Examples of Baptismal Regeneration Being Affirmed in Joel J. Johnson, "Hymns of Praise for the Young: Selected from the Songs of Joel" (1882)

  

Hymn 122. (8’s & 7’s.)

 

1 Come! all ye who seek salvation,
Walk the path that Jesus trod;
be baptized for sin’s remission,
Thus obey the law of God.

 

. . .

 

4 Buried with the Lord, and rising
To a life divinely new,
Fearless, though the world despising,
In the heav’nly way pursue (Joel J. Johnson, Hymns of Praise for the Young: Selected from the Songs of Joel [Salt Lake City: Deseret News Company, 1882], 124. 125)

 

 

HYMN 123. (S. M.)

 

1 The joy that’s born of grace,
Is in the Gospel found.
Prepared for all of Adam’s race
Who will obey the sound.

 

2 Now, all who wish to win
Salvation, must believe,
And be baptized for all their sin,
The spirit to receive.

 

3 Come, then, with all your woes;
Of them you shall be healed,
For a spring of healing water flows
From a celestial field.

4 Ye thirsty, come and taste,
And living waters, then,
Within you shall spring up in haste;
You’ll no more thirst again. (Ibid., 125-26)

 

 

HYMN 128 (S. M.)

 

1 O sinner, now be wise!
Eternal life to win;
Arise, repent, and be baptized,
And wash away your sin. (Ibid., 129)

 

 

HYMN 129. (S. M.)

 

1 Now is the day of grace:
O sinner, why delay
To seek your Father’s face,
While it is called to-day?

 

2 Your sins you now may leave;
Oh, then, no longer wait!
Too soon the Spirit you may grieve,
And then ‘twill be too late.

 

3 Then come, obey his word,
Repenting of your sin,
and be baptized into the Lord,
And life eternal win. (Ibid., 130)

 

 

HYMN 132. (C. M.)

 

1 O sinner! hear the Gospel word,
And all its truth believe;
Come, be baptized into the Lord,
And life for death receive.

 

2 Put off the old man of your sin,
Put Christ, the new man, on;

And let his Spirit reign within,

Till all your sins are gone.

 

3 No more let sin and darkness gain
Possession of your breast;
But walk with Christ, till you shall reign
In his eternal rest. (Ibid., 132)

 

 

Jesus as "Elder Brother" in Joel J. Johnson, "Hymns of Praise for the Young: Selected from the Songs of Joel" (1882)

  

HYMN 102. (7’s.)

 

1 On the morn of the third day,
See! the rock is rolled away;
Seals are broke and guards are fled,
Jesus rises from the dead.

 

2 ‘Tis the Savior: see him come!
See him triumph o’er the tomb!
Yes; through shedding of his blood,
Flesh and bones can dwell with God.

 

3 He, our elder brother is,
And our bodies must, like his,
Rise triumphant from the tomb,
Glowing with immortal bloom.

 

4 Praise him, then, ye Saints above;
Praise him, all who know his love;
Praise unto the Lord belongs;
Praise him in ten thousand songs. (Joel J. Johnson, Hymns of Praise for the Young: Selected from the Songs of Joel [Salt Lake City: Deseret News Company, 1882], 107-8)

 

References to a Mother in Heaven in Joel H. Johnson, "Hymns of Praise for the Young: Selected from the Songs of Joel" (1882)

  

HYMN 228. (L. M.)

 

1 To Kolob now my thoughts repair,
Where God, my Father, reigns above;
My heav’nly Mother, too, is there,
And many kindred whom I love. (Joel J. Johnson, Hymns of Praise for the Young: Selected from the Songs of Joel [Salt Lake City: Deseret News Company, 1882], 215)

 

 

HYMN 231. (7’s.)

 

1. Once our Father was like us,
In a world of toil and pain;
And in tribulation, thus,
Did his exaltation gain.

 

2 In a city paved with gold,
Shining with celestial light.
him, in love, we did behold,
And rejoiced with great delight.

 

3 By the blissful fountains there,
We once knew each parent’s face;
We received our Mother’s care,
And our Father’s love and grace.

 

4 Now they’ve sent us here to school,
In this world of toil and pain,
That we may, like them, by rule,
Endless exaltation gain.

 

5 Here, if faithful we remain,
‘Till our exit day arrives,
We’ll return to them again,
Crowned like them, with endless lives.  (Joel J. Johnson, Hymns of Praise for the Young: Selected from the Songs of Joel [Salt Lake City: Deseret News Company, 1882], 217-18)

 

Joel H. Johnson (c. 1879 and 1881) on the Reception of the Word of Wisdom (D&C 89) and the Meaning of "Hot Drinks"

  

I was at Joseph Smith’s when the Word of Wisdom was given and have strictly harkened to its precepts from that day to the present, by not using tobacco, strong drinks of any kind, teas or coffee, and but a very little flesh. (Joel H. Johnson autobiographical sketch, c. 1879, p. 3)

 

 

THE WORD OF WISDOM.

 

I was with Joseph Smith, the Prophet, when the Word of Wisdom was given by revelation from the Lord, February 27, 1833, and I think, I am the only man now living who was present.

 

I was then thirty one years of age, and had used tobacco somewhat extravagantly for fifteen years. I always used some strong drink, and tea and coffee.

 

I knew that God had spoken and condemned the use of these things, and, bring determined to live by every word that proceeded from His mouth, I laid them all aside, and have not used them since.

 

I well remember that, soon after the publication of the Word of Wisdom, the same excuse was made, by some of the people, for drinking tea and coffee that is now made—that hot drinks did not mean tea and coffee.

 

On a Sabbath day, in the July following the giving of the revelation, when both Joseph and Hyrum Smith were in the stand, the Prophet said to the Saints:

 

“I understand that some of the people are excusing themselves in using tea and coffee, because the Lord only said ‘hot drinks’ in the revelation of the Word of Wisdom.

“The Lord was showing us what was good for man to eat and drink. Now, what do we drink when we take our meals?

“Tea and coffee. Is it not?

“Yes: tea and coffee.

“Then, they same what the Lord meant when He said ‘hot drinks.’”

 

Brother Hyrum Smith spoke to the same effect.

 

It is said all wholesome herbs are ordained for the use of man. Physicians tell us that tea and coffee are not wholesome. And the Lord says they are not for the body or the belly.

 

When children see that their parents slight the Word of Wisdom, they are apt to follow their example.

 

I have recorded this testimony that all who read it may be without excuse. How pleasant it would be at last, if we could say to our Heavenly Father, “I have obeyed all your counsels,” and hear these kind words in return: “Well done! thou hast been faithful over a few things, be thou ruler over many.” (Joel H. Johnson, Voice from the Mountains, Being a Testimony of the Truth of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, as Revealed by the Lord to Joseph Smith, Jr. [Salt Lake City: Juvenile Instructor Office, 1881], 12-13)

 

Joel H. Johnson (1881) Teaching Baptismal Regeneration

  

The Holy Ghost is a holy personage that can minister to man for his salvation only on certain conditions. These are, belief in the Lord Jesus Christ, repentance and baptism for the remission of sins, with hands laid on to confer the Holy Ghost.

 

These ordinances must be administered by one having authority before man is in a condition to have the Holy Ghost act as a medium of communication between him and the Lord.

 

Jesus Christ again says, “Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.” (John, iii. 5.)

 

The apostle John says, “Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for His seed remaineth in him: and he can, not sin, because he is born of God.” (I John, iii. 9.)

 

These passages force the conclusion, that a man must be baptized and receive the Holy Ghost, or be born of the Spirit, before he is a member of the kingdom of God. And when he is a legal member, with the Spirit or seed of God abiding in him, he cannot, or will not sin, therefore he is entitled to, and can have a continual communication with God through the Holy Ghost which leads into all truth, brings all things to remembrance, and teaches things to come. (Joel H. Johnson, Voice from the Mountains, Being a Testimony of the Truth of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, as Revealed by the Lord to Joseph Smith, Jr. [Salt Lake City: Juvenile Instructor Office, 1881], 7-8)

 

David W. Grua and William V. Smith on the Expansion to the Text of D&C 7

  

In general, the committee’s expansions increased the Account of John’s intertextual relationship with the Bible. In the early text, only one phrase—“if I will that he tarry until I come what is that to thee”—was clearly a quotation from the KJV. As noted above, adding “in my glory” after “till I come” may have been intended to allude to Matthew 25:31, and the emphasis on the “desires” of Peter and John may have had an implicit parallel with Mark 10:35. The 1835 expansions to the Account of John paralleled language in at least five other biblical passages—in Psalms, Matthew, John, Hebrews, and Revelation—which were used to clarify and further develop the meaning of the text. The added language built upon the early text’s answers to the interpretive difficulties of John 21, extending and clarifying specific points regarding the identity of the Beloved Disciple and his fate. The 1835 editors drew on scriptural language from a variety of texts to reveal a continuity between the ancient and antebellum worlds. That is, their expansion of the Account of John with biblical phrasing elaborated it as a manifestation of the foundational theme that Mormon Christianity was a restoration of lost ancient truth. The expanded Account of John reiterated to early church members that the ecclesiastical structure of the restored church was patterned after the structure of the primitive church.

 

As noted above, the Account of John differed from John 21 in that the early text imputed agency to the Beloved Disciple, with Jesus asking the Disciple what he desired. The 1835 expansion augmented the section by having Jesus state, “For if ye shall ask, what ye will, it shall be granted unto you.” This language closely paralleled John 15:7, “If ye shall abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you” (emphasis added). The 1835 expansion further developed the nature of John’s desire, making explicit a point that was ambiguous in the early text. Initially, John stated his desire thus, “give unto me power that I may bring souls unto thee.” The 1835 text clarified that John requested “power over death, that I may live and bring souls unto thee” (emphasis added).

 

The D&C committee attempted to harmonize the Account of John with elements of 3 Nephi 28. With John’s power over death, the expanded text clarified that the apostle would “prophesy before nations, kindreds, tongues, and people,” alluding to Revelation 14:6, in which John the Revelator saw an angel preaching the “everlasting gospel . . . to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people.” As noted above, the description of the Three Nephites likewise alluded to Revelation 14:6; it was therefore a logical intertextual expansion in the 1835 Account of John.

 

This coordination with 3 Nephi 28 was also apparent in another significant expansion to the 1835 text, in which Jesus made John the “Beloved” the angel who would take the gospel to all nations: “Therefore I [Jesus] will make him [John] as a flaming fire and a ministering angel; he shall minister for those who shall be heirs of salvation who dwell on the earth.” This passage elaborated the story of John’s post- biblical life as an angel by combining biblical phraseology from Psalm 104 and Hebrews 1. Psalm 104 is a hymn of praise acclaiming Yahweh for creating the world and celebrating his glory and grandeur. Verse 4 depicts God making “angels spirits” and “his ministers a flaming fire.” Hebrews 1 presents an argument for Jesus having divine status, holding authority over the angels, with verses 7 and 14 elaborating on Psalm 104:4. The 1835 Account of John synthesized these biblical verses and applied them to John, simultaneously identifying the change that permitted the Beloved Disciple to tarry and his proselytizing mission among the “heirs of salvation” on the earth. Who precisely were the “heirs of salvation” was left unstated, although 3 Nephi 28 and Smith’s teachings in the early 1830s suggested that the term may have included remnants of the House of Israel.

 

It is noteworthy that Smith and his associates did not identify John as a translated being, like Enoch, in the 1835 expansions. Beings who were either “translated” or “tarried” were later conflated in Latter- day Saint thought—both in scholarly and popular literature—rendering John a translated being.

 

The Account of John, however, did not use that term, although the concept may have been implied when the Lord made John a ministering angel, suggesting a change in bodily state. As surveyed above, Joseph Smith Sr.’s patriarchal blessings seemed to treat “tarrying” on the earth and “translation” to heaven as related and yet separate and distinct options for the faithful, perhaps reflecting broader usage in the early church. This may explain why the 1835 Account of John did not adopt the latter designation.

 

The D&C committee also harmonized the 1835 Account of John with the emergence of Smith’s presidency in the early 1830s. The revised text had Jesus instructing Peter: “I will make thee to minister for him [John] and for thy brother James: and to you three I will give this power and the keys of this ministry until I come.” Although the early Account of John confined its comments on Peter to his desire to “come unto me [Jesus] in my kingdom,” the revised account indicated that Peter, along with John and his brother James, would hold “the keys of this ministry” until Christ’s coming.

 

Taken together, these 1835 revisions to the Account of John reflected the interests of Smith and his associates in clarifying and expanding the early text’s initial interactions with John 21. The changes also augmented the Account of John’s intertextual relationship with the KJV. While the early text was almost entirely preserved in the 1835 revisions, the expansions sought to enrich, update, and harmonize the Account of John with Smith’s subsequent scriptures and teachings. The expanded Account followed 3 Nephi 28 in transforming the Beloved Disciple into a ministering angel who would preach unto all nations, kindreds, tongues, and people. In addition, the 1835 text was coordinated with ecclesiastical developments by indicating that John, along with Peter and James, held the keys of the ministry and administration of Christ’s kingdom on earth.

 

The D&C committee made one final decision as the revised Account of John was prepared for typesetting. They retained the BoC’s interpretive heading, thereby framing the expanded Account of John as a translation of a text written by the apostle John on parchment and hidden up in anticipation of providential recovery in the Lord’s due time. This heading, a version of which remained attached to the text in all subsequent editions of the Doctrine and Covenants, continues to frame how contemporary Latter-day Saints approach the Account of John. (David W. Grua and William V. Smith, “The Tarrying of the Beloved Disciple: The Textual Formation of the Account of John,” in Producing Ancient Scripture: Joseph Smith’s Translation Projects in the Development of Mormon Christianity, ed. Michael Hubbard MacKay, Mark Ashurst-McGee, and Brian M. Hauglid [Salt Lake City: The University of Utah Press, 2020], 256-60)

 

Letters from John Whitmer and David Whitmer, Republished in The Saints’ Herald (February 7, 1887)

  

RICHMOND, Mo., Dec. 9th, 1886.

 

Dear Brethren—I regret that one of the Editors of the Herald has seen fit to cast a shadow over the honor and integrity of Bro. David Whitmer, the last witness to the divinity of the Book of Mormon—a man whose past record is beyond reproach. I can account for it only in this light: That he began to fear lest some of the Saints should leave the Reorganized Church and come into the Church of Christ; so he has been tempted to do all he could toward destroying the good influence of Bro. David. I desire to show the brethren what brothers Joseph and Alexander think of the honesty and integrity of David Whitmer. When they were here a few years ago, Bro. Joseph told Bro. David Whitmer that he believed in the integrity of his heart, and believed that he loved his father (Joseph). Bro. Alexander said to Bro. David Whitmer’s wife as follows: “Before mother died, she told us to visit the Whitmers, that they were good people; and when we saw David Whitmer we would see an honest man.” I will also give you here the names of old citizens of Richmond, over half of whom have known David Whitmer since he came here in 1838. The following is taken from a leaflet published by him in 1881, and sent forth in affirming his testimony to the Book of Mormon because of some false reports being circulated.

 

We, the undersigned citizens of Richmond, Ray county, Missouri, where Daivd Whitmer has resided since the year A.D. 1838, certify that we have been long and intimately acquainted with him and known him to be a man of the highest integrity, and of undoubted truth and veracity. Given at Richmond, Missouri, this March, 19th, 1881:--A. W. Doniphan (the lawyer who defended the Saints in 1838); George W. Dunn, judge of the Fifth Judicial Circuit; T. D. Woodson, president of Ray county bank; J. T. Child, editor of Consecrator; H. C. Garner, cashier of Ray county bank; W. A. Holman, county treasurer; J. S. Hughes, banker, Richmond; James Hughes, banker, Richmond; James W. Black, attorney at law; L. C. Cantwell, postmaster, Richmond; George I. Wasson, mayor; James A. Davis, county collector; C. J. Hughes, probate judge; George W. Trigg, county clerk; W. W. Mosby, M.D.; J. P. Amssinberry, merchant; W. R. Holman, merchant; George W. Buchanan, M. D.; A. K. Reyburn, and others.

 

Your brother in the faith of Christ,

 

John C. Whitmer. (John C. Whitmer, Letter, December 9, 1886, repr. The Saints’ Herald 34, no. 6 [February 5, 1887]: 89)

 

 

So we see that all they had against me was for “not keeping the Word of Wisdom,” and disbelieving some of Joseph’s revelations, and not teaching them. You will notice the remarks of the writer in the Herald about me not keeping the Word of Wisdom; I have this to say: If he drinks tea or coffee, or violates the Word of Wisdom in the least particular, I want him to read in Matt. 7:5, what Christ calls the man who says to his brother, “Let me pull out the mote from your eye, when behold a beam is in his own eye.” As for me, my conscience does not condemn me for not keeping the word of Wisdom; but those who believe it to be of God, if they violate it in the least particular, their conscience can not be clear of doubt; and he that partakes with doubt is condemned. (David Whitmer, Letter, December 9, 1886, repr. The Saints’ Herald 34, no. 6 [February 5, 1887]: 90)

 

 

Responding to the rumor that he encouraged “the Missouri mobocrats to push their persecutions against the Church in 1838—which finally resulted in the death of Joseph and Hyrum in 1844”:

 

Brethren, it is ridiculous; it is wrong; it is an injury to an innocent man; and an injury to the cause and to my testimony of the Book of Mormon! It is an abomination in the sight of God, and he will justly reward all those who have originated such falsehoods about me!! (David Whitmer, Letter, December 9, 1886, repr. The Saints’ Herald 34, no. 6 [February 5, 1887]: 90)

 

 

The “choice seer” spoken of in the Book of Mormon is not brother Joseph. I will give you here a brief outline concerning this “Choice Seer” who is yet to come forth. The man who is not learned (in 2 Nephi 11:18), refers to Bro. Joseph. But the “Choice Seer” (in 2 Nephi 2) is another man. He is to come from the American Indians. He is to come from the fruit of the loins of Joseph (of Egypt), that seed being the “branch which was to be broken off” at Jerusalem, to whom this land was consecrated for their inheritance forever—being Lehi and his seed; Lehi’s seed being “little Joseph,” who received this blessing from his father Lehi, that his seed should not utterly be destroyed; for out of this seed, which should not all be destroyed (the Indians) should come this “Choice Seer.” This is the interpretation of this chapter. This “Choice Seer will be an Indian. His name will be Joseph, and his father’s name Joseph. He is to translate sealed records yet to come forth (spoken of in 1 Nephi 11:18). “And not to the bringing forth my word only, saith the Lord, but to the convincing them of my word.” How many Indians did Bro. Joseph convince? He never preached a sermon to them in his life. May God help you, brethren, to understand this chapter, for it can only be understood by the enlightening power of the Holy Ghost. It is very plain to me. I will speak in full on this matter hereafter. (David Whitmer, Letter, repr. The Saints’ Herald 34, no. 6 [February 5, 1887]: 91)