The First Rung of the Ladder
Preliminary Reflections on D&C 18
The Prophet Joseph Smith was a veritable conduit of light and truth. In the span of less than a decade, the Lord, through the instrumentality of His servant Joseph, restored the knowledge of His true nature and character and the true nature and character of His Father, sent angels to instruct Joseph, including Moroni, John the Baptist, and Peter, James, and John, provided the gifts and means for translating the Book of Mormon, and prepared the way for the restoration of His True Church. A flood of light and truth flowed into the world through the Prophet Joseph Smith because he sought the Lord and diligently inquired of Him.
Near the end of his life, the Prophet Joseph Smith described his experiences and his desire to communicate them to the Saints as follows:
It is my meditation all the day, and more than my meat and drink to know how I shall make the Saints of God
tocomprehend the visions that roll like an overflowing surge before my mind. O, how I would delight to bring before you things which you never thought of, but poverty and the cares of the world prevent; but I am glad I have the privilege of communicating to you some things, which if grasped closely, will be a help to you when earthquakes bellow, the clouds gather, the lightnings flash and the storms are ready to burst upon you like peals of thunder; lay hold of these things, and let not your knees or joints tremble, nor your hearts faint, and then what can Earthquakes, wars and tornadoes do? Nothing. All your losses will be made up to you in the resurrection, provided you continue faithful. By the vision of the Almighty, I have seen it.
At this point in our study of the Doctrine and Covenants we are still at the beginning of what the Prophet Joseph Smith described as the visions that rolled like an overflowing surge before his mind. Nevertheless, a major part of that overflowing surge began to roll before his mind through the First Vision, the translation of the Book of Mormon, and the restoration of the Aaronic Priesthood and the Melchizedek Priesthood. D&C 18 represents one of the culminating revelations in the beginning of this overflowing surge that Joseph Smith received before the Church of Jesus Christ was formally organized.
Although we can profitably study and learn from any portion of the revelations contained in the Standard Works of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and any phase in Church history, it is instructive to consider the order in which the Prophet Joseph Smith himself received these revelations. In other words, while it is easy to get caught up in debates about Joseph Smith’s polygamy, the Book of Abraham, the martyrdom of Joseph and Hyrum Smith, and so forth, it is a more profitable and fruitful exercise to explore the foundations of the Restoration first.
If a person ever hopes to enjoy for himself or herself what Joseph Smith called the visions that rolled like an overflowing surge before his mind, true disciples of Jesus Christ and sincere truth seekers must begin at the beginning. Only months before his martyrdom, the Prophet Joseph Smith taught:
When you climb a ladder, you must begin at the bottom and go on until you learn the last principle; it will be a great while before you have learned the last. It is not all to be comprehended in this world; it is a great thing to learn salvation beyond the grave. I suppose I am not allowed to go into an investigation of any thing that is not contained in the Bible, and I think there are so many wise men here, who would put me to death for treason; so I shall turn commentator to-day; I shall comment on the very first Hebrew word in the Bible; I will make a comment on the very first sentence of the history of creation in the Bible, Berosheit.
I share these things to suggest that the bottom rung where we must begin, in terms of our study of the Restoration and the Doctrine and Covenants, is the First Vision and the Book of Mormon. The step onto this bottom rung requires faith in Jesus Christ, which is the first principle of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
Much of the modern world, Christian and otherwise, looks up through a distorted presentist lens toward Joseph Smith’s accomplishments and perceived errors and is baffled or indignant. The current war of words and tumult of opinions regarding Joseph Smith and the Restored Gospel of Jesus Christ is in many ways the result of our failure to begin where Joseph Smith himself began, that is, on the first rung of the ladder.
After the ancient Book of Mormon prophet Nephi followed in the footsteps of his father Lehi and received a grand panoramic vision of Jesus Christ and the future, he returned to his father’s tent and discovered that his brothers were disputing with one another about their father’s vision. Nephi was grieved because of his afflictions and their hardened hearts. He asked them what the cause of their disputations was, and he learned that his brothers could not understand the words that their father Lehi had spoken. Nephi then asked them this simple question:
Have ye inquired of the Lord? (1 Nephi 15:8)
Have ye inquired of the Lord?
In modern parlance: Have you asked God?
Millions of members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints have asked God and received a witness by the Holy Ghost that Joseph Smith’s account of his First Vision is true and that the Book of Mormon is true. They have exercised enough faith in Christ to ascend to the first rung of the ladder. The same promise and opportunity is open and available to each of God’s children - to all sincere, penitent, and earnest truth seekers.
I have asked God, and I know by the power of the Holy Ghost that Joseph Smith saw and conversed with God the Father and Jesus Christ, that he translated the Book of Mormon by the gift and power of God, and that the Book of Mormon is true. The Book of Mormon testifies of Jesus Christ and persuades all men to do good. I know by the same power of the Holy Ghost that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, who was crucified for the sins of the world. I obtained the gift of this testimony from our merciful Father in Heaven, through the merits of His Beloved Son Jesus Christ, and I freely share it to help others ascend to the first rung of the ladder of faith.
My reasons for sharing my faith in and testimony of Jesus Christ and the Restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ are clarified in D&C 18.
Evidently, Oliver Cowdery had inquired of the Lord with a desire to know how to build up the Church of Jesus Christ and the Kingdom of God on the earth. The Lord reminded Oliver that He had manifested unto him, by His Spirit in many instances, that the things which he had written are true, and that Oliver knew that they are true. Thus Oliver knew that God knew that he knew that the things which had had written (particularly the words of the Book of Mormon), are true. Along with this reminder or reassurance, the Lord blessed Oliver with a commandment:
And if you know that they are true, behold, I give unto you a commandment, that you rely upon the things which are written;
For in them are all things written concerning the foundation of my church, my gospel, and my rock. (D&C 18:3-4)
This remarkable commandment is also a beautiful description of the Book of Mormon and the early revelations in the Doctrine and Covenants. The Lord chose Oliver Cowdery to write for His servant Joseph, and the things that he wrote are true. Oliver must have learned much by recording the entire Book of Mormon while Joseph Smith translated and dictated, but in these verses we discover that Oliver still had much to learn from the things that he had already written. The Lord commanded Oliver to rely upon the things which are written because they are true, and because in them are all things written concerning the foundation of His Church, His Gospel, and His Rock.
Thus, the Book of Mormon is the foundational record of the Church of Jesus Christ, of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and of the Rock of Jesus Christ.
Remember the Lord’s revelation to Hyrum Smith?
Wait a little longer, until you shall have my word, my rock, my church, and my gospel, that you may know of a surety my doctrine.
Build upon my rock, which is my gospel; (D&C 11:16-24)
Remember the Lord’s previous revelations to Joseph Smith, Martin Harris, and Oliver Cowdery?
And now, behold, whosoever is of my church, and endureth of my church to the end, him will I establish upon my rock, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against them. (D&C 10:69)
Therefore, fear not, little flock; do good; let earth and hell combine against you, for if ye are built upon my rock, they cannot prevail. (D&C 6:34)
In the Book of Mormon, Jesus Christ taught the Nephites in Bountiful:
Behold, verily, verily, I say unto you, I will declare unto you my doctrine.
And this is my doctrine, and it is the doctrine which the Father hath given unto me; and I bear record of the Father, and the Father beareth record of me, and the Holy Ghost beareth record of the Father and me; and I bear record that the Father commandeth all men, everywhere, to repent and believe in me.
And whoso believeth in me, and is baptized, the same shall be saved; and they are they who shall inherit the kingdom of God.
And whoso believeth not in me, and is not baptized, shall be damned.
Verily, verily, I say unto you, that this is my doctrine, and I bear record of it from the Father; and whoso believeth in me believeth in the Father also; and unto him will the Father bear record of me, for he will visit him with fire and with the Holy Ghost.
And thus will the Father bear record of me, and the Holy Ghost will bear record unto him of the Father and me; for the Father, and I, and the Holy Ghost are one.
And again I say unto you, ye must repent, and become as a little child, and be baptized in my name, or ye can in nowise receive these things.
And again I say unto you, ye must repent, and be baptized in my name, and become as a little child, or ye can in nowise inherit the kingdom of God.
Verily, verily, I say unto you, that this is my doctrine, and whoso buildeth upon this buildeth upon my rock, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against them.
And whoso shall declare more or less than this, and establish it for my doctrine, the same cometh of evil, and is not built upon my rock; but he buildeth upon a sandy foundation, and the gates of hell stand open to receive such when the floods come and the winds beat upon them.
Therefore, go forth unto this people, and declare the words which I have spoken, unto the ends of the earth. (3 Nephi 11:31-41)
All of these things may remind us of the parable that the Lord taught at the end of His Sermon on the Mount that is recorded in the New Testament:
Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.
Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?
And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.
Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock:
And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock.
And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand:
And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it.
And it came to pass, when Jesus had ended these sayings, the people were astonished at his doctrine:
For he taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes. (Matthew 7:21-29)
In essence, the Lord taught Oliver to rely upon the things which are written because the things which are written (particularly in the Book of Mormon) persuade, inspire, and enable God’s children do His will. The things which are written, that is the scriptures, also reveal how to build up the Church of Jesus Christ.
The Lord extended the same promise to Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery that he extended to the Nephites at the Temple in Bountiful:
Wherefore, if you shall build up my church, upon the foundation of my gospel and my rock, the gates of hell shall not prevail against you. (D&C 18:5)
Not coincidentally, this is the same promise that the Lord extended to Peter in the New Testament:
When Jesus came into the coasts of Cæsarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying, Whom do men say that I the Son of man am?
And they said, Some say that thou art John the Baptist: some, Elias; and others, Jeremias, or one of the prophets.
He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am?
And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.
And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-jona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven.
And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.
And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. (Matthew 16:13-19)
Oliver Cowdery may have recalled that one of the things written in the Book of Mormon is the prophet Helaman’s counsel to his sons:
And now, my sons, remember, remember that it is upon the rock of our Redeemer, who is Christ, the Son of God, that ye must build your foundation; that when the devil shall send forth his mighty winds, yea, his shafts in the whirlwind, yea, when all his hail and his mighty storm shall beat upon you, it shall have no power over you to drag you down to the gulf of misery and endless wo, because of the rock upon which ye are built, which is a sure foundation, a foundation whereon if men build they cannot fall. (Helaman 5:12)
A couple years after the revelation in D&C 18 was received, the Lord encouraged the elders of His newly organized Church with similar language:
Wherefore, I am in your midst, and I am the good shepherd, and the stone of Israel. He that buildeth upon this rock shall never fall. (D&C 50:44)
Let’s continue our study of D&C 18 in the next post.