Scott Woodward:
Welcome to Church History Matters Come, Follow Me edition, where we are systematically diving into every section of the Doctrine and Covenants throughout the year 2025. We have a lot to talk about today, so let’s get into it. Hello, Casey Griffiths.

Casey Griffiths:
Hello, Scott. How are we doing?

Scott Woodward:
So good, and so excited to dive into 3 sections of the Doctrine and Covenants this week. My word. Lots of good stuff to talk about. Man, what a treat. And using our hopefully now familiar framework, we’re gonna go through each section with our 4 c’s. First, hit the context. Then we dive into the content of the revelation itself. Then if there’s any controversies surrounding anything in the history or in the text of that revelation, we’re gonna hit it. And then we talk about the consequences of each revelation, meaning the aftermath, what happened as a result of this revelation. So.

Casey Griffiths:
Yeah.

Scott Woodward:
Shall we dive into Section 3, Casey?

Casey Griffiths:
Let’s dive in. And I should point out, this is sort of the first section of the Doctrine and Covenants, correct, if we’re going by chronology. Section 1, we mentioned is given when they decide to create the Doctrine and Covenants as the preface, but that’s years later. And Section 2 is an excerpt from Joseph Smith’s history that he writes in 1838. So this is the first revelation chronologically that’s in the Doctrine and Covenants.

Scott Woodward:
Yeah. Not the first revelation Joseph Smith ever received, but it is the first revelation we have that he wrote down.

Casey Griffiths:
Yeah. And surprisingly, the first revelation in the Doctrine and Covenants is a big old rebuke of Joseph Smith. It must be very, very humbling. But it also, there’s a lot going on here. So we need to just dive into the context because if you don’t know the story, this section isn’t nearly as meaningful as it should be. So a lot has happened here. In Section 2, Moroni visits, but after Section 2, Joseph’s brother, Alvin, passes away. That’s really hard on the family. And for the next 3 years, as we talked a little bit about, Joseph meets with Moroni who prepares him, who teaches him, who instructs him, and other things, you know, romantic things. And in 1825, Joseph meets his future wife, Emma Hale, while he’s boarding in her home in Harmony, Pennsylvania, while he works on an exploratory dig for a silver mine rumored to exist somewhere in the region. And they’re married just over a year later in January 1827, and 1827 is the year. This is the year that Joseph Smith is told by the angel he’s going to receive the plates as long as he stays faithful. So September 22nd, 1827, that is when, at long last, Joseph Smith receives the plates and the instruments to translate them. So here’s the setup. Joseph Smith gets the plates from the Hill Cumorah in his hometown of Palmyra, but he gets them in September. By December, he has realized there is way too much opposition in Palmyra for him to be able to effectively translate the plates. So instead, he and his wife, Emma, moved down to Harmony, Pennsylvania, which is where Emma is from, and that’s where a lot of the translation of the Book of Mormon takes place. Most people estimate about two-thirds of Book of Mormon translation takes place in Harmony. And I’ll mention, too, kind of in two phases as well. There’s the first phase, which takes place in the winter of 1828. This includes Emma acting as scribe and another man named Martin Harris acting as Joseph’s major scribe.

Scott Woodward:
He seems to play a pretty big role in, the backstory to D&C 3.

Casey Griffiths:
Yeah. And, and, he, he plays a big role in, in some of the texts we’ve already covered in Joseph Smith—History up to this point. But this is a revelation to Joseph and Martin, and the circumstances are that Harmony is quite a fair distance from Palmyra, which is where Martin is from. Martin is a well respected farmer in the area. He lives across town from the Smiths. His farm is still there. It’s, it’s a Church historic site now, about a mile away from the Smiths. And Martin’s about 45 years old when, when all this happens. Joseph is considerably younger, in his early twenties. Martin is well thought of by the people in Palmyra. In fact, his neighbors thought of him as, quote, “industrious, hardworking farmer, shrewd in business, frugal in his habits, and a prosperous man in the world.” And Martin and Joseph become acquainted with each other when Martin hires Joseph as a day laborer on his farm, and Joseph, after they become friends, confides with him about the angel and the plates. And it’s not long after this that Joseph obtains the plates, and he asks Martin Harris to come down to Harmony to act as his scribe. Now, again, this is a considerable distance, probably a week’s journey at that time to get from Palmyra to Harmony. It’s still about a 2 and a half hour drive if you wanna do it today. And that geographical distance causes some of the tension here because Martin’s wife, Lucy Harris, is back in Palmyra. Martin takes off and spends a considerable part of the winter and spring of 1828 translating with Joseph. And we don’t know a lot about Martin’s wife, but we know that she has issues. She’s skeptical of of Joseph Smith and his mission. Is that a polite way of saying it?

Scott Woodward:
Yeah. And she she started out actually being supportive. Right? She even suggested that she would be willing to help finance Joseph in any way he might need it. She just said she just needs to see the plates, and she’ll be all in. And this is where the rub comes. Right? The the the rub comes when Joseph starts to say, yeah, about that. I am I’m not actually allowed to show anybody the plates. And that’s where she starts being very suspicious and, at that point, tends to turn on Joseph. And, and, plus, Joseph’s mom, who’s also named Lucy, Lucy Smith says that Lucy Harris had some hearing loss, and so she was very suspicious of people, like, talking behind her back. If she couldn’t understand what they were saying across the room, she assumed they were talking about her. So she kinda has that kind of personality. So when Joseph would not show the plates, she turns from potential supporter to active antagonist.

Casey Griffiths:
And we should note too that almost everything we know about Lucy Harris is filtered through Lucy Mack Smith, Joseph’s mother. And Lucy Mack does not love Lucy Harris. Like, she kind of portrays her as a difficult woman to get along with. That’s Lucy, but let’s talk about Martin. Now, when when Joseph sends her Martin, Martin does have a, a spiritual experience. In fact, he went to his home and he said, “I retired to my bedroom and prayed God to show me concerning these things and I covenanted that if it was his work, I would put forth my best ability to bring it before the world. He then showed me that it was his work by the still, small voice spoken in the soul. Then I was satisfied that it was the Lord’s work and I was under covenant to bring it forth.” And so Martin makes the journey. Before he even makes the journey, he gives Joseph Smith $50 to relocate his family from Palmyra to Harmony, which is a considerable sum back in that day. And we should note preliminary work too. Joseph Smith spent several weeks studying the plates, becoming familiar, he said, with the characters, even copies characters off the plates. We talked last week about how a transcript of the characters was taken by Martin Harris to several different scholars who looked at it. Most famous is Charles Anthon. And Joseph Smith starts to translate as well. Other things happening, during this time, Emma is pregnant with their first child. She’s also acting as Joseph’s scribe and copyist. And Martin’s kind of the cavalry when he shows up in February of 1828. Joseph and Emma moved in December. He is there and he wants to assist Joseph. And as we mentioned last week, he takes some of the transcript of the characters to several different scholars, one in Albany, two in New York City, and comes back convinced more than ever that the plates are ancient and that Joseph Smith is the real deal, that he’s been called of God. And so for the next few weeks in the spring of 1828, Martin acts as a scribe for Joseph Smith, estimating probably around 2 months here. By June, they produced a substantial manuscript of what Joseph Smith described as, quote, “116 pages, which I took from the book of Lehi, which was an account abridged from the plates of Lehi by the hand of Mormon.” That’s directly from the preface of the 1830 Book of Mormon. That’s how Joseph describes the manuscript that we’re discussing here.

Scott Woodward:
The book of Lehi.

Casey Griffiths:
Book of Lehi, which is an abridgment, which makes it sound like this manuscript, the, the material that’s in it would be closer to something like the Book of Mosiah or Book of Alma where you have a kind of omniscient third person narrator. Mormon’s telling the story. So they they’ve had success. They’ve been cruising along translating, and they’re gonna have to come to a natural stopping point because Emma is going to give birth to their first child. And so knowing that they’re gonna have to stop and that he spent all all this time away from his wife and it seems like tensions between the two of them are increasing, Martin asks if he can take the manuscript home to Palmyra and show it to his wife so that she’ll know that he hasn’t just been running around with Joseph Smith goofing off and and wasting time. And, again, there’s real concerns here. Martin wasn’t being frivolous. This was, it seems like, a real problem. His wife, Lucy, was telling her neighbors that Joseph had deceived him and that he wanted Martin’s money. And so he wants to take the manuscript home to not only convince his wife, but also people in Palmyra. I mean, he’s worried about his reputation here. And again, going back to Lucy Harris, we know very little about her except what Lucy Mack Smith tells us, but she seems, at least Lucy Mack depicts her as kind of a pest, I guess. Lucy Mack Smith describes one incident with Lucy Harris where she went to Joseph and Emma’s home in Harmony and ransacked it trying to find the plates. And when she’s not able to find the plates, Lucy Harris left in a rage, and this is what Lucy Mack writes. She wrote, “She went from place to place and from house to house telling her grievances to everyone she met, but particularly bewailing the deception, which Joseph was practicing, a deception upon the people, which was about to strip her of all that she possessed.” And so, again, real concerns here. This, Lucy Harris has come all the way down to Harmony to do this. Martin is worried about his marriage. We found out that his daughter gets married during this time. We’re not sure, but he may have missed his daughter’s wedding because he was down translating. And that’s probably adding to, the tension. And so Martin asked if he can take the manuscript. Joseph is understandably nervous about this. And so Joseph says, I’ll inquire of the Lord and he does. In fact, the way it’s recorded, Joseph said, I inquired of the Lord and the Lord said to me that he must not take them, but Martin asked him, inquire again. So Joseph inquired again and was told no again. And also the third time he writes to which the Lord finally said, Let him go with them only he shall covenant with me that he will not show them to only but four persons. And we think, based on a later history Joseph Smith writes in 1838, that there may have been 5 people that he was allowed to show it to. Best records we have indicate that Martin was allowed to show the manuscript to his brother, Preserved Harris was his name, his wife, Lucy, who we’ve mentioned, his father, Nathan Harris, his mother, Rhoda Lapham Harris, and Polly Harris Cobb, his wife’s sister, and Martin willingly enters into this covenant with the Lord. So we look back on this and say, how could Joseph have been so naive? But all of the factors are kind of coming together here to put place tremendous pressure on Joseph. He wants to help his friend.

Scott Woodward:
I mean, Joseph is, what, 22 years old at this point, and Martin Harris is, like, 43, 44 years old. And Martin has been financially helping Joseph a little bit. Right? Gave him the $50 to get down there. He took the manuscript to scholars in New York to try to get some verification here. He’s been acting as Joseph’s scribe, and now he’s just asking for a little favor. I’ve done so much for you, Joseph. You can sense the tension and the pressure, kind of the peer. Maybe not even peer. They’re not really peers. Social pressure from from Martin as a benefactor to Joseph. Like, can you not just throw me this little bone?

Casey Griffiths:
And it it’s also not like Martin’s taking the manuscript to a random place. I mean, this is Joseph’s hometown. He’s probably eager for people in Palmyra to know that he’s not a false prophet, that he’s not just making this up, and the manuscript is the easiest way to prove that. But Joseph pays a price here even before we get to what happens in the manuscript. An indication that the Lord was maybe a little disappointed in him from his repeated request was that both the plates and the Urim and Thummim were taken from him shortly after. Martin takes off with the manuscript on June 14th. The next day, Emma gives birth to their first child who lived only briefly before passing away. This is the first of several Smith children that will die at birth. And to make things worse for the next 2 weeks, it really seemed like Emma was gonna pass away too. Joseph’s mother says that he stayed by her bedside night and day trying to make sure she was okay, and his, the whole time, anxiety over the manuscript is increasing, because apparently, Martin doesn’t send a letter or a postcard or anything, Hey, I made it safe to Palmyra. The manuscript’s okay. They just get no information at all. And so finally, after 2 weeks, Emma is recovered enough that she urges Joseph to go to Palmyra and try to find out what happened in the manuscript. She basically says her family can take care of her. And so Joseph makes the trip to Palmyra, which must have been exhausting, which takes a really long time. He gets there late and he calls one of his brothers to go to Martin’s farm and ask him to come to his house the next day. This is when one of the most dramatic scenes associated with the Doctrine and Covenants takes place. The next day, Martin Harris shows up at the Smith home 4 hours later than he was expected. And Lucy Mack talks about him pacing back and forth in front of the fence, like, wiping his face and wringing his hands, and you gotta imagine the Smiths just staring out the window thinking, This is not good. Finally, Martin comes in, and the Smiths are incredibly polite. They set down a meal for him. Martin sits there and stares at it in silence until finally he cries out, I have lost my soul. And Lucy says, Joseph, who had smothered his fears till now, sprang from the table exclaiming, Oh, Martin, have you lost the manuscript? Have you broken your oath and brought down condemnation upon my head as well as on your own? Yes, replied Martin, it is gone, and I know not where. Oh my God, my God, said Joseph clenching his hands together. All is lost. What shall I do? I have sinned. Is it I that tempted the wrath of God by asking him for that which I had no right to ask? I should have been satisfied with the first answer which I received from the Lord. He told me that it was not safe to let the writings go out of my possession. How shall I appear before the Lord? Of what rebuke am I not worthy from the angel of the most high? And then Lucy Mack says that Joseph wept like a tender infant. And after Martin leaves, Joseph walks… Oh, he, he continued to weep and walk the floor continually while sobs and groans of the most bitter lamentations filled the house. So this is the infamous episode of the Lost Manuscript. It says that Joseph, stays for a couple days, but eventually has to return to Harmony. He said with heavy hearts, when he gets back to Harmony without the manuscript, Joseph was met by the angel, by Moroni, who handed him the Urim and Thummim, indicating the Lord had a message for him. And this is a low point for the prophet. In his 1838 history, here’s the context he gives. He said, “Immediately after my return home, I was walking out a little distance when behold, the former heavenly messenger appeared and handed to me the Urim and Thummim again for it had been taken from me in consequence of my having wearied the Lord and asking for the privilege of letting Martin Harris take the writings, which he lost by transgression. And I inquired of the Lord and through them obtained the following revelation.” That’s Doctrine and Covenants 3. So, sorry for the lengthy setup, but you gotta know the story in order for this to to make sense and that’s the background. This is easily one of the most depressing moments of the prophet’s life where he made a major mistake, and the Lord is gonna deal with him because of it.

Scott Woodward:
You just feel for him, and this is, this is so brutal. So what could the revelation possibly say? Joseph looks into the Urim and Thummim and receives these words. And these are the first words written down, the earliest words written down of any revelation that we have, as we mentioned. And, boy, they are brutal. Let’s, let’s walk through a few of these here. So verses 1 through 3 contain a critical reminder to Joseph that mortals cannot frustrate the works and designs of God, only their own works. Like, this revelation is answering what must have been a very pressing question on Joseph’s mind, like, have I totally derailed the work of the Restoration? Have I frustrated the work of God? And the Lord opens by saying, “The works, and the designs, and the purposes of God cannot be frustrated, neither can they come to naught.” 22-year-olds can’t ruin the work of the Lord, Joseph. Think about what you’re saying here. Right? Verse 3. “Remember remember that it’s not the work of God that’s frustrated, but the work of men.” So God’s giving an assurance here that the progress of his plan cannot be deterred. And we’ll talk more about it when we get to Section 10 when Joseph is asking about, like, So should we retranslate the book of Lehi and get all that text back? And the Lord says, No. I’ve already foreseen this, and I, I have a backup plan. So let’s bookmark there for Section 10 for more of the story on why the Lord was so calm and cool as a cucumber here saying, You can’t mess up my work. I’ve already foreseen everything. Humans are always playing checkers while God is playing chess. He’s way, way ahead of this. But in verses 4 through 8 and then verse 15, this is an unfiltered rebuke of Joseph, Casey, right here. The Lord just lists out his sinful tendencies, namely that he has “oft[en] transgressed the commandments and the laws of God.” He’s like, This is not your first time, Joseph. You have a tendency here. “You [went] on in the persuasions of men … you … feared man more than God.” You cared more about what Martin thought than what God thought. You asked twice. I said no. You asked the 3rd time. And now you understand. “You set at naught the counsels of God. Thou has suffered the counsel of thy director to be trampled upon from the beginning.” In other words, Joseph had a tendency to fear disappointing man more than he feared disappointing God. He was therefore susceptible, vulnerable to the persuasions of men. In this case, it was Martin Harris, but the Lord’s saying, This wasn’t your first time, Joseph. He’s persuaded to do that which is against the will and counsel of God. How relatable is this, by the way, Casey?

Casey Griffiths:
Some of these words really, like, sort of cut to the quick when it comes to me because, you know, who doesn’t wanna be liked and respected among their colleague… By, by their fellow men? And in this case, it feels like Joseph is so vulnerable. You know, he’s really young and Martin is older and more experienced, and Martin has been helping him financially, and there’s so many reasons that he wants to help. Like, I don’t think he was acting out of malice here or wickedness, but the Lord does point out that this tendency to want to impress people is gonna cause problems because Joseph is gonna have to go against the grain so often in his prophetic career.

Scott Woodward:
Yeah. And then talk about just lemon juice in an open wound here. Right? Like, he’s already just beating himself up. He thought he’d lost his soul. He thought he’d destroyed the work. And now God says, You didn’t destroy the work. That’s the good news. But, man, you have tendencies that can really get you in trouble. Verse 9. “Behold, thou art Joseph, and thou was chosen to do the work of the Lord, but because of transgression, if thou art not aware, thou wilt fall.”

Casey Griffiths:
Yeah. This is the “reproving with sharpness.” And then there’s kind of the pivot to the showing an increase of love because the tone changes around verse 10.

Scott Woodward:
Sometimes I like to think about this as a sinner myself. Like, it’s appropriate to feel rebuked by God or your circumstance. But then always remember verse 10. The Lord says to Joseph, quote, “But remember, God is merciful; therefore, repent of that which thou hast done, which is contrary to the commandment which I gave you. And thou art still chosen, and are again called to the work. Except thou do this, thou shalt be delivered up and become as other men and have no more gift.” Wow. That must have come like salve to the wound. Thankfully for you, Joseph, God is merciful, and so you can repent and you can recover from this.

Casey Griffiths:
Yeah. You could say that verses 1 through 11 are kind of a rebuke of Joseph Smith, but 12 through 14 are where Martin Harris kinda gets it. And the Lord says some direct things like, “When thou deliverest up that which gGod had given thee sight and power to translate, thou deliverest that which was sacred into the hands of a wicked man.” Then he goes through to what was wicked? Well, he “set at not the counsels of God, and has broken the most sacred promises which were made before God, and has depended upon his own judgment, and boasted in his own wisdom.” So boom, boom, boom. Now let me provide a little, a little backstory here. Okay? Martin was disobedient, but according to Lucy Mack Smith, and she’s the best source we have for this story, Martin initially did do what he was asked to do. He kept the covenant, and he only showed it to those people that he was supposed to show it to. But his excitement may have gotten the better of him when he showed it to an additional friend who wasn’t part of the group that the Savior said he could show it to. And after showing it to one friend, he just sort of discarded the covenant and began showing the manuscript to others. And this caused contention between Martin and Lucy Harris, who was enraged when Martin broke the lock on the cabinet in which he’d been storing the manuscript. Lucy Mack Smith wrote, “Her irascible temper knew no bounds and an intolerable storm ensued throughout the house, which descended with the greatest force upon the head of the devoted husband.” So it doesn’t seem like showing her the manuscript does what they intended to do, which is win her over. It just, it makes things worse in a lot of ways.

Scott Woodward:
Yeah. God’s not saying I told you so, but the whole enterprise was failed from the beginning. Like, it wouldn’t work. Showing the manuscript to his wife is Not gonna convince her. God said no. God said no. God said okay. God, foreseeing what would happen, opens up this opportunity for a young prophet and a supporter of the Restoration, Martin Harris, to learn some really vital lessons. It’ll be after this that Joseph comes up with the motto, When the Lord commands, do it. It’s not that Joseph didn’t make mistakes, but he’s a quick learner. He’ll make more mistakes, that’s true, but he rarely repeats the same mistake twice.

Casey Griffiths:
Yeah. And the last part of the revelation really pivots towards the Lord saying, No, this is still gonna happen. “This testimony shall come to the knowledge of the Lamanites, and the Lemuelites, and the Ishmaelites who dwindle in unbelief because of the iniquity of their fathers.” So it’s going to happen, but we’ve had a major setback the Lord seems to be acknowledging here.

Scott Woodward:
Yeah. So verses 16 through 20 conclude with the Lord’s assurance of the inevitability of the success of God’s work generally and of the inescapable destiny of the Book of Mormon specifically, that the Book of Mormon will bring a knowledge of the Savior to the modern descendants of Nephites, Jacobites, Josephites, Zoramites, Lamanites, Lemuelites, Ishmaelites. That was a promise that the Lord made to their forefathers anciently, and no mortal can stop him from fulfilling his promises. God’s gonna ensure this book comes forth and informs the descendants of these ancient people of the promises of the Lord, despite the mistakes of Joseph Smith, despite setting at naught the counsels of God, of Martin Harris and Joseph together. Because this book has a destiny, God has made promises. He ends this section by saying that the remnants of the original people of the Book of Mormon will one day have a chance to read these words so that they can believe the gospel. They can rely on the merits of Jesus Christ, he says, and be glorified and through their repentance be saved. Nothing can stop that from happening.

Casey Griffiths:
Yeah. These last few verses bear a strong resemblance to the title page of the Book of Mormon, which talks about the promises that have been made to the ancestors of the Lamanites that they can come to a knowledge that the house of Israel will know what great things the Lord has done for their fathers. And in the revelation, the Lord says, “That they may believe the gospel and rely upon the merits of Jesus Christ and be glorified through faith on his name.” The third purpose of the Book of Mormon given on the title page is “to the convincing of Jew and Gentile that Jesus is the Christ, the Eternal God, manifesting himself to all nations.” And for me, Scott, another value of this little section near the end is that the Savior is really talking about this like it’s a historical record, like it’s something that actually happened, and today there is a tendency among some well-meaning, but maybe misguided members of the Church to try and turn the Book of Mormon into a metaphor. The Savior’s talking about it here like it’s a history that it happened and it’s hard to avoid that conclusion. These are real people who have real descendants who I’m going to give real blessings to.

Scott Woodward:
Yeah. That’s a really good point. What a good conclusion. So it starts with the inevitability of the success of God’s work, then it goes to a stern rebuke, and it pivots on God’s mercy, and then it rebukes Martin Harris again, and then it ends with hope. Hope of, again, the inevitability of the success of God’s work and the fulfillment of his promises that he made anciently to those Book of Mormon prophets who were faithful.

Casey Griffiths:
It’s gonna happen. I want you to be part of it. But if you can’t get your act together, I can find somebody else to do it. So we’ve talked about the context and the content, but this section, I mean, really the first section of the Doctrine and Covenants queues up one of the most controversial discussions that members of the Church have had since the Church was organized and continue to have today. That’s the idea or concept of prophetic fallibility. Can prophets make mistakes? And I’ll add here, Scott, can they make a mistake when they’re acting as a prophet too? Like, we don’t think that these people are perfect, but when they’re acting in their prophetic callings, can they still make mistakes even in that particular setting?

Scott Woodward:
Yeah. I agree with you that we’re kinda squeamish in talking about this topic. Some among us almost seem to be allergic to the idea of prophetic fallibility. But isn’t it remarkable that what is essentially the earliest revelation printed in the Doctrine and Covenants is unmistakably a stern rebuke to the prophet for a major error committed. This isn’t a small one. I mean, Joseph lost an entire book of scripture here, Casey, and we still haven’t got it back. And in some ways, we’re still affected by that mistake. You know? Like, this is a consequential error. And so Joseph is, I mean, Section 3 takes him to task for fearing man more than God. He’s warned that again, verse 9. I’m going to verse 9. “If thou art not aware, thou wilt fall.” I think the Lord’s reproof of the prophet here is a firm reminder that Latter-day Saints do not believe in prophetic infallibility. In other words, we do believe prophets can make mistakes. They are clearly flawed mortals who make mistakes, even when acting in the role of a prophet. And I think you bring up that’s that’s an important part of your question. Yeah, they can make mistakes as men, but can they make mistakes as prophets? And this episode, I think, is telling us a big, hearty yes. I mean, this is not a fact that scripture tries to hide.

Casey Griffiths:
Yeah. And I I bring that up because I’ve had students literally say something like, Well, yeah, prophets can make mistakes, but not when they’re acting as prophets. And Joseph Smith is acting as a prophet here. He’s in communication with the Lord, and he makes a mistake. So, yeah, even when they’re acting in their prophetic callings, they can make mistakes, and they’re often rebuked for them. And I’m gonna point out, this puts Joseph in pretty good company, actually. I mean, this is found in the scriptures, this wonderful kind of humanity. Moses gets rebuked by the Lord in Exodus 4. Peter constantly gets rebuked by the Lord in the scriptures. Like in Mark 8:33, the brother of Jared gets rebuked by the Lord in Ether chapter 2 verse 14. And so not only can we say we believe in prophetic fallibility, I think we can say that we embrace prophetic fallibility as part of the fabric of the scriptures in Church history. If we don’t embrace this, we’re actually gonna miss some important lessons that we’re supposed to learn from the scriptures and the history of the Church.

Scott Woodward:
Yeah. Remember that the Lord, like, in the preface of the Doctrine and Covenants back in Section 1 as we talked about this, like, he set the tone for what we could reasonably expect about his servants there. Right? When he characterized them as weak and simple, he said that they are those who make errors. They sometimes commit sin. And yet he also declares that he works with them and through them to help prepare the world for the Second Coming. This is all tightly together in Section 1. Right? We we we’ve got to learn how to hold both of those truths together at the same time in tension. Right? Number 1, prophets are fallible. Number 2, God works through them in spite of their flaws to bring about his marvelous work. President Nelson, I like how he said it. He said, “Give your leaders a little leeway to make mistakes, as you hope your leaders will give you a little leeway to profit by your errors.” I like that. Let’s let’s just keep those both in tension. Right? This is Section 1. Like you said, it’s the fabric of scripture. It’s the fabric of Church history. It’s the only cloth we have. Right? It’s fallible humans that God calls to work through them to bring about his work. And so that’s a big deal.

Casey Griffiths:
There’s another statement that gets brought up and it’s not exactly in the Doctrine and Covenants, but it is sort of supporting material in the Doctrine and Covenants and…

Scott Woodward:
Yeah.

Casey Griffiths:
I hear it quoted all the time and we probably ought to deal with it. Right after Official Declaration 1, which was the declaration that ends plural marriage, there are several excerpts from addresses given by Wilford Woodruff. And in one of them, Wilford Woodruff says, “The Lord will not permit me or any other man who stands as President of his Church to lead you astray.” And I’ll often have, you know, people say, well, that’s our statement on prophetic fallibility. They can make mistakes and they can make mistakes as prophet, but the Lord won’t let them lead the Church astray. How does that fit into this model of prophetic fallibility?

Scott Woodward:
Yeah. I’m with you. I, I hear that quoted a lot in an effort to sort of defend the prophets. Right?

Casey Griffiths:
Well-intended efforts too.

Scott Woodward:
Yeah. Yeah. I totally understand that impulse. Right. Absolutely. But I think, I think we misapply this quote all the time, honestly. Like, we, we we tend to use it to say that God won’t let his prophets make mistakes. And that’s palpably not true. Right?

Casey Griffiths:
And I don’t think that’s what the quote says either. Like, the quote gives you a lot of leeway in how it could be interpreted.

Scott Woodward:
Yeah. But we, we, we invoke it culturally. We tend to invoke it to say, hey, the prophets are not making mistakes. Because Wilford Woodruff said that God wouldn’t let prophets lead us astray. Those are two very different things. Like, like Brigham Young, he once said this. He said, “Can a prophet or an apostle be mistaken? Do not ask me any such question, for I will acknowledge that all the time. But I do not acknowledge that I designedly lead this people astray, one hair’s breadth from the truth. “I do not knowingly do a wrong, though I may commit many wrongs.” And I think that perfectly encapsulates the truth of the matter. Right? That Joseph Smith wasn’t trying to rebel here. He wasn’t trying to commit error with Martin Harris and letting him take the manuscript. He was under some pressure, and he did continue to ask God probably a couple times more than he ought to have about this, but, it doesn’t seem like he’s in rebellion. He’s trying to lead people astray. Right? So God’s going to allow prophets to make mistakes. God’s gonna allow prophets sometimes to make big mistakes, sometimes consequential mistakes, like the one we’re talking about here in Section 3. So I interpret Wilford Woodruff to said to be saying, like, God’s not gonna let a rebel lead his Church. He’s not gonna let someone who’s, like, designedly trying to, like, pull people away from the gospel cause, from his oracles, and from the revelations is what Wilford Woodruff goes on to say in that quote. He’s not gonna let someone designedly do that. That would not happen. And I feel good about that. I feel like that’s true. So if we, if we quote that quote in its context, I would agree with Wilford Woodruff, but we tend to use it out of context and suggest that God won’t let prophets make mistakes, because Wilford Woodruff said this thing, and that’s just not true.

Casey Griffiths:
That’s a misunderstanding. There’s a big difference between making mistakes and leading the Church astray. I mean, prophets are human. More recently, President Russell M. Nelson said this. He said, “Give your leaders a little leeway to make mistakes as you hope your leaders will give you a little leeway to profit by your errors.” One thing I get from this is, yes, profits can make mistakes, and they need to be corrected and reproved, but let’s go easy on each other. Okay?

Scott Woodward:
And by the way, notice whose prerogative it is to reprove a prophet. Not mine. Not yours. Not, not, not ours, generally as, as members of the Church. Notice in Section 3, who rebukes Joseph Smith. And that seems to be as it should be. Right? We are not called to be the critics of the prophets. If we notice errors and we notice God letting them make mistakes, that’s okay too. Moroni brings that up in the title page of the Book of Mormon. He says, If there’s mistakes, I promise you they are the mistakes of men. Please do not discount the things of God in this book just because you see the mistakes of man in here. Like, you’re gonna see them. And he also says in Mormon, If you see mistakes in this book, thank God that you saw the mistakes so that you can learn to be more wise than we, the authors of the Book of Mormon, are. I think that’s the right attitude. Like, we’re not called to rebuke prophets. God will do that as Section 3 shows he’s very capable of doing. It’s okay to see mistakes. And when you see their mistakes, learn to be more wise. I think that’s the right approach. Right? It’s not bury your head in the sand and pretend like they don’t make mistakes. But it’s also not go with a picket sign around Temple Square and demand that they, you know, make public confession of their errors or whatever, you know, weird stuff sometimes people do. There’s, there’s a balance here of what it means to be a disciple of Christ and what it means to be a prophet. And let’s let God correct the prophets, and then let’s learn to be more wise. You know? That and that’s what I walk away with from Section 3, Casey. It’s like, okay. I’m gonna try to learn from Joseph’s mistake here. And I think that’s what we all probably ought to do, and I think that’s why it’s here on display in the Doctrine and Covenants. Let’s learn to not turn God’s counsel to zero when there’s peer pressure around us to do otherwise. Let’s not set it to not, but let’s turn it up to 10 and be willing to do what’s right. Let the consequences follow.

Casey Griffiths:
Alright. Let’s talk the consequences of Section 3. So in this revelation, we learn that God is merciful to the flawed and foolish who repent, and that in spite of their mistakes and their imperfections, neither Joseph Smith or Martin Harris or anybody else is gonna destroy God’s work. Not even the loss of this manuscript could prevent God from keeping his promises to bring forth the Book of Mormon so that everybody, modern people, especially the descendants of the Book of Mormon peoples, can come to a knowledge of the Savior and turn to him and be saved. And I wanna add just one more thing here too. Martin Harris, if he’s known in the Church today, is is known for one of two things. It’s either one, being a witness of the book of Mormon or two, being the guy who lost the 116 pages. He has a descendant. This descendant’s name is Dallin Harris Oaks. President Oaks gave a direct address of this in General Conference that he felt like he had an obligation to maybe bring a little more respect back to his ancestor’s name. In fact, President Oaks said this, “Having a special interest in Martin Harris, I have been saddened in how he is remembered by most Church members. He deserves better than to be remembered solely as the man who unrighteously obtained and then lost the initial manuscripts of the Book of Mormon.” And so President Oaks is right. I mean, Martin Harris deserves better. And so really quick, just so the story doesn’t end here, Martin commits a serious transgression when he loses the manuscript. Nobody’s disputing that, but the Lord doesn’t give up on him. Some of the most important revelations in the Doctrine and Covenants are guiding Martin as he goes through this repentance process. So Doctrine and Covenants 19, which is one of the most beautiful revelations in the entire book, is given to Martin as he goes through the repentance process to help him understand that he, he has to struggle a little bit, but the Lord suffered so that he could repent of his sins. Martin is restricted from serving as a scribe after this. He never acts as a scribe for Joseph in the Book of Mormon translation process again, but Martin still plays a crucial role in Book of Mormon translation. He sells his farm to pay for the publication. And as we’ve mentioned before, he’s called as one of the Three Witnesses in Doctrine and Covenants 17, and he also helps call the original Quorum of the Twelve Apostles in 1835. And despite all of his shortcomings, because Martin does eventually become estranged from the Church though, he comes back after a long period of time. He stays true to his testimony of the Book of Mormon for the rest of his life.

Scott Woodward:
Alright. Well, let’s talk about Doctrine and Covenants Section 4. Casey, you wanna run us through the context of this section real quick?

Casey Griffiths:
Yeah. This is a nice little revelation that many of our listeners might even have memorized. In my mission, you were asked to memorize this revelation. It’s given in February 1829, so several months after the whole debacle with the manuscript takes place. That takes place in the summer of 1828. February 1829, Joseph Smith’s father and his brother Samuel come to visit him, and this is noted as a revelation to Joseph, the father of the seer. He desired to know what the Lord had for him to do. So this is a revelation to Joseph Smith’s father. And so here’s a little context. In July, when they lose the manuscript, Joseph Smith, Sr. and his wife, Lucy, have to watch Joseph leave Palmyra sort of wrecked, you know, dejected, sad that Martin has lost this manuscript that he’s been entrusted with. And Lucy said later on they didn’t hear from him in 2 months and being very concerned about their son, she writes, “Being uneasy as to the consequences of his distress of mind, we went down to Harmony to make him a visit,” sometime in October probably. Upon their arrival, Joseph cheerfully greeted his parents and related them that there had been some good things that had happened since they last saw him. He, he told them about how, at the end of July, the Lord gave him the revelation that we just discussed, Doctrine and Covenants 3, in the presence of the angel Moroni, and that the Lord had assured him that if he repented of his sins associated with the lost manuscript, he could still be chosen and called to the work. And Joseph said that before the angel departed, he was told that if he was very humble and penitent, he would receive again on September 22nd, there’s that magical day, the Urim and Thummim and the plates which had been taken from him in consequence of his transgression. So Joseph is going through the repentance process too, and apparently on September 22nd, he gets the Urim and Thummim back. He later says, “The angel seemed pleased with me when he gave me back the Urim and Thummim, and he told me that the Lord loved me for my faithfulness and humility.” So Joseph, Sr. and Lucy go home to Palmyra after a few days. They’re feeling a lot better about how Joseph is doing, and Joseph told his parents that he had again commenced translating the plates while Emma Smith acts as a scribe. But it’s slow work for a number of reasons. They have trouble obtaining paper, which is a lot harder to come by back then. Joseph has to work on his farm to provide for Emma, and she needs to take care of the home. And so it’s really winter when a lot of this translation kind of picks up. Joseph and Emma traveled to Colesville, which is nearby to visit a family friend, a believer named Joseph Knight, Sr., and they were going there to also get help. Joseph Knight says that “I let them have some little provisions and some few things out of my store, a pair of shoes and $3 in money to help a little.” Then Joseph Knight reports that at the end of January, Joseph Smith’s father and his brother Samuel stopped by his home in Colesville on their way down to visit Joseph and Emma. And Joseph Knight says he “took them the rest of the way to Harmony on [his] sleigh and said they found Joseph and Emma well. They were glad to see us. In the morning, I gave Joseph Smith, Sr. a half dollar and Joseph a little money to buy paper to translate.” So with this paper, Joseph can now start translating again the Book of Mormon, and it’s during this visit in February that Joseph has a little more free time. He’s not farming. And Joseph Smith, Sr., who’s a farmer too, asked his son what the Lord would have him do for him. Doctrine and Covenants 4 was the result of that. So father coming to cheer up his son, it’s very wholesome. And this revelation, which is relatively short, is essentially Joseph Smith, Sr.’s call to the work.

Scott Woodward:
Okay. Well, let’s dive in then to the content.

Casey Griffiths:
Yeah.

Scott Woodward:
What does this revelation actually say? And like you said, a lot of missionaries out there have this memorized, some of you, in foreign languages. Kay. So something that’s super impressive about this section, it’s really short, but it’s dense. It’s a dense weave, actually. It’s a combination of, like, both biblical and new revelatory phrases that are perfectly woven together to create a single, like, coherent inspiring message. Let me just show you here on the screen. So in verse 1, notice we got a phrase from Isaiah. Verse 2, we’ve got Deuteronomy and Matthew. Verse 4, we got John, Book of Revelation. Titus, verse 5, we got1 Corinthians 13. Verse 6 is a really dense summary of 2nd Peter 1 verses 3 through 7, and verse 7 is Matthew 7. So really tight weave and blend of biblical phrases. And this must have meant a lot to a a Bible-believing farmer, Joseph Smith’s father, who desired to assist in God’s work. And so the Lord begins by describing that particular moment in time as being, like, right on the brink, the coming forth of God’s marvelous work. “Now behold, a marvelous work is about to come forth among the children of men. Therefore,” he said, such a momentous work will require the very best from those who seek to serve God during this important era, verse 2. In the next verses, verses 3 through 6, the Lord makes a distinction, and this is important, between being called to the work and being qualified for the work. The Lord claims that to be called to the work, all Joseph Smith, Sr. and the rest of us have to do is “have desires to serve God.” You have desires to serve God? You’re called to the work. After all, there’s plenty of work to do to go around for everyone willing to help. “For behold, the field [of the souls of mankind] is white already to harvest,” the Lord says, using a metaphor fit for a farmer. But to be qualified for the work, he says, meaning to be truly effective in God’s work, Joseph Smith, Sr. and the rest of us must work on developing “faith, hope, charity, love, with an eye single to the glory of God. [And to] remember, [and to work on] faith, virtue, knowledge, temperance, patience, brotherly kindness, godliness, charity, humility, and diligence,” as Peter taught. In other words, the distinction between being called to the work and being qualified for the work is that you’re called to the work when you have desires to serve God, but you’re qualified for the work as you steadily develop godlike attributes. And so it seems like the Lord is suggesting here to Joseph Smith, Sr. that these attributes will be developed both as he thrusts in his sickle with all of his might and also, verse 7, as he asks in prayer for God’s help in those areas where he lacks. So as we look at that list of attributes and we think, man, I’m not quite there yet. And maybe I’m quite a ways from being there yet with some of these attributes. I think that’s why he ends with verse 7. Right? “Ask ,and ye shall receive; knock, and it shall be opened unto you.” I recognize that you have things you need to work on, God is saying. So ask for my help. And in the process, he says, that’s gonna bring salvation to your own soul and prepare you to stand blameless before God at the last day. Such a cool message. It’s, it’s so packed and so powerful for anyone to not just be called, but to be qualified for God’s work.

Casey Griffiths:
Yeah. For being as short as it is, it’s very meaningful. And there’s a reason why we memorize this. Right? It’s such a great encapsulation of the attributes a person has to cultivate to be a good servant to God. Let’s dive into some controversies surrounding Section 4. And one controversy could be the intertextuality. Like you pointed out, Joseph Smith’s revelations, not just this one, almost all of them, draw a lot of their phraseology from the Bible. And some people would say this is plagiarizing the Bible. Let me just point out, this isn’t the only place where we see New Testament language in the Doctrine and Covenants. There’s hundreds of places where New Testament language is used. Someone you and I both highly esteem, Nick Frederick. He deals with this question of intertextuality between the Book of Mormon and the Doctrine and Covenants and the Bible.

Scott Woodward:
Let’s define that, what we mean when we say intertextuality. So when one text of scripture is pulling language or phrases or imagery from another place in scripture, you see that text from the old scripture in the new scripture. That’s intertextuality. Right? When scripture quotes scripture. And I don’t know anyone who’s done more or better work on this for Latter-day Saint scripture than our friend Nick Frederick. He’s got such a keen eye for when scripture is quoting other scripture. And oftentimes, scripture will do it without saying that it’s doing it. And that’s where this charge can come of plagiarism. Right? Is there plagiarism happening? Is the, is the Doctrine and Covenants plagiarizing the New Testament here?

Casey Griffiths:
That’s the question. Right? And…

Scott Woodward:
Yeah.

Casey Griffiths:
Nick has done some fairly sophisticated analysis. By the way, we’re drawing from an article Nick wrote called “The New Testament in the Doctrine and Covenants.” He writes, “Of the 27 New Testament texts, 24 are clearly and identifiably present.” This is passages from throughout the Doctrine and Covenants. You know, it’s only 2 Thessalonians, 3 John, and Philemon are absent. He says, “It’s clear that the New Testament plays a significant role in the language of the Doctrine and Covenants as there are hundreds of clear, indisputable allusions to the New Testament strewn throughout.” So the question is, is this plagiarism? And if it’s not, then what is it exactly? And Nick gives some good explanations here.

Scott Woodward:
He notes in this article that the idea of a prophet using the language of previously established scripture in his newly created scripture is actually practiced within the Bible itself. For example, he notes that in the Book of Revelation, John frequently adopts the language and imagery of the Old Testament, and then he just weaves it seamlessly into his text. He doesn’t always tell you that he’s quoting it. Right? And then Nick, he quotes a scholar named David A. deSilva on this who explores what John was doing in the Book of Revelation. And here’s what deSilva says. “By recontextualizing the content of authoritative prophecy from the Old Testament, John subtly invites these scriptures to lend their authority to his own visions. If the words of the prophets and Psalms were inspired in their original contexts, they remain recognizable as inspired material in the new context. John gives the texts new shape, reference, and direction. But the older texts lend their power to that new shape. “His frequent weaving in of small phrases and descriptions known from Daniel or other prophetic or apocalyptic literature enhances the hearer’s impression that they are hearing another authoritative vision, another species of the same genre, as it were.” Here’s what Nick says, quote, “This description by deSilva could just as easily apply to Joseph Smith’s use of the New Testament within the revelations canonized as the Doctrine and Covenants. By adopting the language of a familiar scriptural text, Joseph invites the New Testament texts to lend their authority, as deSilva said, to his 19th-century scripture. Additionally, Joseph, like John, does not merely copy the New Testament into his revelation. He also gives the New Testament new shape, new reference, new directions, in fascinating ways that open up entirely new methods of interpretation. “Rather than being surprised or even turned off by how much of the New Testament appears in the Doctrine and Covenants, Latter-day Saints should actively seek out and study these types of biblical interactions, recognizing that this type of biblical deconstruction and reconstruction is exactly what inspired prophets tend to do.” So Joseph’s revelations drawing language from previous authoritative scripture really fits comfortably within the tradition of biblical scripture-producing prophets who did the same thing.

Casey Griffiths:
And I would point out, once you have intertextuality explained to you, that you start to see it everywhere. I mean, even when the Savior said, “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? When he’s on the cross, he’s quoting one of the Psalms. That’s an intertextuality example right there. And everybody in the New Testament does this. It actually makes the Doctrine and Covenants and Book of Mormon more authentic when we point out that this intertextuality exists.

Scott Woodward:
There you go. That’s the controversy of Section 4.

Casey Griffiths:
Alright. So let’s talk about the consequences of Section 4. What we have suggests that Joseph Smith, Sr. took this revelation to heart, and he acts upon it for the rest of his life. Upon his return home to Palmyra, this revelation may have prompted him to share a sketch of the facts related to Joseph and the plates with a young school teacher named Oliver Cowdery, who becomes convinced of the truthfulness of the word and feels called to assist Joseph Smith and becomes the scribe for almost the entire rest of the Book of Mormon translation. In addition to this, after the Book of Mormon was published in 1830, Joseph Smith, Sr. travels to western New York and shares the message of the Restoration with his own parents and siblings, most of whom were ripe for the harvest and join the Church. And in the remainder of his life, Joseph, Sr. is engaged in one way or another in the service of God, including, he serves as a high council member, the original Presiding Patriarch of the Church, laborer on the Kirtland Temple, missionary with his brother John in the eastern states, even is an assistant counselor in the First Presidency. And by the time father Smith dies in Nauvoo in 1840, he had significantly developed the godlike attributes outlined in this section and could confidently stand blameless before God. And again, this call to the work becomes kind of a template in revelations that are received throughout the rest of this time where other people come into the story like Oliver Cowdery or the, the Peter and Mary Whitmer family, the brothers Parley and Orson Pratt, Sydney Rigdon, Edward Partridge, all these people who are drawn to the work, similar language appears in revelations given to them showing that, well, this initial call to the work, this earliest one, is really a call that can easily be applied to anybody that has the desire to work with and serve on behalf of God.

Scott Woodward:
Beautiful. Alright, Casey. So tell us the context for Section 5.

Casey Griffiths:
So Section 5 is another revelation given to Martin Harris, and I’d tie it into this saga of the lost manuscript of the Book of Mormon. When it’s first published in the 1833 Book of Commandments, the introduction says, “A Revelation given to Joseph and Martin, in Harmony, Pennsylvania, March 1829, when Martin desired to know of the Lord whether Joseph had in his possession the record of the Nephites.” So this is sort of a coda, an addition to the saga of the lost manuscript. What happened was, is about a year after Martin first comes down to Palmyra from Harmony, this is when he acts as scribe for Joseph, he comes back to Harmony again. It’s been about 8 months at this point since Joseph had seen Martin, and the last time they saw each other, they did not part well because it was when he lost the manuscript, the Book of Lehi, Joseph calls it, and a lot had happened since then, including Joseph receiving Doctrine and Covenants 3, him repenting, and him being authorized to translate it again, and receiving Doctrine and Covenants 4 on behalf of his father. So having heard that Joseph was kind of back in the flow of things, Martin wanted to visit him, probably to be reconciled a little bit over what had happened with the manuscript, but he also needed help with the sticky situation he had back home. So Martin, again, is in kinda hot water. Some, some people in Palmyra had sort of united against the work, gathered testimony from people who were acting as kinda witnesses against the plates. And according to Lucy Mack Smith, the person who’s masterminding this operation is Martin’s wife, Lucy Harris. Apparently, Lucy had heard of Joseph’s efforts to restart translation, and she wanted to prove that this was all fake once and for all before Martin was swindled out of all of his money because Joseph was deceiving him. So Lucy Mack writes rather vividly, the, she said, “Lucy Harris mounted her horse and flew through the neighborhood like a dark spirit from house to house making diligent inquiry at every house for miles where she had the least hope of gleaning anything that would subserve her purpose, which was to prove that Joseph had not the record which he pretended to have.” So she’s looking for incriminating evidence. She’s trying to prove that Joseph Smith doesn’t have the plates, Lucy Mack says, for the express purpose of obtaining money from those who might be so credulous as to believe him. He’s a fraud. And she had enough witnesses that she brought a lawsuit against Joseph that would also implicate Martin. That’s what Martin is dealing with. In fact, Martin, said that Joseph’s antagonists told him they had testimony enough. “And if I did not put Joseph in jail and his father for deception, they would me.” They’d put Martin in jail. So if the plates were fake, then Martin was one of Joseph’s accomplices. He’s guilty too, and he was misleading the public into buying copies of a fraudulent translation. So if Martin doesn’t expose Joseph’s fraud now, he might go to jail. So here’s Martin. He’s in a totally desperate situation. Martin had never actually seen the plates. Joseph didn’t show them to him. And although after what he had seen, he believed they were real, he felt like he really needed to actually know with an absolute certainty that Joseph had in his possession the record of the Nephites. So there’s the backstory.

Scott Woodward:
Sticky situation.

Casey Griffiths:
Yes.

Scott Woodward:
He’s knocking on the door and asking Joseph Smith, I really need to see the plates. Like, on the one hand, like, think about this. Like, after having lost 116 pages, Martin Harris has the gall, the audacity, to come and ask Joseph Smith if he can see the plates. It’s like, are you serious, Martin? And, and then Joseph, to his credit, he says, I’ll ask the Lord. And so he goes to the Lord and bam, Section 5. So the Lord begins in verses 1 through 3 by telling Joseph to tell Martin. It’s kind of interesting that they’re not on talking terms, God and Martin, at this point. Joseph, tell Martin the following. Tell Martin that although Joseph had been commanded to testify of the Book of Mormon, he had also entered into a covenant with God to, quote, “Not show the plates except to those persons to whom [God] commanded” him to show them. So remind Martin that you are commanded not to show them to anybody. In verses 6 and 7, the Lord actually says that Joseph was not to use his gifts to try to prove that the record is true, maybe something Joseph was tempted with. For now, he was only to use his gifts to translate the record. Later, the Lord said Joseph would “be ordained to go forth and deliver my words, meaning the words of the Book of Mormon, to the people of the world.” And if they won’t believe my words, then they will not believe you, even if it were possible for you to show them the plates and the Urim and Thummim that you’ve been entrusted with. In other words, the primary evidence for the authenticity of the Book of Mormon would be its message and not the physical plates. Seeing, in this case, would not necessarily lead people to believing. And Martin learned that painfully when he took the manuscript and showed his wife. Like, that did not do what he thought the manuscript would do if he showed his wife. Right? So there, there is this kind of tension here. You’re asking to see the plates, Martin. But, a, I’ve been commanded not to show them to anybody. And, b, even if we showed the plates, that doesn’t mean people would believe. So that’s interesting. But the Lord goes on to say that in addition to the primary evidence for the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon being the text itself, the Lord says he’s got a plan, in verses 10 through 20, to reach out to an unbelieving generation with two supportive evidences that are intended to draw people to the primary evidence of the words of Christ. And number onw, he says, is Joseph Smith. Joseph Smith is the one through whom the words of Christ would come to this generation, verse 10 says. And he is the very first supportive witness of the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon. This is also mentioned back over in verse 2. And then second, the Lord says, for the first time, by the way, this is we don’t know about this until this very verse, talking about verse 11. The Lord says that he intends to select three witnesses, whose testimonies would accompany the words of Christ in the Book of Mormon. Here’s his exact words. They’re so good. “In addition to your testimony, the testimony of three of my servants, whom I shall call and ordain, unto whom I will shew these things. And they shall go forth with my words that are given through you.” So these Three Witnesses will gain unshakable testimonies of the Book of Mormon, by way of heavenly declaration, and by viewing the plates through the power of God. Verse 12. “Yea, they shall know of a surety that these things are true, for from heaven will I declare it unto them. I will give them power that they may behold and view these things as they are.” So their combined testimony, these three, and Joseph’s testimony, that’s four, will be sent forth with the Book of Mormon out into the world. So these supportive evidences of Joseph Smith’s testimony and the testimony of these three are actually intended to help people believe in the primary evidence, which is the text itself, that the Book of Mormon is true. And for those who do believe the words, Christ says in verse 16 here, he promises that he will visit them with a personal manifestation of his spirit, which will lead to their spiritual rebirth. On the other hand, if they reject it, if they harden their hearts against the testimonies of these three and Joseph and the words of the Book of Mormon, then that will condemn them, and they will not be protected from the destruction that’s coming incident to the Second Coming of, of Christ. And so pretty strong warning there. Let’s just step back for a second. Just think about this. So Martin shows up saying, Is there any way I can see the plates? Joseph says, I’ll ask. And the Lord initially sounds like he’s gonna say no. Right? Sounds like he’s saying, Joseph, tell him I’ve commanded you not to show the plates to anybody. Tell him that even if people see the plates, that doesn’t necessarily mean they’ll believe. So it sounds like he’s about to shut the door. Right? And then in verse 10 and 11, 12, 13, 14, the Lord says, But I actually have a plan where I need three people to be witnesses, having seen them with power, having been shown them from heaven. And I need their witnesses to go throughout the world. And then to his credit, the Lord says, Martin, you can be one of those witnesses if he will repent. Let’s go through the verses where the Lord lays out those conditions. So in verses 23 through 29, here’s where the Lord lays out the conditions for Martin to actually become one of these promised Three Witnesses. The obligation he’ll be under and the dire consequences that will come to him if he breaks his covenant with the Lord are also outlined here. So he’s asking for a pretty huge privilege, and that’s gonna come with some pretty huge responsibilities, the Lord says. So here’s the conditions. Number 1, “If he will bow down before the Lord, humble himself in mighty prayer and faith, in the sincerity of his heart, repent of his sins, and covenant with the Lord to keep his commandments and be faithful to him, then,” the Lord says, he “will let him see what he desires to see.” The obligation is that Martin will be under covenant to testify and to say, quote, “I have seen the things which the Lord has shown unto Joseph Smith, Jun., and I know of a surety that they are true, for I have seen them, for they have been shown unto me by the power of God and not of man.” And the consequence of denying this after the Lord has shown it to him is that he would become a covenant breaker and be condemned, the Lord says. The Lord then goes on to instruct Joseph that after translating a few more pages, he should stop for a season until he’s commanded to continue. He assures Joseph that he will provide means for him to accomplish the translation. This is likely in reference to the scribe that is soon to be forthcoming. We’ll find out that’s a young school teacher named Oliver Cowdery. Then the references in verses 32 and 33 to “those who lie in wait to destroy thee” likely includes Martin’s wife and those who she has stirred up to bring the lawsuit against Joseph, as well as others that have more deadly motives. So by the end of this revelation, Martin has been warned that, if he doesn’t carefully follow the Lord’s instructions here, that Martin will fail to gain the witness that he seeks, and he will fall into transgression. But if he and Joseph are faithful to the Lord’s commandments outlined here, they will prevail over their cunning adversaries. They will play vital roles in the Lord’s works. They will play vital roles in the Lord’s plan to bring an unbelieving generation safety and spiritual rebirth, and to be lifted up at the last day. Pretty powerful promises that are laden with some pretty heavy responsibilities. So that’s how the text of Section 5 ends. So what about controversies? Casey, any controversies with Section 5?

Casey Griffiths:
I mean, no huge ones that really weigh on my mind, except just kind of the general, a lot of times people then and even still today will say, Hey, why didn’t Joseph just show the plates to everybody? Like, why does he keep them a secret? And, again, that controversy is gonna be resolved in later sections. I mean, Martin does get what he’s seeking. He does get to see the plates, just not when he wants to. In the Lord’s timing, he gets to see the plates and the angel and hear the voice of God, like so much more than he was anticipating. And so I would say the only controversy is that, but it’s sort of a non-controversy. It comes up from time to time. So with, without a ton of controversy, is it okay if we just move on to the consequences? Because I’m anxious to tell the rest of this story. This was really cool. So this revelation should always be read with Section 3, I think, because it’s kind of the recovery from the devastation that happens when they lose the man… The initial manuscript of the Book of Mormon. This revelation has a huge impact on Joseph and Martin. It helps Joseph Smith kind of overcome the crisis of confidence he’s having in the aftermath of the lost manuscript. He spent several months where he doesn’t translate, and we think it’s because he’s like, I’m such a screw-up. It’s not long after this that Oliver Cowdery shows up, and then they are off to the races, and the entire Book of Mormon as we know it is produced mind-blowingly quickly, within about three months. And the Lord’s words of affirmation here, saying that Joseph was the instrument that he was gonna use must have been so helpful to kind of increase his confidence before he starts translating again. Now the revelation also seems to have a huge impact on Martin and gives Martin the courage and the fortitude. Martin takes up the Lord’s challenge to share his witness with the people around him. He goes back to Palmyra, and when he’s called to testify in the trial in which Lucy Harris accuses Joseph Smith of defrauding her husband. According to Lucy Mack Smith, Martin testified with boldness and energy. In fact, she recorded, “When he rose, he raised his hand to heaven and said, I can swear that Joseph Smith never got $1 from me since God made me.” And then he tells his accusers that if they continued, quote, this is Lucy Mack Smith saying, Martin said, “To resist the truth, it would one day be the means of damning your souls.” And that brings an end to the trial. Lucy Mack records that after this, the judge told them that “they need not call any more witnesses, but to bring that which had been recorded of the testimony that had been given. This he tore in pieces before their eyes and told them to go home about their business and trouble him no more with such ridiculous folly.” These sections kind of bring Martin Harris down. You know, he’s a wicked man, but also kind of redeem him to where he does do what the Lord tells him to do. He goes, marches into the trial and without fear of repercussions says, No, Joseph Smith is not stealing from me. I’m willingly helping him because I believe. And it’s after this and several more things that happen that Martin does get that desire of his heart. He does get to see the plates and the angel. And even more. It’s only a few months later, we think in the summer of 1829, probably around June, that Martin, along with Oliver Cowdery, the scribe that’s gonna come to Joseph Smith in the next few sections, and Oliver Cowdery’s friend, David Whitmer, become the promised Three Witnesses of the Book of Mormon. And so it’s a nice wrap-up to Martin’s story. It’s not the end of his story. He goes on and on and has more adventures. But these three sections do kind of create this great, here’s the problem, here’s how they messed up, and here’s how they start to move towards fixing it. Now the Lord not only helps them through their repentance process but forgives them and then gives them more than they were expecting in the first place.

Scott Woodward:
Yeah. What a redemptive arc to Martin Harris’ story. He’s called a wicked man in Section 3. And by the end of Section 5, the Lord says, You can be one of the Three Witnesses. Your words, your testimony can be accompanying my words in the Book of Mormon to go out to the whole world to invite everyone to come unto Christ. Like, if that’s not a perfect encapsulation of D&C 3 verse 10, where the Lord says, Remember, God is merciful. And if you repent, then you’re still called to help in the work. Like, I don’t know what else is. Like, Martin Harris’ story is just awesome. It should be a a story of consolation to any of us who are sinners. Maybe feel like we’ve made a lot of mistakes, maybe too many mistakes where we can’t assist in the Lord’s work anymore. And, Section 3, 4, and 5 all say that’s not true. God is merciful. And you, if you’re willing, if you have a desire to serve God, start working on those attributes. And at some point, you’ll not just be one that’s, you know, an observer of the work of God. But you can be a full on participant, and you can make a difference like Martin Harris did.

Casey Griffiths:
Yeah. And if you’ve messed up, it’s okay. Repent. Do better, and God will give you greater blessings than you ever imagined you had in store.

Scott Woodward:
Awesome. Kay.

Casey Griffiths:
Wonderful.

Scott Woodward:
Thank you, Casey.

Casey Griffiths:
That was a lot of fun. I guess we’ll see you next week when we meet Oliver Cowdery.

Scott Woodward:
Thank you for joining us on this episode of Church History Matters. Our new episodes drop every Tuesday. So please join us next week as we continue to dig into the context, content, controversies, and consequences of the revelations of the Doctrine and Covenants. If you’re enjoying or gaining value from Church History Matters, we would love it if you could pay it forward by telling your friends about it or by taking a moment to subscribe, rate, review, and comment on the podcast. That makes us easier to find. Today’s episode was produced by Scott Woodward and edited by Daniel Sorensen with show notes and transcript by Gabe Davis. Church History Matters is a podcast of Scripture Central, a nonprofit which exists to help build enduring faith in Jesus Christ by making Latter-day Saint scripture and Church history accessible, comprehensible, and defensible to people everywhere. For more resources to enhance your gospel study, go to scripturecentral.org, where everything is available for free because of the generous donations of people like you. Let me say that again. All of our content is free because people like you donate to make it possible. So if you’re in a position where you’re both willing and able to make a one-time or ongoing donation, be assured that your contribution will help us here at Scripture Central to produce and disseminate more quality content to combat false and faith-eroding material out there in the digital marketplace of ideas. I try very hard to be historically and doctrinally accurate in what we say on this podcast. Please remember that all views expressed in this and every episode are our views alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of Scripture Central or the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Thank you so much for being a part of this with us.