Doctrine and Covenants 67
Historical Context
On November 1–2, 1831, a conference was held at the John Johnson home in Hiram, Ohio. The central question of the conference was that of publishing the revelations received by Joseph Smith. Many of the revelations had circulated privately among the Saints, but public access to the revelations was becoming a pressing question. The month before, Ezra Booth had published a series of letters in the Ohio Star claiming that certain commandments given to Joseph Smith were “concealed from the world.” Booth made a number of outlandish claims about the revelations, including a charge that one of them commanded “that the Church shall build [Joseph Smith] an elegant house and give him 1,000 dollars.” No known revelation makes such a claim, and Joseph Smith and others may have felt the need to publish the revelations in the interest of transparency and to refute Booth’s claims of abuse.
The conference provided an outpouring of revelation. During the first three days of November, four new revelations were received. Doctrine and Covenants 68 was received first, providing direction to four elders of the Church, and counsel and guidance to the members of the Church in Zion. Doctrine and Covenants 1 and 133, now constituting the preface and the appendix of the book, were received during this time as well. Several of the elders attending the conference were asked to provide their witness that the revelations were true. The elders signed a document stating that they were “willing to bear testimony to all the world of mankind to every creature upon all the face of all the Earth upon the Islands of the Sea that god hath born record to our souls through the Holy Ghost shed forth upon us that these commandments are given by inspiration of God & are profitable for all men & are verily true.”
Sometime during the conference, Joseph Smith received Doctrine and Covenants 67, which addressed some of the fears the elders had concerning the revelations. The Lord declared that the elders had expressed concerns over imperfections in Joseph Smith and the language used in the revelations. One of the revelations given earlier in the conference had taught that the revelations came unto the Lord’s “servants in their weakness, after the manner of their language, that they might come to understanding” (D&C 1:24). In his own history, Joseph Smith noted that “after this revelation [D&C 1] was received some conversation was had concerning Revelations and language, and I received the following [D&C 67].”
See “Historical Introduction,” Revelation, circa 2 November 1831 [D&C 67]
Verse-by-Verse Commentary
D&C 67:1–5
1 Behold and hearken, O ye elders of my church, who have assembled yourselves together, whose prayers I have heard, and whose hearts I know, and whose desires have come up before me.
2 Behold and lo, mine eyes are upon you, and the heavens and the earth are in mine hands, and the riches of eternity are mine to give.
3 Ye endeavored to believe that ye should receive the blessing which was offered unto you; but behold, verily I say unto you there were fears in your hearts, and verily this is the reason that ye did not receive.
4 And now I, the Lord, give unto you a testimony of the truth of these commandments which are lying before you.
5 Your eyes have been upon my servant Joseph Smith, Jun., and his language you have known, and his imperfections you have known; and you have sought in your hearts knowledge that you might express beyond his language; this you also know.
The Lord asked witnesses to bear record of the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon; similarly, Joseph Smith asked the elders present to share their testimony of the divine origins of the revelations. Oliver Cowdery and David Whitmer, two of the three witnesses of the Book of Mormon, were present at the conference. It is possible that the elders present expected spiritual manifestations similar to the dramatic experience these witnesses of the Book of Mormon experienced. The Lord in response told them that because “there were fears in [their] hearts” they did not receive. The revelation also hints at this desire, saying that the elders present “are not able to abide the presence of God now, neither the ministering of angels” (D&C 67:13), perhaps alluding to the earlier experience of the three witnesses of the Book of Mormon.
In response to concerns expressed over the language found in the revelations, the Lord reminded the elders that Joseph Smith, like any other prophet, was an imperfect messenger with limitations on his own language. The revelation serves as a simple reminder that though the Savior is perfect, He works through imperfect people. Prophets, apostles, and all manner of leaders in the Church are flawed people doing the best they can to accomplish the Lord’s work.
Elder Jeffrey R. Holland counseled Church members to “be kind regarding human frailty—your own as well as that of those who serve with you in a Church led by volunteer, mortal men and women. Except in the case of His only perfect Begotten Son, imperfect people are all God has ever had to work with. That must be terribly frustrating to Him, but He deals with it. So should we.”
D&C 67:6–9
6 Now, seek ye out of the Book of Commandments, even the least that is among them, and appoint him that is the most wise among you;
7 Or, if there be any among you that shall make one like unto it, then ye are justified in saying that ye do not know that they are true;
8 But if ye cannot make one like unto it, ye are under condemnation if ye do not bear record that they are true.
9 For ye know that there is no unrighteousness in them, and that which is righteous cometh down from above, from the Father of lights.
In response to the concerns raised over the revelations, the Lord challenged the elders at the conference to “appoint him that is most wise among you” to attempt to duplicate any of the revelations. William E. McLellin, a newly baptized schoolteacher from Paris, Tennessee, accepted the challenge to produce his own revelation. Joseph Smith later wrote that
Wm. E. McLellin, as the wisest man in his own estimation, having more learning than sense, endeavored to write a commandment like unto one of the least of the Lord’s, but failed; it was an awful responsibility to write in the name of the Lord. The elders, and all present, that witnessed this vain attempt of a man to imitate the language of Jesus Christ, renewed their faith in the fulness of the gospel and in the truth of the commandments and revelations which the Lord had given to the church through my instrumentality; and the elders signified a willingness to bear testimony of their truth to all the world.
While McLellin later became a bitter enemy of Joseph Smith, he should not be judged too harshly for his actions taken here. McLellin was a convert to the Church of only a few months and had met Joseph Smith a week prior to this meeting. A revelation given around this same time placed him among “the faithful elders of my church” (D&C 68:7). He would eventually become a member of the first quorum of the Twelve Apostles. Though McLellin’s skepticism eventually eroded his testimony and his standing in the Church, those events came several years later. At this point in time, and in part because of this experience, McLellin was among the elders who felt honored “to have this privilege of bearing this testimony [of the revelations] unto the world.”
D&C 67:10–14
10 And again, verily I say unto you that it is your privilege, and a promise I give unto you that have been ordained unto this ministry, that inasmuch as you strip yourselves from jealousies and fears, and humble yourselves before me, for ye are not sufficiently humble, the veil shall be rent and you shall see me and know that I am—not with the carnal neither natural mind, but with the spiritual.
11 For no man has seen God at any time in the flesh, except quickened by the Spirit of God.
12 Neither can any natural man abide the presence of God, neither after the carnal mind.
13 Ye are not able to abide the presence of God now, neither the ministering of angels; wherefore, continue in patience until ye are perfected.
14 Let not your minds turn back; and when ye are worthy, in mine own due time, ye shall see and know that which was conferred upon you by the hands of my servant Joseph Smith, Jun. Amen.
In exhorting the elders to greater faith, the Lord also corrects a common misunderstanding that it is impossible for a mortal person to see God in the flesh (D&C 67:11). The familiar quotation from the Gospel of John that “no man hath seen God at any time” was corrected in Joseph Smith’s translation to read, “And no man hath seen God at any time, except he hath borne record of the Son; for except it is through him no man can be saved.” Another New Testament passage that reads, “[He] only hath immortality, dwelling in the light which no man can approach unto; whom no man hath seen, nor can see; to whom be honour and power everlasting” (1 Timothy 6:16) was changed in the Prophet’s translation to read, “Whom no man hath seen, nor can he see, unto whom no man can approach, only he who hath the light and the hope of immortality dwelling in him.” In one last example, the text of 1 John 4:12, which reads, “no man hath seen God at any time,” was changed to read, “No man hath seen God at any time, except them who believe.”
The message of all of these corrections in the Joseph Smith Translation is clearly presented in Doctrine and Covenants 67. Here the Lord declares, “For no man has seen God at any time in the flesh, except quickened by the Spirit of God. Neither can any natural man abide the presence of God, neither after the carnal mind” (D&C 67:11–12). It is possible for mortal people to survive in the presence of God if they are transfigured to abide the glory of God. God is more than capable of bringing about a change in the physical bodies of His servants, provided they are sufficiently humble and demonstrate the necessary faith to see God.
Footnotes
