D&C
67:11
In November 1831 a conference was
held regarding the publication of the Book of Commandments. A handful of church
elders were asked to sign a revealed statement about the nature of the
truthfulness of the revelations that would be published with the Book of Commandments
(44). Some of the elders were troubled by imperfections they perceived in the
revelations, and apparently they hoped for a divine witness to confirm the
decision for publication. While those present at the conference may have been
hoping for something more grandiose, what they received was this short
revelation. The revelation declares that the Lord has indeed heard their
prayers and knows their hearts (D&C 67:1), but “there were fears in your
hearts and verily this is the reason that ye did not receive” (D&C 67:2).
The Lord then validates the
language of the revelations, stating that “for ye know that there is no
unrighteousness in it and that which is righteous cometh down from above from
the father of lights” (D&C 67:9) (45). The Lord then states that the
members must strip themselves from “Jealesies and fears and humble yourselves
before me,” at which point “the veil shall be wrent and you shall see me and
know that I am” (D&C 67:10) (46). At this point, the revelation alludes to
John 1:18, the only time this verse is quoted in all of Mormon scripture: “No
man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of
the Father, he hath declared him.”
Following the promise that “the
veil shall be wrent and you shall see me and know that I am,” Smith begins his
expansion on John 1:18. He states that this ability to “see me and know that I
am” cannot be accomplished “with the carnal neither natural but with the
spiritual for no man hath seen God at any time in the flesh, but by the Spirit
of God neither can any natural man abide the presence of God neither after the carnal
mind ye are not able to abide the presence of God now neither the ministering
of Angels wherefore continue in patience untill ye are perfected” (D&C 67:10-13).
Johannine scholars see the function of John 1:18 as demonstrating that “for no
one, not even for Moses, can God be an object of direct observation and that
the human person cannot even exist in God’s unveiled presence” (47). God
himself had stated the same to Moses on Mt. Sinai: “ . . . for there shall no
man see me, and live” (Ex. 33:20) (48). One of the purposes of John 1:18 was to
elevate the status of Jesus, the “only Son who has not only seen the Father but
is ever at His side” (49). Thus Jesus’ statement that “He who has seen me has
seen the Father.”
This verse serves at least two
important functions for Joseph Smith and the church. First, it re-enforces
Smith’s supersessionist idea that he and his followers are the legitimate
latter-day heirs of the Jewish covenant. In June 1830, Joseph Smith began a “translation”
of the Bible, part of which involved “restoring” a lengthy vision in which
Moses “was caught up into an exceeding high Mountain” (Moses 1:1) (50). While
on this mountain, Moses sees God “face to face and he talked with him and the
glory of God was upon Moses therefore Moses could endure his presence” (Moses
1:2). At the conclusion of the first part of this vision, Moses speaks in
language reminiscent of D&C 67:10-11: “And it came to pass, that it was for
the space of many hours before Moses did again receive his natural strength
like unto man, and he saith unto himself Now for this once I know that man is
nothing, which thing I never had supposed, but now mine eyes, mine own eyes
but not mine eyes for mine eyes could not have beheld for I should have
withered and died in his presence but his glory was upon me and I beheld his
face for I was transfigured before him” (Moses 1:10-11) (51). This vision
establishes that Moses was “transfigured,” or temporarily changed, in order to
abide in the presence of God and still remain alive.
According to D&C 67, Moses’
experience was not meant to be unique. D&C 67 promises that those who “strip
yourselves” of faults and act humbly may also “see me,” not with the “natural
mind” but with the “spiritual mind.” Smith’s church may employ biblical terms
like “priesthood” and “prophet,” but it was also to be grounded in the
democratic ideals of nineteenth-century America. In a few short months, Smith
would receive a revelation granting priesthood authority to all worthy male
members, regardless of lineage, and his vision of the afterlife promised all
but the worst among humanity a “degree of glory.” D&C 67 thus represents
the democratization of prophet-hood. Visions of God would no longer be limited only
to men like Moses and Isaiah, but to all who “have been ordained unto the
ministry” (D&C 67:10), who, “when ye are worthy in mine own due time ye
shall see and know that which was confirmed upon you by the hands of my Servant
Joseph Amen” (D&C 67:14) (52).
A second function John 1:18 may
have served for Joseph Smith was in regards to his own spiritual background.
Joseph Smith’s life was a living example of the sacred background. Joseph Smith’s
life was a living example of the sacred collapsing into the profane. He spoke
of having seen (53) or heard (54) or being visited by numerous divine figures
and claimed to have seen the Son on several occasions. Especially noteworthy
are the five occasions he would claim to see God the Father (55). One might think
that John 1:18 would appear in Smith’s writings more frequently, if for no
other reason than explaining that it was possible to see the Father, as long as
the circumstances warranted it. What Joseph Smith does in D&C 67:11 is push
back against the idea that God remains a distant, unseen presence. While it may
be generally true that no man can see God, according to D&C 67:11 this
visitation can occur if one is acted upon “by the Spirit of God.” Thus for
Joseph Smith, John 1:18 was not an inaccurate claim, it was simply incomplete.
D&C 67, with its caveat that “for no man hath seen God at any time in the
flesh but by the Spirit of God” may have allowed Smith to feel more comfortable
in relaying his own encounters with God the Father. A short time after the reception
of D&C 67, Joseph Smith and Sidney Rigdon produced an “inspired”
translation of John 1:18, which would read, in a manner echoing D&C 67:11: “And
no man hath seen God at any time, except he hath born record of the Son.” In a similar
fashion, 1 John 4:12, with its assertion that “No man hath seen God at any time”
was followed in Smith’s revised version with the proviso “except them who believe.”
Statements like these may have served to alleviate questions about what Smith
himself many have experienced, to help him understand how he was able to see
God when the New Testament seemed to claim the exact opposite. Those skeptical
of Smith’s visionary claims may see D&C 67:11 as Smith laying the groundwork
for his multiple stories about visitations from the Father. By expanding upon
John 1:18 through the addition of the caveat “except quickened in the flesh” Smith
introduced a way in which it would be possible to see God, anticipating potential
critics who would point to John 1:18 as proof of Smith’s fraudulence (56).
Notes for the Above
(44) Godfrey, et al., The
Joseph Smith Papers: Documents, vol. 2, 110-13
(45) This title “father of lights”
stands out in a revelation filled with Johannine language and imagery. However,
the provenance for the title, and this verse as a whole, is likely James 1:17: “Every
good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father
of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.” This is
the only appearance of the title in Mormon scripture and provides an example of
how useful an intertextual study of Mormon scripture and the Bible would be outside
of merely a Johannine Prologue study.
(46) The phrase “know that I am”
may allude to John 8:28, which itself likely alludes to the phrase “know that I
am the Lord,” found nearly 100 times in the Old Testament, again demonstrating
Joseph Smith’s proclivity for appropriating both the Old and New Testament.
This phrase will make a crucial reappearance in D&C 93:1.
(47) Ridderbos, The Gospel of
John, 59
(48) Many scholars see John 1:18
as echoing the theophany of Moses in Exodus 33. See Keener, The Gospel of
John, 1:442 fn. 562
(49) Brown, The Gospel
According to John, 1:36
(50) All references to the Joseph
Smith Translation (including the Book of Moses) are taken from Scott H. Faulring,
Kent P. Jackson, and Robert J. Matthews, eds., Joseph Smith’s New Translation
of the Bible: Original Manuscripts (Provo: Religious Studies Center, 2004).
(51) The similarities between
this statement and D&C 67 were made more explicit when Moses 1:11 was
edited to read: “But now mine own eyes have beheld God; but not my natural, but
my spiritual eyes, for my natural eyes could not have beheld; for I should have
withered and died in his presence; but his glory was upon me; and I beheld his
face, for I was transfigured before him.”
(52) This is possibly an early
reference to what would become known in Mormonism as the “Second Comforter.”
Joseph Smith taught that Mormons can progress to a certain point at which their
“calling and election is made sure,” borrowing from the language of 2 Peter 1.
This means that their salvation in the highest kingdom, the celestial kingdom
is assured. Part and parcel with this process is the accompaniment of the “Second
Comforter,” borrowing from the language of John 14, although meaning in a Mormon
context that one enjoys the close association of Jesus Christ himself. Is this revelation,
with its promise to rend the veil and “see me and know that I am” a precursor
to this idea? Part of the problem is a possible confusion over “God.” In John
1:18, the Father is clearly meant when John states that “no one has seen God at
any time.” But what does it mean in D&C 67? Is Jesus referring to himself
as “God,” speaking in the third person, or does the context of John 1:18 apply
here as well and D&C 67:11 refers to the Father? The fact that D&C
67:10 speaks of the promise to “see me and know that I am” suggests that
D&C 67:11 refers to Jesus, not the Father. This does not necessarily
invalidate the above argument however, as Mormons believe that the “God” of the
Old Testament, Jehovah, is actually the pre-mortal Jesus Christ, and therefore
Moses’ vision of “God” would have been of Jesus Christ.
(53) Historian Alexander Baugh
has identified D&C 76 “visionary experiences” of Joseph Smith. See
Alexander L. Baugh, “Parting the Veil: Joseph Smith’s Seventy-six Documented
Visionary Experiences,” in Opening the Heavens: Accounts of Divine
Manifestations, 1830-1844, ed. John W. Welch (Provo: Brigham Young
University Press, 2005), 265-326.
(54) Joseph Smith wrote in 1842: “And
again, what do we hear? Glad tidings from Cumorah! Moroni, an angel from
heaven, declaring the fulfilment of the prophets—the book to be revealed. A
voice of the Lord in the wilderness of Fayette, Seneca county, declaring the
three witnesses to bear record of the book! The voice of Michael on the banks
of Susquehanna, detecting the devil when he appeared as an angel of light! The
voice of Peter, James, and John in the wilderness between Harmony, Susquehanna
county, and Colesville, Broome county, on the Susquehanna river, declaring
themselves as possessing the keys of the kingdom, and of the dispensation of
the fulness of times! And again, the voice of God in the chamber of old Father
Whitmer, in Fayette, Seneca county, and at sundry times, and in divers places
through all the travels and tribulations of this Church of Jesus Christ of
Latter-day Saints! And the voice of Michael, the archangel; the voice of
Gabriel, and of Raphael, and of divers angels, from Michael or Adam down to the
present time, all declaring their dispensation, their rights, their keys, their
honors, their majesty and glory, and the power of their priesthood; giving line
upon line, precept upon precept; here a little, and there a little; giving us consolation
by holding forth that which is to come, confirming our hope!” (D&C
128:20-21)
(55) These five
occasions were the June 4, 1831 conference in Kirtland, D&C 76, a March 18,
1833 appearance to the School of the Prophets, a vision of the celestial
kingdom on January 21, 1836, and the 1838 account of his “first vision.” See
Baugh, “Parting the Veil: Joseph Smith’s Seventy-Six Document Visionary Experiences,”
265-306.
(56) The tension
between John 1:18 and Smith’s vision continues to be noted by those seeking to
debunk Mormonism. One such book writes of John 1:18 that “Since Joseph Smith
claimed to have seen God the Father, this verse proved to be a problem for him.
However, rather than back off from his claim of having seen God, he sought to change
Scripture” (John R. Farkas and David A. Reed, Mormons Answered
Verse-by-Verse [Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 1992], 71). In their treatment
of Mormonism, Richard Ostling and Joan K. Ostling wrote that “Mormons believe
that spirit is matter, and that those biblical passages implying that God is
immaterial must be a mistranslation. Smith freely rewrote biblical passages
that conflicted with his own concepts” (Mormon America: The Power and the
Promise [New York: HarperCollins, 1999], 299).
Source: Nicholas J. Frederick, The
Bible, Mormon Scripture, and the Rhetoric of Allusivity (Madison: Fairleigh
Dickinson University Press, 2016), 74-77, 90-91