Identical Revelations

[_Runtu]

Something that has always perplexed me is the receiving of identical revelations in sections 15 and 16 of the Doctrine and Covenants. Section 15 is a revelation to John Whitmer and is described thus in the heading:

The message is intimately and impressively personal, in that the Lord tells of what was known only to John Whitmer and himself.

The intimately and impressively personal part is contained in verses 3-6:

3 And I will tell you that which no man knoweth save me and thee alone—
4 For many times you have desired of me to know that which would be of the most worth unto you.
5 Behold, blessed are you for this thing, and for speaking my words which I have given you according to my commandments.
6 And now, behold, I say unto you, that the thing which will be of the most worth unto you will be to declare repentance unto this people, that you may bring souls unto me, that you may rest with them in the kingdom of my Father. Amen.

Read on its own, that does indeed seem intimately and impressively personal. After all, the Lord is speaking of things that only He and John Whitmer know. But then a strange thing happens. The same revelation is given in section 16 verbatim except for the substitution of "Peter" for "John" Whitmer. The same wording about telling Peter "that which no man knoweth save" the Lord and Peter alone is given.

Can someone explain this to me? Is this suggesting that Peter and John both wanted to know the same thing, and therefore only the Lord knew that? Can identical revelations be intimately and impressively personal?

[_Yoda]

Can identical revelations be intimately and impressively personal?

I would say that they can.

Look at all of the Bible examples where the Lord gives the same message over and over again.

I think the real question here is who is documenting things.

If the same person is recording both events, and the messages are basically the same, then it would make sense to word them the same way.

[_asbestosman]

There is one more (insignificant) difference between the revelations in verse 5:

"5 Behold, blessed are you for this thing, and for speaking my words which I have given unto you according to my commandments. "
The bolded word only appears on the one given to Peter.

[_Mercury]

Something that has always perplexed me is the receiving of identical revelations in sections 15 and 16 of the Doctrine and Covenants. Section 15 is a revelation to John Whitmer and is described thus in the heading:

The message is intimately and impressively personal, in that the Lord tells of what was known only to John Whitmer and himself.

The intimately and impressively personal part is contained in verses 3-6:

3 And I will tell you that which no man knoweth save me and thee alone—
4 For many times you have desired of me to know that which would be of the most worth unto you.
5 Behold, blessed are you for this thing, and for speaking my words which I have given you according to my commandments.
6 And now, behold, I say unto you, that the thing which will be of the most worth unto you will be to declare repentance unto this people, that you may bring souls unto me, that you may rest with them in the kingdom of my Father. Amen.

Read on its own, that does indeed seem intimately and impressively personal. After all, the Lord is speaking of things that only He and John Whitmer know. But then a strange thing happens. The same revelation is given in section 16 verbatim except for the substitution of "Peter" for "John" Whitmer. The same wording about telling Peter "that which no man knoweth save" the Lord and Peter alone is given.

Can someone explain this to me? Is this suggesting that Peter and John both wanted to know the same thing, and therefore only the Lord knew that? Can identical revelations be intimately and impressively personal?

The psychologically unstable don't realise that they repeat themselves.