Doctrine and Covenants 7
Historical Context
Joseph and Oliver began translating the Book of Mormon on April 7, 1829. During this time their friendship continued to grow, and they engaged in a number of lively discussions about the translation. According to Joseph’s history, “A difference of opinion [arose] between us about the account of John the Apostle, mentioned in the New Testament, John, twenty first chapter and twenty second verse, whether he died, or whether he continued; we mutually agreed to settle it by the Urim and Thummim.” It is possible this question arose because of their translation of the Book of Mormon text, specifically where the book describes both Alma and Moses as being “taken up by the spirit, or buried by the hand of the Lord” (Alma 45:19).
The introduction in the 1833 Book of Commandments describes the revelation as “translated from parchment, written and hid up by himself” (Book of Commandments, 1833, 18). While there is no known parchment associated with translation, the parchment described may have been seen through one of the instruments used in translation. One witness of the translation process said that in the translation instruments “a piece of something resembling parchment would appear, and on that appeared the writing.” This revelation is the beginning of the fulfillment of the Lord’s promise to Oliver that he would “assist in bringing to light . . . those parts of my scriptures which have been hidden because of iniquity” (D&C 6:27).
See Historical Introduction, “Account of John, April 1829–C [D&C 7],” p. 13, The Joseph Smith Papers, accessed September 23, 2020, https://www.josephsmithpapers.org/paper-summary/account-of-john-april-1829-c-dc-7/1
Verse-by-Verse Commentary
Doctrine and Covenants 7:1-3
1 And the Lord said unto me: John, my beloved, what desirest thou? For if you shall ask what you will, it shall be granted unto you.
2 And I said unto him: Lord, give unto me power over death, that I may live and bring souls unto thee.
3 And the Lord said unto me: Verily, verily, I say unto thee, because thou desirest this thou shalt tarry until I come in my glory, and shalt prophesy before nations, kindreds, tongues and people.
Two versions of this revelation have been published; the first, published in 1833 in the Book of Commandments, featured only these first three verses. When the Doctrine and Covenants was published in 1835, the revelation was expanded with several verses added, and there was a slight shift in the way the verses were ordered. Verse 8 was the final verse in the 1833 version and was moved to the end of the revelation when the other verses were added in 1835.
In 3 Nephi 28, when speaking to the Nephite disciples, the Savior makes reference to John’s desire to tarry and save souls and provides the most enlightening commentary on the change that John experienced. After the Savior promised a full life and salvation in the kingdom of God for nine of the twelve Nephite disciples, He then told the remaining three that “ye have desired the thing which John, my beloved . . . desired of me” (3 Nephi 28:6). The Savior promised the three disciples they would “never taste of death” and would “live to behold all of the works of the Father unto the children of men” (verse 8). When the time of the resurrection came they would be changed “in the twinkling of an eye from mortality to immortality” and come into God’s kingdom.
Joseph Smith later referred to this change as “the doctrine of translation,” designating it as “a power which belongs to the priesthood.” Some time after this revelation was received, Joseph and Oliver had the privilege of meeting with John the Beloved, along with the ancient Apostles Peter and James. In later revelation the Lord spoke of this event, speaking of “Peter, and James, and John, whom I have sent unto you, by whom I have ordained you and confirmed you to be apostles, and especial witnesses of my name, and bear the keys of your ministry and of the same things which I revealed unto them” (D&C 27:12; see also Doctrine and Covenants, 1835, 180).
Several other experiences relating to John occurred during Joseph Smith’s ministry. In June 1832, John Whitmer, the historian of the Church, recorded that “The spirit of the Lord fell upon Joseph [Smith] in an unusual manner. And prophesied that John the Revelator was then among the ten tribes of Israel.” Oliver B. Huntington, another early Latter-day Saint, recounted that Joseph met with John the Beloved during the 1834 march of Zion’s Camp. Heber C. Kimball also reported that John appeared in the Kirtland Temple in 1836, writing that “the beloved disciple John was seen in our midst by the Prophet Joseph, Oliver Cowdery, and others.”
Doctrine and Covenants 7:4-6
4 And for this cause the Lord said unto Peter: If I will that he tarry till I come, what is that to thee? For he desired of me that he might bring souls unto me, but thou desiredst that thou mightest speedily come unto me in my kingdom.
5 I say unto thee, Peter, this was a good desire; but my beloved has desired that he might do more, or a greater work yet among men than what he has before done.
6 Yea, he has undertaken a greater work; therefore I will make him as flaming fire and a ministering angel; he shall minister for those who shall be heirs of salvation who dwell on the earth.
While John became a translated being who served as a ministering angel, Peter is told that he will leave mortality as a martyr for the cause of Christ (John 21:18–19). Both John and Peter are told their desires are good and align with the Savior’s will. Which of the two made the greater sacrifice? While the Savior’s teachings to the three Nephite disciples indicate that translated beings “shall not have pain while ye shall dwell in the flesh” (3 Nephi 28:9), John and those in a similar state are not impervious to pain. The Lord frees them from pain “save it be for the sorrows of the sins of the world” (3 Nephi 28:9, 38), indicating that John and those like him will still feel emotional pain for the sins of others. In doing so, the Lord possibly provided a glimpse into the state of resurrected, glorified beings who enjoy a “fulness of joy” (3 Nephi 28:10) but who are never completely free from pain because their compassion for others does not end with the translation or resurrection. Taking into account several millennia of John enduring this type of pain, John’s sacrifice may have been greater than Peter’s.
Doctrine and Covenants 7:7-8
7 And I will make thee to minister for him and for thy brother James; and unto you three I will give this power and the keys of this ministry until I come.
8 Verily I say unto you, ye shall both have according to your desires, for ye both joy in that which ye have desired.
In verses 7 and 8, the Savior notes that the “power and the keys of the ministry” are given to Peter, James, and John. These power and keys are later defined as “the keys of the kingdom, and of the dispensation of the fulness of times.” These keys were in turn passed on to Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery by Peter, James, and John “in the wilderness between Harmony, Susquehanna county, and Colesville, Broome County, on the Susquehanna river” (D&C 128:20).
Footnotes
