Doctrine and Covenants 28
Historical Context
Doctrine and Covenants 28 marks the first ecclesiastical crisis in the young Church. The conflict centered around one simple question: In a church in which anyone can receive revelation, who has the right to receive revelation for the whole church?
The first signs of trouble appeared in the weeks following the acceptance of the Articles and Covenants (D&C 20) by the body of the Church. The Articles and Covenants were “received by the unanimous voice of the whole congregation” at a Church conference held on June 9, 1830. A few weeks later, Oliver Cowdery sent a letter to Joseph Smith, ordering the Prophet to change part of the document. Oliver objected to the statement in the Articles and Covenants that before baptism, a candidate must “truly manifest by their works that they have received the gift of Christ unto the remission of their sins” (D&C 20:37). Oliver wrote to Joseph saying, “I command you in the name of God to erase those words, that no priestcraft be amongst us.”
Concerned, Joseph wrote back to Oliver, asking “by what authority he took upon him to command me to alter, or erase, to add or diminish to or from a revelation or commandment from Almighty God.” Joseph then traveled to Fayette, where Oliver was staying with the Whitmer family, to discuss the issue. With the help of Christian Whitmer, Joseph persuaded Oliver and the Whitmers to relent in their efforts to change the document; however, Joseph noted that “it was not without labor and perseverance that I could prevail with any of them to reason calmly on the subject.”
A few months later, in September 1830, a second challenge from the Whitmer family arose to Joseph Smith’s leadership. Joseph and Emma had moved from Harmony, Pennsylvania, to Fayette, New York. Upon their arrival they found that Hiram Page, who was a Whitmer brother-in-law and one of the eight witnesses of the Book of Mormon, “had got in his possession, a certain stone, by which he had obtained to certain revelations.” We do not know the content of these revelations, but Joseph Smith later wrote that Page had received “two revelations, concerning the upbuilding of Zion [and] the order of the Church” and that the revelations “were entirely at variance with the order of God’s house, as laid down in the New Testament, as well as in our late revelations.” Page suggested these revelations were binding upon the whole Church.
Newel Knight visited Fayette during this time. “I found Brother Joseph in great trouble of mind on account of Hiram Page,” Newel later wrote. According to Newel, Page “had managed to bring some dissension of feeling among some of the brethren by pretending to revelation which he had got through the stone which were in direct contradiction to the New Testament and also to the revelations of God to us in these last days.” Emer Harris, another early Church member, recalled, “Bro. Hiram Page dug out of the earth a black stone [and] put it in his pocket. When he got home, he looked at it. It contained a sentence on paper to befit it. As soon as he wrote one sentence, another sentence came on the stone, until he wrote 16 pages.”
After counseling with other Church members, Joseph decided to settle the matter at a conference planned for September 1. He later wrote, “I thought it wisdom not to do much more than to converse with the brethren on the subject, until the conference should meet. Finding however that many (especially the Whitmer family and Oliver Cowdery) were believing much in the things set forth by this stone, we thought best to enquire of the Lord concerning so important a matter, and before conference convened, we received the following:”
See Historical Introduction, “Revelation, September 1830–B [D&C 28],” p. 40, The Joseph Smith Papers, accessed November 10, 2020, https://www.josephsmithpapers.org/paper-summary/revelation-september-1830-b-dc-28/1
Verse-by-Verse Commentary
Doctrine and Covenants 28:1–7
1 Behold, I say unto thee, Oliver, that it shall be given unto thee that thou shalt be heard by the church in all things whatsoever thou shalt teach them by the Comforter, concerning the revelations and commandments which I have given.
2 But, behold, verily, verily, I say unto thee, no one shall be appointed to receive commandments and revelations in this church excepting my servant Joseph Smith, Jun., for he receiveth them even as Moses.
3 And thou shalt be obedient unto the things which I shall give unto him, even as Aaron, to declare faithfully the commandments and the revelations, with power and authority unto the church.
4 And if thou art led at any time by the Comforter to speak or teach, or at all times by the way of commandment unto the church, thou mayest do it.
5 But thou shalt not write by way of commandment, but by wisdom;
6 And thou shalt not command him who is at thy head, and at the head of the church;
7 For I have given him the keys of the mysteries, and the revelations which are sealed, until I shall appoint unto them another in his stead.
Although revelation from God is available to every member of the Church, these verses teach that revelation governing the whole Church must come through “the head of the Church.” Oliver is told that in his role as an apostle (see D&C 27:12) and second Elder of the Church (see D&C 20:3) he is to be as Aaron was to Moses. That is, he is to obediently receive the revelations that come through Joseph and then “declare faithfully” those revelations to the Church “with power and authority.” He may be led by the Spirit to “speak or teach” by way of commandment to Church members, but he should never “write by way of commandment, but by wisdom”—suggesting that Oliver’s writings are not to be binding on the Church.
Similarly in our day, apostles who are not the Church president cannot receive new doctrinal revelations that are binding on the Church. President Dallin H. Oaks referenced this very revelation as he explained this important nuance of Church governance saying, “Modern revelation clearly declares that an Apostle can write ‘by wisdom,’ but not by commandment (D&C 28:5).
President Harold B. Lee affirmed that revelation affecting the entire Church will come through the President of the Church, not through individual members, such as Hiram Page in this instance. “Do you suppose that when the Lord has his prophet on the earth, that he is going to take some round-about means of revealing things to his children?” he asked. “That is what he has a prophet for, and when he has something to give to this Church, he will give it to the President, and the President will see that the presidents of stakes and missions get it, along with the General Authorities; and they in turn will see that the people are advised of any new change.”
Speaking on a related principle regarding the revelatory structure of the Church in our own day, President Boyd K. Packer taught that authority receive revelation on behalf of others is determined by hierarchical stewardships: “Revelation continues in the Church: the prophet receiving it for the Church; the president for his stake, his mission, or his quorum; the bishop for his ward; the father for his family; the individual for himself” (https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/1974/04/we-believe-all-that-god-has-revealed?lang=eng).
Doctrine and Covenants 28:8–10
8 And now, behold, I say unto you that you shall go unto the Lamanites and preach my gospel unto them; and inasmuch as they receive thy teachings thou shalt cause my church to be established among them; and thou shalt have revelations, but write them not by way of commandment.
9 And now, behold, I say unto you that it is not revealed, and no man knoweth where the city Zion shall be built, but it shall be given hereafter. Behold, I say unto you that it shall be on the borders by the Lamanites.
10 Thou shalt not leave this place until after the conference; and my servant Joseph shall be appointed to preside over the conference by the voice of it, and what he saith to thee thou shalt tell.
In these verses, the Lord corrects Oliver for accepting the revelations given to Hiram Page “concerning the upbuilding of Zion”—a subject about which the Lord has not yet revealed. However, Oliver remained an apostle and the second elder of the Church and was here given a new charge. Though Oliver is counseled not to give revelations by way of commandment, the Lord reiterates Oliver’s ability to receive revelation in his own sphere and assignments. Specifically, Oliver is given charge to lead the first mission of the Church. Within a few weeks of receiving this revelation, Oliver departed with several missionaries to the borders of the United States to teach the gospel to Native Americans.
The journey of these missionaries eventually led them to Independence, Missouri, just a few miles from the farthest western boundary of the United States at the time. The work in Missouri was significant because of its relation to one of the subjects that Page’s revelations focused on: the location of the New Jerusalem, prophesied of in the Book of Mormon (3 Nephi 21:22–25; Ether 13:4–6). In verse 9, the Lord provides the first clue about the location of the city, which the early Saints called Zion, by saying the city “shall be on the borders by the Lamanites.” In the summer of 1831, the Lord commanded Joseph Smith to travel to Missouri (D&C 52:1–2) and later gave a revelation identifying the location of the city of Zion in that state (D&C 57:1–3).
Doctrine and Covenants 28:11–16
11 And again, thou shalt take thy brother, Hiram Page, between him and thee alone, and tell him that those things which he hath written from that stone are not of me and that Satan deceiveth him;
12 For, behold, these things have not been appointed unto him, neither shall anything be appointed unto any of this church contrary to the church covenants.
13 For all things must be done in order, and by common consent in the church, by the prayer of faith.
14 And thou shalt assist to settle all these things, according to the covenants of the church, before thou shalt take thy journey among the Lamanites
15 And it shall be given thee from the time thou shalt go, until the time thou shalt return, what thou shalt do.
16 And thou must open thy mouth at all times, declaring my gospel with the sound of rejoicing. Amen.
In verses 11–16, the Lord deals gently with Hiram Page and does not subject him to public censure for the revelations he received through his seer stone. Instead, the Lord tells Oliver to take Hiram aside privately and explain that the revelations he received did not come from God and that Hiram was deceived by Satan. From the revelation there does not appear to have been any malicious intent on Hiram’s part. He remained a faithful member of the Church until 1838, when the entire Whitmer family departed from the Church. He also never denied his testimony as one of the witnesses of the Book of Mormon.
Members of the Church today are still subject to deception by accepting revelations that come from places outside of accepted stewardships and channels of revelation. President Joseph F. Smith warned, “From the days of Hiram Page, at different periods there have been manifestations from delusive spirits to members of the Church. Sometimes these have come to the men and women who because of transgression became easy prey to the Arch-Deceiver. At other times people who pride themselves on their strict observance of the rules and ordinances and ceremonies of the Church are led astray by false spirits, who exercise an influence so imitative of that which proceeds from a Divine source that even these persons, who think they are “the very elect,” find it difficult to discern the essential difference. Satan himself has transformed himself to be apparently ‘an angel of light.’”
President Smith continued, “When visions, dreams, tongues, prophecy, impressions or any extraordinary gift or inspiration, convey something out of harmony with the accepted revelations of the Church or contrary to the decisions of its constituted authorities, Latter-day Saints may know that it is not of God, no matter how plausible it may appear. Also, they should understand that directions for the guidance of the Church will come, by revelation, through the head. All faithful members are entitled to the inspiration of the Holy Spirit for themselves, their families, and for those over whom they are appointed and ordained to preside. But anything at discord with that which comes from God through the head of the Church is not to be received as authoritative or reliable. In secular as well as spiritual affairs, Saints may receive Divine guidance and revelation affecting themselves, but this does not convey authority to direct others, and is not to be accepted when contrary to Church covenants, doctrine or discipline, or to known facts, demonstrated truths, or good common sense.”
“Be not led by any spirit or influence that discredits established authority and contradicts true scientific principles and discoveries or leads away from the direct revelations of God for the government of the Church. The Holy Ghost does not contradict its own revealings. Truth is always harmonious with itself. Piety is often the cloak of error. The counsels of the Lord through the channel he has appointed will be followed with safety, therefore, O! ye Latter-day Saints, profit by these words of warning."
After receiving the revelation recorded in section 28, Oliver Cowdery, Hiram Page, and the Whitmer family rejected the writings received via the seer stone. Newel Knight recalled, “After much labor and prayer they were convinced of their error and confessed the same and renounced it being it was not of God.” According to Emer Harris, Hiram Page’s seer stone was subsequently “broke to powder and the writings burnt.”
Footnotes
