Extra post for Jan 18-24 Knight Family in Church History

Since I am a Knight descendant (along with something like 45K other Mormons), I love to see how this amazing family supported Joseph and Emma and the entire cause of Zion.

There is a new Knight Family Website where you can go to find detailed information on the Knights and their contributions to the early Church.  Thanks to those who got the website up just in time to dovetail our family history with church history study.

For example, the story about Joseph Smith using the Knight wagon to get the gold plates fits perfectly into family scripture study this week. It's found on the new family website under "Knights in the D&C" and even has an easy art project for kids.

Other timely stories include the generosity of Joseph Knight in giving the Smiths food and foolscap paper for the translation of the Book of Mormon, and Newell learning to pray.

Fool's cap watermark giving paper it's name

One of the remaining pages from the original manuscript of the Book of Mormon. Placed inside the cornerstone of the Nauvoo House in 1841 by Joseph Smith. Significant water damage has destroyed the majority of the text, making the printer's manuscript - a copy used by Grandin - the oldest version we have.

After refusing to pray out loud with Joseph Smith and others, Newell left a prayer meeting in April, 1830, and went home. What happened next has been referred to as the 'first miracle' in the new church. Use your discretion to decide if your children are old enough to not be frightened by this story.

Joseph Smith wrote about it and this was printed in the History of the Church (the navy blue volumes taken from JS diaries), Vol. 1, pages 82-84.

"Amongst those who attended our meetings regularly, was Newel Knight, son of Joseph Knight. He and I had many serious conversations on the important subject of man's eternal salvation. We had got into the habit of praying much at our meetings, and Newel had said that he would try and take up his cross, and pray vocally during meeting; but when we again met together, he rather excused himself.

"I tried to prevail upon him, making use of the figure, supposing that he should get into a mud-hole, would he not try to help himself out? And I further said that we were willing now to help him out of the mud-hole. He replied, that provided he had got into a mud-hole through carelessness, he would rather wait and get out himself, than to have others help him; and so he would wait until he could get into the woods by himself, and there he would pray.

"Accordingly, he deferred praying until next morning, when he retired into the woods; where, according to his own account afterwards, he made several attempts to pray, but could scarcely do so, feeling that he had not done his duty, in refusing to pray in the presence of others.

"He began to feel uneasy, and continued to feel worse both in mind and body, until, upon reaching his own house, his appearance was such as to alarm his wife very much. He requested her to go and bring me to him. I went and found him suffering very much in his mind, and his body acted upon in a very strange manner; his visage and limbs distorted and twisted in every shape and appearance possible to imagine; and finally he was caught up off the floor of the apartment, and tossed about most fearfully.

"His situation was soon made known to his neighbors and relatives and in a short time as many as eight or nine grown persons had got together to witness the scene. After he had thus suffered for a time, I succeeded in getting hold of him by the hand, when almost immediately he spoke to me, and with great earnestness requested me to cast the devil out of him, saying that he knew he was in him, and that he also knew that I could cast him out.

"I replied, "If you know that I can, it shall be done," and then almost unconsciously I rebuked the devil, and commanded him in the name of Jesus Christ to depart from him; when immediately Newel spoke out and said that he saw the devil leave him and vanish from his sight.

"This was the first miracle which was done in the Church, or by any member of it; and it was done, not by man, nor by the power of man, but it was done by God, and by the power of godliness; therefore, let the honor and the praise, the dominion and the glory, be ascribed to the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, for ever and ever. Amen.

"This scene was now entirely changed, for as soon as the devil had departed from our friend, his countenance became natural, his distortions of body ceased, and almost immediately the Spirit of the Lord descended upon him, and the visions of eternity were opened to his view.  So soon as consciousness returned, his bodily weakness was such that we were obliged to lay him upon his bed, and wait upon him for some time.  He afterwards related his experience as follows:

"I now began to feel a most pleasing sensation resting on me, and immediately the visions of heaven were opened to my view.  I felt myself attracted upward, and remained for some time enwrapt in contemplation, insomuch that I knew not what was going on in the room. By and by I felt some weight pressing upon my shoulder and the side of my head, which served to recall me to a sense of my situation, and found that the Spirit of the Lord had actually caught me up off the floor, and that my shoulder and head were pressing against the beams.

"All this was witness by many, to their great astonishment and satisfaction.(History of the Church, 1:82-3)"

January 18–24 Doctrine and Covenants 3–5

 

[This print hangs in front entrance hall of our home.  We bought it 35+ years ago at the Springville Art Museum, where we saw the original on display.  Without taking it out of the frame, I cannot tell you the artist or the title.  And a Google search has failed to find either.  If YOU KNOW who drew this - it is done in pastels - please let me know.]

This week you will get my ramblings and random thoughts as I read through these three sections.  Some of the very earliest revelations that Joseph received, and yet great insights.  My notes will be in this typeface: quotes will be in other typefaces.

I love how each of these revelations BUILDS upon the previous one: be sure to read them all, in order from 3 to 4 to 5 at one sitting.

 Doctrine and Covenants 3

Amazing to me that D&C 3, the EARLIEST revelation written down by (or for) Joseph, is severely critical of his mistakes.  Only about 24 years old at the time and living in poverty, Joseph appears to have felt he needed the moral and financial support of the (relatively) wealthy Martin Harris in order to get the Book of Mormon translated and published. And so, he handed over the 117 pages.

At the same time that Martin took the 116 pages, Emma gave birth to Smiths’ firstborn, a son.

“Sophia Lewis reportedly said that she was present at the birth and that the baby was stillborn. Lucy Mack Smith, not present at the birth, wrote that the baby “was very soon snatched from her [Emma’s] arms and borne aloft to the world of spirits.” Although the birth and death of this baby are recorded in JS’s family Bible under the name of “Alvin Smith,” this information was recorded in the Bible decades after the event by someone other than JS or Emma. The baby’s gravestone does not give him a name but reads, “An Infant Son of Joseph and Emma Smith.” “

Headstone : Photo, George Anderson, 1907

The childbirth and loss of the baby almost killed Emma.  It was only 3 weeks later that she encouraged Joseph to go find Martin Harris and the irreplaceable translation she had write down.

D&C 3:2   . . . his paths are straight. . .

Many times in scripture, the straight (or strait) path seems to refer to the path through the Israelite temple taken by the high priest as he carries the blood of the sacrifice from the altar in the courtyard, through the holy place and, through the veil, into the holy of holies on the Day of Atonement.  These three regions of the temple can symbolize the three degrees of glory seen in D&C 76.

Christ walked that path, offering his own blood as the telestial sacrifice and, dying, he entered the terrestrial spirit world, a copy of Eden, where he set the prisoners of death free and organized the work for the dead. Then, Easter morning, after speaking with Mary in the garden, he returned to his celestial home to report to his heavenly parents.

D&C 3:2   . . . and his course is one eternal round.

And so is ours.  With Christ, we were first spirits in the celestial world with our heavenly parents.  At birth, we take upon ourselves physical bodies, which spend the first years in terrestrial innocence, not being held responsible for sin.  At baptism, we are born again into a telestial world where we come to know – and learn to choose – good over evil.

At death, we reverse the path, following Christ back home, completing the eternal round.

D&C 3:6  And behold, how oft you have transgressed the commandments and the laws of God, and have gone on in the persuasions of men.

7 For, behold, you should not have feared man more than God. Although men set at naught the counsels of God, and despise his words—

8 Yet you should have been faithful; and he would have extended his arm and supported you against all the fiery darts of the adversary; and he would have been with you in every time of trouble.

 

Words for all of us.

 

D&C 3 : 9 Behold, thou art [insert your own name here] and thou wast chosen to do the work of the Lord, but because of transgression, if thou art not aware thou wilt fall.

10 But remember, God is merciful; therefore, repent of that which thou hast done which is contrary to the commandment which I gave you, and thou art still chosen, and art again called to the work;

11 Except thou do this, thou shalt be delivered up and become as other men, and have no more gift.

 

Just like Joseph Smith, we have each been chosen to come to earth in this day and accomplish a great work as a part of God’s kingdom on earth.  Refer to your patriarchal blessing for detail of your own responsibilities. 

 

And, at times, we each fail to live up to our callings.

 

When that happens, remember verse 10: God is merciful.  Just repent and get back on the path you were chosen to follow.  The only alternative is to give up on the work we are called to do, give up on our covenants, give up on one another, give up on the dream and become like everyone else. 

 

D&C 3 : 19  . . . that the promises of the Lord might be fulfilled, which he made to his people;

20 And that [all humanity] might come to the knowledge of their fathers, and that they might know the promises of the Lord, and that they may believe the gospel and rely upon the merits of Jesus Christ, and be glorified through faith in his name, and that through their repentance they might be saved. Amen.

 

The reason YOU were called to do God’s work was that His promises might be fulfilled:  That ALL people might hear and hearken and be saved by their merciful Savior. 

 

D&C 76: 40 And this is the gospel, the glad tidings, which the voice out of the heavens bore record unto us—

41 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;

42 That through him all might be saved whom the Father had put into his power and made by him;

43 Who glorifies the Father, and saves all the works of his hands, except those sons of perdition who deny the Son after the Father has revealed him.

44 Wherefore, he saves all . . . .

 

 Doctrine and Covenants 4

Six months after receiving D&C 3, and after recovering the plates and Urim &Thummim which had been taken because Joseph disregarded God’s counsel, Joseph Knight, Senior, felt prompted to help.  [NOTE: the Knights were later the third family to join the church and are among my ancestors]. 

“ Joseph Knight Sr., another early supporter of JS, wrote that Joseph Sr. and Samuel Smith stopped at his home in Colesville, New York, in January 1829 before going on to visit JS and Emma Smith. “I told him [Joseph Smith Sr.] they had traviled far enough,” Knight wrote, “[and] I would go with my sley and take them Down [to Harmony] to morrow[.] I went Down and found them well and the[y] were glad to see us[.] we conversed about many things. in the morning I gave the old man a half a Dollar and Joseph a little money to Buoy [buy] paper to translate.” JS had apparently not translated since June 1828, and Knight’s provision of paper may have allowed him to resume translation. Within weeks of Knight’s visit, JS began translating again, with Emma, Samuel, and Martin Harris each acting briefly as scribe.” [from Joseph Smith’s Revelations: A Doctrine and Covenants Study Companion from the Joseph Smith Papers  https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/church-historians-press/jsp-revelations/dc-004-1829_02_01_005?lang=eng  ]

 

And this brings us to D&C 4 : words of counsel, originally to Joseph Smith’s father, but, also to all who are called to the work.

 

D&C 4: 1 Now behold, a marvelous work is about to come forth among the children of men.

2 Therefore, O ye that embark in the service of God, see that ye serve him with all your heart, might, mind and strength, that ye may stand blameless before God at the last day.

3 Therefore, if ye have desires to serve God ye are called to the work;

4 For behold the field is white already to harvest; and lo, he that thrusteth in his sickle with his might, the same layeth up in store that he perisheth not, but bringeth salvation to his soul;

5 And faith, hope, charity and love, with an eye single to the glory of God, qualify him for the work.

6 Remember faith, virtue ,knowledge, temperance, patience, brotherly kindness, godliness, charity, humility, diligence.

7 Ask, and ye shall receive; knock, and it shall be opened unto you. Amen.

 

We do not know how extensive J.Smith, Snr.’s missionary efforts were, but we do know that after returning home from his visit with his son and the reception of this revelation, Father Smith finally began to tell Oliver Cowdery about his son’s visions and the project of translating the gold plates.  This one convert changed everything : the translation resumed and was finished in only a couple of months.

 

Harvesting in France, James Harwood

Doctrine and Covenants 5

Great blessings are offered to those who will hear the words of dedicated servants:

 

D&C 5: 16 And behold, whosoever believeth on my words, them will I visit with the manifestation of my Spirit; and they shall be born of me, even of water and of the Spirit.

CFM Week 3 : D&C 2 : Elijah, Moses, Keys and Turning Hearts

 

Moses, Elias, and Elijah Appear in the Kirtland Temple, by Gary E. Smith

Doctrine and Covenants SECTION 2

 [NOTE : this is the earliest revelation included as a Section in the D&C.]

 An extract from Joseph Smith’s history relating the words of the angel Moroni to Joseph Smith the Prophet, while in the house of the Prophet’s father at Manchester, New York, on the evening of September 21, 1823. Moroni was the last of a long line of historians who had made the record that is now before the world as the Book of Mormon. (Compare Malachi 4:5–6; also sections 27:9; 110:13–16; and 128:18.)

 1, Elijah is to reveal the priesthood; 2–3, The promises of the fathers are planted in the hearts of the children.

 1 Behold, I will reveal unto you the Priesthood, by the hand of Elijah the prophet, before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord.

 2 And he shall plant in the hearts of the children the promises made to the fathers, and the hearts of the children shall turn to their fathers.

 3 If it were not so, the whole earth would be utterly wasted at his coming.

 

Next, read D&C 27:9

 D&C 27:9 And also Elijah, unto whom I have committed the keys of the power of turning the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the hearts of the children to the fathers, that the whole earth may not be smitten with a curse;

 

Now read D&C 110, where Elijah and Moses return and give the keys to Joseph and Oliver in the new Kirtland Temple.

D&C 110: 11 After this vision closed, the heavens were again opened unto us; and Moses appeared before us, and committed unto us the keys of the gathering of Israel from the four parts of the earth, and the leading of the ten tribes from the land of the north.

 12 After this, Elias appeared, and committed the dispensation of the gospel of Abraham, saying that in us and our seed all generations after us should be blessed.

 13 After this vision had closed, another great and glorious vision burst upon us; for Elijah the prophet, who was taken to heaven without tasting death, stood before us, and said:

 14 Behold, the time has fully come, which was spoken of by the mouth of Malachi—testifying that he [Elijah] should be sent, before the great and dreadful day of the Lord come—

 15 To turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the children to the fathers, lest the whole earth be smitten with a curse—

16 Therefore, the keys of this dispensation are committed into your hands; and by this ye may know that the great and dreadful day of the Lord is near, even at the doors.

 (I have no idea what is going on in verse 12.)

 So, what is the Biblical background for this?  What are keys, especially the key of sealing?  What does it mean to “turn hearts”?

 Key / Keys come from the Hebrew word patach  [ פָּתַח ] which literally means to OPEN or SHUT.  A key is an opener or a shutter.  Thus, one who has keys can open or shut. 

 This word is used both literally (see Jdg 3:25  :  And they tarried till they were ashamed: and, behold, he opened [patach] not the doors of the parlour; therefore they took a key [mpatach – the m makes the verb into a noun, a thing that opens]), and opened [patach] them: and, behold, their lord was fallen down dead on the earth.)

 -       and metaphorically (see Isaiah 22:20 – 23

Isa 22:20  And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will call my servant Eliakim the son of Hilkiah:

 Isa 22:21  And I will clothe him with thy robe, and strengthen him with thy girdle, and I will commit thy government into his hand: and he shall be a father to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and to the house of Judah.

 Isa 22:22  And the key [mpatach] of the house of David will I lay upon his shoulder; so he shall open [ patach ], and none shall shut; and he shall shut, and none shall open [patach] .

Isa 22:23  And I will fasten him as a nail in a sure place; and he shall be for a glorious throne to his father's house.)

The Rabbis found that there were THREE KEYS that God had, three times when He OPENED or SHUT.

1.    1. The key of pregnancy and childbirth.  Note that God closed wombs or opened wombs.

 Gen 20:18  For the LORD had fast closed up all the wombs of the house of Abimelech, because of Sarah Abraham's wife.

 Gen 29:31 And when the LORD saw that Leah was hated, he opened her womb: but Rachel was barren.

 Gen 30:22  And God remembered Rachel, and God hearkened to her, and opened her womb.

 1Sa 1:6  And her adversary also provoked her [Hannah] sore, for to make her fret, because the LORD had shut up her womb.

 2 Kings 4: 8-17 Elisha blessed the Shumanite woman who gave him food and shelter and she conceived and bore a son.

 Job 3:10  Because it shut not up the doors of my mother's womb, nor hid sorrow from mine eyes.

 

2.    The key of resurrection

 1 Kings 17:17-24 Elijah raises the son of the widow of Zarapath

2 Kings 4: 18-37 Elisha was given this key so that he could revive the Shumenite woman’s dead son

 

3.    The key of famine, sealing the heavens so there would be no rain.

 1 Kings 17: 1-7, 1 Kings 18:1-46 Elijah calls down a famine, angering Ahab and Jezebel and setting up the contest between himself and the priests of Baal on Mt.Carmel.

1 Kings 17: 8-16 Elijah and the widow of Zarepath

 2 Kings 4:38-44 Elisha miraculously provides food for the righteous during a famine.

 Elijah SEALED the heavens during his lifetime.  I Kings 17:1 The chapter heading (probably written by McConkie) uses the term sealing, but the Old Testament doesn't ever use the terms seal / sealed / sealing the way we think of it : joining people together for eternity. 

 Most of the time the word(s) seal, sealed, sealeth  are used in the Old Testament, they refer to a literal impression of a signet ring in wax or clay (or a mark of ownership on the skin in Ezekiel 9:4) CLOSING or LOCKING a jar or book  (1Ki 21:8; Job 38:14).

Elijah called down a famine on the land as a punishment when Ahab and Jezebel were wicked.  As a righteous judge of Israel, Elijah had three options of how to cut off those who had broken their covenants, according to the Law in Leviticus 26:25-26 : war (sword), sickness (pestilence), or famine (broken the staff of your bread).

 See also  2Sa 24:13  So Gad came to David, and told him, and said unto him, Shall seven years of famine come unto thee in thy land? or wilt thou flee three months before thine enemies, while they pursue thee? or that there be three days' pestilence in thy land? 

Here the prophet, Gad, offered David his choice of the three curses for his lack of faith.

[NOTE  that these are 3 of the 4 horsemen of the apocalypse: famine, pestilence and war.  The 4th is death] 

Famine may be the kindest curse, because it gives you the longest time to repent: the other two can kill you in one day.  Thus, Elijah had what the LDS call sealing power : he could open or shut the heavens.  In other words, Elijah had the KEYS to heaven. 

 Mal 4:5  Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD:

 Mal 4:6  And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse.

 In Malachi 4:5-6 said that Elijah would come again and "turn hearts.”  If he is going to come AGAIN and turn hearts, when did he do it the first time?

 Go back to 1 Kings 17 and the contest between Elijah (representing Jehovah) and the priests of Baal. When fire from heaven fell and totally consumed the offering, the altar, the gallons of water and even the dirt, the Israelites fell on their faces and turned back to God.

 1 Kings 18: 37 Hear me, O LORD, hear me, that this people may know that thou art the LORD God, and that thou hast turned [shuv] their heart back again.

The Hebrew word shuv means to turn, to return, to REPENT. Thus, Elijah “turned their hearts” or caused them to REPENT.

The famine ended when King Ahab and the israelites repented (or "turned their hearts"  I Kings 18:37) at Mt Carmel

Thus, I believe that when Malachi said Elijah would again ‘turn hearts,” it meant Elijah would call people to repentance, turn their hearts back to God.

 (Please note that ALL work for the dead - genealogy - is in vain if the spirits of those who died don't REPENT in the spirit world and accept the ordinances in faith).

 Moses gathered Israel.

 Moses and Elijah are the only prophets in the Old Testament who are taken up to heaven without tasting death.  Why?  So they could return to the earth BEFORE the resurrection.  This was necessary so that Moses and Elijah could come to Jesus at the Mt of Transfiguration.  Joseph Smith taught that there they gave their keys (sealing, gathering)  to Peter, James and John who had accompanied Jesus and were witnesses of His transfiguration (Mt. 16:15-19; 17:1-10 [NOTE Elias is simply the Greek for Elijah, like Isaias for Isaiah and Jeremias for Jeremiah] ).

So, who were the logical individuals to REPEAT the MT of Transfiguration - in the Kirtland temple, the mountain of the LORD's house - in the latter-days?

Moses and Elijah.

 

CFM D&C Week 2 First Vision for Adults and Children

I highly recommend ALL the links posted on the ChurchofJesusChrist.org website version of CFM for Individuals and Families: Doctrine and Covenants Week 2.

Remember, you can open up all kinds of documents, videos, podcasts, etc. by clicking on the words "View Now" on the left below the yellow box which says "Learn More" (see image above)  

One option this week is to listen to a series of SIX podcasts about the First Vision.  Interviewees (is that a word?) come from the Church Historian's dept and the Joseph Smith Papers project.

This image (below) from Ross and Guyman-King's "Primary Partners" is one of my favorites.  Print this out small enough that you can cut it out and tape or glue the edge of the finished movable picture into your hardcopy Doctrine and Covenants.  I will post more of these 3-d activities in the next few weeks

Use the links below to print out this child's activity.

Use this link to print out the activity.

Use this link to print out the directions.