BOOK OF THE LORD’S COMMANDMENTS
In 1833, a number of the revelations received by the Prophet Joseph Smith were prepared for publication under the title A Book of Commandments for the Government of the Church of Christ. The Lord continued to communicate with His servants, and an enlarged compilation of revelations was published two years later as the Doctrine and Covenants.
D&C 1 is the Lord’s preface to the book of his commandments, D&C 1:6.
The Lord challenged the wisest person to duplicate the least of his revelations in the Book of Commandments, D&C 67:4–9.
Stewards were appointed to publish the revelations, D&C 70:1–5.” LDS Guide to the Scriptures/Book of Commandments
See how you can help me at the end of this blog
SIGNERS OF THE BOOK OF THE LORD’S COMMANDMENTS
By Michael De Groote Deseret News
“Joseph Smith needed someone to step up and testify of his revelations. Eleven men had testified earlier of the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon. All 11 had seen the plates. Three had seen an angel and heard the voice of God.
But in November of 1831 there was a new need for boldness. Who would put their names and reputations on the line? Who would stand up and let the world know that they knew that a collection of Joseph’s revelations, the Book of Commandments, was true?
For 178 years the names of these testifiers were unknown. Their names were erased from memory. Now, with the publication of the latest volume of the Joseph Smith Papers: “Revelations and Translations: Manuscript Revelation Books,” their names are made known to the world.
It began on Tuesday, Nov. 1, 1831 in Hiram, Ohio when Joseph called a special conference of elders. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was small then, about the size of a large ward. Ten elders, including Joseph, attended the conference to discuss the publication of Joseph Smith’s revelations. They voted to print 10,000 copies and adjourned for the afternoon.
During the break, Joseph received a revelation, God’s own preface to the Book of Commandments: “For verily the voice of the Lord is unto all men, and there is none to escape; and there is no eye that shall not see, neither ear that shall not hear, neither heart that shall not be penetrated” (Doctrine and Covenants 1:2).
When the conference reconvened, Joseph said that since the Lord had given the great blessing of so many revelations, the elders should decide what testimony they were willing to attach to the book. After several present arose and said they were willing to testify to the world, Joseph prepared a statement for the witnesses to sign. The contemporaneous minutes described it as a revelation.
The conference adjourned for the day. And then the trouble began.
“I think they hope for an experience similar to one that the three witnesses experienced: ‘We’ll bear testimony if we can see an angel or see the presence of God,'” said Steven C. Harper, one of the three volume editors for this Joseph Smith Papers volume. “‘Maybe we can have a marvelous experience where God would confirm to us the truthfulness of the Book of Commandments.'”
Joseph remembered later that “some conversation was had concerning revelation and language.” The potential witnesses to the Book were hoping for a special blessing from God to match the testimony statement. They expressed doubts or perhaps even embarrassment about some of the language in the revelations. The conference was deadlocked.
Then, another revelation came to Joseph: “And now I, the Lord, give unto you a testimony of the truth of these commandments which are lying before you. Your eyes have been upon my servant Joseph Smith, Jun., and his language you have known, and his imperfections you have known” (Doctrine and Covenants 67:4-5).
The Lord gave a challenge for the elders to choose the “least” of Joseph’s revelations and then choose the “most wise among you” to see if he can write a similar one. If he could, then their reticence over the language was justified. If not, “ye are under condemnation if ye do not bear record that they are true” (67:6-8).
Harper said the Lord’s test was “absolutely awesome.”
Joseph’s later recollection was that “William E. McLellin … endeavored to write a commandment like unto one of the least of the Lord’s, but failed.” “And then (Joseph) gives a very revealing comment,” Harper said. “It was an awful responsibility to write in the name of the Lord,” Joseph said in his 1839 history. “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.”
The conference minutes record that all those present arose in turn and bore “witness to the truth of the Book of Commandments.” Joseph expressed gratitude.
Five of the ten elders stepped up and put their names to the document. Joseph’s testimony was already implicit in the revelations. The other four, Oliver Cowdery, David Whitmer, John Whitmer and Peter Whitmer Jr., apparently did not sign because they already had given their names as witnesses of the Book of Mormon.
The testimony and the five signatures were copied into the manuscript book for the Book of Commandments and brought to Missouri for printing. Thirteen other men signed their names to the testimony. A few probably signed it in Ohio, others in Missouri. Like the first edition of the Book of Mormon, the testimony was to be included at the end of the Book of Commandments, but a mob destroyed the press before it was completed.
One of those men who signed in Missouri was a relative of John Hancock. “You’ve got John Hancock so conspicuously stamping his mark on the Declaration of Independence. And this is really a similar move,” said Harper. “You put your name on this book as a testimony to the Book of the Lord’s Commandments. You are also saying to the world, ‘This is my witness. This is what I believe. This is my testimony.’ And it’s audacious, just like the Declaration of Independence was. It’s bold.”
Levi Hancock used a pencil when he wrote his name as a witness. Then, no doubt, realizing that the others had written their names in ink, he added a statement: “Never to be erased.” (See picture below)
“It is just so lovely to look at. I am deeply moved by it,” Harper said. For 178 years, only part of the text of the testimony was available. Now, at last, all 18 of those that signed the statement can give that bold testimony to the world, never to be erased:
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, the undersigners, 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 God hath borne record to our souls, through the Holy Ghost shed forth upon us, that these commandments are 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;
And it is through the grace of God, the Father, and his son, Jesus Christ, that we are permitted to have this privilege of bearing this testimony unto the world, in the which we rejoice exceedingly, praying the Lord always, that the children of men may be profited thereby. Amen.
Signers and Witnesses of the Book of Commandments below:
Joshua Fairchild
Peter Dustin
Newel Knight
Levi Hancock; never to be erased
Thomas B. Marsh
Sidney Rigdon
Orson Hyde
Wm. E. McLellin
Luke Johnson
Lyman Johnson
Reynolds Cahoon
John Corrill
Parley Pratt
Harvey Whitlock
Lyman Wight
John Murdock
Calvin Beebe
Zebedee Coltrin
Deseret News Article Here
Read the Full Transcript in the Joseph Smith Papers here!
The Ten Most Expensive Mormon Books
By Reid N. Moon · January 28, 2016
1) Book of Commandments [1833]. $1,250,000
Many of you know the story of Mary Elizabeth Rollins. She was the young woman who, with the aid of her younger sister Caroline, rescued some of the sheets of the Book of Commandments that had been scattered in the streets after a mob destroyed the press in Independence, Missouri on July 20, 1833. Very few copies have survived. In fact, there are only about 30 known copies–and only eight are in private hands.
At an acquisition price of over a million dollars, the Book of Commandments is the most expensive book on this list. In fact, it could be on almost any list of the “most expensive books“. (Editor’s note: The one signed by Wilford Woodruff would command top dollar)
2) The Evening and Morning Star [1832-33] $500,000
This was the first Mormon newspaper. A prospectus, written by W. W. Phelps, indicated that this paper would be devoted to “the revelations of God as made known to his servants by the Holy Ghost, at sundry times since the creation of man, but more especially in these last days.” The Evening and Morning Star contained some the first printed revelations of Joseph Smith. The circulation was very small, perhaps no more than a few hundred copies were printed, and when publication ceased (due to the destruction of the press at Independence) very few complete runs existed. The entire twenty-four issues were reprinted in Kirtland between January 1835 and October 1836. (Peter Crawley, A Descriptive Bibliography of the Mormon Church, 1997, 1:32-33). The Kirtland reprint of The Evening and Morning Star is also quite rare and sells for around $150,000.
9) Book of Mormon [1830]. First Edition. $100,000 (This is not a misprint. An original 1830 BofM is listed as only 9th on the most expensive list)
To see the rest of the article visit here:
LDS book fetches $391,000 at sale Published: October 30, 2001 12:00 am
An original “Book of Commandments,” a precursor to The Doctrine and Covenants of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, sold for $391,000 at auction Monday.
The book, which was expected to bring $400,000, met its reserve price and met price expectations, says Chris Coover, a senior specialist at the auction house Christie’s.
“The price is a record for a 19th-century book,” Coover said. “It beats Poe, Melville, Longfellow. There were a lot of interested parties at the auction, but I wouldn’t say there was a lot of bidding. But that’s typical.”
Caroline and Mary Elizabeth Rollins
By Kellene Ricks
Even though it was a hot July day, Mary Elizabeth Rollins and her sister Caroline lay shivering on top of several large pieces of paper. The thick rows of 150- to 180-centimeters-high corn hid the two girls from the angry men who were hunting for them. The girls held their breath, praying for the men to stop their search and leave the cornfield.
It was 1833, and there was a lot of unrest in Independence, Missouri. More and more converts had settled in the area, and nonmember neighbors wanted the Saints to leave Jackson County, Missouri. Instead, the little community was growing. There was even a printing press in Brother William Phelps’s house, and the whole town knew that he was printing revelations received by the Prophet Joseph Smith and preparing them for publication.
It was some of those same revelations that the girls were lying on. A mob of angry men had become outraged at an editorial written by Brother Phelps that was printed in the Church newspaper. Fifteen-year-old Mary Elizabeth and thirteen-year-old Caroline had watched as the men broke into the Phelps’s home and threw the printing press and the printed revelations from the second-story window to the ground below. When Mary Elizabeth saw the papers hit the street, she knew what had to be done. She knew that those revelations and commandments came from the Lord and that it was important that the Saints have copies of them.
Even though they were frightened, both girls ran and gathered up as many of the large papers as they could carry. When members of the mob spotted them from the window and yelled at them to stop, the girls ran to the nearby cornfield, lay down on the sheets of paper, and prayed for protection.
It seemed like hours before the men grew tired of looking for the girls, but finally they left. Mary Elizabeth and Caroline waited longer before gathering up the sacred papers and creeping out of their hiding place.
The revelations were returned to Brother Phelps. Shortly afterward, those salvaged pages were combined with other pages that had been saved, and a tiny book called the Book of Commandments was printed. Two years later those same commandments and revelations were combined with additional revelations from the Lord and printed in a new book. Whenever they read the Doctrine and Covenants, Mary Elizabeth and Caroline remembered the part that they played in the coming forth of this sacred book of scripture.
I NEED YOUR HELP
The first person to email me at [email protected] who can answer my question of how I am related to Peter Dustin (See picture), I will send you my 150 Moroni’s America Maps as a pdf file. FREE
I am related to Peter Dustin through by mother’s mother (Cecelia Dustin) and Celia’s father (Levi Dustin). It adds to the excitement of Family History as I’m related to Peter Dustin as he bore his witness of Joseph’s divine revelations.
In my opinion the desire and faith necessary to testify about Joseph’s Revelations was possibly more difficult than seeing an angel and the plates. The signers of the Book of Commandments had to have a solid faith in the Lord to feel the Spirit and absolutely know these Revelations were not of Joseph, but of the Lord himself. They based their witness of things they could not see. That is similar for us today. We haven’t seen the plates, but we have felt the Spirit and that Spirit has borne witness to us of the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon. Even some of the Apostles thought they could write Revelations on their own in similar words that the Savior used. They failed miserably. See D&C 67:4-9
