Doctrine and Covenants Commentary - Section 1

by Don R. Hender

Scriptural Text [& Editorial]	Commentary & Explanation	Footnotes ~ References ~ JST
SECTION 1 Revelation given through Joseph Smith the Prophet, during a special conference of elders of the Church, held at Hiram, Ohio, November 1, 1831. HC 1:221-224. Many revelations had been received from the Lord prior to this time, and the compilation of these for publication in book form was one of the principal subjects passed upon at the conference. This section constitutes the Lord's Preface to the doctrines, covenants, and commandments given in this dispensation.	This is a direct revelation from the Lord. The Lord is speaking in the first person and this is his 'preface' not only to the Doctrine and Covenants but also to the restoration of the kingdom of God upon the earth in the latter-days. HEAR THE LORD SPEAK!
1-7, The voice of warning is to all people; 8-16, Apostasy and wickedness precede the Second Coming; 17-23, Joseph Smith called to restore to earth the Lord's truths and powers; 24-33, The Book of Mormon brought forth and true Church established; 34-36, Peace shall be taken from the earth; 37-39, Search these commandments.
D&C 1:1 ^aHEARKEN, O people of my ^bchurch, saith the voice of him who dwells on high, and whose ^ceyes are upon all men; yea, verily I say: Hearken ye people from afar^a; and ye that are upon the islands of the sea, listen together. D&C 1:2 For verily the ^avoice of the Lord is unto all men, and there is none to ^bescape; and there is no eye that shall not see, neither ^cear that shall not hear, neither ^dheart that shall not be penetrated. D&C 1:3 And the ^arebellious shall be ^bpierced with much ^csorrow; for their iniquities shall be ^dspoken upon the housetops, and their secret acts shall be revealed.	1^a ye people from afar Those of America has always been refered to as those in a far country ( Isaiah 5:26, Isaiah 13:5, Jeremiah 51:10 (10---), Jeremiah 51:50, Isaiah 26:15, Micah 4:7, Zechiah 10:9, Ether 13:6 (2-8) ~ See also Isaiah 66:19, Jeremiah 31:10, Micah 4:1-4, Zechariah 3:10). Those of this far country and of the isles of the sea are those of the promise, the seed of Joseph, those who were to come forth in the latter-days to bring forth the blessing of Abraham unto the nations of the earth. We are the people of the Lord's latter-day Church. Ether, the last Jaredite prophet who had access to the vision of all of Mahonri Moriancumr (the brother of Jared), and who likely saw the vision himself, pronounced the coming of Zion and the New Jerusalem upon the Americas and that it would come by the promised seed of the remnant of Joseph (See the Ether 13 reference just cited previously).	1^a Deut. 32:1; Isa. 1:2; Isa. 49:1 ^b 3 Ne. 27:3 (1-8); D&C 20:1; D&C 21:3; TG Jesus Christ, Head of Church ^c Ps. 33:18; Amos 9:8; D&C 38:7 (7-8); TG God, Omniscience of 2^a Ps. 65:2; Micah 1:2; D&C 1:34 (34-35); D&C 18:28 (26-28); D&C 39:15; D&C 42:58; D&C 68:8; D&C 138:30; TG Israel, Mission of ^b Job 34:22; 1 Thes. 5:3; ^c TG Conversion ^d TG Heart 3^a TG Rebellion ^b TG Conscience ^c Ps. 32:10; TG Sorrow ^d Prov. 28:13; Isa. 57:12 (11-12); Luke 8:17; Luke 12:3; 2 Ne. 27:11; Morm. 5:8; D&C 88:108; D&C 112:25-26
D&C 1:4 And the ^avoice of warning shall be unto all people^a, by the mouths of my disciples^b, whom I have ^bchosen in these last days. D&C 1:5 And they shall ^ago forth and none shall stay them, for I the Lord have commanded them. D&C 1:6 Behold this is mine ^aauthority, and the authority of my servants, and my preface unto the books of my ^bcommandments, which I have given them to ^cpublish unto you, O ^dinhabitants of the earth.	4^a unto all people To every nation, kindred, tongue and people of the earth is this warning of the latter days taken. Unlike the more restrictive warnings unto the Lord's elect Israel in times past, this last warning is unto all the world and the inhabitants thereof. It is a universal warning unto all. By this feature one can judge that this is of the last days before the Coming of the Lord, for it is unto all people and not just those of Israel. 4^b by the mouths of my disciples	4^a Ezek. 3:21 (17-21); D&C 63:37; TG Israel, Mission of; TG Mission of Latter-day Saints; TG Warn, Warnings ^b TG Priesthood, Authority ^c TG Last Days 5^a TG Missionary Work 6^a TG Jesus Christ, Authority of; TG Priesthood, Authority ^b D&C 33:14; D&C 42:13; D&C 51:4; ^c Acts 13:49; D&C 72:21 ^d Joel 1:2; Micah 1:2
D&C 1:7 Wherefore, ^afear and ^btremble, O ye people, for what the Lord have ^cdecreed in them shall be ^dfulfilled. D&C 1:8 And I say unto you, that they who go forth, bearing these tidings unto the inhabitants of the earth, to them is power given^a to ^aseal both on earth and in heaven, the unbelieving and the ^brebellious; D&C 1:9 Yea, verily, to seal them up unto the ^aday when the ^bwrath of God shall be poured out upon the ^cwicked without measure-- D&C 1:10 Unto the ^aday when the Lord shall come to ^brecompense unto every man according to his ^cwork, and ^dmeasure to every man according to the measure which he has measured to his fellow man.	8^a to them is power given By the power and authority of the priesthood of God by those properly called and ordained is this work to be done. No man taketh this honor unto himself except he is so called of God. There is order in God's Kingdom. It is not a Kingdom of chaos and self appointment whereby men upon their own vain imaginations do perform according to their own preferences of thought and consideration upon such matters. All is ordered according to the mind, will and direction of God who doth not vary and is the same today, yesterday and tomorrow.	7^a Deut. 5:29; Eccl. 12:13 ^b Ezra. 9:4 ^c Isa. 10:22 (21-34); Matt. 24:34 ^d Isa. 34:16 (16-17) 8^a D&C 68:12; TG Priesthood, Keys of; TG Sealing ^b TG Rebellion 9^a 2 Cor. 1:14 ^b Prov. 11:4 (3-9); Eccl. 8:12 (11-12); Rev. 18:6 (6-8) ^c Nahum 1:3; Mosiah 16:2; JS-M 1:55 (31, 55) 10^a TG Day of the Lord ^b Prov. 11:31; Isa. 65:6 (6-7, 11); Ezek. 7:4; Mosiah 12:1; D&C 56:19; TG Jesus Christ, Judge ^c Job 34:11; Prov. 24:12; Isa. 59:18; Alma 9:28; Alma 36:15; Alma 41:3; Alma 42:27; D&C 6:33 ^d Matt. 7:2; Luke 6:38
D&C 1:11 Wherefore the voice of the Lord is unto the ends of the earth^a, that all that will hear may hear: D&C 1:12 Prepare ye, ^aprepare ye for that which is to come, for the Lord is ^bnigh; D&C 1:13 And the ^aanger of the Lord is kindled, and his ^bsword is bathed in heaven, and it shall fall upon the inhabitants of the earth. D&C 1:14 And the ^aarm of the Lord shall be revealed; and the ^bday cometh that they who will not ^chear the voice of the Lord, neither the voice of his ^dservants, neither give ^eheed to the words of the prophets and ^fapostles, shall be ^gcut off from among the people;	11^a unto the ends of the earth What is meant by 'the ends of the earth'? The two ends of a mortal existence are its beginning end and its end end. We are not speaking of from the international dateline to the international dateline that the whole of the circumference of the physical earth is considered. We are not just speaking of the three dimensional world, we are speaking in terms of the fourth dimension of time. The 'ends of the earth' to whom the voice of the Lord will be heard is that of every soul who has, does now or who will live upon this earth relative to this second estate. And that places the extent of this work not only in the realm of mortality but that of the spirit world beyond the grave where the gospel of the Lord, the voice of the Lord is also going forth to every people who has ever lived from the 'ends of this earth's second estate. All will hear, and all will come to know Christ. And every tongue will confess. And every knee will bow before the Lord, for all will hear his voice and know that He is God.	12^a TG Millennium, Preparing a People for ^b D&C 2:1; D&C 49:28; D&C 58:65; D&C 68:11; D&C 68:35; D&C 84:119; TG Jesus Christ, Second Coming 13^a D&C 63:6; TG Anger TG God, Indignation of ^b Ezek. 21:3; D&C 35:14; D&C 84:114; D&C 85:3; 14^a Isa. 40:10 (5-10); D&C 45:47; D&C 56:1; ^b Zech. 14:1 ^c Ezek. 33:31 (30-33); Matt. 11:15; Heb. 5:11 (11-14); 2 Ne. 9:31; Mosiah 26:28; Moses 6:27; TG Hardheartedness; TG Haughtiness ^d TG Prophets, Rejection of ^e D&C 11:2; TG Disobedience ^f TG Apostles ^g Acts 3:23 (22-23); Alma 50:20; D&C 5:5; D&C 50:8; D&C 56:3 (1, 3-4)
D&C 1:15 For they have ^astrayed from mine ^bordinances, and have ^cbroken mine ^deverlasting covenant; D&C 1:16 They ^aseek not the Lord to establish his righteousness, but every man ^bwalketh in his ^cown ^dway, and after the ^eimage of his own God, whose image is in the likeness of the world, and whose substance is that of an idol, which waxeth ^fold and shall perish in Babylon,even Babylon the great, which shall fall.
D&C 1:17 Wherefore, I the Lord, ^aknowing the calamity which should come^a upon the ^binhabitants of the earth, ^ccalled upon my ^dservant Joseph Smith, Jun., and ^espake unto him from heaven^b, and gave him ^fcommandments; D&C 1:18 And also gave commandments to others, that they should proclaim these things unto the world; and all this that it might be fulfilled, which is written by the prophets— That All Might Be Fulfilled From the promise made by the Father to his spirit children in the preexistence to the final day of the Lord, all will be fulfilled according to the word of the Lord as set forth by the mouth of all the holy prophets from Adam unto the very last. The promises of the fathers which consists of the everlasting covenant of God the Father with man concerning the salvation and redemption of the world will come to pass. The whole of the plan of salvation and exaltation will be completed. The Covenant preserved in Abraham and Israel will go forth to the blessing of all the earth and the ends thereof.	17^a the calamity which should come 17^b from heaven What is the nature of a 'vision'? Did the actual presence of the Father come down to this mortal corrupt second estate in the vision had by Stephen and that of ' Joseph Smith and the others who have seen such a vision as the Son standing upon the right hand of God? We who are familiar with modern gagitry such as the 'tele'-vision should understand that for the Father to 'appear' in a vision, there is no real necessity for him to actually be present but merely 'conveyed' by such 'visionary' media as the greatness of God has available at his command the image of God. Is it therefore little wonder that Jesus here states that he spoke to Joseph Smith 'from heaven'. Did not Joseph Smith see him is vision? Yes he did. But does that mean that what Joseph Smith saw in the sacred grove was a projected visionary image or was it the actual presence of the being of the Father and Son in the grove that day? As far as the mission of the called prophet and the message from God, it does not matter the means whether in person or by vision. But there needs be the understanding that there is a diference between a 'vision' and a 'visitation' in the order of the affairs of the Kingdom.
D&C 1:19 The ^aweak things of the world shall come forth and break down the mighty and strong ones^a, that man ^bshould not counsel his fellow man, neither ^ctrust in the arm of flesh—	19^a break down the mighty and stong ones
D&C 1:20 But that every man might ^aspeak in the name of God the Lord, even the Savior of the world; D&C 1:21 That faith might also increase in the earth; D&C 1:22 That mine everlasting ^acovenant might be established; D&C 1:23 That the ^afulness of my ^bgospel might be ^cproclaimed by the ^dweak and the simple^a unto the ends of the world, and before ^ekings and ^frulers.	23^a the simple Often those of scholarly prowise reflect upon those they consider to be of a 'simple mind', and that their intellectual superiority sets them upon the stand whereby they can dismiss such simpleness of mind as foolishness, for they who are learn and have dissected the matter according to their great learning after the order of men can profess much more truth in its complexity than can one of such a simple and impressionable demeanor.
D&C 1:24 Behold, I am God and have spoken it; these ^acommandments are of me, and were given unto my servants in their weakness, after the manner of their ^blanguage, that they might come to ^cunderstanding. D&C 1:25 And inasmuch as they ^aerred it might be made known; D&C 1:26 And inasmuch as they sought ^awisdom they might be ^binstructed; D&C 1:27 And inasmuch as they sinned they might be ^achastened, that they might ^brepent; D&C 1:28 And inasmuch as they were ^ahumble they might be made strong, and blessed from on high, and receive ^bknowledge from time to time.
D&C 1:29 And after having received the record of the Nephites, yea, even my servant Joseph Smith, Jun., might have power to ^atranslate through the ^bmercy of God, by the power of God, the ^cBook of Mormon. D&C 1:30 And also those whom these commandments were given, might have ^apower to lay the foundation of this ^bchurch, and to bring it out of obscurity and out of ^cdarkness, the only true and living ^dchurch upon the face of the whole earth, with which I, the Lord, am well ^epleased, ^fspeaking unto the church collectively and not individually—
D&C 1:31 For I the Lord cannot look upon ^asin with the least degree of allowance; D&C 1:32 Nevertheless, he that ^arepents and does the ^bcommandments of the Lord shall be ^cforgiven; D&C 1:33 And he that ^arepents not, from him shall be ^btaken even the light which he has received; for my ^cSpirit shall not always ^dstrive with man, thus saith the Lord of Hosts.
D&C 1:34 And again, verily I say unto you, O inhabitants of the earth: I the Lord am willing to make these things ^aknown unto ^ball flesh; D&C 1:35 For I am no ^arespecter of persons, and will that men shall know that the ^bday speedily cometh; the hour is not yet, but is nigh at hand, when ^cpeace shall be taken from the earth, and the ^ddevil shall have power over his own dominion. D&C 1:36 And also the Lord shall ^apower over his ^bsaints, and shall ^creign in their ^dmidst, and shall come down in ^ejudgment upon ^fIdumea, or the world.
D&C 1:37 ^aSearch these ^bcommandments, for they are true and ^cfaithful, and the prophecies and ^dpromises which are in them shall be fulfilled. D&C 1:38 What I the Lord have spoken, I have spoken, and I excuse not myself; and though heavens and the earth pass away, my ^aword shall not pass away, but shall all be ^bfulfilled, whether by mine own ^cvoice or by the ^dvoice of my ^eservants, it is the ^fsame.
D&C 1:39 For behold, and lo, the Lord is God, and the ^aSpirit beareth record, and the record is true, and the ^btruth abideth forever and ever. Amen.