Doctrine and Covenants 66
Historical Context
William E. McLellin was a new convert from Paris, Illinois, when he first met Joseph Smith at a conference held on October 25–26, 1831, in Orange, Ohio. At the conference William was ordained to the high priesthood. Afterward, William accompanied the Prophet to Hiram, Ohio, to the home of John and Elsa Johnson. He later wrote that after he arrived at the Johnson home he “went before the Lord in secret, and on my knees asked him to reveal the answer to five questions through his Prophet.”
McLellin never recorded exactly what his five questions were, but from the answers given in the revelation, it is possible to put together a speculative list of the questions he brought before the Lord. His first question was likely close to, “How does the Church I have just joined, organized by Joseph Smith, fit into the religious world?” (answered in D&C 66:2). Question two may have been, “What is my spiritual standing?” (answered in D&C 66:3). His next question may have been, “What is my role in the Church? What am I to do now?” (answered in D&C 66:5–8). He may have also asked, “I have seen the power to heal exercised by Church members; will I be able to have this power?” (answered in D&C 66:9). His final question may have been, “How can I escape the temptations of adultery and sin I have struggled with since the death of my wife?” (answered in D&C 66:10–12; see The Journals of William E. McLellin, 249–250).
While we do not know precisely what McLellin’s five questions were, the contents of the revelation reveal much about the struggles this new convert was wrestling with. In his journal, William wrote down his own copy of the revelation, prefacing it by writing, “This day the Lord condescended to hear my prayer and give me a revelation of his will, through the prophet or seer (Joseph).” The revelation, now Doctrine and Covenants 66, answered McLellin’s questions to his “full and entire satisfaction.” After recording the revelation, McLellin wrote in his journal, “This revelation [gave] great joy to my heart because some important questions were answered which had dwelt upon my mind with anxiety yet with uncertainty.”
“Historical Introduction,” Revelation, 30 October 1831 [D&C 66]
Verse-by-Verse Commentary
D&C 66:1–4
1 Behold, thus saith the Lord unto my servant William E. McLellin—Blessed are you, inasmuch as you have turned away from your iniquities, and have received my truths, saith the Lord your Redeemer, the Savior of the world, even of as many as believe on my name.
2 Verily I say unto you, blessed are you for receiving mine everlasting covenant, even the fulness of my gospel, sent forth unto the children of men, that they might have life and be made partakers of the glories which are to be revealed in the last days, as it was written by the prophets and apostles in days of old.
3 Verily I say unto you, my servant William, that you are clean, but not all; repent, therefore, of those things which are not pleasing in my sight, saith the Lord, for the Lord will show them unto you.
4 And now, verily, I, the Lord, will show unto you what I will concerning you, or what is my will concerning you.
The Lord begins his message to William by noting that William had already received the truth of the gospel. McLellin was baptized a few months prior to this revelation, in August 1831. On the day of his baptism he recorded the following in his journal:
I rose early and betook myself to earnest prayer to God to direct me into truth; and from all the light that I could gain by examinations searches and researches I was bound as an honest man to acknowledge the truth and validity of the Book of Mormon and also that I had found the people of the Lord—the Living Church of Christ. Consequently as soon as we took breakfast I told Elder H. Smith that I wanted him to baptize me because I wanted to live among a people who were based upon pure principles and actuated by the Spirit of the Living God.”
The Lord addresses William’s worthiness in what seems to be a direct response to feelings and doubts that had crept into William’s heart after his baptism. McLellin wrote, “The enemy of all righteousness made a mighty struggle to persuade me that I was deceived until it seemed to me that horror would overwhelm me. I did not doubt the truth of the things which I had embraced, but my fears were respecting my own salvation.” After these doubts came, William was visited by Newel Knight, who “came and by the Spirit of God was enabled to tell me the very secrets of my heart and in a degree chase darkness from my mind.” It appears that by the time William met Joseph Smith, he was once again in need of assurance of his salvation and in need of guidance in repenting of his sins.
D&C 66:5–9
5 Behold, verily I say unto you, that it is my will that you should proclaim my gospel from land to land, and from city to city, yea, in those regions round about where it has not been proclaimed.
6 Tarry not many days in this place; go not up unto the land of Zion as yet; but inasmuch as you can send, send; otherwise, think not of thy property.
7 Go unto the eastern lands, bear testimony in every place, unto every people and in their synagogues, reasoning with the people.
8 Let my servant Samuel H. Smith go with you, and forsake him not, and give him thine instructions; and he that is faithful shall be made strong in every place; and I, the Lord, will go with you.
9 Lay your hands upon the sick, and they shall recover. Return not till I, the Lord, shall send you. Be patient in affliction. Ask, and ye shall receive; knock, and it shall be opened unto you.
William was called to proclaim the gospel and was also given the promise that he would have the power to heal the sick. He was commanded to travel with Samuel H. Smith, the Prophet’s brother. Prior to this revelation, McLellin had already preached with another Smith brother, Hyrum, and had seen the power of healing. When McLellin became sick he asked Hyrum Smith for a blessing. He recorded in his journal, “We immediately bowed before the Lord and with all the faith which we had, we opened our hearts to him.” Hyrum Smith laid hands on McLellin, who later wrote that it was “marvelous for me to relate that I was instantly healed.”
A few days later McLellin gave a sermon to a group of preachers on the coming forth of the Book of Mormon and on spiritual gifts. Afterward he was approached by a man called “Father Wood,” who told him that his granddaughter was very sick. Without hesitation McLellin and Hyrum Smith set out to the family’s home, two miles away. He wrote, “The family seemed quite believing, and we all bowed before the great Jehovah and implored his mercy upon the child, we then arose and Brother Hyrum and I laid our hands upon it, and in a few minutes the little child got down from its mother’s lap and began to play upon the floor. This caused them to rejoice and the old gentleman got down and prayed mightily, then arose and said that he believed that the Lord was there.”
Only a few days before this revelation was given, McLellin had injured his ankle and asked Joseph Smith about healing. McLellin recorded that in response Joseph “turned to me and asked me if I believed in my heart that God through his instrumentality would heal it. I answered that I believed he would. He laid his hands on it and it was healed.” William then accompanied Joseph to Hiram, Ohio, where this revelation was given.
D&C 66:10–13
10 Seek not to be cumbered. Forsake all unrighteousness. Commit not adultery—a temptation with which thou hast been troubled.
11 Keep these sayings, for they are true and faithful; and thou shalt magnify thine office, and push many people to Zion with songs of everlasting joy upon their heads.
12 Continue in these things even unto the end, and you shall have a crown of eternal life at the right hand of my Father, who is full of grace and truth.
13 Verily, thus saith the Lord your God, your Redeemer, even Jesus Christ. Amen.
The last portion of this revelation must have been especially piercing for William to hear. We do not know the exact nature of his temptation to commit adultery. His wife, Cynthia Ann, whom he had married only two years earlier in 1829, had died sometime before the summer of 1831. In an August 1, 1831, entry in William’s journal, he wrote of visiting the grave of “my departed and dear companion Cinthia [sic] Ann and there they seemed to mourn with me for the loss of my dearest friend and her blessed little infant.” McLellin’s journal entry may hint that Cynthia died in childbirth. He later spoke of spending “many lonesome and sorrowful hours” after her death. It appears that William and Cynthia enjoyed a warm and affectionate marriage, and the temptation to commit adultery came from his loneliness after her death, and not any unhappiness with his spouse.
It must have been encouraging for William to hear that in spite of his temptations he was promised a “crown of eternal life” provided he endured faithful to the end. In a copy of the revelation he recorded himself, there is an addendum, which reads, “A revelation given to Wm. E. McLellin, a true descendant from joseph who was sold into Egypt down through the loins of Ephraim his son.” This addition to the revelation may have been part of the original record or may have been added by William himself. John Whitmer did not include these last two lines when he recorded the revelation in Revelation Book 1. At any rate, so soon after the Lord had declared that “the rebellious are not of the blood of Ephraim” (D&C 64:35) it must have been encouraging for William to know that he was of the blood of this birthright tribe of Israel.
William E. McLellin was a gifted preacher who was eventually called to serve as a member of the original Quorum of the Twelve Apostles called in this dispensation in 1835. Unfortunately, his service in the Twelve was short-lived because he was excommunicated in 1838. He explained that his apostasy centered on a loss of confidence in the Presidency of the Church, and “consequently he left off praying and keeping the commandments of God, and went his own way, and indulged himself in his lustful desires.” William never lost his testimony of the Book of Mormon, or of the inspiration he saw in his early days in the Church, but he never fully returned to the Church either.
Footnotes
