Tuesday, February 28, 2006
D&C 28: Only Joe Smith is authorized to use a magic rock
In the Mormon scripture Doctrine & Covenants 28 we read the following:
1 BEHOLD, I say unto thee, aOliver•, that it shall be given unto thee that thou shalt be heard by the church in all things whatsoever thou shalt teach them by the bComforter, concerning the revelations and commandments which I have given.
2 But, behold, verily, verily, I say unto thee, ano• one shall be appointed to receive commandments and brevelations in this church excepting my servant cJoseph• Smith, Jun., for he receiveth them even as dMoses•.
3 And thou shalt be obedient unto the things which I shall give unto him, even as aAaron•, to bdeclare• faithfully the commandments and the revelations, with power and cauthority unto the church.
4 And if thou art aled• at any time by the Comforter to bspeak• or teach, or at all times by the way of commandment unto the church, thou mayest do it.
5 But thou shalt not write by way of acommandment•, but by wisdom;
6 And thou shalt not command him who is at thy head, and at the head of the church;
7 For I have given him the akeys• of the bmysteries, and the revelations which are sealed, until I shall appoint unto them another in his stead.
8 And now, behold, I say unto you that you shall go unto the aLamanites• and preach my bgospel• unto them; and inasmuch as they creceive thy teachings thou shalt cause my dchurch• to be established among them; and thou shalt have revelations, but write them not by way of commandment.
9 And now, behold, I say unto you that it is not revealed, and no man knoweth where the acity• bZion• shall be built, but it shall be given hereafter. Behold, I say unto you that it shall be on the borders by the Lamanites.
10 Thou shalt not leave this place until after the conference; and my servant Joseph shall be appointed to preside over the conference by the voice of it, and what he saith to thee thou shalt tell.
11 And again, thou shalt take thy brother, Hiram Page, abetween• him and thee alone, and tell him that those things which he hath written from that bstone are not of me and that cSatan• ddeceiveth• him;
12 For, behold, these things have not been appointed unto him, neither shall anything be appointed unto any of this church contrary to the church covenants.
13 For all things must be done in aorder, and by common bconsent in the church, by the prayer of faith.
14 And thou shalt assist to settle all these things, according to the covenants of the church, before thou shalt take thy journey among the Lamanites.
15 And it shall be agiven• thee from the time thou shalt go, until the time thou shalt return, what thou shalt do.
16 And thou must open thy mouth at all times, declaring my gospel with the sound of rejoicing. Amen.
Apparently, Hiram Page found a seer stone of his own and was deceiving even the "elect" (i.e., Cowdery and the Whitmers--the same folks whose testimonies Mormons expect us to accept). As "God's" chosen magic rock diviner Joe could not abide this upstart and summarily issued a "revelation" to the effect that only his rock-peeping was ordained by "God," thereby silencing his rival and securing his own chicanery.
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1 BEHOLD, I say unto thee, aOliver•, that it shall be given unto thee that thou shalt be heard by the church in all things whatsoever thou shalt teach them by the bComforter, concerning the revelations and commandments which I have given.
2 But, behold, verily, verily, I say unto thee, ano• one shall be appointed to receive commandments and brevelations in this church excepting my servant cJoseph• Smith, Jun., for he receiveth them even as dMoses•.
3 And thou shalt be obedient unto the things which I shall give unto him, even as aAaron•, to bdeclare• faithfully the commandments and the revelations, with power and cauthority unto the church.
4 And if thou art aled• at any time by the Comforter to bspeak• or teach, or at all times by the way of commandment unto the church, thou mayest do it.
5 But thou shalt not write by way of acommandment•, but by wisdom;
6 And thou shalt not command him who is at thy head, and at the head of the church;
7 For I have given him the akeys• of the bmysteries, and the revelations which are sealed, until I shall appoint unto them another in his stead.
8 And now, behold, I say unto you that you shall go unto the aLamanites• and preach my bgospel• unto them; and inasmuch as they creceive thy teachings thou shalt cause my dchurch• to be established among them; and thou shalt have revelations, but write them not by way of commandment.
9 And now, behold, I say unto you that it is not revealed, and no man knoweth where the acity• bZion• shall be built, but it shall be given hereafter. Behold, I say unto you that it shall be on the borders by the Lamanites.
10 Thou shalt not leave this place until after the conference; and my servant Joseph shall be appointed to preside over the conference by the voice of it, and what he saith to thee thou shalt tell.
11 And again, thou shalt take thy brother, Hiram Page, abetween• him and thee alone, and tell him that those things which he hath written from that bstone are not of me and that cSatan• ddeceiveth• him;
12 For, behold, these things have not been appointed unto him, neither shall anything be appointed unto any of this church contrary to the church covenants.
13 For all things must be done in aorder, and by common bconsent in the church, by the prayer of faith.
14 And thou shalt assist to settle all these things, according to the covenants of the church, before thou shalt take thy journey among the Lamanites.
15 And it shall be agiven• thee from the time thou shalt go, until the time thou shalt return, what thou shalt do.
16 And thou must open thy mouth at all times, declaring my gospel with the sound of rejoicing. Amen.
Apparently, Hiram Page found a seer stone of his own and was deceiving even the "elect" (i.e., Cowdery and the Whitmers--the same folks whose testimonies Mormons expect us to accept). As "God's" chosen magic rock diviner Joe could not abide this upstart and summarily issued a "revelation" to the effect that only his rock-peeping was ordained by "God," thereby silencing his rival and securing his own chicanery.
# posted by O'Brien @ 2/28/2006 11:40:00 PM 
