Church History & D&C - Day 3- 2nd edition

 

Part I - Church History

Thought: “This glorious First Vision … was the parting of the curtain to open this, the dispensation of the fulness of times. Nothing on which we base our doctrine, nothing we teach, nothing we live by is of greater importance than this initial declaration. I submit that if Joseph Smith talked with God the Father and His Beloved Son, then all else of which he spoke is true. This is the hinge on which turns the gate that leads to the path of salvation and eternal life.” (GBH - Ensign, Nov. 1998 p. 71)

"The greatest event that has ever occurred in the world, since the resurrection of the Son of God from the tomb and his ascension n high, was the coming of the Father and of the Son to that boy Joseph Smith, to prepare the way for the laying of the foundation of his kingdom-not the kingdom of man-never more to cease nor to be overturned. Having accepted this truth, I find it easy to accept of every other truth that he enunciated and declared during his mission of fourteen years in the world. He never taught a doctrine that was not true. He never practiced a doctrine that he was not commanded to practice. He never advocated error. He was not deceived. He saw; he heard; he did as he was commanded to do; and, therefore, God is responsible for the work accomplished by Joseph Smith-not Joseph Smith. The Lord is responsible for it, and not man." (Joseph F. Smith, Gospel Doctrine, p. 495-6A)

 Book of the Week- " Joseph Smith's First Vision-A Guide to the Historical Accounts" Steven C. Harper.  This book was written to provide a context and a community for readers who desire to trust Joseph. He told friends that when as a youth, he attended revival meetings, he wanted badly to join in the shouts of joy but, I could feel nothing.

 Church History By The Year

1775	Lucy Mack Smith born
1777-81	US Constitution	Separation of Church and State
1798	Lucy & Joseph married by JP	Parents and grandparents in Congregational Church.
1799	Asael & Joseph Smith	Organize Universalist Society
1802	Lucy nearly dies	Makes promise to find religion to help her serve God.
1816	Smiths Move to Palmyra	Population 600
1818	Smith purchase farm in Farmington Township	100 acres. They cleared 30 acres in 1st year.
1819	Revivals Intensify in Palmyra vicinity	Baptists, Methodists and Presbyterians all growing very rapidly in Palmyra
1819	Attempted Assassination of Joseph
1820	6000 converts to Presbyterianism in USA	1/3 in Western New York. Baptists and Methodist also boomed
1820	First Vision	Most significant historical event since Christ's resurrection.
1821	Catharine born	Family now is 11
1822	Farmington divided	Smith farm became part of the newly created township of Manchester.
1825	Erie Canal finished	363 miles from Hudson River to Lake Erie. 1 block from Palmyra Main Street.

 

Erie Canal. Proposed in 1808 and completed in 1825, the canal links the waters of Lake Erie in the west to the Hudson River in the east. An engineering marvel when it was built, some called it the Eighth Wonder of the World.. It was 363 miles long, 4 feet deep and 40 feet wide, and floated boats carrying 30 tons of freight.  It passed within a block of Palmyra's main street. A ten foot wide towpath was built along the bank of the canal for the horses and/or mules which pulled the boats and their driver. Enlarged twice.

 First Vision: 1)Jack and 2) BYU

1. Best documented theophany in history. It's not a matter of life & death. It is much more important than that! Therefore... Moroni 10:4 - A "seeker" is a searcher, an explorer, one who endeavors to find something hidden or lost, as in seeker after truth. Like Joseph Smith. Assuming is the enemy of seeking. (D&C 88:118)

2. The contests about religion centering on the role of individual choice in salvation.

            A. Calvinism - Man is depraved because of the Fall. God chooses a few to save. Puritans who founded the Congregational church and Presbyterians.

            B. Arminian theology - God's grace endowed man with the ability to choose Christ and be saved. (Methodists)

            C. Baptists were split. Some with A and some with B.

            D. Universalists believed God would save all

3. Smith Family         

            A. Joseph Sr. has dreams (http://saintswithouthalos.com/n/visions_js_sr.phtml) which left him with questions, but doesn't believe in organized religion. Influenced by father and brother. (Both named Asael)

            B. Lucy tries to fulfill promise to serve God. Tries Presbyterianism, but it seemed empty. Joseph Sr. discouraged her from the Methodists. Lucy prayed and had dream of 2 trees. While his mother, Hyrum, Samuel, and Sophronia joined the Presbyterian faith, he, his father, and Alvin remained unchurched.

            C. Joseph Jr. -

                        a. at about the age of twelve my mind became seriously iprest with regard to the all importent concerns for the welfare of my immortal soul.

                        b. Joseph's pre-First vision revelation. James 1:5

                        c. Joseph actually spoke with God the Father and his Son Jesus Christ.

                        d. He learned that the promise of James is true. Prayers are answered.

                        e. God was a loving Heavenly Father. He exists.

                        f. The Father and the Son are 2 separate and distinct glorious beings in whose literal image man is made. When Joseph walked away from the grove of trees near his home, he knew more about the Father and his Son, Jesus Christ, than any other living soul. The heresy of the great apostasy concerning the trinity was dispelled in a moment of vision. No amount of philosophical debate can hold a flicker of light to the revelatory flame, brighter than noonday sun, that Joseph witnessed.

                        g. The reality of Satan. (JSH 15-16) The power of some actual being. Joseph was not wrestling with a formless power void of body but with a spirit being whose body is in the form and likeness of man. Devils are spirit beings that followed Satan in his rebellion against God in pre-mortality. In one account of this experience, Joseph said, "I heard a noise behind me like someone walking towards me. I strove again to pray, but could not; the noise of walking seemed to draw nearer, I sprang upon my feet and looked around, but saw no person or thing that was calculated to produce the noise of walking" (Backman, First Vision, 159).

                        h. Satan knew Joseph

                        i. The reality of the apostasy, No church on the earth had divine approval. The creeds were an abomination

                        j. The Father introduced the Son. (3 other times) Priesthood order of Heaven.

                        k. Visions make one tired: JSH 1:20; Daniel 10:8-9; 1 Nephi 1:6-7; Moses 1:9-10; D&C 76.

                        l. Joseph was promised that at some future time the fullness of the gospel would be made known unto him. (HC 4:536)

                        m. God knows us and hears and answers our prayers.

                        n. Humans are, just as the Bible says, created in the image of God.

                        o. Jesus and Heavenly Father exactly resemble each other in features & likeness.

                        p. An additional witness of the divine, redemptive mission of Jesus Christ.

 

Primary Accounts of Joseph Smith's First Vision

1832 - Autobiography written on the first pages of a book used by Joseph to record letters he sent and received. (See D&C 85:1-2 and Sidney Rigdon's July 5 declaration) A highly personalized experience using the language of the revivals. He describes his consciousness of his sins and of his frustrating inability to find forgiveness in a church that matched the New Testament. It emphasizes the atonement and the personal redemption it offered Joseph. He wrote in his own hand of the joy and love he felt as a result of the vision, though he could find no one who believed him.

1835 (Nov. 9) - entry in Joseph's journal by his scribe, reporting Joseph's account of the vision to a visitor, reproduced in 1834-36 history. In this account Joseph cast the vision as the first in a series of events that led to the translation of the Book of Mormon. He emphasized the opposition he felt in the grove and how he attempted to pray but could not at first. It says that one divine personage appeared in a pillar of fire, followed shortly by another, and that Joseph envisioned many angels as well. Joseph added that he was about  14.

1835 (Nov. 14) - entry in Joseph's journal by his scribe, reporting Joseph's account of the vision to Erastus Holmes, reproduced in 1834-36 history.

1838 - account scribed by George Robinson and copied into Joseph's history by James Mulholland and later revised, presumably by Joseph, and copied again by Howard Coray about 1841; published in the Times and Seasons newspaper on March 15, 1842, redacted by Willard Richards later that year; later excerpted in the Pearl of Great Price. It emphasizes unusual religious excitement and Joseph's quest for a church as a catalyst for the vision. Other accounts emphasize more the internal process. This was the first fully organized attempt to place the events that had transpired in relation to the restoration of the gospel into a comprehensive and chronologically arranged record.

1842 - Joseph's letter to John Wentworth, published in the Times and Seasons newspaper on March 1, 1842, reproduced for Israel Daniel Rupp's An Original History of the Religious Denominations at Present Existing in the United States. A brief but telling account. It says that the 2 beings looked exactly alike and they told him the existing churches believed in incorrect doctrines.

 

These accounts communicate to seekers Joseph's memories of how he experienced the vision at the time and how he remembered it over time.

 

http://www.eldenwatson.net/harmony.htm#7

http://en.fairmormon.org/Joseph_Smith's_First_Vision/Accounts

Ensign, April, 1996 - Joseph Lloyd Anderson - Joseph Smith’s Testimony of the First Vision

Orson Pratt wrote the earliest published account of the First Vision in 1840. Assuming that he has accurately reflected the way Joseph Smith told the story, his account is very instructive. "While thus pouring out his soul," he wrote, "anxiously desiring an answer from God, he at length saw a very bright and glorious light in the heavens above; which, at first, seemed to be a considerable distance. He continued praying, while the light appeared to be gradually descending towards him; and as it drew nearer, it increased in brightness and magnitude, so that, by the time that it reached the tops of the trees, the whole wilderness, for some distance around was illuminated in a most glorious and brilliant manner. He expected to have seen the leaves and boughs of the trees consumed, as soon as the light came in contact with them; but perceiving that it did not produce that effect, he was encouraged with the hope of being able to endure its presence. It continued descending slowly, until it rested upon the earth, and he was enveloped in the midst of it. When it first came upon him, it produced a peculiar sensation throughout his whole system; and immediately his mind was caught away, from the natural objects with which he was surrounded; and he was enwrapped in a heavenly vision" (Backman, First Vision, 172).

 

Part 2 - Doctrine and Covenants

Thought: This Doctrine and Covenants is my book and your book; but more than that, it belongs to all the world, to the Catholics, to the Presbyterians, to the Methodists, to the infidel, to the nonbeliever. It is his book if he will accept it, if he will receive it. The Lord has given it unto the world for their salvation." (Doctrines of Salvation, 3:201)

 

Book of the Week: "The Revelations of the Prophet Joseph Smith" Lyndon Cook- This book by Brother Cook is possibly the best volume to have to get honest and compact historical background for each section of the Doctrine and Covenants. It has been well researched and thoughtfully organized. It is a must have for scholar or hobbiest interested in the history of the Doctrine and Covenants, Joseph Smith and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

D&C 2 - See last week's notes - First published in the Times and Season on April 15, 1842.

 D&C 3 - First published as chapter 2 in the Book of Commandments

 

Church History By The Year

1783	Martin Harris born	Easttown, Saratoga County, New York
1808	March 27 married	1st Cousin -  16 yr. old Lucy Harris
1813-14	Fought in War of 1812
	3 Children	Duty, George, Lucy
	Owned 240 acres of land	Palmyra
1824-5	Hired Joseph Sr. & Hyrum	Walling a basement, laying a foundation, digging a well
1827	Gives Joseph $50	For moving to Harmony, Penn.
1828	Travels to New York- February 29	Meets with Charles Anthon and Dr. Mitchell- 400-500 miles
1828	Scribe for Joseph	April 12-June 14 -  116 pages
1828	Martin given permission to take manuscript home	Able to show it to 5 people: Lucy (wife), brother (Preserved); Father and Mother (Nathan & Rhoda); wife's sister (Mrs. Polly Cobb)
1828	Emma gives birth to 1st child	June 15, Died the same day
1828	Joseph receives D&C 3	July
1829	June	1 of 3 Witnesses to Book of Mormon
1829	Aug. Gave $3000 to publish Book of Mormon	Mortgaged Farm- Lost 150 acres.
1830	Baptized by Oliver- April 6	Ordained Priest by June of 1830- Lucy and Martin separated
1831	Sold part of farm to pay for	Book of Mormon
1831	Led 50 church members	Moved from Palmyra to Kirtland
1831	Ordained High Priest	Member of Literary and United Firms
1831	Went on mission to Missouri	June-Aug. - Present at dedication of temple site. Aug. 3
1832	Mission with brother Emer	Baptized 100 in Chenango Point, New York, 82 in Penn.
1834	Marched with Zion's Camp
1835	Member of Kirtland High Council
1835	Assisted in choosing 12 Apostles
1837	Married Caroline Young-Niece of Brigham	Lucy died in 36- 5 children: Martin Jr., John, Julila, Solomon, Ida Mae.
1837	Excommunicated in December	Did not move to Nauvoo or follow Brigham to Utah
1842	Rebaptized Nov. 6
1846	Joined James Strang & Strangites	Served Mission to England in 1846
1847	Organized New Church in Jan.	Working with William E. McLellan
1856	Wife, Caroline left him	She went to Utah to gather with Saints
1858	Organized new church in Kirtland	Working with William Smith, Custodian in Kirtland Temple
1870	Arrived in Salt Lake City in Aug. 30 - 88 yrs. old	Rebaptized & received endowment on September 17
1875	Died in Clarkston - July 10	Buried w/ Book of Mormon in right hand & D&C in left

Martin Harris in the D&C - Sections 3, 5, 19, 52, 58, 70, 72, 82, 102, 104.

Vs. 1 - See 1 Nephi 9:3, 5; Words of Mormon 1:6-7

Vs. 4 - See Mosiah 15:7

 Part 3 - Historical Figure

Philo of Alexandria (ca. 15 B.C. to A.D. 50) was a Jewish philosopher who was roughly contemporary with Jesus. He is important to our understanding of the development of Christian theology not only because of his influence on later Christian thinkers but also because his efforts to Hellenize Judaism illustrate the likely process of the Hellenization of Christianity.

Philo wrote scriptural commentaries and philosophical treatises that were defenses of the Jewish faith. In his writing he argued that the religion of Moses and the philosophy of the Greeks were compatible sources of truth, with the philosophy being derivative of the religion. To show their compatibility, he explained Judaism in terms that made it acceptable within the Hellenistic cultural context. And in doing so, he created what might be considered the first successful synthesis of Greek philosophy and revealed religion. Philo defended the Old Testament as God's revelation, yet he freely explained away as allegory much of its historical and doctrinal content, especially anything that stood out in contrast to prevailing cultural interpretations. That is particularly true of his concept of Deity. His primary philosophical influence was Plato, and like other students of Plato in the Hellenistic period, Philo adopted a belief in God that contrasted sharply with the God of the Old Testament.

Philo rejected all anthropomorphic references to the God of Israel, accepting instead the view of Deity that was in style among the Greeks of his generation. Thus he believed that the passages that depict God with humanlike shape or other humanlike characteristics are to be explained as metaphor. Anticipating Christian theology of later generations, he taught that God's existence could be known but that it is impossible to know anything else about him.

Though his effect on Judaism was minimal (because Jewish thought developed along different lines), Philo's influence on the evolution of Christianity was enormous. Early Christian theologians, who like Philo merged philosophy and revelation, invoked him as a model. In their teaching, he and his writings became a forerunner to the development of classical Christian theology, as well as medieval philosophy in general. His influence was especially felt in the thought of Clement, Origen, and Ambrose.( "From Apostasy to Restoration" Kent Jackson p. 33)