Discourse, between circa 26 June and circa 4 August 1839–A, as Reported by Willard Richards

  • Source Note
  • Historical Introduction

Document Transcript

The was.
first given To Adam: he obtained to the first Presidency & held the of it, from genration to Generation; he obtained it in the creation before the world was formed as in Gen. 1, 26:28,— he had dominion given him over every living Creature. He is Michael, the Archangel, spoken of in the Scriptures,— Then to Noah who is Gabriel, he stands next in authority to Adam in the Priesthood; he was called of God to this office & was the Father of all living in his day, & To him was Given the Dominion. These men held keys. first on earth, & then in Heaven.— The Priesthood is an everlasting principle & Existed with God from Eternity & will to Eternity, without beginning of days or end of years. The Keys have to be brought from heaven whenever the Gospel is sent.— When they are revealed from Heaven it is by Adams Authority.
Dan VII Speaks of the Ancient of days, he means the oldest man, our Father Adam, Michael; he will call his children together. & hold a council with them. to prepare them for the coming [p. 63] of the Son of Man. He, (Adam) is the Father of the human family & presides over the Spirits of all men, & all that have had the must Stand before him in this grand Council. This may take place before some of us leave this stage of action, The Son of Man Stands before him & there is given him glory & dominion.— Adam delivers up his stewardship to Christ, that which was deliverd to him as holding the Keys of the Universe, but retains his standing as head of the human family.
The Spirit of Man is not a created being; it existed from Eternity & will exist to Eternity. Any thing created cannot be Eternal & earth, water &c— all these had their existence in an elementary state from Eternity. Our Savior Speaks of Children & Says their angels always stand before my father.
The father called all spirits before him at the creation of Man & organized them. He (Adam) is the head. & was told to multiply. The Keys were <​first​> given to him, <​& by him to others​> he will have to [p. 64] give an account of his Stewardship, & they to him. The is everlasting. The Savior. Moses. & Elias— gave the to Peter, James & John on the Mount when they were transfigured before him. The Priesthood is everlasting. without biginning of days or end of years, without Father. Mother &c.—
If there is no change of there is no change of Priesthood. Wherever the ordinances of the Gospel are adminesterd there is the priesthood. How have we come at the Priesthood in the last days? They <​It​> came down, down in regular succession— Peter James & John had it given to them & they gave it up.— Christ is the Great High priest; Adam next.— Paul speaks of an the Church coming to an innumerable company of Angels, to God the Judge of all, the spirits of Just men made perfect, to Jesus the mediator of the New Covenant. &c Heb XII, 2 3. I saw Adam in the valley of — he called together his children & blessed them with a . The Lord appeared in their midst. & he (Adam) blessed them [p. 65] all & foretold what should befall them to the latest generation— See D.C. Sec III 28. 29 par.— This is why Abraham blessd his posterity; he wanted to bring them into the presence of God. They looked for a city, &c,— Moses Sought to bring the children of Israel into the presence of God. through the power of the , but he could not. In the first ages of the world they tried to establish the same thing— & there were Elias’s raised up who tried to restore these very glories but did not obtain them. <​but​> (Enoch did for himself & those that were with them Him, but not for the world. J. T.) They prophecied of a day when this Glory would be revealed.— Paul spoke of the Dispensation of the fulness of times. when God would gather together all things in one &c <​&​>, Those men to whom these have been given will have to be there (I.E. when Adam shall again assemble his children of the Priesthood, & christ be in their midst) the Ancient of Days come &c &c J. T.) And they without us could <​cannot​> not be made perfect. These men are in heaven, but their children [p. 66] are on Earth. Their bowels yearn over us. God sends down men for this reason, Mat. 13.41. & the Son of man shall send forth his angels &c— All these authoritative characters will come down & join hands in hand in bringing about this work— The kingdom of heaven is like a grain of mustard seed. the mustard seed is Small but brings forth a large tree. <​and the fowls lodge in the branches​> The fowls are the Angels. the Book of Mormon perhaps. these thus Angels come down combine together to gather their children, & gather them. We cannot be made perfect without them. nor they without us when these <​things​> are done the Son of man will descend. the ancient of Days sit.— We may come to an innumerable compa[n]y of Angels have communion with & rece[i]ve instruction from. <​them.​>— Paul told about Moses’s proceedings. Spoke of the Children of Israel being . &, he knew this. & that all the & blessings were in the church. Paul had these things; <​&​> we may have the fowls of heaven Lodge in the branches &c. The horn made war with the saints, <​&​> overcame them &c, until the Ancient of Days came, judgment was given to the Saints of the Most [p. 67] High, from the Ancient of Days— the time came that the saints possessed the kingdom— this not only makes us ministers here but in Eternity. Salvation cannot come without Revelation, it is in vain for any one to minister without it.
No man is a minister of Jesus Christ. without being a Prophet. No man can be the minister of Jesus Christ, except he has the testimony of Jesus & this is the Spirit of Prophesy. Whenever Sa[l]vation has been administered it has been by Testimony, Men of the present time testify of Heaven & of Hell, & have never Seen either & I will say that no man knows these things without this. Men profess to prophecy. I will prophecy that the signs of the coming of the Son of man are already commencd, one pestilence will dessolate after another. we shall soon have war & bloodshed. The Moon will be turned into blood, I testify of these things. & that the coming of the Son of Man is nigh [p. 68] even at your doors,— If our souls & our bodies are not looking forth for the coming of the Son of Man. & after we are dead if we are not looking forth. &c We shall be among those who are calling for the rocks to fall upon us &c— The hearts of the children of men will have to be turned to the fathers. & the fathers to the children, living or dead, to prepare them for the coming of the Son of Man. If Elijah did not come the whole earth would be Smitten. There will be here & there a &c. <​for the of the saints​> Some may have cried peace. but the Saints & the world will have little peace from henceforth. Let this not hinder us from going to the Stakes, for God has told us to flee not dallying. or we shall be scattered. one here, another there, There your children shall be blessed & you in the midst of friends where you may be blessed. &c The gospel net gathers of every kind, I prophecy that that man who tarries after he has an opportunity of going will be afflicted by the Devil. Wars are at [p. 69] hand we must not delay, but are not required to sacrifice. We ought to have the building up of as our greatest object.— when wars come we shall have to flee to Zion. The cry is to make haste. The last revelation says ye shall not have time to have gone over the Earth until these things come. It will come as did the Cholera. war. & fires burning Earthquake one pestilence after another &c until until the Ancient of Days come then judgment will be given to the Saints.
Whatsoever you may hear about me or , take no notice of. for if it be a place of refuge the Devil will use his greatest efforts to trap the . You must make yourselves acquainted with those men, who, like Daniel, pray three times a day to the house of the Lord.— Look to the &c <​& rece[i]ve instruction​>.— Every man who is afraid. covetous &c will be taken in a snare— The time is soon coming when no man will have any peace but in Zion & her . [p. 70]
I saw men hunting the lives of their own sons, & brother murdering brother, women killing their own daughters & daughters seeking the lives of their mothers. I saw armies arrayed against armies I saw blood. desolations, & fires &c,— The Son of Man has said that the mother Shall be against the daughter, & the daughter against the mother &c, &c.— These things are at our doors. They will follow the Saints of God from City To City— will rage & The Spirit of the Devil is now enraged. &c I know not how soon these things will take place, and with a view of them shall I cry peace? NO! I will lift up my voice & testify of them. How long you will have good crops. & the famin be kept. <​off​> I do not know. when the fig tree leaves, know then that the summer is night at hand. we may look for Angel[s] &c. <​& receive their ministreting​> but we are to try the Spirits & prove them <​for​> it is often the case that men. make a mistake in regard to these things.
God has so ordained that when he has communicated, <​by vision,​> no vision is to be taken but what you see by the seeing of the eye [p. 71] or what you hear by the hearing of the ear— When you see a vision &c pray for the interpretation if you get not this, shut it up— There must be certainty. <​in this matter​> An open vision will manifest that which is more important. Lying spirits are going forth in the Earth.
There will be great manifestation of Spirit both false & true. &c. Being born again comes by the Spirit of God through . An angel of God never has wings. Some will Say that they have seen a Spirit. that he offered them his hand. but they did not touch it. This is a lie. First it is contrary to the plan of God A spirit can not come but in glory. An angel has flesh and bones. we see not their glory. The devil may appear as an angel of light. Ask God to reveal it. if it be of the Devil. he it be will of flee from you. if of God he will manifest himself or make it manifest. we may come to Jesus <​& ask him​> he will know all about it.— If he comes to a little child, he will [p. 72] adapt himself to the <​Language &​> capacity of a little child— There is no Gold nor silver &c, it is false, all is plain in heaven; every Spirit or vision or singing is not of God. The Devil is an orator, &c: he is powerful: he took our Savior onto a pinnacle of the temple; <​&​> kept him in the Wilderness for forty days. The gift of discerning Spirits will be given to the . pray for him &c. <​that he may have this gift​> Speak not in the gift of Tongues without understanding it, or without interpretation, The Devil can speak in Tongues. The Adversary will come with his work, he can tempt all classes Can speak in English or Dutch.— Let no one speak in tongues unless he interpret except by the consent of the one who is placed to preside, then he may discern or interpret or another may. Let us seek for the Glory of Abraham. Noah. Adam. the have communion with these things and then we shall be among that number when Christ comes. [p. 73]

Footnotes

  1. 1

    See Revelation, 22–23 Sept. 1832 [D&C 84:16]; and Book of Abraham Manuscript, ca. Summer–Fall 1835, p. 1 [Abraham 1:3].  

  2. 2

    See Revelation 12:7; and Jude 1:9; see also Revelation, 27–28 Dec. 1832 [D&C 88:112–115]. As early as 1833, church leaders identified Adam as Michael. (See Oliver Cowdery, Kirtland, OH, to John Whitmer, [Liberty, MO], 1 Jan. 1834, in Cowdery, Letterbook, 15.)  

    Comprehensive Works Cited

    Cowdery, Oliver. Letterbook, 1833–1838. Henry E. Huntington Library, San Marino, CA.

  3. 3

    See Daniel 8:16; 9:21; and Luke 1:19, 26; see also Oliver Cowdery, Kirtland, OH, to John Whitmer, [Liberty, MO], 1 Jan. 1834, in Cowdery, Letterbook, 15.  

    Comprehensive Works Cited

    Cowdery, Oliver. Letterbook, 1833–1838. Henry E. Huntington Library, San Marino, CA.

  4. 4

    See Genesis 3:20; and Old Testament Revision 1, p. 7 [Moses 4:26].  

  5. 5

    See Hebrews 7:3; Book of Mormon, 1830 ed., 259 [Alma 13:7–9]; and Revelation, 22–23 Sept. 1832 [D&C 84:1–17].  

  6. 6

    In 1838, JS identified Spring Hill, Missouri, as Adam-ondi-Ahman, “the place where Adam dwelt” and “where Adam shall come to visit his people, or the Ancient of days shall sit as spoken of by Daniel the Prophet.” (Letter to Stephen Post, 17 Sept. 1838; JS, Journal, 19 May 1838.)  

  7. 7

    See Daniel 7:13.  

  8. 8

    See Old Testament Revision 1, p. 2 [Moses 1:34]; and Revelation, ca. Aug. 1835 [D&C 27:11].  

  9. 9

    See Revelation, 1 Mar. 1832, in Doctrine and Covenants 76:3, 1835 ed. [D&C 78:16].  

  10. 10

    TEXT: A vertical line was inscribed on the left and right sides of “&c”.  

  11. 11

    See Revelation, 6 May 1833 [D&C 93:29–35].  

  12. 12

    See Matthew 18:10.  

  13. 13

    See Book of Mormon, 1830 ed., 258–259 [Alma 13:2–5].  

  14. 14

    See Old Testament Revision 1, p. 8 [Moses 5:2]; and Genesis 1:28.  

  15. 15

    See Matthew 17:1–3.  

  16. 16

    See New Testament Revision 2, part 2, p. 139 [Joseph Smith Translation, Hebrews 7:3].  

  17. 17

    See Hebrews 4:14; and 9:11.  

  18. 18

    See Hebrews 12:22–24.  

  19. 19

    Instruction on Priesthood, between ca. 1 Mar. and ca. 4 May 1835 [D&C 107:53–57].  

  20. 20

    See Hebrews 11:8–10.  

  21. 21

    See Exodus chaps. 19–20; and Revelation, 22–23 Sept. 1832 [D&C 84:23–25].  

  22. 22

    The name Elias is a title JS applied to individuals in the Bible who had preparatory or restorative responsibilities, such as Noah, John the Baptist, and John the Revelator. (See Revelation, ca. Aug. 1835 [D&C 27:6–7]; New Testament Revision 1, p. 28 [Joseph Smith Translation, Matthew 11:13–15]; New Testament Revision 2, part 1, p. 32 [Joseph Smith Translation, Matthew 17:10–14]; New Testament Revision 2, part 2, p. 106 [Joseph Smith Translation, John 1:20–28]; and Answers to Questions, between ca. 4 and ca. 20 Mar. 1832 [D&C 77:14].)  

  23. 23

    TEXT: A line connects this insertion with the sentence following the parenthetical note.  

  24. 24

    See Old Testament Revision 1, pp. 16, 19 [Moses 7:18–19, 69].  

  25. 25

    Probably the initials for John Taylor. It is not clear why his initials were included here and in a second parenthetical note. The notes perhaps originated in a copy of the discourse that Taylor made.  

  26. 26

    See Isaiah 40:5; and 1 Peter 4:13.  

  27. 27

    See Ephesians 1:10.  

  28. 28

    See Hebrews 11:40.  

  29. 29

    See Old Testament Revision 1, p. 17 [Moses 7:41].  

  30. 30

    See Luke 13:19; Matthew 13:31–32; and Mark 4:32.  

  31. 31

    TEXT: A curved line connects “angels.” to “thus”, thereby setting apart “the Book of Mormon perhaps”.  

  32. 32

    See Daniel 7:13.  

  33. 33

    See Hebrews 12:22–23.  

  34. 34

    See 1 Corinthians 10:1–4.  

  35. 35

    See Daniel 7:21–22.  

  36. 36

    See Revelation 19:10.  

  37. 37

    See New Testament Revision 1, p. 56[a] [Joseph Smith—Matthew 1:36]; and Revelation, 25 Dec. 1832 [D&C 87].  

  38. 38

    See Joel 2:31; Acts 2:20; and Revelation, Sept. 1830–A [D&C 29:14].  

  39. 39

    See Mark 13:29; Revelation, ca. 7 Mar. 1831 [D&C 45:63]; and Revelation, 30 Aug. 1831 [D&C 63:53].  

  40. 40

    See Revelation 6:16.  

  41. 41

    See Malachi 4:5–6; Book of Mormon, 1830 ed., 505 [3 Nephi 25:6]; Revelation, ca. Aug. 1835 [D&C 27:9]; and Visions, 3 Apr. 1836 [D&C 110:15].  

  42. 42

    See Matthew 13:47–50.  

  43. 43

    See Revelation, ca. 7 Mar. 1831 [D&C 45:68–69].  

  44. 44

    A cholera epidemic that began in India in 1817 reached the East Coast of the United States in 1832. Cholera killed tens of thousands in the United States in the 1830s as it spread across the country. In 1834 Oliver Cowdery described the epidemic as a pestilence signaling Christ’s second coming. (“Answer,” The Evening and the Morning Star, Sept. 1834, 189; see also Jortner, “Cholera, Christ, and Jackson,” 237–238.)  

    Comprehensive Works Cited

    The Evening and the Morning Star. Independence, MO, June 1832–July 1833; Kirtland, OH, Dec. 1833–Sept. 1834.

    Jortner, Adam. “Cholera, Christ, and Jackson: The Epidemic of 1832 and the Origins of Christian Politics in Antebellum America.” Journal of the Early Republic 27, no. 2 (Summer 2007): 233–264.

  45. 45

    JS was likely referring to rumors spread by dissenters in Kirtland, Ohio. For example, Warren Parrish and others published articles and wrote letters defaming JS and the church. (See Warren Parrish, Kirtland, OH, 5 Feb. 1838, Letter to the Editor, Painesville [OH] Republican, 15 Feb. 1838, [3]; and Stephen Burnett, Orange Township, OH, to Lyman Johnson, 15 Apr. 1838, in JS Letterbook 2, pp. 64–66.)  

    Comprehensive Works Cited

    Painesville Republican. Painesville, OH. 1836–1841.

  46. 46

    See Daniel 6:10.  

  47. 47

    See Revelation, ca. 7 Mar. 1831 [D&C 45:69].  

  48. 48

    See Matthew 10:35.  

  49. 49

    See Matthew 23:34.  

  50. 50

    See Matthew 24:32–33; and New Testament Revision 1, p. 56[a] [Joseph Smith—Matthew 1:38].  

  51. 51

    See 1 John 4:1; and Discourse, 27 June 1839.  

  52. 52

    See Vision, 16 Feb. 1832 [D&C 76:47].  

  53. 53

    See 1 Kings 22:22; JS History, vol. B-1, 773; Travel Account and Questions, Nov. 1837; and John Smith and Don Carlos Smith, Kirtland Mills, OH, to George A. Smith, Shinnston, VA, 15–18 Jan. 1838, George Albert Smith, Papers, CHL.  

    Comprehensive Works Cited

    Smith, George Albert. Papers, 1834–1877. CHL. MS 1322.

  54. 54

    1 Peter 1:23.  

  55. 55

    See 2 Corinthians 11:14; and Book of Mormon, 1830 ed., 79 [2 Nephi 9:9].  

  56. 56

    See Discourse, 27 June 1839.  

  57. 57

    See Matthew 4:1–5.  

  58. 58

    See 1 Corinthians 12:10; Revelation, ca. 8 Mar. 1831–A [D&C 46:23]; Historical Introduction to Minutes, 22–23 Jan. 1833; and Minutes and Prayer of Dedication, 27 Mar. 1836 [D&C 109:36].  

  59. 59

    See Discourse, between ca. 26 June and ca. 2 July 1839.  

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