A prophecy of war, God’s first name, fierce chastisements and the blessings of polygamy — these are the contents of the more than 40 uncanonized revelations of Joseph Smith that two historians scraped from the thousands of pages left behind by the 19th-century church leader.
As a revelator, Smith was highly prolific. So much so, that his earlier followers didn’t deem it necessary to include every divine dictation in the Doctrine and Covenants, a volume that contains many of his teachings and is read to this day as scripture by members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
But just because dozens of his statements weren’t given the stamp of “scripture” doesn’t mean they should be forgotten. So argue Stephen Smoot, an adjunct instructor of ancient scripture at church-owned Brigham Young University, and Brian Passantino, a research consultant for the Church History Department.
The co-authors of the new book, “Joseph Smith’s Uncanonized Revelations,” scoured the pages of The Joseph Smith Papers — a comprehensive collection of all the documents created by or under the direction of the faith leader — and settled on 42 recorded statements by Smith and attributed to God.
To be clear, Smoot and Passantino write, their findings do not include anything “that fundamentally overturns any teachings of the church or revolutionizes our understanding of who Joseph Smith was. …Nor are there any revelations in this compilation that suggest Joseph Smith had some deep, undisclosed secrets.”
Anyone looking for the exact date of Jesus’ Second Coming or the hiding place of the Ark of the Covenant will have to look elsewhere.
Rather, the scholars write, “these texts are…important in helping Latter-day Saints appreciate Joseph Smith as a modern revelator and prophet.”
Adam’s native tongue and coming war
As far as their subject matter, the revelations run the gamut from administrative to esoteric.
In one, Smith reports engaging in the following 1832 Q&A with God about the Almighty’s name, among other things, in the “pure language” of Adam.
Q. What is the name of God in pure language?
A. Awmen.
Q. What is the meaning of the pure word Awmen?
A. It is the being which made all things in all its parts.
Q. What is the name of the Son of God?
A. The Son Awmen.
Q. What is the Son Awmen?
A. It is the greatest of all the parts of Awmen, which is the Godhead — the Firstborn.
Q. What is man?
A. This signifies Sons Awmen, the human family, the children of men, the greatest parts of Awmen Sons, the Son Awmen.
Q. What are angels called in pure language?
A. Awmen Angls-men.
Q. What is the meaning of these words?
A. Awmen’s ministering servants — sanctified — who are sent forth from heaven to minister for or to Sons Awmen, the greatest part of Awmen Son.
Another revelation, reminiscent of D&C Section 87′s 1832 prophecy of a deadly Civil War between the North and South, warns that “peace shall soon be taken from the Earth.”
“For behold, saith the Lord,” this 1837 inscription reads, a “very fierce and very terrible war is near at hand, even at your doors. Therefore, make haste, saith the Lord, O ye my people, and gather yourselves together, and be at peace among yourselves, or there shall be no safety for you.”
A rare glimpse at Smith’s teachings on polygamy
Joseph Smith, top left, and some of his purported wives, clockwise from top middle: Emma Hale Smith; Eliza R. Snow; Martha McBride (Knight Smith Kimball); Marinda Nancy Johnson (Hyde Smith); and Zina Diantha Huntington Jacobs (Smith Young).
Most historians believe Smith married about three dozen women before his death in 1844. And yet, “precious little” from the Latter-day Saint prophet exists today, Smoot and Passantino write, regarding the controversial practice of polygamy.
An uncanonized 1842 revelation addressed to one of the first bishops of the fledgling faith, Newel K. Whitney, provides a rare glimpse into the vaulted blessings Smith taught were associated with those who entered in these weblike unions.
Recorded the day Smith married Whitney’s 17-year-old daughter, Sarah Ann, the dictation affirms that “the thing that my servant Joseph Smith has made known unto you and your family, and which you have agreed upon, is right in mine eyes, and shall be crowned upon your heads with honor and immortality and eternal life to all your house, both old and young.”
The revelation goes on to provide Newel Whitney with the steps and language he should use when wedding the couple, explaining that the couple should take each other by the hand and pledge “to be each other’s companion so long as you both shall live…and also throughout eternity.”
The father is told, as part of the ceremony, to then bestow on his young daughter “all those powers” associated with the priesthood and to close with the words, “let immortality and eternal life henceforth be sealed upon your heads forever and ever.”
About the project
(The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) Volumes of the landmark Joseph Smith Papers project fill the shelves.
Smoot and Passantino are hardly the first to attempt to publish all of Smith’s uncanonized revelations in one book. They are the first, however, to undertake such a project since the publication of the Joseph Smith Papers, a massive effort to grant unprecedented access to the writings and teachings that the faith founder produced during his life.
To determine what counted as an uncanonized revelation, the authors asked several questions of the material. First: Has it been published and later pulled from the collection of Latter-day Saint scripture canon known as the “standard works”? If so, it was out. Second: Were there any questions about the document originating from Joseph Smith? Ditto on these. Finally, writings like meeting notes, journal entries and the like were generally tossed unless they contained “revelatory pronouncements.” So, too, were larger projects, such as Smith’s edits to the Bible.
Their ultimate goal for all of this?
To strengthen belief in Smith’s prophetic call, spur scholarship and, finally, “bear witness to the reality of ongoing revelation as the voice of the Lord being heard in the latter days.”
