A Crown of Eternal Life
Reflections on the Beginning of Doctrine and Covenants 20
It was fitting that the Whitmer log home in Fayette, New York, the home in which Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery translated and transcribed much of the Book of Mormon, was also the site for the first meeting of the Church of Jesus Christ. On April 6, 1830, more than 40 believers gathered in the Whitmer home to witness the organization of the Church of Jesus Christ.
The Lord’s revelation to the Prophet Joseph Smith on Church organization and government, known at the time as the Articles and Covenants, is so clear, logically consistent, and inspiring that it must have impressed upon the minds of all who listened to it the truth that it came from God. As the Prophet Joseph Smith described it, the revelation gave them much information and pointed out to them the precise day upon which, according to the will and commandment of God, they should proceed to organize His Church once more here upon the earth.
This revelation helps us to understand many of the reasons why an organized church is necessary and the blessings that flow from membership and participation in the Lord’s Church. In Saints, Volume 1, we learn more details about this revelation and the first meeting of the Lord’s restored Church:
On April 6, 1830, Joseph and Oliver met in the Whitmer home to follow the Lord’s commandment and organize His church. To fulfill the requirements of the law, they chose six people to become the first members of the new church. Around forty women and men also crowded into and around the small home to witness the occasion.21
In obedience to the Lord’s earlier instructions, Joseph and Oliver asked the congregation to sustain them as leaders in the kingdom of God and indicate if they believed it was right for them to organize as a church. Every member of the congregation consented, and Joseph laid his hands on Oliver’s head and ordained him an elder of the church. Then they traded places, and Oliver ordained Joseph.
Afterward, they administered the bread and wine of the sacrament in remembrance of Christ’s Atonement. They then laid hands on those they had baptized, confirming them members of the church and giving them the gift of the Holy Ghost.22 The Lord’s Spirit was poured out on those in the meeting, and some in the congregation began to prophesy. Others praised the Lord, and all rejoiced together.
Joseph also received the first revelation addressed to the whole body of the new church. “Behold, there shall be a record kept among you,” the Lord commanded, reminding His people that they were to write their sacred history, preserving an account of their actions and witnessing to Joseph’s role as prophet, seer, and revelator.
“Him have I inspired to move the cause of Zion in mighty power for good,” the Lord declared. “His word ye shall receive, as if from mine own mouth, in all patience and faith. For by doing these things the gates of hell shall not prevail against you.”23
One thing that stands out to me about this event is that the end of the Book of Mormon, the Book of Moroni, marks the beginning of the Lord’s restored Church. In the Book of Moroni, the prophet Moroni recorded the basic and vital elements of the Lord’s Church and preserved them for this prophesied time when the Lord’s Church would be restored. After fourteen centuries, the transition from the last of the Book of Mormon prophets, Moroni, to the first of the latter-day prophets, Joseph Smith, was miraculous. Although the Lord destroyed the Nephite civilization and the Jaredite civilization that preceded the Nephite civilization, He preserved His Gospel and the records of both fallen civilizations in order to begin anew in the final dispensation of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
It is no coincidence, therefore, that similarities between the final book in the Book of Mormon, the Book of Moroni, and this section in the Doctrine and Covenants (D&C 20) abound. Neither is it a coincidence that the Lord declares in this revelation (D&C 20) the crucial role of the Prophet Joseph Smith and the the Book of Mormon that proves the Divinity of the Lord’s work in the latter days.
Furthermore, the way in which the Lord introduces His Prophet in this revelation gives hope to each one of us imperfect mortals because we can clearly see that even Joseph Smith, the great latter-day Prophet and Seer, was not perfect, and that he learned obedience by his own experience:
The rise of the Church of Christ in these last days, being one thousand eight hundred and thirty years since the coming of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ in the flesh, it being regularly organized and established agreeable to the laws of our country, by the will and commandments of God, in the fourth month, and on the sixth day of the month which is called April—
Which commandments were given to Joseph Smith, Jun., who was called of God, and ordained an apostle of Jesus Christ, to be the first elder of this church;
And to Oliver Cowdery, who was also called of God, an apostle of Jesus Christ, to be the second elder of this church, and ordained under his hand;
And this according to the grace of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, to whom be all glory, both now and forever. Amen.
After it was truly manifested unto this first elder that he had received a remission of his sins, he was entangled again in the vanities of the world;
But after repenting, and humbling himself sincerely, through faith, God ministered unto him by an holy angel, whose countenance was as lightning, and whose garments were pure and white above all other whiteness;
And gave unto him commandments which inspired him; (D&C 20:1-7)
What stands out to you about these verses?
One thing that immediately captures my attention is how the Prophet Joseph Smith’s experience with the angel Moroni is an echo of Nephi’s experience with the angel in the early portions of the Book of Mormon (1 Nephi 8-11). The Lord’s language in this revelation (D&C 20) even reflects the language of Nephi’s vision of the tree of life. (see 1 Nephi 11)
Moreover, those of us who have received a remission of sins, and felt to sing the song of redeeming love, and who have then become entangled again in the vanities of the world, can derive hope from these verses. Joseph Smith saw and conversed with God the Father and Jesus Christ, and even after that he struggled with his mortal weakness. But he also showed us what to do: he repented, and humbled himself sincerely, through faith. The aforementioned verses also emphasize that all of these things were accomplished “according to the grace of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.”
The following verses reveal the foundational importance and purpose of the Book of Mormon for the newly restored Church of Jesus Christ and for the rest of the world:
And gave him power from on high, by the means which were before prepared, to translate the Book of Mormon;
Which contains a record of a fallen people, and the fulness of the gospel of Jesus Christ to the Gentiles and to the Jews also;
Which was given by inspiration, and is confirmed to others by the ministering of angels, and is declared unto the world by them—
Proving to the world that the holy scriptures are true, and that God does inspire men and call them to his holy work in this age and generation, as well as in generations of old;
Thereby showing that he is the same God yesterday, today, and forever. Amen.
Therefore, having so great witnesses, by them shall the world be judged, even as many as shall hereafter come to a knowledge of this work.
And those who receive it in faith, and work righteousness, shall receive a crown of eternal life; (D&C 20:8-14)
I love this.
What is the Book of Mormon?
It is a book that contains a record of a fallen people and the fulness of the gospel of Jesus Christ. The fallen people are the Nephites, and the Jaredites before them. In ancient times, the Lord revealed His Gospel first to the Jews and then to the Gentiles. In modern times, the Lord revealed the fulness of His Gospel first to the Gentiles and then to the Jews. The time is rapidly approaching, and perhaps now is, when the fulness of the Gospel contained in the Book of Mormon will go to the Jews.
This sacred record was given by inspiration and translated by the gift and power of God, and it is “confirmed to others by the ministering of angels.” This is perhaps the best way to describe what it means for a person to obtain a personal testimony of the Book of Mormon. The Lord confirms the truth of the Book of Mormon to us by the ministering of angels, and the power of the Holy Ghost. Then we declare the truth of the Book of Mormon unto the rest of the world.
These things prove to a secular, atheistic, unbelieving world things that it could never imagine, truths that had been distorted, rejected, or lost for centuries. These things prove that:
The holy scriptures are true
These verses also contain the greatest promise and blessing from the Lord, namely, that those who receive the Book of Mormon in faith, and work righteousness, shall receive a crown of eternal life.
A crown of eternal life… there’s nothing better than that.
