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SECTION 5Revelation given through Joseph Smith the Prophet, at Harmony, Pennsylvania, March 1829, at the request of Martin Harris. HC 1:28—31. |
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11—18, Three witnesses shall testify of the Book of Mormon; 19—20, The word of the Lord will be verified as in previous times; 21—35, Martin Harris may repent and be one of the witnesses. | ||
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D&C 5:1 BEHOLD, I say unto you, that as my servant
aMartin Harris has desired a witness at my hand, that you,
my servant Joseph Smith, Jun., have got the plates of which you have
testified and borne record that you have received of me;
D&C 5:2 And now, behold, this shall you say say unto him—he who spake unto you, said unto you: I, the Lord, am God, and have given these things unto you, my servant Joseph Smith, Jun., and have commanded you that you should stand as a awitness of these things; D&C 5:3 And I have caused you that you should enter into a acovenant with me, that you should not bshow them except to those cpersons to whom I commanded you; and you have no dpower over them except I grant it unto you. D&C 5:4 And you have a gift to atranslate the plates; and this is the first gift that I bestowed upon you; and I have commanded that you should pretend to no other gift until my purpose is fulfilled in this; for I will grant unto you no other gift until it is finisheda.
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4a no other gift until it is finished Though the Lord had a future work for the Prophet Joseph to do, like all great undertakings, there is a 'critical flow' of events. Managers in business, industry and construction developments readily recognize and understand that certain events must first be accomplished and completed prior to being able to continue on with other activities which are contingent upon them. Such was the coming forth of the Book of Mormon. It need to be complete and put into place before the work could continue forth based upon it. The Lord is here stating to Joseph such a critical flow analysis of the work of translation of the Book of Mormon, that it needed to be so completed before Joseph would be further called upon to continue in any other work of the restoration process. | |
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D&C 5:5 Verily, I say unto you, that awoe shall come unto
the inhabitants of the earth if they will not bhearken unto
my words;
D&C 5:6 For hereafter you shall be aordained and go forth and deliver my bwords unto the children of men. D&C 5:7 Behold, if they will not abelieve my words, they would not believe you, my servant Joseph, if it were possible that you should show them all these things which I have committed unto you. D&C 5:8 Oh, this aunbelieving and bstiffnecked generation—mine canger is kindled against them.
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D&C 5:9 Behold, verily I say unto you, I have areserved
those things which I have entrusted unto you, my servant Joseph, for a wise
purpose in me, and it shall be made known unto future generations;
D&C 5:10 But this generation shall have my word athrough you;
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Three Witnesses |
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D&C 5:11 And in addition to your testimony, the atestimony
of three of my servants, whom I shall call and ordain, unto whom I will show
these things, and they shall go forth with my words that are given through
you.
D&C 5:12 Yea, they shall know of a asurety that these things are true, for from heaven will I declare it unto them. D&C 5:13 I will give them power that they may behold and view these things as they are; D&C 5:14 And to anone else will I grant this power, to receive this same testimony among this generation, in this the beginning of the rising up and the coming forth of my bchurch out of the wilderness—clear as the cmoon, and fair as the sun, and terrible as an army with banners. D&C 5:15 And the testimony of three awitnesses will I send forth of my word.
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D&C 5:16 And behold, whosoever abelieveth on my words, them
will I bvisit with the cmanifestation of
my dSpirit; and they shall be eborn of
me, even of water and of the Spirit—
D&C 5:17 And you must wait yet a little while, for ye are not yet aordained—
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D&C 5:18 And their testimony shall go forth unto the
acondemnation of this generation if they
bharden their hearts against them;
D&C 5:19 For a desolating ascourge shall go forth among the inhabitants of the earth, and shall continue to be poured out from time to time, if they brepent not, until the earth is cempty, and the inhabitants thereof are dconsumed away and utterly destroyed by the brightness of my ecoming. D&C 5:20 Behold, I tell you these things, even as I also atold the people of the destruction of Jerusalem; and my bword shall be verified at this time as it hath hitherto been verified.
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D&C 5:21 And now I command you, my servant Joseph, to
arepent and bwalk more uprightly before
me, and to yield to cpersuasions of men no more;
D&C 5:22 And that you be afirm in bkeeping the commandments wherewith I have commanded you; and if you do this, behold I grant unto you ceternal life, even if you should be dslain.
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D&C 5:23 And now, again, I speak unto you, my servant Joseph, concerning the
aman that desires the witness—
D&C 5:24 Behold, I say unto him, he exalts himself and does not ahumble himself sufficiently before me; but if he will bbow down before me, and humble himself in mighty cprayer and faith, in the dsincerity of his heart, then will I grant unto him a eview of the things which he desires to see. D&C 5:25 And then he shall say unto the generation: Behold, I have seen the things which the Lord hath shown unto Joseph Smith, Jun., and I aknow of a surety that they are true, for I have seen them, for they have been shown unto me by the power of God and not of man. D&C 5:26 And I the Lord command him, my servant Martin Harris, that he shall say no more unto them concerning these things, except he shall say: I have seen them, and they have been shown unto me by the power of God; and these are the words which he shall say.
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D&C 5:27 But if he deny this he will break the acovenant
which he has before covenanted with me, and behold, he is condemned.
D&C 5:28 And now, except he humble himself and acknowledge unto me the things that he hath done which are wrong, and covenant with me that he will keep my commandments, and exercise afaith in me, behold, I say unto him, he shall have no such views, for I will grant unto him no views of the things of which I have spoken. D&C 5:29 And if this be the case, I command you, my servant Joseph, that you shall say unto him, that he shall do no more concerning this matter.
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D&C 5:30 And if this be the case, behold, I say unto thee Joseph, when thou hast translated a few more pages thou shalt stop for a season, even until I command they again; then thou mayest translate again.
D&C 5:31 And except thou do this, behold, thou shalt have no more gift, and I will take away the things which I have entrusted with thee.
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D&C 5:32 And now, because I foresee the lying in wait to destroy
theea, yea, I
foresee that if my servant Martin Harris humbleth not himself and receive a
witness from my hand; that he will fall into
atransgression;
D&C 5:33 And there are many that lie in wait to adestroy thee from off the face of the earth; and for this cause, that thy days may be bprolonged, I have given unto thee these commandments.
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5a I foresee the lying in wait to destory thee God knows and forsees all things. Even the contingentcies of the decissions of man are placed before his eyes that he foresees the results. Thus, while we may be impatient in the events and expriences of life, the Lord often lies in wait for particular events to unfold so that his preperations for such may then continue to unfold in relation to them, whatever they may be. | |
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D&C 5:34 Yea, for this cause I have said: Stop, and astand
still until I command thee, and I will bprovide means
whereby thou mayest accomplish the thing which I have commanded thee.
D&C 5:35 And if thou art afaithful in keeping my commandments, thou shalt be blifted up at the last day. Amen.
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