Doctrine Covenants 65 67 Doctrine Covenants 65 Fifteen

Doctrine & Covenants 65 -67

Doctrine & Covenants 65 Fifteen revelations were received in Hiram Ohio at the Johnson home! “May the Kingdom of God Go forth, that the Heaven may come. ” This revelation was designated by the Prophet as a “prayer” (Smith, History of the Church, 1: 218). Speaking of himself, the Prophet Joseph Smith said, “I calculate to be one of the instruments of setting up the kingdom of Daniel by the word of the Lord, and I intend to lay a foundation that will revolutionize the whole world” (Teachings, 366).

Doctrine & Covenants 65: 2 “The Stone is rolling forward” Elder Mark E. Peterson, one of the Quorum of the twelve apostles, testified; the church to which you and I belong is that stone (Daniel 2: 45). “Daniel’s Prophecy” Surely this would have seemed an awesome thing to then infant Church struggling for survival in Kirtland, Ohio, and Jackson County, Missouri.

Doctrine & Covenants 65: 6 Kingdom of God = The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints! Whenever there has been a righteous man on the earth, unto whom God revealed His word and gave power and authority to administer in His name, and where there is a priest of God… to administer in the ordinances of the gospel, and officiate in the priesthood of God, there is the kingdom God… (Joseph Smith, Teachings, 271 -72). of This is but another way of saying… “Where the kingdom of God is not there is nothing (Conference Report, Oct. 1953, 26). Kingdom of Heaven = Millennial Era

Doctrine & Covenants 66 “William Mc. Lellin” Joseph described William as the wisest man in his own estimation, have more learning than sense. He endeavored to write a commandment and failed miserably. He later apostatized though at the time of this revelation he was in good standing. In 1848 after Mc. Lellin’s disaffection from the Church and after Brigham Young had lead the Saints west, Mc. Lellin wrote of his occasion that “I had expected and believed that when I saw Brother Joseph, I should receive (a revelation) and I went before the Lord in secret, and on my knees asked him to reveal the answer to give questions through his prophet, and that too without his having any knowledge of my having made such a request.

I now testify in the fear of God, that every question which I had thus lodged in the ears of the Lord of Sabbath, were answered to my full and entire satisfaction. I desire it for a testimony of Joseph’s inspiration. And I to this day consider it to me an evidence which I cannot refute” (Journals of William E. Mc. Lellin, 57; spelling and syntax standardized). (We have no record of the questions themselves).

William was one of the original “Twelve Apostles. ” He was excommunicated in 1838 after having been dis-fellowshipped in 1835 and returning to the church. In August of 1836 he said he had lost confidence in the leadership of the Church. He became one of the leading enemies of the Church and had a part in getting Governor Boggs to issue the extermination order which drove the saints out of Missouri in 1838. Shortly after the extermination order was issued and 17 men and boys were massacred at Haun’s Mill, Far West was surrounded by a hostile mob, led by William Mc. Lellin and others. Joseph was taken prisoner and put in Richmond jail. Heber J. Kimball was approached by Mc. Lellin who sarcastically said:

After Joseph Smith was taken prisoner and put in Richmond jail, Heber C. Kimball was approached by Mc. Lellin who sarcastically said: “What do you think of Joseph the fallen Prophet now? Has he not led you blindfolded long enough; look and see yourself, poor, your family stripped and robbed and your brethren in the same fix, are you satisfied with Joseph? ” Infuriated, Heber called Mc. Lellin a traitor and said, “Yes, I am more satisfied with him a hundred-fold than ever I was before, for I see you in the very position that he foretold you would be in; a Judas to betray your brethren, if you did not forsake your adultery… Where are you now? . . . Have you not betrayed Joseph and his brethren into the hands of the mob, as Judas did Jesus? Yes you have; I tell you Mormonism is true and Joseph is a true prophet of the living God; and you with all others who turn there from will be damned and will suffer in hell and Judas will rule over you” (Heber C. Kimball, Journal 94 b, Nov 1, 1838, Church Archives).

After his rebuke, Mc. Lellin left and stole clothing, books, blankets, and other household items along with a horse-drawn carriage from Joseph’s home. “While the brethren were imprisoned at Richmond… Mc. Lellin, who was a large and active man, went to the sheriff and asked for the privilege of (whipping) the Prophet. Permission was granted on condition that Joseph would be willing to fight. The sheriff made known to Joseph, Mc. Lellin’s earnest request, to which Joseph consented, if his (chains) were (removed).

Mc. Lellin then refused to fight unless he could have a club, to which Joseph was perfectly willing; but the sheriff would not allow them to fight on such unequal terms (The sheriff knew Mc. Lellin would have no chance against the Prophet (History of the Church 3: 215). In 1847 he attempted to organize a new Church in Kirtland failed. He joined the Hedrickites in 1869, but left that group 5 months later. His wife joined the Reorganized LDS Church and they moved to Independence, Missouri in 1870. He spent the rest of his life trying to get David Whitmore to organize a Church. He died in Independence in 1883.

Doctrine & Covenants 66: 10 Seek not to be cumbered. Forsake all righteousness. Commit not adultery --- a temptation with which thou has been troubled.

Elder Spencer W. Kimball said: “To want, to desire, to crave-that is to lust, so when the thought is born which starts a chain reaction, a sin has already been committed. If the thought is sown, then develops into lust, it is almost certain to bring eventually the full harvest of the act of the heinous sin, adultery… “… adultery is not the result of a single thought. There first is a deterioration of thinking. Many sinful chains-thoughts have been coursing through the offender’s mind before the physical sin is committed.

“Yes, as a man thinketh, so does he. If he thinks it long enough he is likely to do it, whether it be theft, moral sin, or suicide. Thus the time to protect against the calamity is when the thought begins to shape itself. Destroy the seed and the plant will never grow. “Man alone, of all creatures of earth, can change his thought pattern and become the architect of his destiny” (Miracle of Forgiveness, 113 -14).

“Commit Not Adultery” William E. Mc. Lellin’s wife, Cinthia, and an infant child had died before the summer of 1831. Information suggests that he had a warm and tender relationship with her and that the temptation here mentioned came only after her death and before he married again (Journals of William E. Mc. Lellin, 251, spelling and syntax standardized).

Doctrine & Covenants 67 I give you a Testimony of the Truth of these Commandments Doctrine & Covenants 67: 5 -8 A Challenge from the Lord! Some of the Elders at this time were questioning the language of the revelations. They were looking at misspellings, errors in grammar, and other peculiarities which they thought signaled these writings to be the product of Joseph Smith.

Doctrine & Covenants 67: 9 “Father of Lights” Still revelation, he is the embodiment, author, and source of light or in other words the “Father of Lights” (Bruce R. Mc. Conkie, Mormon Doctrine, 278).