Revelation

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honorentheos
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Revelation

Post by honorentheos »

D&C Section 76 was given as revelation to not only Joseph Smith but also Sidney Rigdon. The vision also occurred in the presence of other members of the church as described by Philo Dibble.

Joseph, in a preface to the first publication of the vision said "From sundry revelations which had been received, it was apparent that many important points touching the salvation of man, had been taken from the Bible, or lost before it was compiled. It appeared self-evident from what truths were left, that if God rewarded every one according to the deeds done in the body the term ‘Heaven,’ as intended for the Saints’ eternal home must include more kingdoms than one. Accordingly, on the 16th of February, 1832, while translating St. John’s Gospel, myself and Elder Rigdon saw the following vision: (Then follows what is now Section 76 of the D&C)

Of note in this vision, the two men describe seeing Christ on the right hand of God the Father, hearing a voice declaring Christ to be the Only Begotten of the Father, and offer their famous testimony - "He lives!" Also in this section is the foundation of Mormon afterlife beliefs related to the three degrees of glory, greater explainations of the origin and role of Satan, and a description of Satan's fate.

But I think it's interesting to read the following description by Philo Dibble of the revelatory process, then go back and read Section 76.

First, Philo Dibble -
"The vision which is recorded in the Book of Doctrine and Covenants was given at the house of 'Father Johnson’s in Hiram, Ohio; and during the time that Joseph and Sidney were in the spirit and the heavens open, there were other men in the room, perhaps twelve, among whom I was one during part of the time--probably two-thirds of the time. I saw the glory and felt the power, but did not see the vision.

Joseph would, at intervals, say: ‘What do I see?’ as one might say while looking out the window and beholding what all in the room could not see. Then he would relate what he had seen or what he was looking at. Then Sidney replied, ‘I see the same.’ Presently Sidney would say ‘what do I see?’ and would repeat what he had seen or was seeing, and Joseph would reply, ‘I see the same.’ This manner of conversation was repeated at short intervals to the end of the vision, and during the whole time not a word was spoken by any other person. Not a sound nor motion made by anyone but Joseph and Sidney, and it seemed to me that they never moved a joint or limb during the time I was there, which I think was over an hour, and to the end of the vision.
Sarah Reynolds later shared this additional information from Bro. Dibble -
Brother Dibble stated to me that the Prophet Joseph told him in connection with the others who were present in Father Johnson’s home at the time the Vision was given to the Prophet Joseph and Sidney Rigdon, that (the Prophet speaking): ‘My whole body was full of light and I could even see out at the ends of my fingers and toes.
With this in mind, it's interesting to read Section 76 and realize how much it reads like an edited, almost journalistic account of what occurred on that occasion. In fact, many verses seem to be worded in such a way as to be addressed to those who might have wondered why they were not privy to the revelation though present at the time.

More than anything, this account seems so obviously fraudulent that it appears almost like a very young child's birthday party trick. I have a very hard time imagining a group of 12 men seeing this and not being scandalized by the claims of what was being seen and how it was presented.
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