On February 16, 1832, Joseph Smith and Sidney Rigdon were working on the Prophet’s “translation” of the Bible. This wasn’t a translation in a linguistic sense, where someone takes a text from one language and presents it in another. No, this was a project about seeking out meanings and insights that had been lost over hundreds of years of Christian thought and practice. Smith sought to expand upon what he had learned as an American Christian by increasing his spiritual knowledge through a concentrated reading of the Bible, clarifying and expanding the Old and New Testaments from 1830-1833.

Part of the Prophet’s translation process included asking questions—what does this verse mean? What else did the Lord have to tell him about figures like Melchizedek and Abraham? On February 16, 1832, Smith and Rigdon sought clarification on the text of John 5:29, where Jesus Christ speaks on the resurrection saying that those who “have done good” would receive the resurrection of life,” and those who had done evil, would reap “the resurrection of damnation.” As the Prophet and his scribe, Sidney Rigdon, pondered what the two resurrections might mean, they beheld a vision of what awaited humankind after death, what has been canonized by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints as Doctrine and Covenants Section 76, or what contemporary Saints called “The Vision.”

This Vision presented new doctrines and understandings. And introduced new vocabulary terms into the Latter-day Saint lexicon. Words like Celestial, Terrestrial, and Telestial kingdoms and sons of perdition. Even familiar words like “hell” seemed to take on new meaning for Joseph Smith and members of, what was then known as, “The Church of Christ.” The Joseph Smith Papers Project found the first copy of section 76 was written down in July 1832, some four months after Smith and Rigdon’s original experience but was circulated quickly after that. Matthew McBride, in his essay on “The Vision” in the church’s Revelations and Contexts series, available on the gospel library app, found that some Saints found difficulty in understanding the new doctrines because it was so different from what they had been taught growing up as Christians in North America and Europe. Brigham Young for instance recalled that it was a great trial to many. Young himself had difficulty accepting the idea. He said, “My traditions were such, that when the Vision came first to me, it was directly contrary and opposed to my former education. I said, ‘Wait a little.’ I did not reject it, but I could not understand it.” He had to quote “think and pray and read and think” until he knew and fully understood it for himself. Others embraced it right away. For instance, Wilford Woodroof recalled, “When I read the vision … it enlightened my mind and gave me great joy. It appeared to me that the God who revealed that principle unto man was wise, just, and true. Possessed both the best of attributes, and good sense, and knowledge. I felt He was more consistent with both love, mercy, justice, and judgment; and I felt to love the Lord more than ever before in my life.” Joseph Smith’s 1838 history proudly spoke of section 76, “Nothing could be more pleasing to the Saint than the light that burst upon the world through the forgoing vision. The sublimity of the ideas; the purity of the language; the scope for action; the continued duration for completion, in order that the heirs of salvation may confess the Lord and bow the knee; the rewards for faithfulness, and the punishments for sins, are so much beyond the narrow-mindedness of men, that every honest man is constrained to exclaim: ‘It came from God.’”

My name is Joseph Stuart, I’m the public communications specialist at the Neal A. Maxwell Institute for religious scholarship at Brigham Young University. Janiece Johnson, is a Willes Center Research Associate at the Institute. Today we will be discussing the block of reading from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints’ “Come, Follow Me” curriculum. We aren’t here to present a lesson, but rather to hit on a few key themes from the scripture block that we believe will help fulfill the Maxwell Institute’s mission to inspire and fortify Latter-day Saints in their testimonies of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ and engage the world of religious ideas.”

 

Joseph Stuart: Now Janiece, something that caught your eye was the idea of revelation as process. Could you tell us more about that?

 

Janiece Johnson: I love looking at the beginning of section 76. We start off with this kind of beautiful flower preamble. And then in verse 5 the Lord starts speaking. And in verse 7 the Lord says, I will “reveal all bmysteries, yea, all the hidden mysteries of my kingdom…” And a mystery is really anything that is only known by revelation. We get to see some of their process. In verse 10, “For by my Spirit will I enlighten them, and by my power will I make known unto them the dsecrets of my will.” And so in verse 11 we’ve got this description, “Joseph Smith, Jun., and Sidney Rigdon, being ain the Spirit on the sixteenth day of February.” We get specifics. “By the power of the Spirit our eyes were opened and our understandings were enlightened, so as to see and understand the things of God.” So they were discussing the 29^th verse of the 5^th chapter of John, which was given to us as follows. And they marveled, what we have in verse 18, that an understanding of what the verse meant was given to them by the spirit. But they didn’t just stop there, and I think that that is a critical point. “While we meditated upon these things.” Latter-day Saints aren’t necessarily prone to mediation as a practice, and I think that it is something that could be a very rich practice as Latter-day Saints. “While we meditated upon these things the Lord touched the eyes of understanding.” I love that imagery. “And they were opened, and the glory of the Lord shown round about.” They got the answer to their question initially but only when they meditated upon that answer, were they enabled to see.

 

Joseph Stuart: I also love that they were talking to each other about things. This is something in my life that often, what I would describe as a prompting or revelation has come to me through speaking to someone about the things that I am concerned with. Whether it was a mission companion, or a friend or a parent, or just a trusted loved one. I find often that I find the answers to my prayers, although not in such an unusual or spectacular fashion as section 76, in discussing things with others, in hearing what they have to say. I also love in verses 16-24 Joseph Smith is very matter-of-fact in the Doctrine and Covenants where he describes what he sees. This is something that actually reminds me of, in the gold plates he does not say that they were golden plates. He said that they had the appearance of gold. He always wants to be as accurate as possible when describing things. And I love in verse 22 he and Sidney Rigdon say, “And now, after the many testimonies which have been given of him, this is the atestimony, last of all, which we give of him: That he lives! For we asaw him, even on the bright hand of cGod; and we heard the voice bearing record that he is the dOnly Begotten of the Father. That by ahim, and through him, and of him, the bworlds are and were created, and the cinhabitants thereof are begotten dsons and daughters unto God.” And that is the whole ball game to me. There are so many marvelous things in this revelation and yet the entire point is that we have Heavenly parents, we have a Savior, they created a world for us, and they desperately want us to return to live with them. As it says in verse 40, “And this is the agospel, the glad btidings, which the voice out of the heavens bore record unto us—That he came into the world, even Jesus, to be crucified for the world, and to bear the sins of the world, and to sanctify the world, and to cleanse it from all unrighteousness; That through him all might be saved…” Not through him some might be saved, or most might be saved, but all might be saved “…whom the Father had put into his power and made by him.” There are so many interesting details in the first vision. There are many characteristics of those who inherit each kingdom. The terrestrial, celestial and the telestial as well as those in outer darkness. But I think sometimes we focus on, “oh no, am I going to the telestial kingdom?”…rather than, “does the atonement of Jesus Christ give me the opportunity to get where I want to go?”

Janiece Johnson: Likewise, I think that sometimes we even use, we read through these sections, the descriptions of those who belong in each kingdom, and we automatically start classifying people we know and implicitly judging them. I don’t believe that that was the point of this revelation, for us to weaponize it against other people. I think we need to consider our relationship with Christ where we are and where we need to go; what we can do to improve that. If we are drawn to judging other people, in the immortal words of Elder Uchtdorf, “Stop it!” And I think that he is very attune to perhaps sometimes when we are in the mode of judging other people it’s really more about what we are feeling ourselves. He says, “When we feel hurt, angry or envious it’s quite easy to judge people.” This topic could actually be taught in a two-word sermon. “When it comes to hating, gossiping, ignoring, ridiculing, holding judgments, or wanting to cause harm please apply the following: Stop it!” We have to stop judging others and replace judgmental thoughts and feelings with a heart full of love for God and his children. God is our Father. We are his children. We are all brothers and sisters.

 

Joseph Stuart: I would only add that this is essential that we extend that same charity that we extend to others to oursevles. Something that I find difficult, and often when I find myself judging myself it will be, “am I doing enough, am I measuring up?” When we are charitable with ourselves that is when we have the opportunity to see ourselves as our Heavenly parents see us. When we are willing to give the opportunity to neighbors or to our family members, or those in our ward the benefit of the doubt, I fear that we often don’t often do it for ourselves. I think about worth of souls being great in the sight of God and how sometimes we say, “well their soul is great in the sight of God but not mine.” I think, not to put words in president Uchtdorf’s mouth, but it is essential that we also think about offering ourselves the same grace and the same patience that we extend to others, recognizing not who we are now, but who as our Heavenly parent’s children we can become through the atonement of Jesus Christ.”

 

Janiece Johnson: That’s beautiful, Joey. I love that. And I think that as we look at these characteristics of those who receive celestial glory grace is woven through their characteristics. This is not something that we are just left alone to figure out to just do this on our own. It is the grace of Christ that enables us to receive it. And one of the things that I think is critical as we are looking at this text but really all throughout scripture as we think about covenants that we’ve made the word “receive” comes in really critical places. Just because a gift is offered doesn’t mean we actually take it. And we always get the choice to take it; to receive it. Christ has performed this miraculous atonement and offered all of us the possibility, but we have to choose to take it. And those who receive Celestial glory are those who receive the testimony of Jesus. Who believed that he would, and he could save us. That he offered us grace, that free gift. We have to just choose to receive it.

 

Joseph Stuart: I that that is something that can be difficult though. And not to harp on the idea that we need to be kind to ourselves, but for instance, I am about to have to move and I’ll think “oh I don’t want to bother anyone. I don’t want to ask anyone to help me to move.” Regardless of the fact that I have helped others move and will continue to help others move. It is important to not only give to others, but to receive what others have given to us.

 

Janiece Johnson: Let’s go back to 51, because I think that is the perfect connection here: “They are they who received the testimony of Jesus, and believed on his name and were baptized after the manner of his burial, being buried in the water in his name, and this according to the commandment which he has given. That by keeping the commandments they might be washed and cleansed from all their sins…” Now what commandment principally enables us to be washed and cleansed from our sins? Baptism initially, but then repentance keeps us in the covenant.  I think sometimes we think about the Celestial kingdom, and we think of this long laundry list of all the things that we have to do to qualify. But primarily we enter the covenant, and we stay in the covenant by repenting. This is the primary task that we have and then receive the Holy Spirit by the laying on of hands of him who is ordained and sealed unto this power. Again, we receive that gift of the Holy Ghost, and then we act on it.

Joseph Stuart: Absolutely! And I can’t think of a more beautiful principle in thinking about what Latter-day Saints share with other Christians than the belief that we must accept Jesus Christ and His Atonement into our lives, to receive His grace, and to become closer to Him. Now, something that I find interesting about section 76 is that there’s a lot going on in American religion, as well as world religion, about the place of heaven or the afterlife. Now, this is unsurprising most of us think about where we would like to go after we die, and the state of our relationships afterwards. There was a Swedish mystic named Emanuel Swedenborg, who also spoke about different degrees of glory in his theological writings. And in an article that JB Haws, a friend of the Institute and the professor of church history and doctrine at Brigham Young University, founded an article that he entitled Joseph Smith, Emanuel Swedenborg, and Section 76: the Importance of the Bible and Latter-day Saint Revelation; why Latter-day Saints should embrace that others found shows as well. Now Swedenborg doesn’t speak to the specificity or the exact details that Joseph Smith and Sidney Rigdon share in Section 76, but nevertheless, there are certainly similarities. And Haws asks his readers to think about the fact that the Lord has extended spiritual knowledge to others of all religious traditions are those of no religious tradition, because he loves and cares about his children, no matter where they are. It’s also important to keep in mind that Joseph Smith was familiar with Emanuel Swedenborg. And that at least one convert to early Mormonism spoke with Joseph Smith, about Swedenborg teachings. It’s also important to remember that Joseph Smith, and Emanuel Swedenborg, were reading the same Bible. So, some folks may say, oh, no, how did they arrive at thinking about these things? The answer comes because ideas about bodies Telestial, Terrestrial and Celestial come in first Corinthians chapter 15. When you’re reading the same things, some folks will often be asking questions about the same things. And we receive light, and knowledge based on what we have and where we are. All that is to say Latter-day Saints do not have a monopoly on truth. It is important for us to realize that others have received truth as well.

Janiece Johnson: And I think that Paul talking about being caught up to the third heaven is another example here. This provokes the mind of believing people all over the world, to seek out God and to seek out more truth. And that is a glorious thing.

Joseph Stuart: Yeah, I think about President Hinckley’s injunction to us that when we are extending the gospel to others, we’re asking them to add to what they already have, rather than take away from the goodness they have already received. I also want to speak to an idea in American religious history, but also global Christian history, about what is called Universalism. Now Universalism is the idea that God will save each and every person on the earth regardless of what they have done, or who they are or where they have lived, things of that nature. And it is important to remember that Joseph Smith Sr., the prophet’s father, and his grandfather, Asael Smith, were Universalist. They believed that God would save everyone regardless of what had happened to them in life or what they had performed. But there was also a strain of Calvinism based on the teachings of John Calvin, that God would save whom he would save, and it was not up to humans to determine who would receive salvation. And this is part of what’s interesting in thinking about this. You have Joseph Smith’s father and grandfather saying “everyone is saved, you don’t have a choice whether you are saved or not.” And you have Calvinists, on the other hand, saying, “You have no choice whether you are saved. You can only do your best to have confirmation for yourself that you are saved.” And so, Joseph Smith, comes down the middle and says, “No choice is essential”, and is distinctive to Latte-day Saint teachings, but also reflects Joseph Smith’s interest in Methodism. The idea that choice and choosing to come to Jesus Christ, to continue to build faith and repent, and in a Latte-day Saint context and turn to covenants and continue to keep them, to stay on the covenant path, is essential to the gospel plan. Now there are some folks, including early Latter-day Saints who thought, “why on earth should everybody be saved, if everyone behaves differently or does not believe?” In fact, Joseph Young Brigham’s brother said, “I could not believe the vision at first. Why was the Lord going to save everybody?” I actually think about the parable of the talents here, which is that it doesn’t matter when you come in. What matters is entering into the covenant and receiving the grace that Christ has offered to each of us.

Janiece Johnson: And I think that is perfectly encapsulated in verse 69. “These are they who are just women and men made perfect through Jesus, the Mediator of the New Covenant, who wrought out of this perfect atonement through the shedding of His own blood.” President Irene said “these are they who choose to be lifted by Him.” We choose! And that absolute reliance on Christ is essential. There’s one other thing that I’ve been thinking about: the idea of overcoming, because in this list of characteristics of Celestial glory, we have in verse 53, “those who overcame by faith.” And I think this goes along with the Prophet Alma teaching us that Christ has felt all of our pains, afflictions and temptations. And that’s how we overcome in mortality. Some of those pains, afflictions and temptations will ultimately kill us. In mortality we can’t overcome all things. But later in verse 60, it says “they shall overcome all things.” At this later point, we will be able to ultimately overcome all. In mortality we overcome through faith in Christ. And some of those things will end our mortal life. But, ultimately, we will be able to overcome all things through Christ. And that is the fate of those, just men and women who choose Christ.

Joseph Stuart: Something that I’ve been thinking about is that there is no limit to the grace that Christ offers to us. Grace is not a business model that the Lord uses. It’s a model that every single person always has access to. And something for Latte-day Saints to think about is that with work for the dead, we believe that the power of grace extends beyond mortality, that we will always have the ability to come closer to our Savior, Jesus Christ,

Janiece Johnson: To quote, Elder Uchtdorf again, he says “Salvation cannot be bought with the currency of obedience. It is purchased by the blood of the Son of God.” If we want to return to the presence of the Lord, we need Christ and choosing Christ will lead us there.

Joseph Stuart: I can’t think of a better way for us to close out today than from hearing from Elder Uchtdorf himself.

“Do we understand our indebtedness to Heavenly Father and plead with all our souls for the grace of God? When we kneel to pray is it to replay the greatest hits of our own righteousness? Or is it to confess our faults, plead for God’s mercy and shed tears of gratitude for the amazing plan of redemption. Salvation cannot be bought with a currency of obedience. It is purchased by the blood of the Son of God.”

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