Scott Woodward:
Whoa, Casey, that might be the thesis statement of the Restoration right there.

Casey Griffiths:
Yeah. Yeah.

Scott Woodward:
It’s got to be one of the clearest explanations in the whole Doctrine and Covenants as to why the Lord has established this church. The power of godly living or the way to become like God is manifest. That’s pretty significant.

Casey Griffiths:
We take for granted how powerful the truths of the gospel are. And for all the complaints we make about doing work in the Church and how busy it makes us, it takes so many burdens off your shoulders to know that you’re going to be okay, your family is going to be okay, that there is something better and that there’s a larger purpose. Like, that is so powerful and helpful to people.

Scott Woodward:
Why serve a mission? That was a pretty good explanation. Because the world needs you, because the world needs the light and the truth and the spirit that you can bring into that darkness and help people.

Casey Griffiths:
But really, what matters is you and the choices that you make in your life.

Scott Woodward:
The Lord is not pulling punches here, right? He’s saying it how it is.

Casey Griffiths:
You receive the servants, which means you receive Jesus Christ, which means you receive the Father. And if you do that, you receive all that the Father has. Like, that’s the gospel boiled down to just a few simple verses.

Scott Woodward:
Whoa, this hurts my modern brain. Hello, Casey.

Casey Griffiths:
Hello, Scott. We’re back, and we are dealing with a major revelation in the Doctrine and Covenants, Section 84.

Scott Woodward:
One of the most significant revelations, I think, ever received by Joseph Smith, Casey. Is that overstating it?

Casey Griffiths:
No, it’s not overstating it at all. And you pointed out something important to me in the early Doctrine and Covenants, the 1835 Doctrine and Covenants, where this shows up first. Instead of having the sections chronologically, like they do in our current Doctrine and Covenants, they were sort of put in by order of importance. So Section 1 is still Section 1 because, you know, it’s intended to be the introduction. Then you got Section 20, which is called the constitution of the Church. Section 84 is number four. In fact, do you remember what’s number 3?

Scott Woodward:
107. This is number 4 in importance in the early arrangement of the Doctrine and Covenants, the 1835 publication, which is significant. And so can we call it one of the top four revelations? Again, Section 76 is not in the top four. I don’t know. Maybe we shouldn’t rank, but-

Casey Griffiths:
When it comes to how the Church operates, yeah, this is up there. Like top five, definitely. It’s really, really important stuff that helps define who we are, how we operate, and what we do. I remember a couple of years ago, President Uchtdorf in a priesthood session saying, The holy priesthood of God has an instruction manual, and he outlined a couple of sections that everybody needs to read. And this was one of them. This one, Section 20, Section 84, 107, and 121, I believe, were the four sections he said everybody needed to read to understand what priesthood is and how it works and what it does for us.

Scott Woodward:
Yeah, and it seems like the way that the early Doctrine and Covenants was formatted was they wanted to place first those revelations which were kind of more regulatory in nature or broadly applicable to missionaries, especially, and Church leaders who were going to go out and try to establish the Church, try to administer the gospel. How should we set things up? How should it run? What is the core doctrine of the Church? Those got priority. Those were front-loaded right at the top of the Doctrine and Covenants, and so. There’s both the practical and kind of the definitional core doctrinal revelations. Yeah, very excited for Section 84 because it is right there at the top, and it’s kind of a fun run. It’s one of the longest revelations, too, in the Doctrine and Covenants. I think it’s 120 verses, and it spans from the theologically really dense, like, stunning insight into priesthood and temple and the gathering, et cetera, to like the superbly practical, like what missionaries should take with them on their missions and stuff like that. It’s going to cover a gamut of all kinds of interesting topics. But that might be because it’s actually three revelations that have been combined into one. And so we’ll see the first revelation really theologically dense, the second is kind of a mix, and the third is really quite practical.

Casey Griffiths:
And because it’s so lengthy, we’re just going to prepare you that we’ll probably split this discussion into two. Normally, our methodology is to explain the context and the content, then the controversies, then the consequences. But this is so big. We’ll probably say part one, we’re going to do the context and content, and part two will be the controversies and the consequences. Because once we started getting into the controversies, too, we realized, oh, there is a lot here to digest and process. And so there’s a lot, but we hope that this discussion is really fruitful for you because this is a big one. It’s an important one that you need to understand, to know our perspective, to know how we see priesthood and the power of God distributed among members the Church.

Scott Woodward:
Yeah, we don’t want to miss anything that this revelation has to say, nor the implications that it has because it’s so important. So let’s dive in to our very first C here, the context of this revelation. Casey, take it away.

Casey Griffiths:
In Joseph Smith’s history, this revelation has a very simple context. Here’s the basics. After they were getting back from their trip to Missouri, they go on a trip to Missouri. That’s where Section 82 and 83 are received. Joseph is moving his family from the Johnson Farm, where they’ve been for quite a while. That’s down in Hiram, Ohio. That’s where Section 76 is received. That’s where the mob attacks Joseph Smith.

Scott Woodward:
Good reason to move your family.

Casey Griffiths:
Yeah, they’ve had some trauma there. So they move back to Kirtland, and they’re going to stay in Newel K. Whitney’s store in Kirtland. There’s little rooms up there. You can still go to the Whitney store today and see this. And it’s probably here in the Whitney store that Section 84 is recorded. The occasion Joseph Smith describes for receiving Section 84 is this. He says, “The elders began to return from their missions to the eastern states and to present the histories of their several stewardships in the Lord’s vineyard. And while together in these seasons of joy, I inquired of the Lord and received the following.” And if you look in verse one of Section 84, it gives a little bit more context. It says, “A revelation of Jesus Christ unto his servant, Joseph Smith, Jun. and six elders as they united their hearts and lifted their voices on high.” But every revelation is prompted by a question. What’s their question? We don’t know. But here’s some deeper context we can put together. So Joseph Smith gives this very basic context. It’s a good time. People are coming back. I met together with these missionaries, and we talked about it.

Casey Griffiths:
So the deeper context would be, 1832 is a rough year for Joseph Smith. We mentioned the vision, we mentioned the attack at the farm. But what happens here, too, is the attack leaves Sidney Rigdon somewhat debilitated. The beating that they endure from the mob is painful for both men. But Sidney Rigdon, whose head was badly lacerated when they dragged him across the frozen ground, is not able to recover as quickly as Joseph Smith. Sidney is also a little bit older. In fact, several days after the attack, Joseph goes to visit Sidney Rigdon. This is what he writes. He said, “I went to see Elder Rigdon and found him crazy. His head highly inflamed, for they had dragged him by his heels, and those too so high from the earth, he could not raise his head from the rough frozen surface.” So Sidney is badly beat up, and it’s kind of a semi-miracle that he’s able to recover in time to go to that trip to Missouri, where Section 82 and 83 are received. And Sidney is acting a little radically, the document record gives us. So Joseph Smith, probably, he’s been leaning on Sidney Rigdon for his ecclesiology because Sidney is an experienced churchman who has presided over several congregations.

Casey Griffiths:
And now Sidney is not as able to help as he has been. And so Joseph Smith might be asking about what are my responsibilities. The other thing, and I find this one fascinating, is that this is probably around the time that Joseph Smith writes his own history for the first time. The reason why we think that, we’ll put together a couple of puzzle pieces. On their way back from Missouri, they have an accident where the stagecoach that they’re riding has a runaway, and they have to jump from the stagecoach. And Newel K. Whitney, who’s with Joseph Smith, jumps from the coach but catches his foot in the wheel, and he breaks it in several places. And so he’s unable to travel. And everybody else goes on to Kirtland, but Joseph volunteers to stay in Greenville, Indiana, with Bishop Whitney while he recovers. He’s there for four weeks. And so imagine his life is just busy, busy, busy, go, go, go, all of a sudden, stop. And he’s got four weeks where he’s just waiting for Bishop Whitney to recover, and he’s trying to sort through things. So during this time, he writes a letter to Emma Smith that is on the Joseph Smith Papers site, and it seems to indicate that Joseph Smith is using this break in his schedule to sort of contemplate what’s already happened to him.

Casey Griffiths:
Here’s the letter. He writes and says, “My dear Emma, my situation is a very unpleasant one, although I will endeavor to be contented. The Lord assisting me, I have visited a grove, which is just back of the town, almost every day, where I can be secluded from the eyes of any mortal, and there give vent to all the feelings of my heart. In meditation and prayer, I have called to mind all the past moments of my life, and I’m left to mourn and shed tears of sorrow for my folly in suffering the adversary of my soul to have so much power over me as he has in times past.” And then he kind of brightens and says, “But God is merciful and has forgiven my sins. And I rejoice that he sendeth forth the Comforter unto as many as believe and humbleth themselves before him.”

Scott Woodward:
So he’s really kind of contemplative, and he has all this free time, and he’s visiting a grove, this is a pattern with Joseph Smith. He goes out to a grove to vent his feelings to God. So he’s trying to grow closer to God. Very self-reflective here. And it’s not all good reflection, it sounds like. How did he say it? He feels bad that he’s let the adversary have so much power over him.

Casey Griffiths:
Yeah. “I’m left to mourn and shed tears of sorrow for my folly in suffering the adversary of my soul that have so much power over me.”

Scott Woodward:
But God is merciful, and he’s forgiven me my sins. I love that that’s the resolution. Okay, so what do we take from this and how might that be potential context for Section 84?

Casey Griffiths:
We’re borrowing from Matt Godfrey, who’s the one that really came up with this theory. He’s a historian in the works for the Joseph Smith Papers project. Matt is awesome. Basically, Matt thinks that those four weeks while he was there was when Joseph Smith writes out his first history, which includes the earliest account of the First Vision, but also talks about ministering angels and authorities given to him. And that might lead into Section 84, where Joseph Smith is thinking about what’s happened to him, and now he’s trying to figure out what it means. Because you and I were talking before, you know, when I was ordained to the Aaronic and Melchizedek priesthood, I can’t remember what they said. My dad ordained me both times. I remember thinking, Oh, cool. I’m a deacon now, or, Oh, I’m an elder, and trying to figure out, Well, what does that mean exactly? Like, what sort of authority do I have now that I didn’t have before? The other thing is when he gets back to Kirtland, Sidney Rigdon has further problems. Here’s what we know. A letter arrived from John Corrill, who’s a counselor in Edward Partridge’s bishopric in Missouri, that raises some points of conflict and animosity towards Joseph Smith and other Church leaders in Kirtland.

Casey Griffiths:
Shortly after hearing these accusations, Sidney Rigdon has a meltdown. He became frantic, and he declared in public, The keys are rent from this people, and Joseph is forced to travel to Kirtland, from where he’s staying in Hiram, Ohio, to remedy the situation. And for a time, he had to remove Sidney from the First Presidency and revoke his priesthood. And it’s during these challenging months that Joseph Smith is also, you know, thinking, Oh, gosh, how do I run the Church? And without Sidney Rigdon, who was kind of running everything, what authorities do I have and how does the authority work? And it seems like a lot of this leads him to start thinking about the nature of priesthood, where it comes from, how it works in the Church and what powers it has. And that leads him to receiving this revelation, which he does on the 22nd and 23rd of September 1832.

Casey Griffiths:
So like you mentioned, this revelation was probably received over two days. The earliest copies of the revelation suggest that it was received in at least two parts. We don’t know exactly when the first part ends and the second part begins. However, several early scribes of the revelation, that includes Frederick G. Williams, who also helps him write the First Vision account, and John Whitmer left a break after the phrase, “For he is full of mercy, justice, grace, and truth, and peace, forever and ever. Amen.” That’s verse 102. And then we probably picked up and received 103 to 120 the next day on September 23. So lots of stuff going on with Joseph Smith trying to figure out the meaning of his history and trying to figure out how to govern the Church without this one experienced Church leader, Sidney Rigdon, who’s really having a hard time right now because of the fallout from the mob attack that happened. So I think that mob attack is a lot more significant than sometimes we give it credit for.

Scott Woodward:
Yeah, that head trauma for sure changed him. And it’s unfortunate that he’s never quite the same Sidney again. He’ll have moments of great clarity and moments of good leadership still. But those seem to be punctuated by episodes like you just described, where he relapses, and he’s not the same old Sidney, you know. And I think Newel K. Whitney described him as either down in the cellar or up in the attic, mentally. He would kind of go back and forth. He’s a victim of mob violence, and it absolutely affected him. Like like you said, may have added some subtle context to this revelation, at least the questions in Joseph Smith’s mind that he’s asking now, feeling fully the loneliness of leadership and what he needs to accomplish. At the beginning of his history, he’s writing about priesthoods being restored to him. I wonder if Joseph is thinking about how all the pieces fit together that he’s received so far. If you have a month to just kind of think about what God’s been doing here with Joseph, and he’s just thinking about it, there have been angels who have conferred keys upon him. He’s been asked to establish a church. He’s been told in Section 57 that there will be a temple built in the New Jerusalem in Missouri.

Scott Woodward:
He’s been commanded to send missionaries out who have been sent out to gather Israel. I wonder if he’s wondering about how all these pieces fit together because those themes are really strong in Section 84, right. The priesthood keys, establishment of the Church, New Jerusalem temple, missionaries being sent out to gather Israel. And so I’m totally open to that idea. I think that might be right. We’re speculating here. We don’t know for sure, but what a compelling context to think about.

Casey Griffiths:
We’re just putting this out here as additional context. Again, the safest things to go off is what Joseph Smith himself said. But these are all pieces being moved around the board, I guess you’d say, while this is being received and might be things that led to this landmark revelation that really gives us our first clear understanding of priesthood, how it works in the Church, and what it means.

Scott Woodward:
Before we dive into the content itself, maybe we should talk about the three revelations themselves themselves and what we know about how they were divided up. So evidence from early manuscripts indicate that Section 84 is actually three separate but interrelated revelations received consecutively, beginning, as you said, September 22nd, and then on into September 23rd with breaks of unknown duration between each of those. So the first revelation goes from verse 1 to verse 41 or 42 and provides doctrinally-rich explanations about the relationship between the Church, the temple that’s been prophesied to be built in Missouri, and the lesser and greater priesthoods. This is dense. By the time you get to verse 42, this is described as being given in the presence of 10 high priests, which is very different than verse 1. Verse 1 says it was in the presence of six elders. And so by the time we get to verse 42, we’ve now got 10 high priests. We believe this is on September 23rd. And this spans from verse 41 or 42 all the way through verse 102. Verses 43 through 59 describe the contrast between the truth, light, and spirit of Christ, and the darkness of sin, and unbelief, and vanity in the world.

Scott Woodward:
While verses 60 to 102 then provide detailed instruction and direction to those who serve missions to, like, go do something about that darkness that’s in the world and bring the light of Christ to them. Then the third revelation was received sometime later that same day on September 23, and that spans from verses 103 to 120. This seems to address some various practical questions regarding missionary work at that time. Maybe questions that came about because of that second revelation about missionaries taking this message to the world. So that’s kind of a brief overview, like, there’s three really separate and distinct revelations here. They’re interrelated in theme, but it goes from the doctrinally dense in the first revelation to the really practical at the end in the third revelation, so. With that said, should we dive into the actual content itself?

Casey Griffiths:
Let’s dive in.

Scott Woodward:
SO it begins with brief context in verse one, which we’ve covered. Then in verse two is described as “the word of the Lord concerning his church, established in the last days for the restoration of his people, as he has spoken by the mouth of his prophets and for the gathering of his Saints to stand upon Mount Zion, which shall be the city of New Jerusalem.” Woah, Casey, that might be the thesis statement of the Restoration right there.

Casey Griffiths:
Yeah, yeah.

Scott Woodward:
It’s got to be one of the clearest explanations in the whole Doctrine and Covenants as to why the Lord has established this church, right. It’s to restore God’s people, to gather his Saints to the city of New Jerusalem. Stunning, stunningly brief and packed.

Casey Griffiths:
And it shows this focus that the early Saints really had, where they want to build the New Jerusalem. And that is the major objective that they have in mind, that if they do this, the Second Coming will happen.

Scott Woodward:
One thing that really strikes me about verse 2 is that he says that the purpose of all this is the restoration of God’s people. We like to talk about the restoration of the gospel, the restoration of the Church, the restoration of priesthood keys, et cetera. But what I love so much about verse 2 is it’s telling us what all those little restorations are all about. This is about getting God’s people back. And that’s just so beautiful to me.

Casey Griffiths:
That’s the capital R of the Restoration, right? Is we’re restoring God’s people to gather his Saints to the New Jerusalem. It shows how focused the early Saints were on the concept of the New Jerusalem, this idea that is in the Book of Mormon. A survey of early Latter-day Saint literature has shown they were laser-focused on Ether 13 and 3 Nephi 22. The most popular passages to early Saints in the Book of Mormon both have to do with this New Jerusalem. And so the Lord’s giving them exactly what they so desperately want here, explanations about the city. So picking it up in verse three, “Which city shall be built beginning at the temple lot appointed by the finger of the Lord”. This is referencing back to Section 57, where the Lord told them that the city of Zion would be built in the state of Missouri and dedicated by the hand of Joseph Smith, Jr. and others with whom the Lord was well pleased. The word of the Lord at that time was that the city of New Jerusalem would be built by the gathering of the Saints, beginning at the place of the temple. And this is the origin of temples in this dispensation.

Casey Griffiths:
I mean, they know about temples from Jerusalem if we’re trying to put ourselves in their mindsets. But we’ve mentioned in one of our other discussions that Jerusalem is really a temple with a city attached to it, that what makes Jerusalem special is the temple that’s there and the sacred ground. And it’s the same way with this New Jerusalem, that they would be gathered together. And then he says, “This temple would be reared in this generation, for verily this generation shall not all pass away,” verse 5 emphasizes, “until a house shall be built unto the Lord.” He’s telling them to build temple, and he’s telling them to do it now.

Scott Woodward:
Did he just say that this temple would be built in this generation?

Casey Griffiths:
Yeah.

Scott Woodward:
So that’s 1832. He said that the New Jerusalem temple would be built in Missouri in this generation. Casey, we know that didn’t happen. We know that the Missouri temple was not built. How do we work through this? We’re only five verses in, and we’re already at a controversy here.

Casey Griffiths:
Here’s the bare facts of the matter. Due to circumstances that are going to be dealt with in future revelations, the temple in Missouri was never built during that generation. It’s still something we look forward to. We have temples in Missouri now, in Kansas City, in St. Louis. But this particular temple, which was supposed to be built in Independence, Missouri, and form the center of the city of Zion, has yet to be built by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. That’s another complicated thing is there is a temple there, but it’s the Community of Christ temple, and it doesn’t fill the role of temples as we see it.

Scott Woodward:
This was a huge issue for Joseph Smith, right? When the Saints got officially kicked out of Missouri in 1838, he fretted about this, right? He’s in Nauvoo, and he’s like, What about the prophecy? We’re supposed to build a temple in Missouri. And didn’t the Lord respond to that?

Casey Griffiths:
So eight years later, in Nauvoo, Illinois, as Joseph and other Church members are worried about how this is going to come to pass, because there is a literal extermination order against the Saints in Missouri. The Lord releases them from this obligation do so. This is the wording he uses, “It behooveth me to require the work no more at their hands.” And he goes on to say that he accepted their efforts and tells them of “those whom I’ve commanded to build up a city and a house unto my name in Jackson County, Missouri, but who were hindered by their enemies.” That’s Section 124 of the Doctrine and Covenants, verses 49 and 51. And if you look at those verses, you’ll note that footnote 4C actually sends you to those verses, which is probably the most succinct explanation for how we reconcile the temple will be built in this generation with the fact that it hasn’t, is that the Lord just released them from it. The easiest and most succinct explanation, and one that that footnote seems to suggest, is to say, Well, the Lord released them from that command. So even though that specific temple is not built in that generation, the doctrinal explanation about the relationship between the temple and the priesthood in the verses that follow is still really, really pertinent to us.

Casey Griffiths:
So yes, we got this historical item. They’re supposed to build a temple in Jackson County. But really what the Lord is doing is connecting the idea of temples to priesthood, which is where he picks it up in verse 6. You want to take it from there?

Scott Woodward:
Yeah, and I think that’s super important that this revelation is actually the very first revelation on priesthood that we get. It’s also the very first explanation of temples. Now, we knew about the temple, but we don’t get an explanation of what the temple is all about until Section 84. And I dare say that you cannot understand priesthood without understanding temple, and you cannot understand temple without understanding priesthood.

Casey Griffiths:
We do have Section 13, and we have Section 20. Aren’t those about priesthood? What would you say to a person that brings that up?

Scott Woodward:
Yeah, great point. Yes, Section 13 indeed comes before Section 84 in our current Doctrine and Covenants, but it was not recorded until 1838 history of Joseph Smith. Then Section 20 is interesting, right? Because it does mention deacons, teachers, priests, but they were not yet associated with priesthood. They are mentioned only as Church officers, and they’re not making connections of like, lower priesthood, higher priesthood, Aaronic, Melchizedek. They’re not really doing that in 1830. There are Church officers. And then later on with sections like Section 84 and 107, we’re starting to learn that these officers belong to the priesthood, or they’re bringing these officers into the priesthood.

Casey Griffiths:
So if we’re trying to get into the mindset of Joseph Smith during this time, today, the idea of Church officers and priesthood is synonymous, right? But back then, being an officer of the Church didn’t necessarily mean that you held the priesthood. That’s something we’ve got to explore a little bit here, too. So, yeah, good explanation. Section 13, which talks about the Aaronic priesthood, is actually written later, but then placed earlier. Section 20 is talking about officers of the Church, which they don’t at this time yet necessarily associate with priesthood. Though do we know?

Scott Woodward:
You can’t find the word priesthood in that revelation, for instance, in Section 20. You can check it out. We don’t hear him talking like that. Until Joseph is writing his 1832 history, he starts using the word priesthood. And then this revelation is the first time we start to see that there’s a lower priesthood and a higher priesthood. And you’ll notice in this revelation, Section 84, there is no Aaronic or Melchizedek priesthood yet. That’s still not language that’s solidified yet. Not until Section 107. That’s 1835. So once we get to 1835, now we’re going to start talking about priesthoods the way we’re typically used to talking about them today in the Church. But that was not the case in 1832. So this is coming line upon line, piece by piece. It’s coalescing in the mind of a prophet who is asking questions to the Lord and synthesizing his experiences and his revelations. So we’re just watching this in real-time, almost here in Section 84, like, play out line upon line. But back to the main point I was trying to say, which is that priesthood and temple are going to be inextricably connected, as we see the Lord explain here.

Scott Woodward:
As he begins talking about temple, he needs to pause and talk about priesthood so you understand his point about the temple. Let’s how this plays out starting in verse 6. So verse 6 begins a thought about the role that a group called the sons of Moses will play in the future New Jerusalem temple. But then this thought is interrupted by a 24-verse tangent, and then he doesn’t complete that thought until verse 31 through verse 34. In fact, if you go to verse 31, you can see how that actually picks up the language about the sons of Moses that he began over in verse 6. So once you understand that 24-verse tangent, it might be a good idea to read verse 6 and then jump over to verse 31 to continue the thought. So with that, let’s now go back to what he says in those intervening verses. So the last part of verse 6 through verse 30 should be seen as kind of this deliberate but necessary interruption in the flow of thought about the sons of Moses to kind of help readers upload what they need to know about priesthood so as to be able to understand the complete thought here about sons of Moses, and as we’ll see the sons of Aaron relative to the temple.

Scott Woodward:
So it’s the dense theology part. So let’s try to track here. It’s probably important context to talk about the June 1831 conference. This is also where the term priesthood starts to come up really early. So this is when Joseph Smith said the high priesthood was restored or revealed for the first time. In fact, Parley P. Pratt, who was there, he described men on this occasion being, quote, “ordained to the high priesthood after the order of the Son of God, which is after the order of Melchizedek.” They’re going to use this word order. The word order here kind of means something like a sacred group or almost a fraternity or a brotherhood, which in this case would mean like the high priesthood is like the holy fraternity or the holy group belonging to the Son of God. And those who were ordained and received into that order were called high priests. This is all kind of essential background to where the Lord is going to go here. And as for the connection with Melchizedek, Joseph had actually learned earlier in February of 1831 in his Bible revision work of Genesis 14, that the biblical figure named Melchizedek had been, quote, “ordained an high priest after the order of the Son of God.”

Scott Woodward:
Which confirms the Book of Mormon’s teachings on that in Alma 13. So these intriguing kind of scriptural tidbits and the beginning of ordaining certain men to the high priesthood had all occurred prior to what Doctrine and Covenants 84 is now about to say, but not much else was understood about exactly how all the pieces fit together. How are Church members and leaders to make sense of the high priesthood? What specific privileges and obligations belong to the high priests who were part of it? And how do these differ from other officers in the Church? And what, if anything, was the connection between the high priesthood and this temple that the Lord is commanding them to build? Well, okay. So here in Section 84, the Lord is now directly addressing this urgently-needed doctrine for the first time to kind of fill in that missing understanding. Having just spoken in verse 5 of the temple to be built, the Lord says in verse 6, quote, “And the sons of Moses, according to the holy priesthood,” boom. Now here comes the parenthetical, “Which Moses received under the hand of his father-in-law, Jethro, and Jethro received under the hand of Caleb, and Caleb received under the hand of Elihu,” and it goes on like this, from verse 9 to 16, from various persons, all the way back to Adam.

Scott Woodward:
The holy priesthood being referred to here is equated in verses 19 and 29, by the way, if you’re checking, with a phrase called the greater priesthood or the high priesthood that we’ve been talking about from that conference in June 1831. And the concept here of receiving this priesthood under the hands of somebody else can be understood as receiving a sacred ordination to be an authorized priest in what verse 18 calls the “holiest order of God.” It’s like you’re being inducted into an order. I almost think of it like medieval knighthood. Casey, it’s kind of helpful for me. Like you receive knighthood. Instead of a sword on your shoulders, there’s hands on your head, right? Instead of dubbing you a knight, you’re being ordained a priest. And now you belong to a holy order of people who are authorized to act for the king. And so that’s what’s happening here. As it says, this person received it from this person, received it from this person.

Casey Griffiths:
It’s giving this from Moses, right? It’s using Moses and Aaron as the two people that typify the higher priesthood, the lower priest of. Moses was ordained by his father-in-law, Jethro, which is really interesting because the story in the Bible, to that point, is following the line of Abraham through Isaac, this one family. And then Jethro comes out of nowhere. He’s actually a descendant of one of Abraham’s other sons. He’s a Midianite. These sons that Abraham had with his wife, Keturah, she’s his third wife after Sarah and Hagar. But it does suggest that there’s a wider world, that if Jethro held the priesthood, that there were adventures happening outside of the family of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, where priesthood was being given and people were being inducted into these holy orders and things happening. So whenever we talk about priesthood, there’s like this tension between lineage and agency. Like, is it something you’re born into, like the sons of Aaron, or is it something that you can choose to be a part of? And this is kind of opening some interesting avenues to say, yeah, it can be a blessing that comes to you because of your ancestors, but it’s also really based on your choices that you make, too. Like, it’s reconciling those two ideas with each other, which I just think is really fascinating.

Scott Woodward:
So this priesthood or this holy order, the Lord says, “Continueth in the church of God in all generations and is without beginning of days or end of years.” Meaning it’s not a a man-made order, but it’s a holy order of the eternal God. And verse 18 discloses here, “The Lord also confirmed a priesthood upon Aaron and his seed throughout all their generations, which priesthood also continueth and abideth forever with the priesthood, which is after the holiest order of God.” Two priesthoods we now have, right? A priesthood associated with Aaron, and now a priesthood associated with Moses. So here we have another priesthood, what verse 26 and 30 call a lesser priesthood, which was confirmed upon Moses, his brother Aaron, and his posterity. And those of this lower order were famously authorized to officiate as priests in the Old Testament tabernacle and temples. In fact, if you look carefully in Exodus 40, that’s the very first place we find in scripture where the word priesthood is used, and it’s deliberately associated with these temple workers who are the sons of Aaron. In contrast to that lesser priesthood order, this greater priesthood, he said, or this holiest order, quote, verse 19, “administereth the gospel, and holdeth the key of the mysteries of the kingdom, even the key of the knowledge of God.”

Scott Woodward:
Neither of which keys are clearly defined here, so we won’t try to elaborate. But these keys are clearly related to the next verse, where he says, “Therefore in the ordinances thereof,” of this higher priesthood, “the power of godliness is manifest.” Now, the term ordinances here in an 1832 context refers to both laws and rituals. Normally in our speak today, ordinance just means the ritual, right? But in Joseph’s day, it’s the law and the ordinance. And the term godliness here most likely refers to this, like, godly, pious, holy way of living. It’s a godly walk, a godly way. So in and through the laws and rituals that are mediated by this high priesthood, the power of godly living or, like, the way to become like God is manifest. That’s pretty significant.

Scott Woodward:
And then he says, “And without the ordinances or the laws and rituals of this greater priesthood and the authority of the priesthood, the power of godliness is not manifest unto men in the flesh. For without this,” that is the laws, rituals, and authority of the priesthood, “no man can see the face of God, even the Father, and live.” Well, that’s dense and beautiful and deserves a lot of long walks and pondering and thoughtful journaling to, like, understand what on earth is going on here. But the hint that he gives is connecting it to what Moses did with the children of Israel in the Sinai Peninsula. This is the sons of Moses. And so maybe we should talk about these next verses.

Casey Griffiths:
Yeah. In fact, you can see that in the next verse. “Now this Moses plainly taught to the children of Israel in the wilderness and sought diligently need to sanctify his people that they might behold the face of God.” So the same basic struggle we’re dealing with in the early Restoration, we’re trying to get a people that are worthy to enter God’s presence. You’ll remember Moses, after he gathers Israel out of slavery in Egypt, leads them into the Sinai Peninsula, where he receives God’s laws on Mount Sinai, the Ten Commandments, you’ll recall. And these laws are intended to bring Israel into the right relationship with God and with one another in a covenant community. And then with the authority of the high priesthood, led Israel in a ceremony wherein they covenanted to obey these laws. So the next thing is that Moses goes back to Mount Sinai and receives from the Lord the blueprint to build the tabernacle which was the first temple in the history of the scriptures, together with the sacred laws and rituals of the holy order of God. And people do this all the time. You read the Book of Exodus up to Exodus 20, where the Ten Commandments are and where all the stories are about them being in the wilderness.

Casey Griffiths:
And then you stop and you forget that the whole rest of the Book of Exodus is this intricately detailed explanation given by God to Moses about how to build the tabernacle. So there’s a direct line between Moses and the temple, and God is doing the same thing here by connecting the temple that’s going to be built in Missouri to this order of the priesthood that he’s trying to describe to Joseph Smith. So all of this is mediated by Moses, who’s the high priest, and it’s calculated to help Israel become sanctified through the power of godly living so that they can behold the face of God. This is the pattern that we’re seeing in verses 19 through 22. However, the other part of the story is that over time, the Israelites hardened their hearts, this is what the Lord says, “and could not endure his presence. Therefore, the Lord in his wrath, for his anger was kindled against them, swore that they should not enter into his rest while in the wilderness, which rest is the fullness of his glory. Therefore, he eventually took Moses out of their midst, and the holy priesthood also,” meaning the higher priesthood.

Casey Griffiths:
But he goes on to add, The lesser priesthood continued, the lower priesthood, which at this time included Moses’s brother Aaron and his sons, which he says here, “which priesthood holds the keys of the ministering of angels and the preparatory gospel, which gospel is the gospel of repentance and baptism and remission of sins and the law of carnal commandments.” And again, a lot of this language you see earlier in the Doctrine and Covenants in Section 13 which is Joseph Smith’s recollection of what John the Baptist said to him. But it’s showing up here as well as to what is the purpose of the Aaronic or lower priesthood. So the law of carnal commandments, we’re thinking about, like, performances. Under the law of Moses, the sacrificial system that they have, this elaborate system of sacrifices, which he says, “Which the Lord in his wrath caused to continue with the house of Aaron among the children of Israel until John,” that is John, the Baptist, who he says, “whom God raised up, being filled with the Holy Ghost from his mother’s womb.” Then he says some surprising stuff about John. “He was baptized while yet in his childhood, and was ordained by the angel of God at the time he was eight days old to prepare the Jews for the coming of the Lord in whose hand he has given all power.”

Casey Griffiths:
Let me just add by way of explanation. We use the word ordained in the Church today in a very specific way. I’ve had some people read this verse and say, Wait a minute, John was ordained to the priesthood when he was eight days old? In the early church, ordained and blessed were sort of synonymous with each other. So I don’t think this passage is saying a person was ordained to the priesthood when they were eight days old, though John was awesome. I imagine this being more like his blessing as an infant than, you know, them ordaining a priest who’s eight days old, specifically. But it does take us down to the signifier of the lower priesthood, who is John the Baptist, who is going to help accomplish the mission of the figure that represents the higher priesthood, his cousin, Jesus Christ.

Scott Woodward:
And then having said that much by way of sort of like historical illustration and connections, then he goes in verses 29 and 30, the Lord does, to discuss how the common Church offices of the early 1830s now integrate with these two priesthood orders. We almost see in real-time here, like, officers of the Church, priesthood, coming together here. For instance, verse 29 explains that, quote, “The offices of elder and bishop are necessary appendages belonging unto the high priesthood.” And verse 30 explains that, “The offices of teacher and deacon are necessary appendages belonging to the lesser priesthood, which priesthood was confirmed upon Aaron an his sons.” Now, I don’t know if you caught it, but there are a couple of things missing, it seems like, in those verses about officers of the Church. It can strike the careful modern reader as kind of odd, for instance, that neither the term high priest was mentioned in connection with the high priesthood, nor the term priest with the lesser priesthood. Why does this matter? Because of how they understand priesthood at this time. So the reason for those two words, priest and high priest, missing might kind of be surprising, but it has to do with the suffix -hood of the word priesthood.

Scott Woodward:
Follow me on this. This is a little bit scripture nerdy, but follow me here. The word -hood, that suffix, can denote a group or a body that share the same state. Like, just as a group of neighbors can be called a neighborhood, so a group of priests belong to a priesthood, and a group of high priests belong to a high priesthood. You’re following this? It’s kind of the group. It’s the gaggle that belong together. So in other words, high priests are already inherent in the term high priesthood in verse 29, just like lesser priests are inherent in the lesser priesthood of verse 30. And so elders and bishops, think about it like this, are actually appendages to the office of high priest. Whoa, this hurts modern brain. But in 1832, this is how they’re thinking about priesthood. And just the same way that teachers and deacons are appendages to the office of priest, or in other words, the lesser priesthood.

Scott Woodward:
So this is the 1832 conception of Church ecclesiastical structure. And it’s going to be added to, it’s going to be adjusted slightly in 1835, like Section 107 is going to move bishops from the high priesthood over to the lesser priesthood. We’re going to see that important move. Really fascinating to understand how they’re conceiving of priesthood, because today we’ll say, Oh, priesthood is just like the power of God. That’s not how they’re reading it here. The -hood on priesthood means this group of priests or this group of high priests, the high priesthood. It’s those who’ve been ordained to that office who now are sharing that. And there are appendages to that office that kind of help them achieve what they have been called by God to do. And so very fascinating.

Casey Griffiths:
This is going to connect back to the temple. Pick it up in verse 30. This sort of is the Lord’s parenthetical explanation of priesthood. And now when we go to verse 31 to 34, he’s connecting back to verse 6. Remember, he starts out the section talking about the temple. Then in verse 6, he says, “Concerning the sons of Moses relative to the future temple.” And then he finally completes the thought, which is this. He says, “The sons of Moses,” meaning those of the higher priesthood, “and also the sons of Aaron,” meaning those of the lesser priesthood, “shall offer an acceptable offering and sacrifice in the house of the Lord, which house shall be built unto the Lord in this generation upon the consecrated spot as I have appointed.” D&C 124 deals with that, but the Lord goes on to say, “The sons of Moses and Aaron shall themselves be filled with the glory of the Lord upon Mount Zion in the Lord’s house, whose sons are ye. And also as many whom as I’ve called and sent forth to build up my church.” So he’s tackling the question of lineage versus choice, right? So you could be reading this and saying, Oh, well, if I’m not a descendant of Aaron, this doesn’t apply to me, or if I’m not a descendant of Moses or a son of Moses.

Casey Griffiths:
But then he says, No, this is you. He’s implying that even if you’re not a literal descendant of Aaron, because there’s other passages in the Doctrine and Covenants that deal with that idea, you can be part of this. In fact, he’s saying to these six elders that are with Joseph Smith, You are the people I’m talking about, which solves some major mysteries in the Doctrine and Covenants, like Section 13 talks about the sons of Levi making an offering unto the Lord in righteousness. You could read this to say, These are the sons of Levi.

Scott Woodward:
Like the descendants, like the bodily, biological descendants. But the Lord’s not saying that here.

Casey Griffiths:
Yeah. This seemingly distant and esoteric term, kind of the sons of Moses and Aaron suddenly becomes immediately relevant to the group of elders present with Joseph Smith, the Lord’s talking to them, as well as many other Church officers not present who’ve been called and sent forth to build up the Church. And we could add, and people that have yet to join the Church or people that will be part of the Church as it continues its work.

Scott Woodward:
So how could a group of, like, American men of European descent here, which I think this group is, how could they be the sons of Moses and Aaron from the ancient tribe of Levi in the house of Israel? Casey, is this to be understood literally or what’s going on?

Casey Griffiths:
Well, the Lord explains that, this is his wording, “Whoso is faithful unto the obtaining these two priesthoods of which I’ve spoken, and the magnifying of their calling,” which calling, he says in verse 32, was to build up his church, “are sanctified by the Spirit unto the renewing of their bodies. And they become,” suggesting almost as if by adoption, “the sons of Moses and of Aaron and the seed of Abraham, and the church and kingdom, and the elect of God.” He refers to this group of his sanctified servants collectively in verse 35 as the priesthood.

Casey Griffiths:
So we’ve just solved the problem of, do you have to be from a certain lineage to to be part of this work? No, he’s saying you can choose to be part of it, too. It doesn’t really matter what your ancestry is, which I really think the Savior was hinting at as far back as the Parable of the Good Samaritan. I’ve always read the Parable of the Good Samaritan to be a refutation of the idea that your lineage is what makes you special, because one of the people that’s supposed to help the Good Samaritan is a Levite. He’s a literal descendant of Levi, a guy who holds the right because of his ancestry to the priesthood, but he doesn’t do the thing that he’s supposed to do. A Samaritan, mixed-race ancestry, is the person that does the right thing. And like he’s saying here, it’s your choices that qualify for you the priesthood. You do get blessings because of what your ancestors did. And in that way, lineage matters. But really what matters is you and the choices that you make in your life.

Scott Woodward:
Yeah. And this seems all to be growing out of the new covenant that Jesus inaugurated, right? When he says, There’s a new covenant in my blood. And now when you receive me, you become the seed of Abraham. Even if you’re a Gentile, if you’re living in Thessalonica, you’re living in Corinth, you’re living in Rome, it doesn’t matter. If you receive me, you become the seed of Abraham, and therefore you’re an heir to all the promises. It’s almost with the resurrection of Jesus and the commission to his Apostles to go now to all the nations and invite them into this covenant relationship with me. That seems to be the major scriptural shift, and the Lord seems to be leaning into that right here in these verses, too. What matters is if you receive these priesthoods and magnify your calling in them, then you are adopted into this group. Welcome. You are this group called my servants or this group called the priesthood, which is surprising in verse 35.

Casey Griffiths:
And then he clarifies. He says, “Also all they who receive this priesthood, receive me, sayeth the Lord, for he that receiveth my servants receiveth me.”

Scott Woodward:
My servants are my priesthood. It’s this hood, the hood of priests that I have called and commissioned them to teach and administer the ordinances, the laws and rituals, to my people, to sanctify them, to prepare them to come into my presence. If you receive them, my servants, the priesthood, really good things will happen to you, which he then delineates here.

Casey Griffiths:
In other words, what he’s saying is all people, and I think we can say all men and women everywhere who receive the Lord’s priesthood servants, receive the Lord. And if we’re putting this in light of verses 19 through 22 and 26 to 27, receiving his servants implies receiving the Lord’s laws and rituals at his hand. And then he goes on. This is the famous oath and covenant. “He that receiveth me,” the Lord continues, “receiveth my Father. And he that receiveth my Father receiveth my Father’s kingdom. Therefore, all that my Father hath shall be given unto him. And this,” he goes on, “is according to the oath and covenant which belongeth to the priesthood. Therefore, all those who receive the priesthood receive this oath and covenant of my Father, which he cannot not break, neither can it be moved.” That’s a pretty succinct explanation. You receive the servants, which means you receive Jesus Christ, which means you receive the Father. And if you do that, you receive all that the Father has. Like, that’s the gospel boiled down to just a few simple verses.

Scott Woodward:
That’s the oath and the covenant. So this isn’t just about men. This is about men and women, it sounds like. This is about everybody.

Casey Griffiths:
Then maybe some pertinent warnings. He does go on to say, “Whoso breaketh this covenant after he hath received it and altogether turneth therefrom, shall not have forgiveness of sins in this world, nor in the world to come.” So this is the, where much is given, much is required. You level up, basically, in your blessings, but also your responsibilities when you receive this. And that can mean… So when the Lord says, “breaketh this covenant … and altogether turn therefrom,” is not clear. But the consequence of no forgiveness is the same language that the Lord uses concerning the Sons of Perdition in Section 76:34. Therefore, it’s reasonable to conclude that these phrases imply the same criteria that it used to describe the Sons of Perdition back in D&C 76:31-43, which, you’ll remember, is pretty extreme stuff, like you crucify Christ afresh, you fight against him with all your might. Again, most people that haven’t fulfilled their responsibilities in the Church don’t fit into this category, but those that have fully received all the blessings could. It’s tough to measure.

Scott Woodward:
It doesn’t mean going inactive. This is something much more severe, much more serious, much more Sons of Perdition-y, it sounds like.

Casey Griffiths:
He goes on to say, “Woe unto all those who come not unto this priesthood which ye have received, which I now confirm upon you, who are present this day.” The early manuscripts of this revelation say here, “viz. the 23rd day of September 1832 to 11 high priests, save one,” and then continues, “by mine own voice out of the heavens, and even I have given the heavenly hosts and mine angels charge concerning you.” So by the time we get to verse 42, we’ve now transitioned from the first revelation that’s given to the six elders to the second revelation that’s given to 10 high priests. So if we’re just kind of stopping and summarizing the first revelation, the purpose of the Lord’s church and why it was established was to restore and gather God’s people throughout the world so that they can receive the laws and rituals of the priesthood from under the hands of the Lord’s priesthood servants, which is directly connected to the temple. He’s making that connection this early on, so that they might thereby receive Christ and become sanctified and be prepared to see God, meaning God the Father and receive all that he, also meaning God the Father, has to offer. So that’s huge, huge stuff. And that’s the high theological section of Section 84.

Scott Woodward:
This is the doctrinal foundation. If you want to understand priesthood and temple, which need to understood together, you need to start with verses 1 through 42 of Doctrine and Covenants 84. You just have to. You got to start here and then build your understanding from there. Very good, Casey. All right, well, let’s now go to verse 43. So now we’re into the second revelation that is kind of woven together here. Verse 43, the Lord now gives a commandment to those who have been called as his servants to, quote, “Beware concerning yourselves and give diligent heed to the words of eternal life. For you shall live by every word that proceedeth forth from the mouth of God.” He then equates his word with several really interesting things. He says, “For the word of the Lord is truth, and whatsoever is truth is light, and whatsoever is light is the Spirit of Jesus Christ.” Some really interesting equal signs here. Then he says, “And this Spirit giveth light to every man that cometh into the world, and the Spirit enlighteneth every man through the world that hearkeneth to the voice of the Spirit.” Okay, so the Lord appears to be saying here, not only that all mankind who are born on earth are illuminated by what we call this Spirit of Christ or the Christ Spirit, but that those who continue to sort of lean into and follow that inner sense of the Spirit that you were born with, what he calls the Spirit’s voice, will continue to grow in light and truth, which is really a positive view of mankind, isn’t it?

Scott Woodward:
That everyone who’s born is capable of growing in light and truth. And then he goes on. He says, “Everyone that hearkeneth to the voice of the Spirit,” that inner spirit you’re born with, “cometh unto God, even the Father. And the Father will teach them of the covenant which he has renewed and confirmed upon you,” I think that’s a reference back to the oath and covenant described in verses 35 to 41, “which was confirmed upon you for your sakes, and not for your sakes only,” you 10 high priests, “but for the sake of the whole world,” which is the audience to whom these servants of God are going to be sent and will continue to be sent throughout this dispensation. And the Lord’s servants are needed, he says, because, quote, “the whole world lieth in sin and groaneth under darkness and under the bondage of sin. And by this you may know they are under the bondage of sin.” How can you tell they’re under the bondage of sin? “Because they come not unto me,” he says, “for whoso cometh not unto me is under the bondage of sin.” What would keep you from coming to Jesus?

Scott Woodward:
Sin. So if you’re not coming to Jesus, there must be something there. “And whoso receiveth not my voice is not acquainted with my voice, and is not of me. And by this you may know the righteous from the wicked, and that the whole world groaneth under sin and darkness, even now.” So if someone wants to know, like, Why should I serve a mission, for instance, this is directly about missionary work. Why serve a mission? That was a pretty good explanation. Because the world needs you. Because the world needs the light and the truth and the Spirit that you can bring into that darkness and help people to get on the path to receiving the oath and covenant that the Father has to make with them.

Casey Griffiths:
We take for granted how powerful the truths of the gospel are. And for all the complaints we make about doing work in the Church and, you know, how busy it makes us, it takes so many burdens off your shoulders, you know, to know that you’re going to be okay, your family is going to be okay, that there is something better and that there’s a larger purpose. Like, that is so powerful and helpful to people. But here the revelation kind of changes, too, right, where he’s talking about the wider world. And then he sort of shifts and points out that there’s not only darkness in the broader world, but that there’s darkness in the Church, too. For instance, picking it up, he says, “Your minds in times past have been darkened because of unbelief,” he tells these high priests, “and because you have treated lightly the things which you have received, which vanity and unbelief have brought the whole church under condemnation, and this condemnation rests upon the children of Zion,” which probably was a reference to the Church in Independence, Missouri at the time, “even all of them.” And he goes on and says, “And they,” probably meaning the members of the Church of Missouri, “shall remain under this condemnation until they repent and remember the new covenant, even the Book of Mormon and the former commandment which I have given,” that is, the prior revelations he’s given to Zion, “not only to say, but to do according to that which I have written, that they may bring forth fruit meet for their Father’s kingdom, otherwise,” he warns, “there remaineth a scourge and a judgment to be poured out upon the children of Zion. For shall the children of the kingdom pollute my holy land? Verily I say unto you, nay.”

Casey Griffiths:
This probably in immediate context applies to the members of the Church in Zion. But most members of the Church that were alive at this time will remember that President Benson famously applied these verses to the entire Church. In the late 1980s, he said that we’d all neglected the Book of Mormon, and the Church was under condemnation because of it. And I think he gave a talk where he said, The Lord is beginning to lift the condemnation. But I don’t know if in the almost-40 years since we’ve ever gotten a talk where the condemnation was completely lifted. So there’s a double application here. It’s both the members of the Church in Missouri who we are going to see are going to get into major trouble. But it’s also members of the Church today who just take for granted all this truth that we have, especially the Book of Mormon.

Scott Woodward:
Interesting. Verse 55 says, “Which vanity and unbelief have brought the whole church under condemnation.” But then, yeah, he seems to, like, zero in in verse 56, upon the children of Zion. And you mentioned in the context that after Joseph and Sidney leave Missouri, as Section 78 told them to go there, Section 82, they institute United Firm there, and then they leave. Then they start to gossip again. Then they start to say stuff. The Missouri leaders start to say stuff against the Church leaders in Kirtland. And that’s coming up here. I think that’s being addressed. In fact, let me just say this. A few months after this revelation was received, a council of Church leaders in Kirtland actually commissioned a letter to be written to Missouri Church leaders and the members, addressing in part this very warning that the Lord gives to the children of Zion. And they actually quote verses 56 through 59 to them in that letter.

Scott Woodward:
Let me read just a portion of it, which I think is really applicable. Quote, “With feelings of inexpressible anxiety for your welfare, we say,” we in Kirtland, say to you in Missouri, “Repent. Repent, or Zion must suffer, for the scourge and judgments must come upon her. Let the bishop read this to the elders, that they may warn the members of the scourge that is coming, except they repent. Then tell them to read the Book of Mormon and obey it, and to read the commandments that are printed and obey them.” That’s what the Lord’s referring to here in verse 57. “Tell them that they have not come up to Zion to sit down in idleness, neglecting the things of God, but they are to be diligent and faithful in obeying the new covenant.” That’s direct counsel, some pretty stiff medicine. They’re actually going to draw directly from this and give it to that immediate audience, which was Church members in Missouri.

Scott Woodward:
Now, is that the only audience this could apply to? Obviously not. President Benson gave us some pretty broad application to all of us. Maybe it’s good to just think for a moment and say, How am I doing it, taking seriously what the Lord has given us? Do I take the Book of Mormon seriously? Do I take the other commandments that he’s given in the book of Doctrine and Covenants seriously? And to do some self-reflection. Not just, are we talking about these things?

Scott Woodward:
He says, that’s not the point. It’s not just to say, but to do, according to that which is written. All of this is meant ultimately to translate into action of some kind. Like, if the Book of Mormon is not changing how we live, if the commandments in the Doctrine and Covenants are not changing what we do, then we’re missing. We’re missing the ultimate hope that the Lord had in giving these to us.

Casey Griffiths:
And it shows how passage is going to have multiple applications to it, right? It’s interesting to me that this early on, the Lord is warning the Saints in Zion that problems are coming. And the following year, wow, the storm breaks in its full fury, and they really sort of see and appreciate. And it does chasten them a little bit. So let’s pick it up in verse 60. The Lord then switches back and he addresses those that are present. “Verily, verily, I say unto you who now hear my words, which are my voice, blessed are ye inasmuch as you receive these things, for I will forgive you of your sins with this commandment, that you remain steadfast in your minds in solemnity and the spirit of prayer, in bearing testimony to all the world of those things which are communicated unto you. Therefore,” he commissions, “go ye into all the worlds, and unto whatsoever place ye cannot go, ye shall send, that the testimony may he go from you into all the world unto every creature. And as I said unto my Apostles,” meaning the New Testament Apostles, “even so I say unto you, that every soul that believeth on your words and is baptized by water for the remission of sins, shall receive the Holy Ghost, and these signs shall follow them that believe.”

Casey Griffiths:
And then he lists the signs in verses 66 through 72. But when such things happen, they’re not supposed to boast of themselves that these things, neither speak them before the world, since these miraculous things are given unto you for your profit and for your salvation. On the other hand, he says, “They who do not believe on your words and are not baptized in water in my name for the remission of their sins, that they may receive the Holy Ghost, shall be damned, and shall not come into my Father’s kingdom where the Father and I am.” He’s telling them this kind of soberly and directly. “And this revelation unto you and commandment, which is in force from this very hour upon all the world, and the gospel is unto all those who have not received it.”

Scott Woodward:
Then he picks it up in verse 76, saying, “But verily I say unto all those to whom the kingdom has been given, from you, it must be preached unto them,” those who don’t have it, “that they shall repent of their former evil works, for they are to be upbraided for their evil hearts of unbelief, including your brethren in Zion,” he brings them up again, “for their rebellion against you at the time I sent you.” Here now, it’s getting really clear. This is a reference to some of the snide and cutting accusations made by leaders in Missouri against Joseph. They even wrote them in letters after his visit to them, the latter part of April and the beginning of May. And this rebellion was addressed in that same letter I just quoted from that rebukes Missouri leaders that was written from the Kirtland leaders. And the Lord is just leaning into this like, You guys are acting like those who have not received the gospel of Jesus Christ. You’re letting evil fester in your hearts. You got to stop that. Otherwise, a scourge is coming. Then addressing these Kirtland high priests, he calls them, my friends, and he gives them additional promises and instruction relative to going out into the world and preaching the gospel.

Scott Woodward:
That’s verses 79 through 98. Let me just kind of skim a little. He says he’s sending them out to prove the world, promising that “any man that shall go and preach this gospel of the kingdom and fail not to continue faithful in all things, shall not be weary in mind, neither darkened, neither in body, limb, nor joint, and a hair of his head shall not fall to the ground unnoticed, and they shall not go hungry, neither athirst.” Wow, that’s a bold promise. Trusting in that promise, his servants were to follow quite literally the counsel from his Sermon on the Mount about “taking no thought for the morrow about what ye shall eat or what ye shall drink,” he says, “or wherewithal ye shall be clothed.” But he says, “Trust that your Father who is in heaven knoweth that you have need of all these things. Therefore, let the morrow take thought for the things of itself.” And as far as preaching, he says, Don’t take thought beforehand what you shall say, but just treasure up in your minds continually the words of life, and it shall be given you in the very hour, that portion that shall be meted unto every man.

Scott Woodward:
Neither was anyone at this time who was called of God in the Church under the ministry to take purse or scrip, no, not even a satchel or money or anything like that. They were to focus solely on why they were being sent, which was, he says, again, to “reprove the world of all their unrighteous deeds and to teach them of a judgment which is to come.” And then he gives this really remarkable assurance. I mean, imagine being called to go on a mission without money, without baggage, a change of clothes maybe is all, and just go and trust the Lord. That would take some serious faith. With that, he gives this promise. He says, “Whoever receives you, there I will be also. I will go before your face. I’ll be on your right hand and on your left hand, and my Spirit shall be in your hearts, and my angels round about you to bear you up.” And then he says, echoing back to verse 35 and 36, “Whoso receiveth you receiveth me.” There that is again. You are my priesthood. You’re the hood of priests. You are my servants. And whoever receives you, receives me. And these are the ones who will feed you. These are the ones who will clothe you and give you money. And by this, you may know my disciples. Wow.

Casey Griffiths:
Now, we should point out that this system of funding missionaries wholly from spontaneous donations and kind of, like, impromptu generosity in the very hour that’s needed, is really different from what we do today. This is literally how they did it in the early Church, right? There’s more than one missionary like Wilfred Woodruff or William McLellin, who says, Yeah, I went without purse and scrip. Conditions are different today.

Scott Woodward:
Why do you think that is, by the way? Why did we shift to renting apartments and funding missionaries and giving them cars? That’s very different than no purse or scrip. Do you know how that transition came about?

Casey Griffiths:
You know, societally, it’s just a different time, right? I think back in the 1830s, it would be considered an affront if somebody showed up at your house and you didn’t offer them dinner or a place to stay for the night. But nowadays, nobody would do that, right, so. The Church shifts and adjusts with the times. But you could say that funding missionaries in the work that they do is a mark of discipleship. That, you know, that’s one of the things that we do.

Scott Woodward:
We still do that today, right? There’s that line on the donation slip that says missionaries, right? You can donate to the Missionary Fund. You can even pick a missionary from your ward if you want and help fund them.

Casey Griffiths:
Yeah, I even had the bishop of our word, like contact us and say, This kid’s going on a mission, but his family needs help. Would you be willing to donate? We did, generously, happily for two years while the kid served, and we were happy to do so. Another difference here, verse 92 and 93, repeat the injunction in place at that time to cleanse your feet. We’ve talked about this a couple of times. This generally isn’t in place for missionaries today either. I can’t recall any time in the little white Missionary Handbook where we were instructed to do that. But he does, you know, talk with them about rejection, where he says, you know, You’re going to experience some rejection on your mission. The Lord tells them to “nevertheless search diligently for those who will receive, and to spare not,” meaning to hold nothing back. And he says unto them, “Woe unto that house or that village or that city that rejecteth you, or your words, or your testimony concerning me,” repeating this line again for emphasis, “Woe, I say again, unto that house or that village that rejecteth you, or your words, or your testimony of me.”

Scott Woodward:
The Lord is not pulling punches here, right? He’s saying it how it is. His tone here is pretty serious. He goes on in the next verse just to say, “I, the Almighty, have laid my hands upon the nations to scourge them for their wickedness. And plagues shall go forth, and they shall not be taken from the earth until I have completed my work, which,” he assures, “shall be cut short in righteousness, until all shall know me who remain, even from the least unto the greatest.” A reference to the Millennial Day, a day which he says, “Shall be filled with the knowledge of the Lord, and shall see eye to eye, and shall lift up their voice, and with a voice together sing this new song.” And then stunningly, here in verses 99 through 102, the Lord actually provides the lyrics for a song we’re going to sing in the Millennium, which captures what the Lord will have accomplished by that time. Let’s kind of look through the lyrics here briefly. Everyone’s going to sing this. I don’t know the tune, but here’s the lyrics. “The Lord hath brought again Zion,” we will sing, “and hath redeemed his people Israel, which fulfilled the faith and covenant of their fathers.”

Scott Woodward:
That’s what this is all about, right? Restoring God’s people, restoring God’s people, redeeming his people from the nations. Then the song goes on, “And that Satan is bound, and time is no longer.” I don’t know what time is no longer means, Casey, but I like it. “And that the Lord hath gathered all things in one, and that the Lord hath brought down Zion from above,” meaning the city of Enoch, “and that the Lord hath brought up Zion from beneath,” meaning the Church of God that’s been established throughout the earth. “And the earth itself,” we’ll sing, “is clothed with the glory of her God, for he stands in the midst of his people.” All will sing together that, quote, “Glory and honor and power and might be ascribed to our God, for he is full of mercy, justice, grace and truth and peace, forever and ever. Amen.” And that crescendo of that song concludes the second revelation that is part of Section 84 here. Maybe we can just summarize that by saying that the second revelation contains commandments, insights, counsel, and promises to people who serve missions, with some rebukes to Missouri Church members and leaders sprinkled in there for good measure. But this is primarily about God’s servants being sent out to the nations. Why, how, and in preparation for what, right?

Casey Griffiths:
This seems to be the clear break between this and the third and final revelation, which is probably received on September 23. And this last revelation is sort of down-to-earth, practical stuff. So we go from, you now, the highest theological concepts to, here’s the purpose and reason for mission or work, to just, here’s some practical stuff. For instance, verses 103 to 105, he’s dealing with the question of what missionaries should do if they, in his words, “receive money by gift on their missions. “Really practical question. Someone gives you money, what’s the best way to deal with it? He gives them three options. First, if they have families, they should send it to them. Or second, they can make use of it for their benefit as the Lord shall direct them. Or third, “if they have not families, they should send it unto the bishop in Zion or unto the bishop in Ohio, that it may be consecrated for the bringing forth of the revelations and the printing thereof, and for the establishing of Zion.” So again, down-to-earth, practical stuff. Even going on to say, “If any man shall give unto you a coat or a suit, take the old and cast it unto the poor and go on your way rejoicing.”

Casey Griffiths:
But he does circle back to some of the bigger ideas earlier in the section, too. So the question of how those of the higher priesthood ought to work together with those of the lesser priesthood, he responds to this in verses 106 to 111, “If any man among you be strong in the Spirit, let him take with him him that is weak, that he may be edified in all meekness, that he may become strong also. Therefore take with you those who are ordained unto the lesser priesthood, and send them before you to make appointments and prepare the way and fill appointments that you yourselves are not able to fill.” He goes on to say, “This is the way mine apostles in ancient days built up the Church unto me. Therefore, let every man stand in his own office and labor in his own calling, and let not the head say unto the feet that it hath no need of the feet, for without the feet shall the body be able to stand?” This is clearly going back to Paul’s instructions in 1 Corinthians 12, where he gives this analogy of the body of Christ and how every single part of the body, it matters, that everything’s necessary for the whole thing to function.

Casey Griffiths:
So different Church officers within the two priesthoods might have different roles, and they’re all important. But he goes on and says, “High priests should travel, and also the elders with the lesser priests. But the deacons and teachers should be appointed to watch over the Church to be standing ministers unto the Church.” You can see this played out in many ways today, where if we’re just talking about the strong versus the weak, a new missionary gets assigned a trainer. If we’re talking about how it works in a ward, a ministering brother is usually, you know, assigned to a younger person, often their son, and then they work together to carry that out. So that we’re constantly training up new leadership, getting ready for the next person who’s going to take over and help the Church grow.

Scott Woodward:
Then verses 112 to 116 contain some specific counsel to Bishop Newel K. Whitney, who maybe inquired, we don’t know for sure, but maybe he inquired as to the implications of this second revelation for him, specifically. The Lord says to him that, quote, “He should travel roundabout and among all the churches, searching after the poor to administer to their wants by humbling the rich and the proud.” I think that means asking them for donations to give to the poor. And he, quote, “Should also employ an agent to take charge and to do his secular business as he shall direct. But this is not all,” then the Lord adds this, “Nevertheless, let the bishop go unto the city of New York, also to the city of Albany, and also to the city of Boston, and warn the people of those cities with the sound of the gospel, with a loud voice of the desolation and utter abolishment which await them if they do reject these things. For if they do reject these things,” he warns, “the hour of their judgment is nigh, and their house shall be left unto them desolate. Let him trust in me,” the Lord says of Bishop Whitney, “and he shall not be confounded, and a hair of his head shall not fall to the ground unnoticed.”

Scott Woodward:
Holy cow. So from going around collecting donations for the poor to going to some of the major cities of the world on the east coast, and telling them to repent, inviting them to repent, otherwise destruction is coming. Now, in fulfillment of that, we actually know that Bishop Whitney goes on a mission with the Prophet Joseph Smith, actually. They left the next month after this was received. Just a brief mission to New York, Albany, and Boston. And they’ll come back November 6th. And they did. They shared the gospel there the best they could. They came back. As far as I know, Casey, neither New York, Albany, or Boston were ever destroyed. No desolation came to them. It’s probably not because of this mission solely that they served, but the point is well taken, right. These cities, as well as everywhere, needs to be given the opportunity to receive Christ in preparation for what’s coming. That’s the tone of the Doctrine and Covenants ever since Section 1, right. There’s a calamity coming, so I sent the gospel out. Please receive the gospel.

Casey Griffiths:
Yeah. So counsel to Bishop Whitney, and then the last three verses are kind of final counsel he says, “Unto the rest of my servants.” And then he tells them, “Go ye forth as your circumstances shall permit in your several callings unto the great and notable cities and villages, reproving the world in righteousness of all their unrighteous and ungodly deeds, setting forth clearly and understandingly the desolation of abomination in the last days,” meaning the calamity that you just mentioned that’s coming. Then he gives them this last assurance, “For with you, sayeth the Lord Almighty, I will rend their kingdoms. I will not only shake the earth, but the starry heavens shall tremble, for I, the Lord, have put forth my hand to exert the powers of heaven. You cannot see it now, yet a little while, and you shall see it and know that I am, and that I will come and reign with my people. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. Amen.”

Scott Woodward:
Wow, that is strong rhetoric of warning and impending trouble if the world doesn’t receive the gospel of Jesus Christ, so. Wow. There you go, Casey. That’s all three of those revelations put together. Theological density, priesthood, temple, missionary work, why, the whys and some hows of missionary work, and then some really practical stuff here at the end with divine warning to the nations of the world.

Casey Griffiths:
There’s a lot to digest in this situation. And as we were reading through it, I just realized how many little verses, especially from the missionary section, get taken out and shared with missionaries on a regular basis to kind of inspire them to know how to do and have hope and do what they do, that God’s angels go with missionaries and help them in their labors.

Scott Woodward:
So that concludes this part of our discussion. Join us in the next episode where we are going to dig into the other Cs, controversies relative to Section 84 and the consequences that flow out of this section in our Church’s history. So stay tuned. We’ll see you in the next episode.

Casey Griffiths:
Okay. See you then.