The revelation in section 5 serves as a coda to the lost manuscript saga started with the revelation in section 3. These revelations, along with Doctrine and Covenants 10, portions of which were likely received around the same time as the revelation in section 5, all contain the Lord’s counsel concerning the lost manuscript. Joseph Smith received Doctrine and Covenants 5 in March 1829 when Martin Harris, seeking assistance and counsel, traveled from Palmyra to Joseph and Emma’s home in Harmony. Joseph and Martin had not met together since the previous summer when Joseph traveled to Palmyra only to discover that the manuscript Martin had taken was already lost. This revelation served to renew their friendship and to bolster Martin’s faith in Joseph’s work of the Restoration.
According to Lucy Mack Smith, Martin was motivated to visit Joseph partly because of a spike in opposition against the work in Palmyra, including a lawsuit threatened against Martin. One of the leaders of the opposition was Martin’s wife, Lucy Harris. Lucy Mack Smith recalled, “She [Lucy Harris] mounted her horse [and] flew through the neighborhood like a dark spirit, from house to house making diligent enquiry at every house for miles where she had the least hope of gleaning anything that would subserve her purpose, which was to prove that Joseph had not the record which he pretended to have.”1 When the revelation was first published in 1833 in the Book of Commandments, the heading read that “Martin desired of the Lord to know whether Joseph had, in his possession, the record of the Nephites” (Book of Commandments, 1833, 10).
Historical Introduction, “Revelation, March 1829 [D&C 5],” p. 1, The Joseph Smith Papers, accessed September 18, 2020, https://www.josephsmithpapers.org/paper-summary/revelation-march-1829-dc-5/1
1 Behold, I say unto you, that as my servant Martin Harris has desired a witness at my hand, that you, my servant Joseph Smith, Jun., have got the plates of which you have testified and borne record that you have received of me;
2 And now, behold, this shall you say unto him—he who spake unto you, said unto you: I, the Lord, am God, and have given these things unto you, my servant Joseph Smith, Jun., and have commanded you that you should stand as a witness of these things;
3 And I have caused you that you should enter into a covenant with me, that you should not show them except to those persons to whom I commanded you; and you have no power over them except I grant it unto you.
4 And you have a gift to translate the plates; and this is the first gift that I bestowed upon you; and I have commanded that you should pretend to no other gift until my purpose is fulfilled in this; for I will grant unto you no other gift until it is finished.
In verses 1–5, the Lord affirms Joseph as the first witness of the Book of Mormon. Joseph’s stewardship over the plates is emphasized. He likely suffered a crisis of confidence after the loss of the manuscript he translated along with Martin. There has been some speculation that the reason Martin chose to visit scholars such as Charles Anthon was not only to verify the reality of the characters on the plates but also to also seek scholarly expertise in translating the record.2 Here the Lord affirms that the translation of the Book of Mormon will not be a traditional translation in any sense but a revelatory process bestowed as a gift on Joseph Smith. Joseph himself affirmed the divine nature of this process, simply stating, “Through the medium of the Urim and Thummim I translated the record by the power of God.”3
5 Verily, I say unto you, that woe shall come unto the inhabitants of the earth if they will not hearken unto my words;
6 For hereafter you shall be ordained and go forth and deliver my words unto the children of men.
7 Behold, if they will not believe my words, they would not believe you, my servant Joseph, if it were possible that you should show them all these things which I have committed unto you.
8 Oh, this unbelieving and stiffnecked generation—mine anger is kindled against them.
9 Behold, verily I say unto you, I have reserved those things which I have entrusted unto you, my servant Joseph, for a wise purpose in me, and it shall be made known unto future generations;
10 But this generation shall have my word through you;
The Lord’s words in verses 5–10 serve as an important follow-up to His earlier stern warning to Joseph that “because of transgression, if thou art not aware thou wilt fall” (D&C 3:9). This revelation, received almost a year after the loss of the first manuscript, affirms that Joseph is still the chosen prophet of this generation and that he would serve as one of the most important instruments in the Lord’s work to restore the fulness of the gospel to the earth in the latter days. The Lord tells Joseph that if he and other authorized servants called of God are rejected, those who ignore the message are in essence rejecting the Lord. In a later revelation the Lord teaches, “He that receiveth my servants receiveth me; and he that receiveth me receiveth my Father; and he that receiveth my Father receiveth my Father’s kingdom; therefore all that my Father hath shall be given unto him” (D&C 84:36–38).
11 And in addition to your testimony, the testimony of three of my servants, whom I shall call and ordain, unto whom I will show these things, and they shall go forth with my words that are given through you.
12 Yea, they shall know of a surety that these things are true, for from heaven will I declare it unto them.
13 I will give them power that they may behold and view these things as they are;
14 And to none else will I grant this power, to receive this same testimony among this generation, in this the beginning of the rising up and the coming forth of my church out of the wilderness—clear as the moon, and fair as the sun, and terrible as an army with banners.
15 And the testimony of three witnesses will I send forth of my word.
16 And behold, whosoever believeth on my words, them will I visit with the manifestation of my Spirit; and they shall be eborn of me, even of water and of the Spirit—
17 And you must wait yet a little while, for ye are not yet ordained—
18 And their testimony shall also go forth unto the condemnation of this generation if they harden their hearts against them;
This is the earliest intimation that there would be additional witnesses of the Book of Mormon. Later indications were given when Joseph translated Ether 5:3, in which Moroni instructs that “unto three shall they be shown by the power of God” and in Doctrine and Covenants 17, a revelation given to the three witnesses that lists the objects the Lord intended to show them in addition to the plates (D&C 17:1–2). Martin, along with Oliver Cowdery and David Whitmer, is chosen as one of the three witnesses to the Book of Mormon. The instructions Moroni gives in Ether 5 also direct Joseph that “ye may be privileged that ye may show the plates unto those who shall assist to bring forth the work” (verse 3), eventually resulting in the call of eight additional witnesses of the Book of Mormon. These eight witnesses include many members of Joseph’s family, including his father, his brothers Hyrum and Samuel, and several members of the Whitmer family.
At the same time, Moroni’s instructions designate that the experience of the three witnesses shall come “by the power of God” (Ether 5:3). While the eight witnesses saw and handled the plates, the three witnesses saw the miraculous vision, beholding the angel and hearing the voice of the Father bear witness of the truthfulness of the book. Their testimony, sent forth with every copy of the Book of Mormon printed since 1830, stands as a powerful affirmation of the marvelous work of translation and the power of the gift given to Joseph Smith. Most importantly, the Lord here invites readers of the Book of Mormon to receive their own manifestation, promising that he will visit them “with the manifestation of my Spirit; and they shall be born of me” (D&C 5:16).
19 For a desolating scourge shall go forth among the inhabitants of the earth, and shall continue to be poured out from time to time, if they repent not, until the earth is empty, and the inhabitants thereof are consumed away and utterly destroyed by the brightness of my coming.
20 Behold, I tell you these things, even as I also told the people of the destruction of Jerusalem; and my word shall be verified at this time as it hath hitherto been verified.
21 And now I command you, my servant Joseph, to repent and walk more uprightly before me, and to yield to the persuasions of men no more;
22 And that you be firm in keeping the commandments wherewith I have commanded you; and if you do this, behold I grant unto you eternal life, even if you should be slain.
A serious pronouncement is given in verses 19–22 as the Lord compares the destructions of the last days to His predictions of the destruction of Jerusalem (Joseph Smith—Matthew 1:18–20). He also reinforces Joseph’s need to uphold the commandments, promising eternal life if he is faithful. In a moment of foreshadowing, the Lord tells Joseph he will receive his reward “even if you shall be slain” (verse 22). After the martyrdom of Joseph and Hyrum Smith, the Lord affirmed in a revelation to Brigham Young the link between the rejection and murder of the prophets and the coming calamities of the last days, saying, “Now cometh the day of their calamity, even the days of sorrow, like a woman that is taken in travail; and their sorrow shall be great unless they speedily repent, yea, very speedily. For they killed the prophets, and them that were sent unto them; and they have shed innocent blood, which crieth from the ground against them” (D&C 136:35–36).
23 And now, again, I speak unto you, my servant Joseph, concerning the man that desires the witness—
24 Behold, I say unto him, he exalts himself and does not humble himself sufficiently before me; but if he will bow down before me, and humble himself in mighty prayer and faith, in the sincerity of his heart, then will I grant unto him a view of the things which he desires to see.
25 And then he shall say unto the people of this generation: Behold, I have seen the things which the Lord hath shown unto Joseph Smith, Jun., and I know of a surety that they are true, for I have seen them, for they have been shown unto me by the power of God and not of man.
26 And I the Lord command him, my servant Martin Harris, that he shall say no more unto them concerning these things, except he shall say: I have seen them, and they have been shown unto me by the power of God; and these are the words which he shall say.
27 But if he deny this he will break the covenant which he has before covenanted with me, and behold, he is condemned.
28 And now, except he humble himself and acknowledge unto me the things that he has done which are wrong, and covenant with me that he will keep my commandments, and exercise faith in me, behold, I say unto him, he shall have no such views, for I will grant unto him no views of the things of which I have spoken.
29 And if this be the case, I command you, my servant Joseph, that you shall say unto him, that he shall do no more, nor trouble me any more concerning this matter.
To this point the Lord’s instructions concerning the lost manuscript were given entirely to Joseph; now the Lord speaks in revelation to Martin, whom he called a “wicked man” in an earlier revelation (D&C 3:12). While the Lord still recognizes Martin’s failings, He also makes a profound promise to him: Martin will be able to see the things he desired, which is most likely a reference to the plates. The Lord’s promise, which was conditional to Martin’s repentance, was fulfilled later when he was chosen as one of the three witnesses. The Lord’s stern tone here with Martin should be measured against the more tender attitude He takes toward him in a revelation given a few months later. There the Lord teaches Martin that repentance is crucial to alleviating suffering: “For behold, I, God, have suffered these things for all, that they might not suffer if they would repent; but if they would not repent they must suffer even as I” (D&C 19:16–17).
30 And if this be the case, behold, I say unto thee Joseph, when thou hast translated a few more pages thou shalt stop for a season, even until I command thee again; then thou mayest translate again.
31 And except thou do this, behold, thou shalt have no more gift, and I will take away the things which I have entrusted with thee.
32 And now, because I foresee the lying in wait to destroy thee, yea, I foresee that if my servant Martin Harris humbleth not himself and receive a witness from my hand, that he will fall into transgression;
33 And there are many that lie in wait to destroy thee from off the face of the earth; and for this cause, that thy days may be prolonged, I have given unto thee these commandments.
34 Yea, for this cause I have said: Stop, and stand still until I command thee, and I will provide means whereby thou mayest accomplish the thing which I have commanded thee.
35 And if thou art faithful in keeping my commandments, thou shalt be lifted up at the last day. Amen.
This revelation had a powerful effect on both Joseph and Martin. In the time immediately following its reception, Joseph appears to have overcome the crisis of confidence he suffered in the aftermath of the lost manuscript episode. With the arrival of Oliver Cowdery in early April 1829, Joseph commenced translation again, producing the entire Book of Mormon as we know it in the span of just a few months. The Lord’s words of affirmation in the revelation, along with Oliver’s arrival, spurred Joseph to stop hesitating and again dive fully into the translation.
It also appears that the Lord’s words in this revelation strengthened Martin’s witness of the work. Martin took up the Lord’s challenge to share his witness with the people around him. When Martin returned to Palmyra he was called to testify in a trial in which Lucy Harris accused Joseph of defrauding her husband. According to Lucy Mack Smith, Martin “testified with boldness and energy.” She wrote, “When he rose he raised his hand to Heaven and said I can swear that Joseph Smith never got one dollar from me since God made me.” Martin also told the accusers that if they continued “to resist the truth it one day be the means of damning your souls,” bringing a swift end to the trial.4
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