Uncanonized Revelations
Author: Kent P. Jackson
Date: 2024-08-02T01:22:59+00:00
Keywords: review;Joseph Smith;revelation;canon;Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints;LDS;Mormonism
Description: Review of Stephen O. Smoot and Brian C. Passantino, eds., Joseph Smith’s Uncanonized Revelations (Provo, UT: Religious Studies Center; Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 2024). 184 pages, $24.99 (hardcover). Abstract: In an important new volume, we now have easy access to revelations to the Prophet Joseph Smith that were not included in the Doctrine and Covenants.
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Uncanonized Revelations

Kent P. Jackson

Review of Stephen O. Smoot and Brian C. Passantino, eds., Joseph Smith’s Uncanonized Revelations (Provo, UT: Religious Studies Center; Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 2024). 184 pages, $24.99 (hardcover).

Abstract: In an important new volume, we now have easy access to revelations received by the Prophet Joseph Smith that were not included in the Doctrine and Covenants.

In November 1831, while the early latter-day revelations were being prepared for eventual publication in the Book of Commandments, Joseph Smith invited Church leaders attending a conference to express their collective testimony about the revelations.1 They wrote, in part,

We the undersigners feel willing to bear testimony to all the world of mankind to every creature upon all the face of all the Earth upon the Islands of the Sea that god hath born record to our souls through the Holy Ghost shed forth upon us that these commandments are given by inspiration of God & are profitable for all men & are verily true.2

In August 1835, when the Doctrine and Covenants was being prepared for publication, the Quorum of Twelve Apostles issued a testimony about the revelations it contained, a testimony that was published in the book. It included these words:

The testimony of the witnesses to the book of the Lord’s commandments, which he gave to his church through Joseph Smith, jr. who was appointed by the voice of the church for this purpose: we therefore feel willing to bear testimony to all the world of mankind, to every creature upon the face of all the earth, and upon the islands of the sea, that the Lord has borne record to our souls, through the Holy Ghost shed forth upon us, that these commandments were given by inspiration of God, and are profitable for all men, and are verily true. We give this testimony unto the world, the Lord being our helper.3

The testimony of the Twelve was then followed by the testimony of the Seventy, who “accepted and acknowledged it as the doctrine and covenants of their faith,” and then in turn by the two bishoprics, the traveling elders, the priests, the teachers, the deacons, and then “the whole congregation, . . . the several authorities, and the general assembly.”4

These efforts can be seen as the beginnings of the process of canonization in the Church. The word canon—from Latin, which got it from the Greek word meaning rule or measuring stick, which got it from the word for reed or reed length in Semitic languages—implies a rule, ruler, or standard against which other things are measured. Regarding sacred writings, canonization is the formal acceptance by a constituted body of Church members, representing the whole Church, of a text as scripture—as authoritative and binding, as a “standard work.” The Bible and the Book of Mormon apparently didn’t need to be canonized, because they had already been designated by God as scripture (1 Nephi 13:20–25; Doctrine and Covenants 17:6; 20:8–11; 33:16).

In preparation for the printing of the Book of Commandments and, later, the Doctrine and Covenants, Joseph Smith and his associates went through the Prophet’s recorded revelations and selected those that would be included in the publications. Revelation Books 1 and 2, the volumes containing the official manuscript transcriptions of the divine communications, show that some revelations that had been received were crossed out and designated to not be included in the published collections.

BYU’s Religious Studies Center recently published a collection of those uncanonized revelations, Joseph Smith’s Uncanonized Revelations, edited by Stephen O. Smoot and Brian C. Passantino. It is an important volume and is nicely edited and nicely produced.

Latter-day Saints observe and acknowledge divine revelation in many manifestations, not only in our standard works. But we reserve the idea of canon for only very special texts. The inspired writings and sermons of Church leaders, however important they may be, are not included among our standard works. Smoot and Passantino chose to limit their volume to texts in which the Lord is the speaker either indirectly or directly, like the revelations we have in the Doctrine and Covenants. Thus, they did not include Joseph Smith’s sermons and writings, which are arguably as fundamental to the Restoration as many scriptures, because they are not in the voice of God. This is not a defect in their book but a wise setting of its parameters.

When we read the divine communications in Uncanonized Revelations, we see that despite their noncanonical status, most of them still have significant historical and spiritual value. They are revelations, after all, and though they address specific needs of their own time and not necessarily of ours, they often speak to us just as the canonized revelations do. For this reason, this new publication is a welcome addition to Church literature.

Several of the revelations are short, such as this one from 1835: “The word of the Lord came unto me saying that President William W. Phelps and President John Whitmer are under condemnation before the Lord for their iniquities” (p. 78). Somewhat longer is this one from 1837: “Verily, thus saith the Lord unto you my servant Joseph Smith Jr.—my servants John Whitmer and William W. Phelps have done those things which are not pleasing in my sight. Therefore, if they repent not, they shall be removed out of their places. Amen” (p. 94).

The editors provide background information for each of the revelations, well explained and well annotated. In some cases, the circumstances that led to the revelations are not fully understood. And in virtually no case can we say with certainty why a revelation was not included in the Doctrine and Covenants. By the time the Doctrine and Covenants was printed, some of the revelations were perhaps deemed less relevant than they were when originally given. Some may have been superseded by later revelation, or some may have been rendered unnecessary because of repentance or other changing circumstances. In addition, some came after the publication of the Doctrine and Covenants in 1835, and later compilers chose not to add them in subsequent editions.

One interesting revelation occurred in early 1833. Frederick G. Williams wanted to know what he should do that would be of “the most worth” to him. The Lord’s answer was:

Now I say unto you—my servant Joseph Smith Jr. is called to do a great work and hath need that he may do the work of translation for the salvation of souls. Verily, verily, I say unto you, thou art called to be a counselor and scribe unto my servant Joseph. (p. 58)

Williams was now being called to the First Presidency, and he was to continue as scribe on the Bible translation, on which he had labored since the previous summer. This revelation is significant because in it the Lord designates the Prophet’s translation of the Bible as a work “for the salvation of souls,” and Williams’s scribing for it would be among things that would be of most worth to him.

Another important revelation occurred in 1838, clarifying the role of the First Presidency to preside over all the units of the Church:

Can any branch of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints be considered a stake of Zion until they have acknowledged the authority of the First Presidency, by a vote of said Church? Thus saith the Lord—verily, I say unto you, nay. How then? Answer: no stake shall be appointed except by the First Presidency, and this presidency be acknowledged by the voice of the same; otherwise, it shall not be counted as a stake of Zion. And again, except it be dedicated by this presidency it cannot be acknowledged as a stake of Zion. For unto this end have I appointed them, in laying the foundation of and establishing my kingdom. (pp. 103–104)

This revelation is a gem, with a message that is fundamental to the operation of the Church of Jesus Christ. It provides a doctrinal foundation for sustaining Church authorities in conferences, and it rules out any legitimacy for schismatic movements, providing a safeguard against apostasy.

Readers will identify their own favorites in the collection of uncanonized revelations, and perhaps they’ll find some that they wish were included in the Doctrine and Covenants. But more than anything else, they’ll be reminded that God has been at work in his Church since its founding, often in the small details.

Kent P. Jackson retired in June 2017 as a professor of ancient scripture at Brigham Young University, where he had taught since 1980. He has a BA in Ancient Studies from BYU and MA and PhD degrees in Ancient Near Eastern studies from the University of Michigan. His research interests include the Near East and the intersection of the Latter-day Saint faith and the Bible. He has authored or edited From Apostasy to Restoration; The Restored Gospel and the Book of Genesis; Joseph Smith’s Translation of the Bible: The Joseph Smith Translation and the King James Translation in Parallel Columns; and Understanding Joseph Smith’s Translation of the Bible. Jackson is a former associate dean of religion and former associate director of the Brigham Young University Jerusalem Center for Near Eastern Studies.

1. 1 . Minutes, 1–2 Nov. 1831, Joseph Smith Papers, josephsmithpapers.org
/paper-summary/minutes-1-2-november-1831/1.

2. 2 . Testimony, circa 2 November 1831, p. 121, Joseph Smith Papers, josephsmith
papers.org/paper-summary/testimony-circa-2-november-1831/1.

3. 3 . Doctrine and Covenants of the Church of the Latter Day Saints (Kirtland, OH: F. G. Williams, 1835), 256–57, josephsmithpapers.org/paper-summary
/doctrine-and-covenants-1835/264.

4. 4 . Doctrine and Covenants of the Church of the Latter Day Saints, 256–57,