SCRIPTURE READING EXERCISE.

(A) THE BOOK OF DOCTRINE AND COVENANTS.

SPECIAL TEXT: "Intelligence, or the light of truth, was not created or made, neither indeed can be." All truth is independent in that sphere in which God has placed it, to act for itself, as all intelligence also, otherwise there is no existence."—THE LORD TO JOSEPH SMITH.

NOTES.

1. Doctrinal Dominating Influence of Joseph Smith's First Vision: Any exposition of Mormon views of Deity must necessarily begin with this vision, as it is the very beginning and foundation of the Mormon doctrine of God. It establishes the great truth that God is a person, in the sense that he is an individual, in whose likeness man was made. It clearly sets forth that Jesus is also a person in the same sense and distinct from the Father. And it follows that the "oneness" of God must be a moral and spiritual oneness, not a physical identity. (See note 1, part v). The facts set forth in this vision or deducible from it must dominate all Mormon ideas upon the subject of God, and be present in all interpretations of Doctrine and Covenant passages. (See Mormon Doctrine of Deity, chapter 1.) Hence, although this great revelation, so fundamental to Mormon Doctrine, is not given a place in the Doctrine and Covenants (and why has always been a mystery to the writer), it is given in the references that it may stand in its place of first importance among our doctrines.

2. The Literary Style of the Doctrine and Covenants: The literary style of the revelations in the Doctrine and Covenants is wholly unique. From the nature of some of the revelations, the style necessarily is purely didactic, but even in such revelations the style is particularly striking and impressive. In some of the great doctrinal revelations the style rises to sublimity worthy of the psalms or of St. John. What could be more impressively beautiful, for example, than the opening paragraphs of section 76:

"Hear O ye heavens, and give ear O earth, and rejoice ye inhabitants thereof, for the Lord is God, and beside him there is no Savior: Great is his wisdom, marvelous are his ways, and the extent of his doings none can find out; his purposes fail not, neither are there any who can stay his hand; from eternity to eternity he is the same, and his years never fail. For thus said the Lord, I, the Lord, am merciful and gracious unto those who fear me, and delight to honor those who serve me in righteousness and in truth unto the end; great shall be their reward and eternal shall be their glory." (Doc. & Cov., Sec. 76.)

The language and imagery of the whole revelation is surpassingly beautiful. Prophets quite universally are conceded to be akin to poets, and very naturally the language of inspiration takes on the poetic spirit, and examples of this are frequent in the revelations. Take for instance, the following passage, as an example both of sublime poetry and the literature of power. (See note 7, p. 45.)

"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 shall be cut short in righteousness;

"Until all shall know me, who remain, even from the least unto the greatest;

"And shall be filled with the knowledge of the Lord, and shall see eye to eye, and shall lift up their voice, and with the voice together sing this new song, saying:

Students should search out such passages and make them their own.

3. The Best Manner of Studying the Revelations: The student will find it most profitable to read the revelations of the Doctrine and Covenants in connection with the circumstances under which they were given. This can be done by securing Vol. I of the History of the Church, in which volume 101 out of a possible 134 revelations, are to be found published in there historical association. Some of the revelations, or parts of them, can only be understood by reading them in the manner here suggested. For example the revelation in section 46 opens in this manner:

"Hearken, O ye people of my Church, for verily I say unto you, that these things were spoken unto you for your profit and learning; But notwithstanding those things which are written, it always has been given to the Elders of my Church from the beginning, and ever shall be to conduct all meetings as they are directed and guided by the Holy Spirit; nevertheless ye are commanded never to cast any one out from your public meetings, which are held before the world," etc., etc. (History of the Church, Vol. 1, p. 163-4.)

Now, reading this revelation in the Doctrine & Covenants no understanding can be had from it as to what "things" are referred to in this opening paragraph, that are "spoken for your profit and learning," but when we learn, as we do from the footnote (p. 163, Vol. 1, Church History) that "in the beginning of the Church, while yet in her infancy, the disciples used to exclude unbelievers, which caused some to marvel and converse of this matter because of the things written in the Book of Mormon" (III Nephi xvii: 22-34); wherein it is learned that the Nephite church was forbidden to exclude unbelievers from their Church gatherings, and sacramental meetings, whereupon it was thought and urged by some that the practice of the Saints in Kirtland was contrary to the revealed will of the Lord respecting this matter; therefore the Saints took the passages from the Book of Mormon to the Prophet and desired to know the will of the Lord respecting this custom. "Therefore the Lord deigned to speak on this subject, that his people might come to understanding, and said that he had always given to his Elders to conduct all meetings as they were led by the Spirit." (History of the Church, note, p. 163.) Knowing these circumstances the whole matter becomes perfectly plain. We know what is meant when the revelation starts out by saying, "These things were spoken unto you for your profit and learning," etc. As it is in this case so it is in many others, the clear understanding of the revelation depends on knowing the circumstances which called forth the revelation.

Footnotes

1. Some of the great Doctrinal Revelations have already been designated. A more complete list would be sections 19, 20, 21, 42, 76, 84, 88, 89, 93, 127, 128, 129, 130, 132. Of course in all the revelations there is more or less of doctrine; even in those that may be esteemed the least some great principle is present, if not by direct announcement, then in application or illustration. But the foregoing are designated, because they are pre-eminently doctrinal in character, and by grouping them, as in the analysis, they may be the more readily consulted. It should be remembered that we are not in this lesson to attempt any treatise upon these great doctrines as such, we are merely calling attention to them now—locating them for the student, merely calling attention to their existence in our modern revelations that they may be read. Thorough consideration of them will come later in the Seventy's course in Theology.