D&C 12 is given to Joseph Knight Sr., at Harmony, Pennsylvania, May 1829
Who was Joseph Knight and what was his association with the Prophet Joseph Smith?
How is D&C 12 like other revelations?
How does this section of scripture apply to us?
Joseph Knight (1772-1847, dies at Mount Pisgah, Iowa)
Polly Peck Knight (1774-1831 dies in Kaw Township, Missouri)[1]
What does his death already tell you? He died with the Saints, his face pointing towards Zion. May we all be heading home when we are called beyond the veil, headed towards the light.
Father Knight, as Joseph was affectionately known by the Saints, purchased a farm on the Susquehanna River and built a gristmill. Biographer William G. Hartley wrote that he was “not rich, yet he possessed enough of this world’s goods to secure to himself and family, not only the necessaries, but also the comforts of life.” His religious orientation was the Universalist doctrine.[2]
Universalism was, to Joseph Knight and those of his time, the belief in the salvation of all souls. Universalists believed that it was impossible that a loving God would elect only a portion of mankind to salvation and doom the rest of them to eternal punishment in hell. Universalism was a response to the doctrine proposed by Calvin, that only a select few would be saved, predestined long ago by God.[3] Universalism has a long history, predating Calvin, back to Origen. As Augustine is considered by many to be the father of Calvinism, so Origen (who predated Augustine) can be thought of as the father of Universalism.[4]
How did Joseph Knight know Joseph Smith?
Father Knight first became acquainted with Joseph Smith in 1826, when Joseph was 20 years old and single. In late 1826, he became a hired hand for the Knights and others in the Colesville, New York, as area near present day Binghamton, 115 miles southeast of Palmyra by dirt road. Joseph worked on their farm and probably helped at their sawmill. He bunked with Joseph Knight Jr., who said that in November of 1826 Joseph Smith “made known us that he had seen a vision, that a personage had appeared to him, and told him where there was a gold book of ancient date buried, and that if he would follow the direction of the angel, he could get it. We were told this in secret.”[5] Another son, Newel, said Joseph Smith visited them often and “we were very deeply impressed with the truthfulness of his statements concerning the Plates of the Book of Mormon which had been shown him by an Angel of the Lord.” While lodging at the Knight home Joseph spoke of his glorious visitations. “My father and I believed him,” wrote Joseph Knight Jr., “and I think we were the first to do so, after his own family.”[6] When Joseph Smith obtained the Book of Mormon plates, he used Father Knight’s horse and carriage as his means of conveyance.
Joseph Knight wrote of assisting the young prophet on another occasion: “I let him have some little provisions and some few things out of the store, a pair of shoes, and three dollars in money to help him a little.” He also wrote, “I gave Joseph a little money to buy paper to translate.”[7] Joseph Smith praised Father Knight for his donations that “enabled us to continue the work when otherwise we must have relinquished it for a season.”[8]
As others sought baptism into the Church, Father Knight hesitated: “I had some thots to go forrod, But I had not red the Book of Mormon and I wanted to [examine] a little more I Being a Restorationar and had not [examined] so much as I wanted to.”[9] Aware of his hesitation, the Prophet Joseph prayed for him and received a revelation in April 1830: “Behold I manifest unto you, Joseph Knight, by these words, that you must take up your cross, in the which you must pray vocally before the world as well as in secret, and in your family, and among your friends… And, behold, it is your duty to unite with the true church, and give your language to exhortation continually…” (D&C 23:6-7.)
In obedience Father Knight was baptized on 28 June 1830 by Oliver Cowdery. Soon after his baptism religious persecution was directed against him. Rather than deny his new faith Father Knight left New York and settled with others from Colesville in the small Ohio community of Thompson. “We all went to work and made fence and planted and sowed the fields,” wrote Father Knight. His stay in Thompson was brief: “We was Commanded to take up our Jorney to the Regions westward to the Boarders of the Lamanites.”[10]
He moved with the Saints to Jackson County, Missouri, in 1831. There the Knight family suffered from poverty. According to William G. Hartley, “A stranger staring at them would not see in them the prosperous Yankees they had once been in New York before embracing Mormonism.”[11] Having arrived in July 1831, after what was a difficult journey for Polly Knight, the Knights prepared once again to build the kingdom of God.[12]
The Knights experienced many highs and lows in Missouri. They helped to establish the center stake of Zion (see D&C 57) when in Missouri, becoming a leading group in the ceremony of dedication of the site. Hartley writes, “In an impressive ceremony, 12 men representing the twelve tribes of Israel laid the first log as a foundation of Zion; five of the men were Knight relations. Newel was one of the seven men who dedicated the Independence temple site. Such rituals seemed full of promise to all the Knights except mother Polly, who was dying. She became the first Latter-day Saint buried in Zion. Death claimed two more Knights that year, including Newel’s sister Esther.
In this outpost colony of the Church, the families labored hard during an optimistic first year of building, fencing, and establishing homes… they agreed to consecrate properties in order to live cooperatively. When a council of high priests was created to govern the Missouri church, Newel Knight became one of them, and also he continued to be president of what was still termed the Colesville Branch. As part of plans to one day build the Independence temple, six Knight men made labor pledges.
Joseph Knight, Sr., decided to remarry and chose Phoebe Crosby Peck, who was Polly’s widowed sister-in-law. Phoebe had four children of her own, and she bore Father Knight two more. Counting Phoebe’s four, Joseph Knight, Sr., was father or stepfather of 13 children.
In 1834, Missourians drove the Saints, including the Knight network, from Jackson County. The mobbers shot Philo Dibble, whom Newel Knight saved from death through a remarkable experience when Newel Knight laid his hands on his head. Fearing for their lives, the Knights rushed to the Missouri River ferries. Joseph Knight, Jr., told of women and children walking with bare feet on frozen ground. The Knight group lost much property, including a gristmill. The family had moved twice before, but this was their first forced move. Of that hard winter, Emily Colburn Slade Austin recalled: “We lived in tents until winter set in, and did our cooking out in the wind and storms.”[13]
Lacking proper food and shelter, many Saints became victims of “fever and ague”—probably malaria—including Sally Knight. After she gave birth to a son who died, she died. “Truly she has died a martyr to the gospel,” her bereaved husband Newel eulogized.
After being driven from Missouri the Knight family settled in Nauvoo in 1839. At this point in his life Father Knight was feeble and unable to work. His son Newel wrote, “My father, as my own family, depended on me for bread and the necessities of life.” He added, “It was a pleasure to me to supply his wants and add to his comforts.”[14] Aware of his faithfulness and poor health, the high council donated a house and lot to him.[15] One day the Prophet Joseph saw his elderly friend hobbling along without a cane. The Prophet approached him and, putting his arm around him, pressed Father Knight’s fingers onto the top of his cane and said, “Brother Knight, you need this cane more than I do.” The Prophet then told him to keep it as long as he needed it, and then to pass it on to descendants with the first name Joseph. The cane has been passed down through several descendants until the present day.
On a winter day in January 1842, Joseph Smith became reflective. He decided to list in the Book of the Law of the Lord the names of those “faithful few” followers who had stood by him since the beginnings of his ministry—“pure and holy friends, who are faithful, just, and true, and whose hearts fail not”[16] Among these faithful few were:
my aged and beloved brother, Joseph Knight, Sen., who was among the number of the first to administer to my necessities, while I was laboring in the commencement of the bringing forth of the work of the Lord. . . . For fifteen years he has been faithful and true, and even-handed and exemplary, and virtuous and kind, never deviating to the right hand or to the left. Behold he is a righteous man, may God Almighty lengthen out the old man’s days . . . and it shall be said of him, by the sons of Zion, while there is one of them remaining, that this was a faithful man in Israel; therefore his name shall never be forgotten.[17]
The prophet also recorded the names of two of Joseph Knight’s sons, Newel and Joseph Knight, Jr., in the same book “with unspeakable delight, for they are my friends” (Ibid).
After the martyrdom of Joseph Smith, the Knight family passed a severe test of loyalty. Unlike some others, they did not forsake the faith and follow pseudo-successors. Of Father Knight’s 13 children and stepchildren, all who were in Nauvoo as adults (except perhaps Nahum for whom we lack records) followed Brigham Young west, or spouses did in the case where the mate had died.[18]
Father Knight left Nauvoo and, with the aid of his son Joseph Knight Jr., gathered with the poor in Mount Pisgah, Iowa. Father Knight died in February 1847 at Mount Pisgah at the age of seventy-four.
Hartley writes:
Although none of the Knights were privileged to be witnesses of the Book of Mormon plates, their labors helped launch the Restoration, and through their devotion to Joseph Smith, they serve today as a solid and sizeable family witness of the Prophet. They are not silent witnesses. Lydia wrote her life story. Newel kept an invaluable journal. Joseph Knight, Sr., penned his recollections as did Joseph Jr. These four records contain personal histories, but they also stand as four written witnesses of Joseph Smith. All four of the Knight authors knew and revered the Prophet.
The Knight families knew Joseph in his early adult days, back when he was accused of digging for gold and using peep stones. Such criticisms did not make them doubt his calling. If the Prophet had been a charlatan or not genuinely religious as detractors then and since have charged, the large Knight clan would have known it and not followed him so faithfully for so long. Their devotion to the Prophet Joseph Smith was based on knowing him well, and it bears witness that his character, from age 20 to his death at 38, was righteous and good. His critics have questioned his motives, truthfulness, and divine claims; his friends have provided several evidences to demonstrate that God used him to restore truth to the earth. Such debates and discussions, when marshalling “evidence,” should not ignore the Knight family as long-term witnesses of the Prophet Joseph Smith. They had been loyal to the Prophet longer than anyone except the Smiths, and they felt Joseph was what he claimed to be.[19]
D&C 12
D&C 12.8 Humble and Full of Love
Joseph Knight and his family members are the window through which the light of this section should be seen. The Savior is literally showing us what D&C 12.8 looks like in the lives of these stalwart saints. We can be like them as we forget ourselves and how others may view us and simply look to the Savior of the world and follow him. In the podcast we talked quite a bit about these ideas.
Two great Christian teachers were emphasized- C.S. Lewis and David A. Bednar.
From C.S. Lewis we read:
Do not imagine that if you meet a really humble man he will be what most people call “humble” nowadays: he will not be a sort of greasy, smarmy person, who is always telling you that, of course, he is nobody. Probably all you will think about him is that he seemed a cheerful, intelligent chap who took a real interest in what you said to him. If you do dislike him it will be because you feel a little envious of anyone who seems to enjoy life so easily. He will not be thinking about humility: he will not be thinking about himself at all.[20]
From Elder David A. Bednar we are taught this about teaching and humility:
We must be careful to remember in our service that we are conduits and channels; we are not the light…It is never about me and it is never about you. In fact, anything you or I do as an instructor that knowingly and intentionally draws attention to self—in the messages we present, in the methods we use, or in our personal demeanor—is a form of priestcraft that inhibits the teaching effectiveness of the Holy Ghost.[21]
D&C 12.8 Desires
Wealth, intelligence, or other qualities held in high honor by the world do not qualify one to be of service in the kingdom of God. Rather, such simple virtues as humility, love, faith, hope, charity, and temperance prove attractive to the light of heaven and the companionship of the Holy Ghost.[22]
D&C 13, JSH 1.66-75 The Restoration of the Aaronic Priesthood
JS-H 1.68 Baptism for the remission of sins, that we found mentioned in the translation of the plates. From this statement and from Oliver Cowdery’s account of the restoration of the Aaronic Priesthood, it can be reasonably deduced where Joseph and Oliver were in the process of translation when they went into the woods to inquire of the Lord relative to the necessity of baptism. Oliver said that it took place “after writing the account given of the Savior’s ministry to the remnant of the seed of Jacob, upon this continent” (note following the end of Joseph Smith-History, 59). This would place the work of translation in 3 Nephi 11 in the middle of May 1829. It will be remembered that Nephi’s discourse on baptism (2 Nephi 31) was recorded on the small plates of Nephi, which were not translated until after the account of the ministry of the Savior and the books that followed it had been translated, in June of 1829.[23]
It was consistently argued by David Whitmer and others that Joseph Smith did not use the plates in the translation process. Joseph Smith, however, consistently maintained that the translation process involved the use of the plates.
Laid his hands upon us. There could be little surprise that when the priesthood was lost the knowledge of how it was properly obtained was lost also. Here we learn that the way the priesthood is conferred is by the laying on of hands. This symbolizes the placing of God’s hands upon those who are being commissioned to act in his stead (D&C 36:1-2). The same Hebrew word for hand means “power.” Thus, symbolically, the laying on of hands represents the conferring of power.
Aaronic Priesthood Restored JSH 1.69-72
JS-H 1.69 My fellow servants. The angel who ministered to John the Revelator said of himself, “I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren the prophets” (Revelation 22:9). Such salutations illustrate the sense of oneness that exists between the servants of the Lord in all gospel dispensations.
The keys of the ministering of angels. As the Melchizedek Priesthood holds the keys or authority to perform the ordinances by which men come into the presence of God, so the Aaronic Priesthood holds the authority to perform the ordinances by which we are prepared to receive the ministration of angels. For instance, Joseph Smith said, “All Priesthood is Melchizedek, but there are different portions or degrees of it. That portion which brought Moses to speak with God face to face was taken away; but that which brought the ministry of angels remained.”[24]
Elder Dallin H. Oaks explained: “In general, the blessings of spiritual companionship and communication are only available to those who are clean. . . . Through the Aaronic Priesthood ordinances of baptism and the sacrament, we are cleansed of our sins and promised that if we keep our covenants we will always have His Spirit to be with us. I believe that promise not only refers to the Holy Ghost but also to the ministering of angels, for ‘angels speak by the power of the Holy Ghost; wherefore, they speak the words of Christ’ (2 Nephi 32:3). So it is that those who hold the Aaronic Priesthood open the door for all Church members who worthily partake of the sacrament to enjoy the companionship of the Spirit of the Lord and the ministering of angels.”[25]
It becomes the right of all who are of the household of faith to enjoy this blessing. We need not suppose that the ministering of angels is always known or seen by those to whom they have ministered. It was the apostle Paul who said that “some have entertained angels unawares” (Hebrews 13:2). “Angelic messages can be delivered by a voice or merely by thoughts or feelings communicated to the mind. President John Taylor described ‘the action of the angels or messengers of God, upon our minds, so that the heart can conceive . . . revelations from the eternal world.'”[26]
This shall never be taken again from the earth. According to Oliver Cowdery’s recollection, the words of the Baptist were, “Upon you my fellow- servants, in the name of Messiah, I confer this Priesthood and this authority, which shall remain upon the earth, that the Sons of Levi may yet offer an offering unto the Lord in righteousness!” (note following the end of Joseph Smith-History, 59). The law of sacrifice, as known from the days of Adam, will as a part of the restoration of all things be brought back at least for a time and season, the length of which we do not know.[27]
Until the sons of Levi do offer again an offering unto the Lord in righteousness. This language ties the restoration of the Aaronic Priesthood to the prophecy in Malachi 3:1-4. The prophecy begins with the promise that the Lord will send his messenger to prepare the way before him and announces that he will come “suddenly” to his temple. Sectarian commentaries are in universal agreement that the messenger was John the Baptist and that this prophecy was filled in the manner in which he prepared the nation of Israel to accept Christ and his ministry. Indeed, Christ himself affirms that Malachi had reference to the Baptist (Mark 1:2). We part company with such commentary, however, in their assumption that Malachi’s prophecy found fulfillment in the mortal ministry of John. Christ is to come again, and it will be in his second coming that he will “suddenly come to his temple” when the rest of Malachi’s prophecy will find fulfillment. Of that day Malachi asked, “Who may abide the day of his coming? and who shall stand when he appeareth? for he is like a refiner’s fire, and like fuller’s soap: and he shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver: and he shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer unto the Lord an offering in righteousness” (Malachi 3:2-3). No one had any difficulty abiding the presence of the mortal Christ, though the unclean certainly will in the day of his return. In his mortal ministry he was not like a refiner’s fire nor was he like fuller’s soap. He certainly did not purify the sons of Levi at that time nor was their offering (the sacrifices of the temple) acceptable to him. These are millennial events of which Malachi spoke, and as Christ is to return, so must the Baptist return, again to prepare the way for Him.[28]
The Aaronic Priesthood is a preparatory priesthood. As it was intended to prepare the nation of Israel for the coming of Christ in the meridian of time, so it is to prepare the covenant people of the Lord for the return of their King and the establishment of the millennial kingdom. What Malachi is telling us is that as the sons of Levi were to do a labor to prepare their people for the coming of Christ, in like manner they are to do a special labor in the last days to prepare those of the house of faith to receive that same Christ. Thus, John restores to Joseph and Oliver the very authority by which the sons of Levi will be purified and by which they will perform the same ordinances performed by their ancient counterparts.
Amplifying what is involved here, Joseph Smith explained: “It is generally supposed that sacrifice was entirely done away when the Great Sacrifice [i.e.,] the sacrifice of the Lord Jesus was offered up, and that there will be no necessity for the ordinance of sacrifice in future; but those who assert this are certainly not acquainted with the duties, privileges and authority of the Priesthood, or with the Prophets.
“The offering of sacrifice has ever been connected and forms a part of the duties of the Priesthood. It began with the Priesthood, and will be continued until after the coming of Christ, from generation to generation. We frequently have mention made of the offering of sacrifice by the servants of the Most High in ancient days, prior to the law of Moses; which ordinances will be continued when the Priesthood is restored with all its authority, power and blessings. . . .
“These sacrifices, as well as every ordinance belonging to the Priesthood, will, when the Temple of the Lord shall be built, and the sons of Levi be purified, be fully restored and attended to in all their powers, ramifications, and blessings. This ever did and ever will exist when the powers of the Melchizedek Priesthood are sufficiently manifest; else how can the restitution of all things spoken of by the Holy Prophets be brought to pass. It is not to be understood that the law of Moses will be established again with all its rites and variety of ceremonies; this has never been spoken of by the prophets; but those things which existed prior to Moses’ day, namely, sacrifice, will be continued.
“It may be asked by some, what necessity for sacrifice, since the Great Sacrifice was offered? In answer to which, if repentance, baptism, and faith existed prior to the days of Christ, what necessity for them since that time? The Priesthood has descended in a regular line from father to son, through their succeeding generations.”[29]
What is the offering spoken of in section 13?
The offering mentioned in this revelation is why we have the priesthood in the first place. The whole purpose of the Church and the Restoration and the Priesthood is to unite families in the covenant. Families sealed for time and all eternity, with an unbroken chain through time from Adam until the last family – this is what Jesus Christ wills for us as mortals. The offering is the record in a “book” of all the individuals who have lived detailing that their redemptive work has been completed. “Let us, therefore, as a church and a people, and as Latter-day Saints, offer unto the Lord an offering in righteousness; and let us present in his holy temple, when it is finished, a book containing the records of our dead, which shall be worthy of all acceptation.” (D&C 128:24)[30]
JS-H 1.70 Holy Ghost . . . conferred on us hereafter. The Holy Ghost was first conferred upon men in this dispensation in the meeting at which the Church was organized which took place 6 April 1830.
What the Lord Requires: Do What You Can Do
I should baptize Oliver, . . . he should baptize me. Neither the God of heaven nor those angels who act under his direction do for men that which they can do for themselves. Joseph and Oliver had just had the priesthood of Aaron conferred upon them. They now held the authority to baptize by water and were directed to do so by the Baptist.[31] Once Joseph and Oliver had the keys of authority from John the Baptist (Aaronic Priesthood authority), they were authorized by heaven to perform Aaronic priesthood ordinances.
Could John have baptized them? He certainly could have. But heaven doesn’t seem to work that way. Heaven expects us to do for ourselves what we can do, and that which we cannot do, the Lord sends his divine power to intervene on our behalf.
For example, the Lord could have provided a perfectly translated text of the Book of Mormon, already leather bound, in boxes of several thousand copies, ready to distribute to the world. So why did he have Joseph translate the text? Joseph needed to do what he could do, and heaven sent the help requisite to complete the task.[32]
In the podcast we referenced Elder Uchtdorf’s message “You are My Hands” from the April 2010 conference. While I could not find in my searching the specific identity of this story, Elder Uchtdorf does say in his message a story is told. I find that significant. Stories have value, meaning, and application – even when they are sometimes combined with other stories, or if the exact details are lost to us. For example, in my studies of The Iliad, I have found that the exact details of Homer’s epic relating the fall of Troy may not be completely historical in all of its details. I certainly do not read it as such. But the messages of this epic tale have meaning. I was able to locate a Catholic chapel in San Diego that had a statue of Jesus Christ that was vandalized where the hands were removed. The statue has a sign that says “I have no hands but yours.” You can see the statue here.
JS-H 1.71 Immediately after they had baptized each other Joseph and Oliver were directed by John to reordain each other. Though no explanation is given it would appear that the Baptist was establishing the order of the kingdom— that is, that baptism must precede receipt of the priesthood. Their so doing also reaffirms the principle that angels do not do for us what we can do for ourselves.[33]
JS-H 1.72 The same that is called John the Baptist in the New Testament. It was not uncommon in the meridian day for people to be named or renamed according to significant things they did or for a prominent event of which they were apart. Thus, John the son of Zacharias became known among the children of Israel as John the Baptist though this obviously was not the name given him by his father in his infancy (Luke 1:63).[34]
JS-H 1.73-75 Immediately after their baptism, Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery were immersed in the spirit of prophecy and revelation. They did not receive the gift of the Holy Ghost at this time, for that would come, as noted, after the Melchizedek Priesthood was conferred upon them. They did, however, enjoy a rich outpouring of that Spirit whereby they discovered meanings otherwise hidden to them in their scripture study and their labor with the scriptures.[35]
Notes
[1] The Joseph Smith Papers, Polly Peck Knight.
[2] Susan Easton Black, Who’s Who in the Doctrine and Covenants, “Joseph Knight Sr.” See also: William G. Hartley, “They Are My Friends”: A History of the Joseph Knight Family, 1825-1850 (Provo, Utah: Grandin Book Co., 1986), pp. 11-12.
[3] Brittannica, Universalism. The forerunner of Universalism in the United States was George De Benneville (1703–93), who in 1741 migrated from Europe to Pennsylvania, where he preached and practiced medicine. The early Universalist movement was given its greatest impetus by the preaching of John Murray (1741–1815), who moved from England to colonial America in 1770. He propagated the doctrine throughout most of the colonies, often against much opposition from orthodox Christians who believed that Universalism would lead to immorality. Probably the earliest theologian that advocated Universalism or at least the ideas of this system was the great Christian thinker Origen (185-254). When he was about 30 years old he wrote a document entitled First Principles, advocating for universalist ideas. Because of the general structure of this document, Origen is often recognized as the first systematic theologian of the Christian church. (Walls, Universalism in Orgien’s First Principles). One author writes, “According to Origen all intelligent beings (men, angels, devils) were created good and equal, but with absolute free will. Some, through the misuse of free will, turned from God and fell into varying degrees of sin. Those who fell furthest became the devils, those whose fall was less disastrous became the souls of men. These are to be restored to God through a process of discipline and chastisement, for which purpose this material world has been created and the preexisting souls incarnated in human bodies. The process of purification is not complete at death but continues after this life. Nor is it an inevitably upward path: the soul remains free to choose good or evil, and so even after this life may fall again as well as rise. Within this scheme punishment is always, in God’s intention, remedial: God is wholly good and His justice serves no other purpose than His good purpose of bringing all souls back to Himself. Thus the torments of hell cannot be endless, though they may last for aeons; the soul in hell remains always free to repent and be restored… Given unlimited time, God’s purpose will eventually prevail and all souls will be finally united to Him, never to sin again. The final restoration includes even Satan and the devils. See: Richard Bauckham, Universalism: A Historical Survey, Themelios, Volume 4, Issue 2. Origen’s views were condemned by Orthodox Christianity, with the emporer Justinian publishing a refutation of Origen in 543. However, many of his ideas are found in the writings and revelations of the Restoration.
[4] Origen’s statement helps readers understand his approach to Universalism: “For the end is always like the beginning: and therefore as there is one end to all things, so ought we to understand that there was one beginning; and as there is one end to many things, so there spring from one beginning many differences and varieties, which again … are recalled to one end, which is like unto the beginning.” To Origen, everything will eventually return to where it came from, which to Origen, is God. He anticipated a final state of mystical union in which God will be one with his creatures, an idea he found in John 17.24 as well as 1 Corinthians 15.24-28. See: Origen, First Principles, 1.6.2., p. 260. See also Jerry Wall, Universalism in Origen’s First Principles, The Asbury Seminarian, p. 6. I briefly discuss in the podcast Augustine’s struggle with the Greek language. Augustine himself mentions that he was not a master of Greek, and yet he becomes the father of Christian orthodoxy, defining things like Original Sin in Christianity. An excellent book that tackles the complexity of Augustine’s missteps is Brent Schmidt, Relational Grace: The Reciprocal and Binding Covenant of Charis, BYU Studies, 2015.
[5] Hartley, Close Friends as Witnesses. Hartley writes: This and all subsequent statements in this article that are quoted from Joseph Knight, Jr., unless otherwise noted, are from his “Incidents of History,” LDS Church Archives.
[6] Black, Who’s Who? See also: Joseph Knight Jr., “Joseph Knight’s Incidents of History from 1827-1844,” compiled 16 August 1862, film of holograph, Archives Division, Church Historical Department, Salt Lake City, Utah, as cited in William G. Hartley, “They Are My Friends”: A History of the Joseph Knight Family, 1825-1850 (Provo, Utah: Grandin Book Co., 1986), p. 18.
[7] Black, Who’s Who? See also: As cited in William G. Hartley, “They Are My Friends”: A History of the Joseph Knight Family, 1825-1850 (Provo, Utah: Grandin Book Co., 1986), p. 30. In early 1828, when Oliver Cowdery became Joseph’s scribe, they visited Father Knight, seeking provisions. Father Knight said he bought and delivered to them “a Barral of Mackrel and some lined paper for writing,” and about ten bushels of grain and six of potatoes and a pound of tea. Joseph and Oliver rejoiced at the food and paper and “then they went to work and had provisions enough to Last till the translation was Done” (Dean Jessee, “Joseph Knight’s Recollection of Early Mormon History.” BYU Studies (Aut 1976), p. 36). Joseph Smith later praised Father Knight for these items “enabled us to continue the work when otherwise we must have relinquished it for a season” (HC 1:47). Clearly, the Knight family helped the world receive the Book of Mormon sooner than would have happened otherwise. Some of the original manuscript of the Book of Mormon is written on paper the Knights gave Joseph. See: Hartley, Close Friends as Witnesses: Joseph Smith and the Joseph Knight Families, as found in Joseph Smith: The Prophet, The Man, edited by Susan Easton Black and Charles D. Tate.
[8] Black, Who’s Who? See also: As cited in William G. Hartley, “They Are My Friends”: A History of the Joseph Knight Family, 1825-1850 (Provo, Utah: Grandin Book Co., 1986), p. 35.
[9] Black, Who’s Who? See also: Joseph Knight, “Manuscript of the Early History of Joseph Smith,” in Dean C. Jessee, “Joseph Knight’s Recollections of Early Mormon History,” BYU Studies 17 (Autumn 1976): 37.
[10] Black, Who’s Who? See also: Joseph Knight, “Manuscript of the Early History of Joseph Smith,” in Dean C. Jessee, “Joseph Knight’s Recollections of Early Mormon History,” BYU Studies 17 (Autumn 1976): p. 39.
[11] William G. Hartley, “They Are My Friends”: A History of the Joseph Knight Family, 1825-1850 (Provo, Utah: Grandin Book Co., 1986), p. 135.
[12] This trip was rough on Polly’s constitution. She grew weaker and weaker as they journeyed from Ohio to Missouri. At one point, her son Newel left the company to obtain wood to build a coffin for her. Yet, she hung on, determined to make it to Zion, and praying that she would. She did, and was able to participate in laying the foundation of Zion, and in the dedication ceremonies both of the land, and its temple. No sooner was that complete than on August 6, 1831 she “quietly fell asleep rejoicing in the everlasting gospel and praising God that she was able to see the land of Zion.” Her greatest desire having been fulfilled. Mother Polly Peck Knight gave her all in faith and journeyed 1300 miles to reach the promised land—the same distance that later thousands would travel from Nauvoo to Salt Lake. And there she lies “a worthy member asleep in Jesus until the resurrection.” She died just on the west side of the Big Blue River west of Independence, Missouri, becoming, as it were, the matriarch of the gathering–the first of thousands to sacrifice all and die on the journey to Zion. Honor and glory be to all those who followed, and will yet follow, her example. See: Building Faith Through Church History, Polly Peck Knight.
[13] Austin, Emily M. Mormonism; or Life Among the Mormons. Madison, WI: Cantwell, 1882, p. 72.
[14] As cited in William G. Hartley, “They Are My Friends”: A History of the Joseph Knight Family, 1825-1850 (Provo, Utah: Grandin Book Co., 1986), p. 143.
[15] See Joseph Smith, History of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, ed. B. H. Roberts, 7 vols. (Salt Lake City: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1932-51), 4:76.
[16] History of the Church, 5:107. See: William Hartley, Close Friends as Witnesses: Joseph Smith and the Joseph Knight Families, in Joseph Smith: The Prophet, The Man, edited by Susan Easton Black and Charles D. Tate.
[17] HC 5:124-25.
[18] Hartley, Close Friends as Witnesses.
[19] Ibid.
[20] C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity, Book III, Ch. 8, Para. 13, p. 114.
[21] David A. Bednar, “Seek Learning by Faith,” Address to CES Religious Educators, 3 Feb. 2006, 4.
[22] Joseph Fielding McConkie and Craig Ostler, Revelations of the Restoration, A Commentary on the Doctrine and Covenants and Other Modern Revelations, Deseret Book, 2000, p. 116.
[23] Historical evidence exists that supports the facts that Joseph and Oliver begin translation of the plates in the account of the transfer of power between King Benjamin and his son Mosiah in Mosiah 1-6 in April 1829. They then proceed from Mosiah to the end of the Book of Mormon, finishing with the small plate translation in June 1829. This order of translation, commonly called the “Mosiah-First” theory or sequence, is strongly supported by multiple lines of evidence and is now favored by a solid scholarly consensus. Book of Mormon Central/KnoWhy #503, How Does the “Mosiah-First” Translation Sequence Strengthen Faith? February 22, 2019. By BMC Team.
[24] Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, 180-81.
[25] Elder Dallin H. Oaks, Conference Report, October 1998, 51.
[26] Oaks, Conference Report, October 1998, 51.
[27] Revelations of the Restoration, p. 119.
[28] Ibid.
[29] Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, 172-73; see also Smith, History of the Church, 4:207-12. See also Revelations of the Restoration, p. 120. I would also add my belief that not all of the 613 laws of Moses as contained in the Tanakh are from Moses. In other words, that which was inspired by ancient prophets will be brought about, not all things as contained in the Bible. It will take much to sort this all out, but a careful examination of the production of the text of at least the first “5 books of Moses” will reveal that there is a complex matrix of ideas and beliefs that developed over time, indeed, many centuries. These ideas were textualized by later scribes, who then placed words in Moses’ mouth, words that he never said. This is an ongoing work of mine, to give evidence for these ideas. I have written about some of these things here and here. For some others that have written on these ideas, see: The Messiness of Scripture.
[30] Mike Day, D&C 13, October 7, 2010.
[31] Revelations of the Restoration, p. 121.
[32] I once asked Robert J. Mathews why the Lord required Joseph and Oliver to baptize each other, and part of our discussion is contained here. For more, see: The Baptism of Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery.
[33] Revelations of the Restoration, p. 121.
[34] Ibid.
[35] Ibid.
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