Diligently Seeking for the Right of the Fathers
A Prelude to Studying Doctrine and Covenants 18
Except ye repent the Lord God will destroy you. (see Alma 8:16)
Repent ye, for thus saith the Lord, except ye repent I will visit this people in mine anger; yea, and I will not turn my fierce anger away. (see Alma 8:29)
This is the message that the Lord, through His angel, sent Alma the Younger to declare unto the people of Ammonihah.
Just as in the time of Alma the Younger, there are those who now study to destroy our liberty. (see Alma 8:17) To all such people, and to the rest: repent. I invite you to exercise faith in Jesus Christ and apply Alma’s message.
You may not hear this message preached from the pulpit in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, but this message of the Lord to the people of Ammonihah in the Book of Mormon is the Lord’s message to us today:
Except ye repent the Lord God will destroy you. (see Alma 8:16)
Repent ye, for thus saith the Lord, except ye repent I will visit this people in mine anger; yea, and I will not turn my fierce anger away. (see Alma 8:29)
This week we are studying the Lord’s revelation to the Prophet Joseph Smith, Oliver Cowdery, and David Whitmer that is recorded in Doctrine and Covenants 18. It is a beautiful section, and one of my favorites. The historical note in The Revelations of the Prophet Joseph Smith sheds light on the background for this section:
This revelation, received for Oliver Cowdery and David Whitmer, explains the eternal worth of the human soul, the importance of the Atonement, and the obligation of the Saints to preach the gospel. It also states that twelve apostles will be called and that Oliver Cowdery and David Whitmer will choose them. In fulfillment of this revelation, the twelve apostles were chosen in February 1835 by the Three Witnesses of the Book of Mormon. Note verse 9 which designates Oliver Cowdery and David Whitmer apostles. (p. 30)
It is likely that by the time of this revelation, the Lord had already restored the Melchizedek Priesthood through Joseph and Oliver. When the resurrected John the Baptist appeared to Joseph and Oliver and conferred upon them the Aaronic Priesthood, he did so under the direction of Peter, James, and John, who held the keys of the Melchizedek Priesthood. John the Baptist promised Joseph and Oliver that in due time the Melchizedek Priesthood would be conferred upon them. The historical note on this topic in Joseph Smith and the Doctrine and Covenants also provides helpful background information for this section:
Although there is no record of the precise date on which the Melchizedek Priesthood was restored, two references in the Doctrine and Covenants confirm that Peter, James, and John restored this authority (see D&C 27:12; 128:20). The latter revelation indicates that the Melchizedek Priesthood was restored in the wilderness between Harmony, Pennsylvania, and Colesville, New York - probably about the time Joseph and Oliver moved to the Whitmer home in Fayette. Not long afterwards, the Prophet and some of his associates gathered “in the chamber of Mr. Whitmer’s house” and prayed to know when they could exercise this higher power. “We had not long been engaged in solemn and fervent prayer,” the Prophet recorded, “when the word of the Lord came unto us in the chamber [see D&C 128:21], commanding us that I should ordain Oliver Cowdery to be an Elder in the Church of Jesus Christ; and that he also should ordain me to the same office; and then to ordain others, as it should be made known unto us from time to time. We were, however, commanded to defer this our ordination until such times as it should be practicable to have our brethren, who had been and who should be baptized assembled together, when we must have their sanction to our thus proceeding to ordain each other, and have them decide by vote whether they were willing to accept us as spiritual teachers or not.” (History of the Church, 1:60-61)
During this gathering in the Whitmer home in June 1829, the Lord revealed Doctrine and Covenants 18. Many regard the Lord’s statement in verse 9 of that section as evidence that the Melchizedek Priesthood had already been restored. The Lord’s instruction to ordain brethren to a specific office in this priesthood would be carried out 6 April 1830 at the time of the official organization of the Church. (p. 20)
Oliver Cowdery’s testimony of these events, many years later and after his apostasy and return to the Church, is recorded in this same excellent book, Joseph Smith and the Doctrine and Covenants:
I was present with Joseph when an holy angel from God came down from heaven and conferred on us or restored the lesser or Aaronic priesthood, and said to us, at the same time, that it should remain upon the earth while the earth stands. I was also present with Joseph when the higher or Melchisedek Priesthood was conferred by the holy angel[s] from on high. This Priesthood was then conferred on each other, by the will and commandment of God. This Priesthood, as was then declared, is also to remain upon the earth until the last remnant of time. This holy priesthood or authority we then conferred upon many, and is just as good and valid as though God had done it in person. I laid my hands upon that man - yes, I laid my right hand upon his head (pointing to brother Hyde), and I conferred upon him this Priesthood, and he holds that Priesthood now. He was also called through me, by the prayer of faith, an Apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ. (Millennial Star, 20 Aug. 1859, p. 544) (p. 21)
After the resurrected John the Baptist conferred the Aaronic Priesthood upon Joseph and Oliver he instructed them to baptize each other, which they did in the Susquehannah River on May 15, 1829. Following the example of John the Baptist and our Savior, Joseph baptized Oliver, and then Oliver baptized Joseph, whereupon they received the Holy Ghost:
Immediately on our coming up out of the water after we had been baptized, we experienced great and glorious blessings from our Heavenly Father. No sooner had I baptized Oliver Cowdery, than the Holy Ghost fell upon him, and he stood up and prophesied many things which should shortly come to pass. And again, so soon as I had been baptized by him, I also had the spirit of prophecy, when, standing up, I prophesied concerning the rise of this Church, and many other things connected with the Church, and this generation of the children of men. We were filled with the Holy Ghost, and rejoiced in the God of our salvation. (Joseph Smith—History 1:73).
I love Oliver Cowdery’s exuberant description of these events that is also recorded at the end of Joseph Smith—History. In Joseph Smith and the Doctrine and Covenants, Milton V. Backman, Jr. and Richard O. Cowan recorded yet another testimony that Oliver Cowdery wrote, this time while serving as recorder for the Church’s Patriarch:
Our souls were drawn out in mighty prayer, to know how we might obtain the blessings of baptism and of the Holy Spirit according to the order of God; and we diligently sought for the right of the fathers, and the authority of the holy priesthood, and the power to administer the same; for we desired to be followers of righteousness, and in the possession of greater knowledge, even the knowledge of the mysteries of the kingdom of God. Therefore we repaired to the woods… and called upon the name of the Lord, and he answered us out of the heavens. And while we were in the heavenly vision, the angel came down and bestowed upon us this priesthood and then, as I have said, we repaired to the water and were baptized. After this, we received the high and holy priesthood; but an account of this will be given elsewhere, or in another place. (Improvement Era, Oct. 1904, p. 942) (pp. 19-20)
Perceptive students of the Standard Works of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints will notice that this testimony of Oliver Cowdery was recorded soon after the Prophet Joseph Smith began to translate the Book of Abraham, because Oliver’s language reflects the language of the first chapter in the Book of Abraham. This connection between the Book of Abraham and Oliver Cowdery’s testimony is significant because, like Abraham, Joseph and Oliver had sought for a new place of residence as a result of persecution. Joseph and Oliver sought for the same blessings that Abraham sought long ago:
In the land of the Chaldeans, at the residence of my fathers, I, Abraham, saw that it was needful for me to obtain another place of residence;
And, finding there was greater happiness and peace and rest for me, I sought for the blessings of the fathers, and the right whereunto I should be ordained to administer the same; having been myself a follower of righteousness, desiring also to be one who possessed great knowledge, and to be a greater follower of righteousness, and to possess a greater knowledge, and to be a father of many nations, a prince of peace, and desiring to receive instructions, and to keep the commandments of God, I became a rightful heir, a High Priest, holding the right belonging to the fathers.
It was conferred upon me from the fathers; it came down from the fathers, from the beginning of time, yea, even from the beginning, or before the foundation of the earth, down to the present time, even the right of the firstborn, or the first man, who is Adam, or first father, through the fathers unto me.
I sought for mine appointment unto the Priesthood according to the appointment of God unto the fathers concerning the seed. (Abraham 1:1-4)
Thus we see that, in addition to seeking for forgiveness of his sins and to know which church to join, Joseph Smith (and later Oliver Cowdery) sought for the blessings of Abraham. Because of their desire to be greater followers of righteousness and to possess greater knowledge, even the knowledge of the mysteries of God, and because of their diligent search for the right of the fathers and the authority and power of the holy priesthood, the Lord prepared Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery to receive the Aaronic Priesthood, baptism, the Holy Ghost, the Melchizedek Priesthood, and all of the keys for restoring and establishing the True Church of Jesus Christ.
Unlike the myriad and manifold preachers of their time, Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery received power and authority directly from God to preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ, to baptize, to ordain, and to organize the Church of Jesus Christ. Joseph Smith wasn’t merely a mystic or a solitary visionary, nor was he a libertarian ideologue. He was a prophet whom God chose and ordained to restore His gospel and His Church.
The context for the revelation recorded in D&C 18 also includes preparations to restore and establish the Lord’s True Church:
Preparations had been underway since at least June 1829. In that month, Joseph Smith dictated the revelation for Oliver Cowdery that would become Doctrine and Covenants 18. In it Oliver was instructed to “build up my church, and my gospel, and my rock.” In doing so, Cowdery was told to “rely upon the things which are written.”4 The Book of Mormon translation was nearly finished, and Cowdery indeed used the manuscript as he began to outline the polity of the new church.
Cowdery produced a document he called “Articles of the Church of Christ” in preparation for the organization of the Church. Much of this document was either a direct quotation or a close paraphrase from the Book of Mormon manuscript. Like the Nephite church, this new church would have priests and teachers. It would also have disciples, or elders. The June 1829 revelation also appointed Cowdery, along with David Whitmer, to select twelve who would serve as the Apostles sent out to spread the new church’s message.
This background information helps us to better understand why the translation of the Book of Mormon was completed before the restoration of the Church, and why the Lord purposed to restore His True Church. It is a sufficient prelude to our study of Doctrine and Covenants 18.