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SECTION 49Revelation given through Joseph Smith the Prophet to Sidney Rigdon, Parley P. Pratt, and Leman Copley, at Kirtland, Ohio, March 1831. HC 1:167-169. (Some historical sources give the date of this revelation as May 1831.) Leman Copley had embraced the gospel, but still held to some of the teachings of the Shakers (United Society of Believers in Christ's Second Appearing) to which he had formerly belonged. Some of the beliefs of the Shakers were that Christ's second coming had already occurred and he had appeared in the form of a woman, Ann Lee; baptism by water was not considered essential; the eating of pork was specifically forbidden, and many did not eat any meat; and a celibate life was considered higher than marriage. In prefacing this revelation, the Prophet wrote, "In order to have a more perfect understanding on the subject, I inquired of the Lord, and received the following." The revelation refuted some of the basic concepts of the Shaker group. The aforementioned brethren took a copy of the revelation to the Shaker community (near Cleveland Ohio) and read it to them in its entirety, but it was rejected. |
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1-7, Day and hour of Christ's coming shall remain unknown until he comes; 8-14, Men must repent, believe the gospel, and obey the ordinances to gain salvation; 15-16, Marriage is ordained of God; 17-21, Eating of meat is approved; 22-28, Zion shall flourish and the Lamanities blossom as the rose before the Second Coming. | ||
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1 HEARKEN unto my word, my servants
Sidney, and Parley, and Leman; for behold, verily I say unto you, that I give
unto you a commandment that you shall go and apreach my
gospel which ye have received, even as ye have received it, unto the Shakers.
2 Behold, I say unto you, that they desire to know the truth in part, but not all, for they are not aright before me and must needs repent.
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3 Wherefore, I send you, my servants Sidney and Parley, to preach the gospel unto them.
4 And my servant Leman shall be ordained unto this work, that he may reason with them, not according to that which he has received of them, but according to that which shall be ataught him by you my servants; and by so doing I will bless him, otherwise he shall not prospera.
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4a otherwise he shall not prosper Often a person desires the truth 'in part'. That is they are welling to receive that which is 'easy' and 'tasteful' to them, but such earthly cares and vanity of self intrude. We want to, 'but', seems to always come up. There is 'some excuse' or another. Whether it be the fear of men, that peer presure which mocks and shames a potential believe into forsaking the truth for the 'acceptance' or apparent aproval or even to avoid the disapproval of man. King Zedekiah yielded to it though he knew the words of Jeremiah were the truth of the matter and it lost him his family as well as his kingdom. In this the 'fear of the world' stands great to bring about the fall of man. Further there is the element of self in terms of what one will convienently accept. When it takes us out of our comfort zone or requires an effort or uncomfortableness, then we tend to reject the truth in view of what is 'easiest' for us. Those of the synagogue of Nazareth were of such. They heard the Lord and witnessed his gracious words and even pondered if this was not the promised 'son of Joseph of Egypt', the Messiah ben Ephraim. Then because a part of his word was distasteful to them, though true, they angered towards him for so stating the truth that 'the Jews' would but reject and/or had always shown forth that mode of rejecting the Lord and his prophets. And they then even rejected him because his words were not pleasing and comfortable to themselves. In short, we often lack the 'total commitment' it take to accept the truth whether pleasing or convienent or not. We are willing to only accept 'in part', that part which suits us. | |
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5 Thus saith the Lord; for I am God, and have
asent mine bOnly Begotten Son into the
world for the credemption of the world, and have decreed
that he that receiveth him shall be saved, and he that receiveth him not
shall be ddamned—
6 And they have done unto the aSon of Man even as they listed; and he has taken his power on the bright hand of his cglory, and now reigneth in the heavens, and will reign till he descends on the earth to put all enemies dunder his feet, which time is nigh at hand— 7 I, the Lord God, have spoken it; but the hour and the aday no man knoweth, neither the angels in heaven, nor shall they know until he comes.
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8 Wherefore, I will that all men shall repent, for all are under
asin, except those which I have breserved
unto myself, choly men that ye know not of.
9 Wherefore, I say unto you that I have sent unto you mine everlasting acovenant, even that which was from the beginning. 10 And that which I have promised I have so fulfilled, and the anations of the earth shall bbow to it; and, if not of themselves, they shall come down, for that which is now exalted of itself shall be laid clow of power.
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11 Wherefore, I give unto you a commandment that ye
ago among this people, and say unto them, like unto mine
apostle of old, whose name was bPeter:
12 aBelieve on the name of the Lord Jesus, who was on the earth, and is to come, the beginning and the end; 13 aRepent and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ, according to the holy commandment, for the remission of sins; 14 And whoso doeth this shall receive the agift of the Holy Ghost, by the laying on of the bhands of the elders of the church.
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15 And again, verily I say unto you, that whoso
aforbiddeth to marry is not ordained of God, for
bmarriage is ordained of God unto man.
16 Wherefore, it is lawful that he should have one awife, and they twain shall be bone flesh, and all this that the cearth might answer the end of its creation;
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17 And that it might be filled with the measure of men,
according to his acreation bbefore the
world was made.
18 And whoso aforbiddeth to babstain from cmeats, that man should not eat the same, is not ordained of God;
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19 For, behold, the abeasts of the field and
the fowls of the air, and that which cometh of the earth, is
bordained for the use of man for food and for
craiment, and that he might have in abundance.
20 But it is not given that one man should apossess that which is above another, wherefore the bworld lieth in csin. 21 And wo be unto man that asheddeth blood or that bwasteth cflesh and hath no need.
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22 And again, verily I say unto you, that the Son of Man
acometh not in the form of a woman, neither of a man
traveling on the earth.
23 Wherefore, be not adeceived, but continue in steadfastness, blooking forth for the heavens to be cshaken, and the earth to tremble and to reel to and fro as a drunken man, and for the dvalleys to be exalted, and for the emountains to be made low, and for the rough places to become smooth—and all this when the angel shall sound his ftrumpet.
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24 But before the great day of the Lord shall come,
aJacob shall flourish in the wilderness, and the Lamanites
shall bblossom as the rose.
25 Zion shall aflourish upon the bhills and rejoice upon the mountains, and shall be assembled together unto the place which I have appointed.
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26 Behold, I say unto you, go forth as I have commanded you;
repent of all your sins; aask and ye shall receive; knock
and it shall be opened unto you.
27 Behold, I will go before you and be your arearward; and I will be in your bmidst, and you shall not be cconfounded. 28 Behold, I am Jesus Christ, and I come aquickly. Even so. Amen.
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