What Are the Expectations for Prophets When They Write and Speak for God?

             My Come, Follow Me studies took me to Doctrine and Covenants 67-70. The Prophet Joseph Smith received more than sixty revelations from the Lord by the fall of 1831. The decision was made to compile and publish the revelations to make them more accessible to members of the Church of Jesus Christ.

A conference was held on November 1-2, 1831, where some priesthood leaders discussed how to publish them. They decided to make one volume and title it the Book of Commandments. They first considered publishing 10,000 copies but later reduced the number of copies to 3,000. The Doctrine and Covenants Student Manual had the following information.

The Prophet intended to include in the Book of Commandments a written testimony from the elders declaring the truthfulness of the revelations in the same manner the Three Witnesses and the Eight Witnesses had testified of the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon. At one point in the conference, Joseph asked the elders “what testimony they were willing to attach to these commandments [revelations] which should shortly be sent to the world” (in The Joseph Smith Papers, Documents, Volume 2: July 1831-January 1833, ed. Matthew C. Godrey and others [2013], 97). Several of the brethren “arose and said that they were willing to testify to the world that they knew that [the revelations] were of the Lord” (in The Joseph Smith Papers, Documents, Volume 2: July 1831-January 1833, 97). However, some of the elders had not received such a spiritual conviction, and they hesitated to testify that the revelations were given by inspiration from God.

            Sometime during this conference, the Lord revealed the information that is now Section 1 of the Doctrine and Covenants. This section is known as the Lord’s preface to the doctrines, covenants, and commandments given in this dispensation. The Lord explained how revelation is given.

Behold, I am God and have spoken it; these commandments are of me, and were given unto my servants in their weakness, after the manner of their language, that they might come to understanding. (Doctrine and Covenants 1:24)

After the revelation was given, some of the elders questioned the language used in the revelations given to the Prophet because of the imperfections in language and composition. Even though the Prophet Joseph Smith lacked formal education and was not eloquent in speaking or writing, the Lord revealed truth to him and allowed him to express it “after the manner of [his] language” (Doctrine and Covenants 1:24). In response to the concerns of the brethren, the Prophet Joseph Smith received the revelation recorded in Doctrine and Covenants 67.

5 Your eyes have been upon my servant Joseph Smith, Jun., and his language you have known, and his imperfections you have known; and you have sought in your hearts knowledge that you might express beyond his language; this you also know.

6 Now, seek ye out of the Book of Commandments, even the least that is among them, and appoint him that is the most wise among you;

7 Or, if there be any among you that shall make one like unto it, then ye are justified in saying that ye do not know that they are true;

8 But if ye cannot make one like unto it, ye are under condemnation if ye do not bear record that they are true.

9 For ye know that there is no unrighteousness in them, and that which is righteous cometh down from above, from the Father of lights.

            The Lord challenged those men who thought that they could express themselves with more eloquence that the Prophet to appoint the wisest man among them. This man was to select the least revelation and write one “like unto it” (Doctrine and Covenants 67:6). William E. McLellin was a former schoolteacher, so he accepted the challenge. Joseph Smith described the efforts of McLellin to write a revelation as follows.

[William] E. McLellin … endeavored to write a [revelation] like unto one of the least of the Lord’s, but failed; it was an awful responsibility to write in the name of the Lord. The elders, and all present, that witnessed this vain attempt of a man to imitate the language of Jesus Christ, renewed their faith in the fulness of the gospel and in the truth of the commandments and revelations which the lord had given to the church through my instrumentality; and the elders signified a willingness to bear testimony of their truth to all the world” (in Manuscript History of the Church, vol. A-1, page 162, josephsmithpapers.org).

            In Doctrine and Covenants 67:9, the Lord bore testimony to the men that the revelations came “down from above.” He told them that they were to bear record that the revelations were true or they would be under condemnation (see Doctrine and Covenants 67:8). After McLellin failed in his attempt to write a revelation, the brethren signed a statement bearing testimony of the revelations. This testimony with the names of the members of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles in 1835 is included in the introduction of the more recent editions of the Doctrine and Covenants.