It Came from God
Historical Background for Doctrine and Covenants Section 76
What is the historical background for Doctrine and Covenants Section 76?
This is Bruce R. McConkie’s section heading for this section:
A vision given to Joseph Smith the Prophet and Sidney Rigdon, at Hiram, Ohio, February 16, 1832. Prefacing the record of this vision, Joseph Smith’s history states: “Upon my return from Amherst conference, I resumed the translation of the Scriptures. From sundry revelations which had been received, it was apparent that many important points touching the salvation of man had been taken from the Bible, or lost before it was compiled. It appeared self-evident from what truths were left, that if God rewarded every one according to the deeds done in the body the term ‘Heaven,’ as intended for the Saints’ eternal home, must include more kingdoms than one. Accordingly, … while translating St. John’s Gospel, myself and Elder Rigdon saw the following vision.” At the time this vision was given, the Prophet was translating John 5:29.
The authors of the LDS Come Follow Me manual introduce D&C 76 as follows:
“What will happen to me after I die?” Nearly everyone asks this question in some form or another. For centuries, many Christian traditions, relying on biblical teachings, have taught of heaven and hell, of paradise for the righteous and torment for the wicked. But can the entire human family really be divided so strictly? In February 1832, Joseph Smith and Sidney Rigdon wondered if there was more to know about the subject (see Doctrine and Covenants 76, section heading).
There certainly was. While Joseph and Sidney were pondering these things, the Lord “touched the eyes of [their] understandings and they were opened” (verse 19). They received a revelation so stunning, so expansive, so illuminating that the Saints simply called it “the Vision.” It threw open heaven’s windows and gave God’s children a mind-stretching view of eternity. The vision revealed that heaven is grander and broader and more inclusive than most people had previously supposed. God is more merciful and just than we can comprehend. And God’s children have an eternal destiny more glorious than we can imagine.
See Saints, 1:147–50; “The Vision,” in Revelations in Context, 148–54.
In his book A Joseph Smith Chronology, J. Christopher Conkling describes the historical background for this section as follows:
Feb. 16, 1832
Joseph returns to Hiram, Ohio, and continues translating the New Testament with Sidney Rigdon as scribe. While translating John 5:29, they wonder if there isn’t some sort of gradation in rewards in the next life because of people’s varied degrees of righteousness. In response to this question they receive a series of visions, known as D&C 76. About this vision Joseph writes, “The sublimity of the ideas; the purity of the language; the scope for action; … the rewards for faithfulness, and the punishments for sins, are so much beyond the narrow-mindedness of men, that every honest man is constrained to exclaim: ‘It came from God.’”
According to Philo Dibble, this vision was given in the presence of about 12 others. Joseph and Sidney would stare into space. One would say “What do I see?” And then he would say what he was seeing and the other would say “I see the same”; and then they would repeat the process. At the end of the vision, Dibble reports that Joseph sat calmly and firmly while Sidney was pale and limp, and that Joseph remarked with a smile, “Sidney is not used to it as I am.” Sidney stayed up that night recording the vision. (HC 1:252-53; HA 67-68.) (pp. 30-31)
In their book Joseph Smith and the Doctrine and Covenants, Milton V. Backman, Jr. and Richard O. Cowan add the following details to the historical background for D&C 76:
“The Vision” of the Degrees of Glory
The Prophet and Sidney Rigdon pondered many questions about the gospel while they were “translating” the Bible. For example, they wondered how scriptural references to “many mansions” could be harmonized with the teachings of most Christian churches that there is but one heaven and one hell. While the Prophet was living in the Johnson home, some of the most distinctive truths of the Restoration were unfolded during a vision of the degrees of glory (D&C 76).
Philo Dibble, who happened to enter the room while the vision was being received, stated that when “Joseph and Sidney were in the spirit and saw the heavens open, there were other men in the room, perhaps twelve, among whom I was one during a part of the time - probably two-thirds of the time, - I saw the glory and felt the power, but did not see the vision.
“The events and conversation, while they were seeing what is written (and many things were seen and related that are not written), I will related as minutely as necessary.
“Joseph would, at intervals, say: ‘What do I see?’ as one might say while looking out the window and beholding what all in the room could not see. Then he would related what he had seen or what he was looking at. Then Sidney replied, ‘I see that same.’ Presently Sidney would say ‘what do I see?’ and would repeat what he had seen or was seeing, and Joseph would reply, ‘I see the same.’
“This manner of conversation was repeated at short intervals to the end of the vision, and during the whole time not a word was spoken by any other person. Not a sound nor motion was made by anyone but Joseph and Sidney, and it seemed to me that they never moved a joint or limb during the time I was there, which I think was over an hour, and to the end of the vision.
“Joseph sat firmly and calmly all the time in the midst of a magnificent glory, but Sidney sat limp and pale, apparently as limber as a rag, observing which, Joseph remarked, ‘Sidney is not used to it as I am’” (Juvenile Instructor, 15 May 1892, pp. 303-4).
Whenever the Prophet restored additional doctrines, some members became disaffected and left the Church. Brigham Young recalled in August 1852 his own mixed reaction to some of the ideas revealed in Doctrine and Covenants 76: “Many things which were revealed through Joseph came in contact with our own prejudices: we did not know how to understand them. . . . After all, my traditions were such, that when the Vision [D&C 76] came first to me, it was directly contrary and apposed to my former education. I said, Wait a little. I did not reject it; but I could not understand it. I then could feel what incorrect tradition had done for me. Suppose that all that I have ever heard from my priest and parents - the way they taught me to read the Bible - had been true, my understanding would be diametrically opposed to the doctrine revealed in the Vision. I used to think and pray, to read and think, until I knew and fully understood it for myself, by the visions of the Holy Spirit” (Journal of Discourses, 6:280-81).
Persecutions in Hiram continued to increase. Finally, in the spring of 1832, Joseph Smith and Sidney Rigdon were forced to leave Hiram and return to Kirtland, which again became the headquarters of the Church and the residence of the Prophet until 1838. (pp. 66-68)
In his chapter “‘The Vision’” in Revelations in Context, Matthew McBride sheds more light on the historical background for D&C 76. I commend the entire chapter to your attention, but this is a brief excerpt:
“Great and Marvelous Things”
Haskins likely heard about this vision from Joseph or one of the few other men who were present when it occurred on February 16 at the home of John Johnson in Hiram. Joseph Smith and Sidney Rigdon were there working on a revision of the New Testament. Earlier revelations made it “apparent that many important points, touching the Salvation of man, had been taken from the Bible.” According to Joseph’s history, the two men were pondering the significance of a passage on the Resurrection found in John 5:29 when “the Lord touched the eyes of our understandings” and they witnessed the vision.3
“Not a sound nor motion [was] made by anyone but Joseph and Sidney,” recalled Philo Dibble, one of those present. “I saw the glory and felt the power, but did not see the vision.”4 Dibble and as many as 12 others listened as Joseph Smith and Sidney Rigdon described aloud what they saw.
“The Vision,” as it became known, contained a sweeping description of what awaited humankind after death. It outlined varying degrees of glory divided into three kingdoms as the inheritances for the vast majority of God’s children; revealed that consignment to eternal punishment would be the fate of only a small few; and explained that the righteous would receive the Father’s fulness: “Wherefore as it is writen they are Gods even the sons of God wherefore all things are theres.”5
Haskins shared his elation over this expansive vision with his guests during their visit to his home. “He told us that he had seen Joseph & Sidney & that they had had a vision & that they had seen great & marvilous things,” Samuel Smith wrote in his journal.6
A few days after their visit with Haskins, the missionaries “had the privlidge of reading“ a written account of “the Vision” when they met Seth and Joel Johnson, two Church members who carried with them a precious handwritten copy they had made while in Kirtland.7 These exchanges demonstrate the excitement with which some early converts treated “the Vision.” But not everyone shared their enthusiasm. (pp. 148-149)
The authors of the first volume of Saints also shed more light on the historical background for D&C 76:
In January 1832, Joseph, Emma, and the twins were living in the home of Elsa and John Johnson in Hiram, Ohio, about thirty miles south of Kirtland.1 The Johnsons were around the same age as Joseph’s parents, so most of their children had married and moved out of their spacious farmhouse, leaving plenty of room for Joseph to meet with church leaders and work on his translation of the Bible.
Before their baptisms, Elsa and John had been members of Ezra Booth’s congregation. In fact, it had been Elsa who was miraculously healed by Joseph, leading Ezra to join the church.2 But while Ezra had lost his faith, the Johnsons continued to support the prophet, just as the Whitmers and Knights had done in New York.
That winter, Joseph and Sidney spent much of their time translating in an upstairs room at the Johnson home. In mid-February, as they read in the Gospel of John about the resurrection of just and unjust souls, Joseph wondered if there was not more to know about heaven or the salvation of humankind. If God rewarded His children according to their deeds on earth, were traditional notions of heaven and hell too simple?3
On February 16, Joseph, Sidney, and about twelve other men sat in an upstairs room in the Johnson home.4 The Spirit rested on Joseph and Sidney, and they grew still as a vision opened before their eyes. The glory of the Lord surrounded them, and they saw Jesus Christ at the right hand of God. Angels worshipped at His throne, and a voice testified that Jesus was the Only Begotten of the Father.5
“What do I see?” Joseph asked as he and Sidney marveled at the wonders they saw. He then described what he beheld in the vision, and Sidney said, “I see the same.” Sidney then asked the same question and described the scene before him. Once he finished, Joseph said, “I see the same.”
They spoke like this for an hour, and their vision revealed that God’s plan of salvation started before life on earth and that His children would be resurrected after death through the power of Jesus Christ. They also described heaven in a way no one in the room had ever imagined. Rather than being a single kingdom, it was organized into various kingdoms of glory.
Expanding on the apostle Paul’s description of the Resurrection in 1 Corinthians 15, Joseph and Sidney saw and described specific details about each kingdom. The Lord prepared telestial glory for those who had been wicked and unrepentant on earth. Terrestrial glory was for those who had lived honorably in life but had not fully obeyed the gospel of Jesus Christ. Celestial glory was for those who accepted Christ, made and kept gospel covenants, and inherited the fullness of God’s glory.6
The Lord revealed more about heaven and the Resurrection to Joseph and Sidney but told them not to record it. “They are only to be seen and understood by the power of the Holy Spirit,” He explained, “which God bestows on those who love him, and purify themselves before him.”7
When the vision closed, Sidney looked limp and pale, overcome by what he had seen. Joseph smiled and said, “Sidney is not used to it as I am.”8
As the Saints in Kirtland learned of Joseph’s grand vision of heaven, William Phelps was setting up the church’s printing office in Independence. He had been a newspaper editor much of his adult life, and along with working on the Book of Commandments, he hoped to publish a monthly newspaper for the Saints and their neighbors in Missouri.
Writing in a strong, confident voice, William penned a public announcement for the paper, which he planned to call The Evening and the Morning Star. “The Star will borrow its light from sacred sources,” he declared, “and be devoted to the revelations of God.” He believed the last days had arrived, and he wanted his newspaper to warn the righteous and wicked alike that the gospel was restored and that the Savior would soon return to the earth.
He wanted to print other items of interest as well, including news reports and poetry. But even though he was a man of strong opinions who rarely passed up the chance to speak his mind, William insisted that the newspaper would not meddle in politics or local disputes.
He had been a politically active editor for other newspapers and had sometimes peppered his articles and editorials with opinions that irritated his opponents.9 Staying above the fray in Missouri would be challenging. Still, the prospect of writing news articles and editorials thrilled him.
William was sincere in his plan to focus the paper on the gospel, and he understood that his first priority as church printer was publishing the revelations. “From this press may be expected, as soon as wisdom directs, many sacred records,” he promised his readers.10
Back in Ohio, Joseph and Sidney’s vision was causing a stir. Many Saints quickly embraced the newly revealed truths about heaven, but others had a hard time squaring the vision with their traditional Christian beliefs.11 Did this new view of heaven save too many souls? A few Saints rejected the revelation and left the church.
The vision further troubled some of their neighbors, who were already bothered by the letters Ezra Booth had published in a local newspaper. As the letters spread Ezra’s criticisms against Joseph, other former members of the church joined in, raising questions in the minds of people whose family and friends worshipped with the Saints.12
As the sun set one evening in late March 1832, a group of men met in a brickyard half a mile from the Johnsons’ home. In the kiln, the men built a fire to heat pine tar. As the sky grew darker, they covered their faces in soot and slipped away into the night.13
Wilford Woodruff learned about the vision from missionaries and recorded his impressions of it:
“I was taught from my childhood that there was one Heaven and one Hell, and was told that the wicked all had one punishment and the righteous one glory. …
“… When I read the vision … , it enlightened my mind and gave me great joy, it appeared to me that the God who revealed that principle unto man was wise, just and true, possessed both the best of attributes and good sense and knowledge, I felt He was consistent with both love, mercy, justice and judgment, and I felt to love the Lord more than ever before in my life.”
“The ‘Vision’ [is] a revelation which gives more light, more truth and more principle than any revelation contained in any other book we ever read. It makes plain to our understanding our present condition, where we came from, why we are here, and where we are going to. Any man may know through that revelation what his part and condition will be.”
“Before I saw Joseph I said I did not care how old he was, or how young he was; I did not care how he looked—whether his hair was long or short; the man that advanced that revelation [the vision recorded in section 76] was a prophet of God. I knew it for myself.”
“The Lord is revealing the mysteries of the heavenly Kingdom unto his Children. … Joseph Smith and Sidney Rigdon made us a visit last spring, and we had many joyful meetings while they were here, and we had many mysteries unfolded to our view, which gave me great consolation. We could view the condescension of God in preparing mansions of peace for his children. And whoso will not receive the fullness of the gospel and stand as valiant soldiers in the cause of Christ cannot dwell in the presence of the Father and the Son. But there is a place prepared for all who do not receive, but it is a place of much lesser glory than to dwell in the Celestial kingdom. I shall not attempt to say any farther concerning these things as they are now in print and are going forth to the world. And you perhaps will have an opportunity of reading for yourself, and if you do, I hope you will read with a careful and a prayerful heart, for these things are worthy of notice. And I desire that you may search into them, for it is that which lends to our happiness in this world and in the world to come.”
In his book The Revelations of the Prophet Joseph Smith, Lyndon W. Cook relates some of the same background information for D&C 76, but he also shares a poem that was allegedly written by Joseph Smith:
Date. 16 February 1832.
Place. Hiram, Portage County, Ohio.
Historical Note. After returning to Hiram from the Amherst conference, Joseph Smith and Sidney Rigdon resumed the translation of the New Testament. Section 76 was received while they were translating John 5:29. Known as “The Vision,” this section of of major doctrinal importance.
Philo Dibble, one of a dozen brethren present when this vision was received, indicated that he saw the glory and felt the power but did not see the vision. Referring to the occasion, Dibble stated,
“Joseph would, at intervals, say: ‘What do I see?’ Then he would related what he had seen or what he was looking at. Then Sidney replied, ‘I see the same.’ Presently Sidney would say, ‘What do I see?’ and would repeat what he had seen or was seeing, and Joseph would reply, ‘I see the same.’ This manner of conversation was repeated at short intervals to the end of the vision, and during the whole time not a word was spoken by any other person. Not a sound nor motion made by anyone but Joseph and Sidney, and it seemed to me that they never moved a joint or limb during the time I was there, which I think was over an hour, and to the end of the vision. Joseph sat firmly and calmly all the time in the midst of a magnificent glory, but Sidney sat limp and pale, apparently as limber as a rag, observing which Joseph remarked, smilingly, ‘Sidney is not used to it as I am.’”
According to some of the early journals, this revelation was not well received by all members of the Church because it conflicted with their previous notions of heaven and hell; much missionary work was required to keep unity among the Saints.
In February 1843, as a rejoinder to a poem written by William W. Phelps, Joseph Smith wrote a poetic version of section 76. This important writing, which clarified some passages in this revelation, was published in Nauvoo, Illinois, in February 1843. It is here included in its entirety.*
Publication Note. Section 76 was first published in the Evening and Morning Star (July 1832) and was included as section 91 in the 1835 edition of the Doctrine and Covenants. (pp. 157-166)
In their Doctrine and Covenants Commentary, Smith and Sjodahl introduce D&C 76 as follows:
This is one of the grandest and, in some respects, most remarkable visions ever vouchsafed to man in mortality. Human language can but imperfectly portray the glory in the midst of which the various scenes, as a panorama, passed before the minds of the enraptured Prophets of God, quickened by the divine Spirit. “The glory of the Lord shone round about,” as on the Mount of Transfiguration. They say and conversed with the Redeemer of the world, and were given to understand the very mysteries of eternities.
The Prophet Joseph says of this Revelation:
“Every law, every commandment, every promise, every truth, and every point touching the destiny of man, from Genesis to Revelation, where the purity of the Scriptures remains unsullied by the folly of men, goes to show the perfection of the theory, and witnesses the fact that that document is a transcript from the records of the eternal world. The sublimity of the ideas; the purity of the language; the scope for actions; the continued duration for completion, in order that the heirs of salvation may confess the Lord and bow the knee; the rewards for faithfulness, and the punishments of sins, are so much beyond the narrowmindedness of men, that every honest man is constrained to exclaim, ‘It came from God’” (Hist. of the Church, Vol. I., p. 252).
Charles W. Penrose, in a sermon delivered in Salt Lake City, March 4th, 1883, expressed the appreciation of the Church for this Revelation, in the following words:
“There is nothing in the book called the Bible that can compare with it. It is full of light; it is full of truth; it is full of glory; it is full of beauty. It portrays the future of all the inhabitants of the earth, dividing them into three grand classes or divisions - celestial, terrestrial, and telestial, or as compared to the glory of the sun, the glory of the moon, and the glory of the stars. It shows who will be redeemed, and what redemption they will enjoy; and describes the position the inhabitants of the earth will occupy when they enter into the future state” (Jour. of Dis., Vol. XXIV., p. 92).
This Revelation was received shortly after the return of the Prophet to Hiram, from the Amherst Conference, where he had been ordained President of the High Priesthood. It contains, (1) an introduction (1-10); (2) a statement of the circumstances under which it was given (11-19); (3) a vision of the glory of the Son (20-4); (4) a vision of the fall of Satan (25-9); (5) a vision of the suffering of the lost (30-49); (6) a vision of those who will come forth in the resurrection of the just (50-70); (7) a vision of the terrestrial world (71-80); (8) a vision of the telestial glory (81-8); (9) a comparison between the three glories (89-112); and (10) the conclusion (113-19). (pp. 443-444)
Monte S. Nyman’s introduction to this section is also noteworthy:
The vision apparently lasted somewhere around two hours, a lengthy time in light of a later statement by the Prophet, “Could you but gaze into heaven five minutes, you would know more than you would by reading all that was ever written on the subject.”
Joseph and Sidney were certainly qualified to tell us about “the Saints’ eternal home,” including “more kingdoms than one” (see section heading). Perhaps others have seen the same or a similar vision as did Joseph and Sidney, but there are only two other men recorded in our present-day scriptures to whom this great revelation was revealed": Jacob, the father of the twelve tribes of Israel (Genesis 28:10-12), and Paul, the Apostle to the Gentiles (2 Corinthians 12:1-7). And even our knowledge of these two men having seen such a vision is dependent upon a statement of the Prophet Joseph Smith: “Paul ascended into the third heavens, and he could understand the three principal rounds of Jacob’s ladder - the telestial, the terrestrial, and the celestial glories or kingdoms, where Paul saw and heard things which were not lawful for him to utter.”
While several men have seen a vision of the beginning of the world to the end thereof (for example, see 1 Nephi 14:26), Joseph Smith’s vision went beyond the scope of this world and into the eternal worlds of varying degrees of glory. It is also possible that Joseph Smith was the one privileged to record this vision for the inhabitants of the telestial world, just as John the Revelator was the one ordained to record the vision to the end of the world (see 1 Nephi 14:25, 27).
Although the Brother of Jared also recorded his vision of the beginning of the world to the end thereof (2 Nephi 27:6-11), his record is apparently reserved for the Millennium when only those of a terrestrial or celestial nature will be living on earth. Even though Jacob saw a vision of the degrees of glory, the biblical text provides only this meager account: “And he dreamed, and behold a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven: and behold the angels of God ascending and descending on it” (Genesis 28:12). Paul’s account is not much fuller, and although it sounds as if he is speaking of someone else, a careful reading of verses 5-7 reveals this man to be himself:
“And I knew such a man, (whether in the body, or out of the body, I cannot tell: God knoweth;) How that he was caught up into paradise, and heard unspeakable words, which it is not lawful for man to utter” (2 Corinthians 12:3-4). Although Paul mentions a third heaven, the Prophet Joseph’s explanation does much to clarify what he intended. Paul’s treatise of the three different types of resurrection, recorded in 1 Corinthians chapter 15, was undoubtedly based on his vision. Note also that Paul was forbidden to reveal his revelation. Monte S. Nyman, Doctrine and Covenants Commentary, Vol. 2, pp. 38-39)
In his book Latter-day Prophets and the Doctrine & Covenants, Roy W. Doxey shares Joseph Smith’s complete introduction to D&C 76:
Nothing could be more pleasing to the Saints upon the order of the kingdom of the Lord, than the light which burst upon the world through the foregoing vision. [Sec. 76.] Every law, every commandment, every promise, and every point touching the destiny of man, from Genesis to Revelation, where the purity of the scriptures remains unsullied by the folly of men, goes to show the perfection of the theory (of different degrees of glory in the future life) and witnesses the fact that that document is a transcript from the records of the eternal world. The sublimity of the ideas; the purity of the language; the scope for action; the continued duration for completion, in order that the heirs of salvation may confess the Lord and bow the knee; the rewards for faithfulness, and the punishments for sins, are so much beyond the narrow-mindedness of men, that every honest man is constrained to exclaim: “It came from God.” (HC 1:252-53, February 16, 1832.) (Roy W. Doxey, Latter-day Prophets and the Doctrine & Covenants, Vol. I., pp. 575-576)
In his book The Savior in Kirtland: Personal Accounts of Divine Manifestations, Karl Ricks Anderson devotes an entire chapter to this vision: “Christ Converses with Joseph and Sidney in a Vision of the Eternities.” I commend it to your attention.
With this historical background in mind, let’s examine and appreciate one of the grandest and most remarkable revelations, known by the early Saints as “The Vision,” as recorded in Doctrine and Covenants Section 76.
* “The Vision” - From Joseph Smith to W. W. Phelps, Esq.
This poetical rendering of Doctrine and Covenants 76, published in Nauvoo in 1843, is the only poem extant supposed to have been written by the Prophet Joseph Smith. Close textual comparisons, however, lead one to suspect that W. W. Phelps was the author. For a long period Phelps served as a personal scribe for Joseph. The poem is a response to Phelps' "Vade Mecum"
[1]
I will go, I will go, to the home of the Saints,
Where the virtue's the value, and life the reward;
But before I return to my former estate,
I must fulfill the mission I had from the Lord.[2]
Wherefore, hear O ye heavens, and give ear O ye earth,
And rejoice, ye inhabitants, truly again;
For the Lord he is God, and his life never ends,
And besides him there ne'er was a Savior of men.[3]
His ways are a wonder, his wisdom is great;
The extent of his doings there's none can unveil;
His purposes fail not; from age unto age
He still is the same, and his years never fail.[4]
His throne is the heavens--his life-time is all
Of eternity now, and eternity then;
His union is power, and none stays his hand,
The Alpha, Omega, for ever. Amen.[5]
For thus saith the Lord, in the spirit of truth,
I am merciful, gracious, and good unto those
That fear me, and live for the life that's to come:
My delight is to honour the Saints with repose,[6]
That serve me in righteousness true to the end;
Eternal's their glory and great their reward.
I'll surely reveal all my myst'ries to them--
The great hidden myst'ries in my kingdom stor'd;[7]
From the council in Kolob, to time on the earth,
And for ages to come unto them I will show
My pleasure and will, what the kingdom will do:
Eternity's wonders they truly shall know.[8]
Great things of the future I'll show unto them,
Yea, things of the vast generations to rise;
For their wisdom and glory shall be very great,
And their pure understanding extend to the skies.[9]
And before them the wisdom of wise men shall cease,
And the nice understanding of prudent ones fail!
For the light of my spirit shall light mine elect,
And the truth is so mighty 'twill ever prevail.[10]
And the secrets and plans of my will I'll reveal,
The sanctifi'd pleasures when earth is renew'd;
What the eye hath not seen, nor the ear hath yet heard,
Nor the heart of the natural man ever view'd.[11]
I, Joseph, the prophet, in spirit beheld,
And the eyes of the inner man truly did see
Eternity sketch'd in a vision from God,
Of what was, and now is, and yet is to be.[12]
Those things which the Father ordained of old,
Before the world was or a system had run;
Through Jesus, the Maker and Savior of all--
The only begotten (Messiah) his son.[13]
Of whom I bear record, as all prophets have,
And the record I bear is the fulness--yea, even
The truth of the gospel of Jesus--the Christ,
With whom I convers'd in the vision of heav'n.[14]
For while in the act of translating his word,
Which the Lord in his grace had appointed to me,
I came to the gospel recorded by John,
Chapter fifth, and the twenty-ninth verse which you'll see.[15]
I marvell'd at these resurrections, indeed,
For it came unto me by the spirit direct:
And while I did meditate what it all meant,
The Lord touch'd the eyes of my own intellect.[16]
Hosanna, for ever! They open'd anon,
And the glory of God shone around where I was;
And there was the Son at the Father's right hand,
In a fulness of glory and holy applause.[17]
I beheld round the throne holy angels and hosts,
And sanctified beings from the worlds that have been,
In holiness worshipping God and the Lamb,
For ever and ever. Amen and amen.[18]
And now after all of the proofs made of him,
By witnesses truly, by whom he was known,
This is mine, last of all, that he lives; yea, he lives!
And sits at the right hand of God on his throne.[19]
And I heard a great voice bearing record from heav'n,
He's the Saviour and only begotten of God;
By him, of him, and through him, the worlds were all made,
Even all that career in the heavens so broad.[20]
Whose inhabitants, too, from the first to the last,
Are sav'd by the very same Saviour of ours;
And, of course, are begotten God's daughters and sons
By the very same truths and the very same powers.[21]
And I saw and bear record of warfare in heaven;
For an angel of light, in authority great,
Rebell'd against Jesus and sought for his power,
But was thrust down to woe from his glorified state.[22]
And the heavens all wept, and the tears dropp'd like dew,
That Lucifer, son of the morning, had fell!
Yea, is fallen! is fallen and become, oh, alas!
The son of perdition, the devil of hell![23]
And while I was yet in the spirit of truth,
The commandment was--"Write ye the vision all out,
For Satan, old serpent, the devil's for war,
And yet will encompass the Saints round about."[24]
And I saw, too, the suff'ring and misery of those
(Overcome by the devil, in warfare and fight)
In hell-fire and vengeance--the doom of the damn'd;
For the Lord said the vision is further, so write:[25]
For thus saith the Lord, now concerning all those,
Who know of my power and partake of the same;
And suffer themselves that they be overcome
By the power of Satan, despising my name--[26]
Defying my power, and denying the truth:
They are they of the world, or of men most forlorn,
The sons of perdition, of whom, ah! I say,
'Twere better for them had they never been born.[27]
They're the vessels of wrath, and dishonour to God,
Doom'd to suffer his wrath in the regions of woe,
Through all the long night of eternity's round,
With the devil and all of his angels below.[28]
Of whom it is said no forgiveness is found,
In this world, alas! nor the world that's to come,
For they have deny'd the spirit of God,
After having receiv'd it, and mis'ry's their doom.[29]
And denying the only begotten of God,
And crucify him to themselves, as they do,
And openly put him to shame in their flesh,
By the gospel they cannot repentance renew.[30]
They are they who go to the great lake of fire,
Which burneth with brimstone, yet never consumes,
And dwell with the devil, and angels of his,
While eternity goes and eternity comes.[31]
They are they who must groan through the great second death,
And are not redeemed in the time of the Lord;
While all the rest are, through the triumph of Christ,
Made partakers of grace, by the power of his word.[32]
The myst'ry of godliness truly is great;
The past, and the present, and what is to be;
And this is the gospel--glad tidings to all,
Which the voice from the heavens bore record to me:[33]
That he came to the world in the middle of time,
To lay down his life for his friends and his foes,
And bear away sin as a mission of love,
And sanctify earth for a blessed repose.[34]
'Tis decreed that he'll save all the work of his hands,
And sanctify them by his own precious blood;
And purify earth for the Sabbath of rest,
By the agent of fire as it was by the flood.[35]
The Saviour will save all his Father did give,
Even all that he gave in the regions abroad,
Save the sons of perdition--they are lost, ever lost!
And can never return to the presence of God.[36]
They are they who must reign with the devil in hell,
In eternity now, and eternity then!
Where the worm dieth not, and the fire is not quench'd,
And the punishment still is eternal. Amen.[37]
And which is the torment apostates receive,
But the end or the place where the torment began,
Save to them who are made to partake of the same,
Was never, nor will be revealed unto man.[38]
Yet God, by a vision, shows a glimpse of their fate,
And straightway he closes the scene that was shown;
So the width, or the depth, or the misery thereof,
Save to those that partake, is forever unknown.[39]
And while I was pondering, the vision was closed,
And the voice said to me, write the vision; for, lo!
'Tis the end of the scene of the sufferings of those
Who remain filthy still in their anguish and woe.[40]
And again I bear record of heavenly things,
Where virtue's the value above all that is priz'd,
Of the truth of the gospel concerning the just,
That rise in the first resurrection of Christ.[41]
Who receiv'd, and believ'd, and repented likewise,
And then were baptiz'd, as a man always was,
Who ask'd and receiv'd a remission of sin,
And honoured the kingdom by keeping its laws.[42]
Being buried in water, as Jesus had been,
And keeping the whole of his holy commands,
They received the gift of the spirit of truth,
By the ordinance truly of laying on hands.[43]
For these overcome, by their faith and their works,
Being tried in their life-time, as purified gold,
And seal'd by the spirit of promise to life,
By men called of God, as was Aaron of old.[44]
They are they, of the church of the first-born of God,
And unto whose hands he committeth all things;
For they hold the keys of the kingdom of heav'n,
And reign with the Saviour, as priests and as kings.[45]
They're priests of the order of Melchizedek,
Like Jesus (from whom is this highest reward),
Receiving a fulness of glory and light;
As written--they're Gods even sons of the Lord.[46]
So all things are theirs; yea, of life or of death;
Yea, whether things now, or to come, all are theirs,
And they are the Saviour's, and he is the Lord's,
Having overcome all, as eternity's heirs.[47]
'Tis wisdom that man never glory in man,
But give God the glory for all that he hath;
For the righteous will walk in the presence of God,
While the wicked are trod underfoot in his wrath.[48]
Yea, the righteous shall dwell in the presence of God,
And of Jesus, forever, from earth's second birth--
For when he comes down in the splendour of heav'n,
All those he'll bring with him to reign on the earth.[49]
These are they that arise in their bodies of flesh,
When the trump of the first resurrection shall sound;
These are they that come up to Mount Zion, in life,
Where the blessings and gifts of the spirit abound.[50]
These are they that have come to the heavenly place;
To the numberless courses of angels above:
To the city of God, e'en the holiest of all,
And the home of the blessed, the fountain of love;[51]
To the church of old Enoch, and of the first-born:
And gen'ral assembly of ancient renown'd,
Whose names are all kept in the archives of heav'n,
As chosen and faithful, and fit to be crown'd.[52]
These are they that are perfect through Jesus' own blood,
whose bodies celestial are mention'd by Paul,
where the sun is the typical glory thereof,
And God, and his Christ, are the true judge of all.[53]
Again, I beheld the terrestrial world,
In the order and glory of Jesus go on;
'Twas not as the church of the first-born of God,
But shone in its place, as the moon to the sun,[54]
Behold, these are they that have died without law;
The heathen of ages that never had hope,
And those of the region and shadow of death,
The spirits in prison, that light has brought up.[55]
To spirits in prison the Saviour once preach'd,
And taught them the gospel, with powers afresh;
And then were the living baptiz'd for their dead,
That they might be judg'd as if men in the flesh.[56]
These are they that are hon'rable men of the earth;
Who were blinded and dup'd by the cunning of men;
They receiv'd not the truth of the Saviour at first;
But did, when they heard it in prison again.[57]
Not valiant for truth, they obtain'd not the crown,
But are of that glory that's typ'd by the moon:
They are they, that come into the presence of Christ,
But not to the fulness of God on his throne.[58]
Again, I beheld the telestial, as third,
The lesser, or starry world, next in its place,
For the leaven must leaven three measures of meal,
And every knee bow that is subject to grace.[59]
These are they that receiv'd not the gospel of Christ,
Or evidence, either, that he ever was;
As the stars are all diff'rent in glory and light,
So differs the glory of these by the laws.[60]
These are they that deny not the spirit of God,
But are thrust down to hell, with the devil, for sins,
As hypocrites, liars, whoremongers and thieves,
And stay 'till the last resurrection begins.[61]
'Till the Lamb shall have finish'd the work he begun;
Shall have trodden the winepress in fury alone.
And overcome all by the pow'r of his might:
He conquers to conquer, and saves all his own.[62]
These are they that receive not a fulness of light,
From Christ, in eternity's world, where they are,
The terrestial sends them the Comforter, though,
And minist'ring angels, to happify there.[63]
And so the telestial is minister'd to,
By ministers from the terrestrial one,
As terrestrial is, from the celestial throne;
And the great, greater, greatest, seem's stars, moon, and sun.[64]
And thus I beheld, in the vision of heav'n,
The telestial glory, dominion and bliss,
Surpassing the great understanding of men,--
Unknown, save reveal'd, in a world vain as this.[65]
And lo! I beheld the terrestrial, too,
Which excels the telestial in glory and light,
In splendour and knowledge, and wisdom and joy,
In blessings and graces, dominion and might.[66]
I beheld the celestial, in glory sublime;
Which is the most excellent kingdom that is,
Where God, e'en the Father, in harmony reigns;
Almighty, supreme, and eternal in bliss.[67]
Where the church of the first-born in union reside,
And they see as they're seen, and they know as they're known
Being equal in power, dominion and might,
With a fulness of glory and grace round his throne.[68]
The glory celestial is one like the sun;
The glory terrestrial is one like the moon;
The glory telestial is one like the stars,
And all harmonize like the parts of a tune.[69]
As the stars are all different in lustre and size,
So the telestial region is mingled in bliss;
From the least unto greatest, and greatest to least,
The reward is exactly as promised in this.[70]
These are they that came out for Apollos and Paul;
For Cephas and Jesus, in all kinds of hope;
For Enoch and Moses, and Peter and John;
For Luther and Calvin, and even the Pope.[71]
For they never received the gospel of Christ
Nor the prophetic spirit that came from the Lord;
Nor the covenant neither, which Jacob once had;
They went their own way, and they have their reward.[72]
By the order of God, last of all, these are they,
That will not be gather'd with saints here below,
To be caught up to Jesus, and meet in the cloud:
In darkness they worshipp'd; to darkness they go.[73]
These are they that are sinful, the wicked at large,
That glutted their passion by meanness or worth;
All liars, adulterers, sorcerers, and proud,
And suffer as promis'd, God's wrath on the earth.[74]
These are they that must suffer the vengeance of hell,
'Till Christ shall have trodden all enemies down,
And perfected his work, in the fulness of time,
And is crowned on his throne with his glorious crown.[75]
The vast multitude of the telestial world--
As the stars of the skies, or the sands of the sea;
The voice of Jehovah echo'd far and wide,
Every tongue shall confess and they all bow the knee.[76]
Ev'ry man shall be judg'd by the works of his life,
And receive a reward in the mansions prepar'd;
For his judgments are just, and his works never end,
As his prophets and servants have always declar'd.[77]
But the great things of God, which he show'd unto rile,
Unlawful to utter, I dare not declare;
They surpass all the wisdom and greatness of men,
And only are seen, as has Paul where they are.[78]
I will go, I will go, while the secret of life,
Is blooming in heaven, and blasting in hell;
Is leaving on earth, and a-budding in space:
I will go, I will go, with you, brother, farewell.