Section 8 | ScriptureCentral

Title

Section 8 Book Title

Doctrine and Covenants Contexts

Publication Type

Book Chapter

Chapter

8 Year of Publication

2021

Authors

Harper, Steven C. (Primary)

Pagination

16-17

Publisher

Book of Mormon Central

City

Springville, UT

Show Full Text

April 1829, Harmony, Pennsylvania

The Lord told Oliver he could translate ancient records in section 6, then showed him an ancient record in section 7. Joseph said Oliver “became exceedingly anxious to have the power to translate bestowed upon him,” so Joseph asked the Lord and received section 8.[1]

In the revelation the Lord told Oliver the conditions on which he would be able to translate. He would have to seek the necessary knowledge honestly, in faith, believing in the Lord's promise. The Lord, in turn, would tell Oliver this knowledge in his heart by the power of the Holy Ghost. This spirit of revelation guided Moses in leading the children of Israel safely through the Red Sea. It was now Oliver's gift. “Apply unto it” (D&C 8:4), the Lord commanded him.

The Lord also reminded Oliver of his other gift, the gift possessed by Moses's brother Aaron—the gift of working with a divining rod, or, as the earliest extant manuscript of this revelation puts it, “the gift of working with the sprout.”[2] It had already told Oliver many things and may be what the Lord alluded to in D&C 6:11–12. The Lord affirms and validates this gift and commands Oliver not to trifle with the gift or ask for things that he ought not.

So what should he ask for? He should ask to know the mysteries of God. He should ask to translate and receive knowledge from ancient records that have been kept hidden. The Lord would grant these desires according to Oliver's faith, just as he had done all along.

Means of revelation, including Oliver's rod, Lehi's “miraculous directors,” and Joseph's seer stones (or the brother of Jared’s) were apparently much more common anciently and in Joseph's day than in ours (D&C 17:1). By 1829, when this revelation was given, such gifts were being questioned. Skepticism of “means,” as the scriptures call supernatural gifts, was beginning to be explained in naturalistic terms instead.[3]

Before publishing this revelation in the 1835 Doctrine and Covenants, Joseph took out the explicit mention of Oliver's rod and referred to it vaguely to “the gift of Aaron” (D&C 8:6). This revelation neither denied nor discouraged either of Oliver’s gifts, however. As commanded, Oliver did not trifle with his rod or make it known to unbelievers (D&C 6:11). Little is known about it in our naturalistic culture. Perhaps the equally marvelous, supernal gift of the Holy Ghost remains nearly as mysterious. It is widely available, yet few “apply unto it” as the revelation commands (D&C 8:4).

[1] “History, 1838–1856, volume A-1 [23 December 1805–30 August 1834],” p. 16, The Joseph Smith Papers, accessed July 22, 2020.

[2] “Revelation, April 1829–B [D&C 8],” p. 13, The Joseph Smith Papers, accessed July 22, 2020. Richard L. Bushman, Joseph Smith: Rough Stone Rolling (New York: Knopf, 2005), 73. Robert J. Woodford, “Historical Development of the Doctrine and Covenants,” (Brigham Young University, PhD dissertation, 1974): 185–89.

[3] See all of Alma 37. Also 1 Nephi 16:29, Mosiah 8:15–18, D&C 10:1, Joseph Smith—History 1:62.

Table of Contents

Book

Doctrine and Covenants Contexts

Harper, Steven C.

136 Chapters

Section 1

Harper, Steven C. | pp. 1-2

Section 2

Harper, Steven C. | pp. 3-4

Section 3

Harper, Steven C. | pp. 5-7

Section 4

Harper, Steven C. | pp. 8-9

Section 5

Harper, Steven C. | pp. 10-11

Section 6

Harper, Steven C. | pp. 12-13

Section 7

Harper, Steven C. | pp. 14-15

Section 8

Harper, Steven C. | pp. 16-17

Section 9

Harper, Steven C. | pp. 18-19

Section 10

Harper, Steven C. | pp. 20-22

Section 11

Harper, Steven C. | pp. 23-24

Section 12

Harper, Steven C. | pp. 23-24

Section 13

Harper, Steven C. | pp. 25-27

Section 14-16

Harper, Steven C. | pp. 28-29

Section 17

Harper, Steven C. | pp. 31-33

Section 18

Harper, Steven C. | pp. 34-35

Section 19

Harper, Steven C. | pp. 36-38

Section 20

Harper, Steven C. | pp. 39-41

Section 21

Harper, Steven C. | pp. 42-43

Section 22

Harper, Steven C. | pp. 44-45

Section 23

Harper, Steven C. | pp. 46-47

Section 24

Harper, Steven C. | pp. 48-49

Section 25

Harper, Steven C. | pp. 50-53

Section 26

Harper, Steven C. | pp. 54-55

Section 27

Harper, Steven C. | pp. 56-57

Section 28

Harper, Steven C. | pp. 58-59

Section 29

Harper, Steven C. | pp. 60-62

Section 30

Harper, Steven C. | pp. 63-64

Section 31

Harper, Steven C. | pp. 65-66

Section 32

Harper, Steven C. | pp. 67-68

Section 33

Harper, Steven C. | pp. 69-71

Section 34

Harper, Steven C. | pp. 72-73

Section 35

Harper, Steven C. | pp. 74-75

Section 36

Harper, Steven C. | pp. 76-77

Section 37

Harper, Steven C. | pp. 78-79

Section 38

Harper, Steven C. | pp. 80-82

Section 39-40

Harper, Steven C. | pp. 83-85

Section 41

Harper, Steven C. | pp. 86-88

Section 42

Harper, Steven C. | pp. 89-93

Section 43

Harper, Steven C. | pp. 94-96

Section 44

Harper, Steven C. | pp. 97-98

Section 45

Harper, Steven C. | pp. 99-101

Section 46

Harper, Steven C. | pp. 102-103

Section 47

Harper, Steven C. | pp. 104-105

Section 48

Harper, Steven C. | pp. 106-107

Section 49

Harper, Steven C. | pp. 108-112

Section 50

Harper, Steven C. | pp. 113-115

Section 51

Harper, Steven C. | pp. 116-119

Section 52

Harper, Steven C. | pp. 120-121

Section 53

Harper, Steven C. | pp. 122

Section 54

Harper, Steven C. | pp. 123-124

Section 55

Harper, Steven C. | pp. 125-126

Section 56

Harper, Steven C. | pp. 127-128

Section 57

Harper, Steven C. | pp. 129-130

Section 58

Harper, Steven C. | pp. 131-134

Section 59

Harper, Steven C. | pp. 135-137

Section 60

Harper, Steven C. | pp. 138-139

Section 61

Harper, Steven C. | pp. 140-142

Section 62

Harper, Steven C. | pp. 143-144

Section 63

Harper, Steven C. | pp. 145-146

Section 64

Harper, Steven C. | pp. 147-148

Section 65

Harper, Steven C. | pp. 149-151

Section 66

Harper, Steven C. | pp. 152-154

Section 67

Harper, Steven C. | pp. 155-158

Section 68

Harper, Steven C. | pp. 159-160

Section 69

Harper, Steven C. | pp. 161-163

Section 70

Harper, Steven C. | pp. 164-167

Section 71, 73

Harper, Steven C. | pp. 168-171

Section 72

Harper, Steven C. | pp. 173-174

Section 74

Harper, Steven C. | pp. 175-176

Section 75

Harper, Steven C. | pp. 177-179

Section 76

Harper, Steven C. | pp. 180-184

Section 77

Harper, Steven C. | pp. 185-186

Section 78

Harper, Steven C. | pp. 187-188

Section 79

Harper, Steven C. | pp. 189-190

Section 80

Harper, Steven C. | pp. 191-194

Section 81

Harper, Steven C. | pp. 195-196

Section 82

Harper, Steven C. | pp. 197-199

Section 83

Harper, Steven C. | pp. 200-201

Section 84

Harper, Steven C. | pp. 202-204

Section 85

Harper, Steven C. | pp. 205-206

Section 86

Harper, Steven C. | pp. 207-208

Section 87

Harper, Steven C. | pp. 209-212

Section 88

Harper, Steven C. | pp. 213-217

Section 89

Harper, Steven C. | pp. 218-222

Section 90

Harper, Steven C. | pp. 223-225

Section 91

Harper, Steven C. | pp. 226-227

Section 92

Harper, Steven C. | pp. 228-229

Section 93

Harper, Steven C. | pp. 230-233

Section 94

Harper, Steven C. | pp. 234-235

Section 95

Harper, Steven C. | pp. 236-238

Section 96

Harper, Steven C. | pp. 239-240

Section 97

Harper, Steven C. | pp. 241-243

Section 98

Harper, Steven C. | pp. 244-247

Section 99

Harper, Steven C. | pp. 248-249

Section 100

Harper, Steven C. | pp. 250-252

Section 101

Harper, Steven C. | pp. 253-255

Section 102

Harper, Steven C. | pp. 256-258

Section 103

Harper, Steven C. | pp. 259-261

Section 104

Harper, Steven C. | pp. 262-265

Section 105

Harper, Steven C. | pp. 266-269

Section 106

Harper, Steven C. | pp. 270-271

Section 107

Harper, Steven C. | pp. 272-275

Section 108

Harper, Steven C. | pp. 276-277

Section 109

Harper, Steven C. | pp. 278-281

Section 110

Harper, Steven C. | pp. 282-285

Section 111

Harper, Steven C. | pp. 286-288

Section 112

Harper, Steven C. | pp. 289-291

Section 113

Harper, Steven C. | pp. 292-294

Section 114

Harper, Steven C. | pp. 295-296

Section 115

Harper, Steven C. | pp. 297-299

Section 116

Harper, Steven C. | pp. 300-301

Section 117

Harper, Steven C. | pp. 302-306

Section 118

Harper, Steven C. | pp. 307-310

Section 119

Harper, Steven C. | pp. 310-312

Section 120

Harper, Steven C. | pp. 313-314

Section 121

Harper, Steven C. | pp. 315-318

Section 122

Harper, Steven C. | pp. 319-322

Section 123

Harper, Steven C. | pp. 323-324

Section 124

Harper, Steven C. | pp. 325-328

Section 125

Harper, Steven C. | pp. 329-330

Section 126

Harper, Steven C. | pp. 331-332

Section 127

Harper, Steven C. | pp. 333-335

Section 128

Harper, Steven C. | pp. 336-340

Section 129

Harper, Steven C. | pp. 341-344

Section 130

Harper, Steven C. | pp. 345-347

Section 131

Harper, Steven C. | pp. 348-351

Section 132

Harper, Steven C. | pp. 352-356

Section 133

Harper, Steven C. | pp. 357-359

Section 134

Harper, Steven C. | pp. 360-361

Section 135

Harper, Steven C. | pp. 362-364

Section 136

Harper, Steven C. | pp. 365-368

Section 137

Harper, Steven C. | pp. 369-372

Section 138

Harper, Steven C. | pp. 373-376

Official Declaration 1

Harper, Steven C. | pp. 371-381

Official Declaration 2

Harper, Steven C. | pp. 382-387

Bibliographic Citation

Terms of use

Items in the BMC Archive are made publicly available for non-commercial, private use. Inclusion within the BMC Archive does not imply endorsement. Items do not represent the official views of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints or of Book of Mormon Central.