteth and cometh unto me, the same is my church. 68 Whosoever declareth more or less than this, the same is not of me, but is against me; therefore he is not of my church. 69 And now, behold, whosoever is of my church, and endureth of my church to the end, him will I establish upon my rock, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against them. 70 And now, remember the words of him who is the life and light of the world, your Redeemer, your Lord and your God. Amen.
- In verses 67-70, Christ outlines that there are really two "churches". There is the legally recognized entity (the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, often referred to as "the Church"). But there is also with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints those who have repented and are part of the Lord's church. To be a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints comes through baptism and confirmation. To be a member of the the Lord's church comes from repentance -- living blameless before God. This means that one could be a member of the LDS church, but not a member of the Lord's church.
- I've written a few posts about how to become a member of His church, which church transcends a legal entity. There is also a book I've been reading that provides an excellent explanation of how one can properly repent to be part of the Lord's church. The book is called "Putting on Christ." I strongly recommend it for those who are interested in this subject.
Section 11
Background Information
Section
Hyrum Smith visited his brother in Harmony, Pennsylvania, who were involved in translating the Book of Mormon. At Hyrum's earnest request" JS inquired "of the lord through the Urim and Thummi[m]" to receive a revelation for him. Hyrum's visit follows after other members of JS' family came to visit him. The first member was his dad, who received a revelation declaring the urgency of the work in which JS was involved in (see D&C 4). Later, in mid-May JS's brother, Samuel, visited and was later converted. "Not many days" after Samuel had returned home, Hyrum visited JS.
Notable in this revelation is that unlike JS' father, who was told that "if ye have desries to serve God ye are called to the work," the Lord was qualified in his words to Hyrum -- "you need not suppose you are called to preach until you are called." The Lord told him to wait until his knowledge was more extensive.
1 A great and marvelous work is about to come forth among the children of men [this statement was also declared to JS' father]. 2 Behold, I am God; give heed to my word, which is quick and powerful, sharper than a two-edged sword, to the dividing asunder of both joints and marrow; therefore give heed unto my word. 3 Behold, the field is white already to harvest; therefore, whoso desireth to reap let him thrust in his sickle with his might, and reap while the day lasts [again, the "day" does not last forever -- soon there'll be night where no labor can be performed], that he may treasure up for his soul everlasting salvation in the kingdom of God [we gain salvation by performing the the vineyard. And we perform our labor in the vineyard by our good works]. 4 Yea, whosoever will thrust in his sickle and reap, the same is called of God [those who labor are called by God. Although the calling varies for each person, this is the calling that we are to magnify] . 5 Therefore, if you will ask of me you shall receive; if you will knock it shall be opened unto you.
6 Now, as you have asked, behold, I say unto you, keep my commandments, and seek to bring forth and establish the cause of Zion [Zion has always been the end goal for the Lord. All are efforts in the last days should be to build a Zion people]. 7 Seek not for riches but for wisdom [to be effective labors, we must search for wisdom over worldy things]; and, behold, the mysteries of God shall be unfolded unto you, and then shall you be made rich. Behold, he that hath eternal life is rich. 8 Verily, verily, I say unto you, even as you desire of me so it shall be done unto you; and, if you desire, you shall be the means of doing much good in this generation. 9 Say nothing but repentance unto this generation. Keep my commandments, and assist to bring forth my work, according to my commandments, and you shall be blessed.
10 Behold, thou hast a gift, or thou shalt have a gift if thou wilt desire of me in faith [we receive gifts from the Lord by exercising faith], with an honest heart, believing in the power of Jesus Christ, or in my power which speaketh unto thee; 11 For, behold, it is I that speak; behold, I am the light which shineth in darkness, and by my power I give these words unto thee. 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. 13 Verily, verily, I say unto you, I will impart unto you of my Spirit, which shall enlighten your mind, which shall fill your soul with joy; 14 And then shall ye know, or by this shall you know, all things whatsoever you desire of me, which are pertaining unto things of righteousness, in faith believing in me that you shall receive.
- Functions of the Spirit
- Leads us to do good
- Leads us to be just
- Leads us to be humble
- Leads us to judge righteously
- Enlighten our mind
- Fill our soul with joy
- Receiving the full gift of the Holy Ghost
- Receiving What We Ask For: To receive the Holy Ghost, we must have fully come unto the Lord. And we can only come unto the Lord by "offering" our entire souls to Him.
- 26 And now, my beloved brethren, I would that ye should come unto Christ, who is the Holy One of Israel, and partake of his salvation, and the power of his redemption. Yea, come unto him, and offer your whole souls as an offering unto him, and continue in fasting and praying, and endure to the end; and as the Lord liveth ye will be saved. (Omni 1:26)
- Because we have offered our all, we submit to His will. And by submitting orient our mind around His purposes. And by doing this we know what is within His will and won't ask contrary. And because we don't ask contrary to His will, we are given what we ask. Because what we ask is within His will.
15 Behold, I command you that you need not suppose that you are called to preach until you are called [Hyrum must wait for the Lord to call him to the vineyard]. 16 Wait a little longer, until you shall have my word, my rock, my church, and my gospel, that you may know of a surety my doctrine [It appears that Hyrum needed the fullness of the Lord's gospel before he could teach. This is likely because he did not have correct understanding of doctrine and his efforts might have led people astray (see verse 21 below)]. 17 And then, behold, according to your desires, yea, even according to your faith shall it be done unto you. 18 Keep my commandments; hold your peace; appeal unto my Spirit; 19 Yea, cleave unto me with all your heart, that you may assist in bringing to light those things of which has been spoken—yea, the translation of my work; be patient until you shall accomplish it.
20 Behold, this is your work, to keep my commandments, yea, with all your might, mind and strength [quoting Duet. 6:3]. 21 Seek not to declare my word, but first seek to obtain my word, and then shall your tongue be loosed; then, if you desire, you shall have my Spirit and my word, yea, the power of God unto the convincing of men. 22 But now hold your peace; study my word which hath gone forth among the children of men, and also study my word which shall come forth among the children of men, or that which is now translating, yea, until you have obtained all which I shall grant unto the children of men in this generation, and then shall all things be added thereto.
23 Behold thou art Hyrum, my son; seek the kingdom of God, and all things shall be added according to that which is just. 24 Build upon my rock, which is my gospel; 25 Deny not the spirit of revelation, nor the spirit of prophecy, for wo unto him that denieth these things; 26 Therefore, treasure up in your heart until the time which is in my wisdom that you shall go forth.
27 Behold, I speak unto all who have good desires, and have thrust in their sickle to reap. 28 Behold, I am Jesus Christ, the Son of God. I am the life and the light of the world. 29 I am the same who came unto mine own and mine own received me not; 30 But verily, verily, I say unto you, that as many as receive me, to them will I give power to become the sons of God [a "son" of God is a title. One is not de facto son of God, but must become one], even to them that believe on my name. Amen.
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