170 - D&C 128 CFM - A New Doctrine Connecting the Living and Dead - E45B November 3-9

Summary

Church History Matters Podcast

Episode 170: D&C 128 – A New Doctrine Connecting the Living and Dead (E45B, November 3–9)

Date: October 29, 2025
Hosts: Scott and Casey
Podcast: Church History Matters by Scripture Central

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Episode Overview

This episode explores Doctrine & Covenants Section 128, a foundational epistle from Joseph Smith that introduces transformative doctrine about the connection between the living and the dead. Scott and Casey unpack Joseph's teachings on baptism for the dead, the sealing power, ecclesiastical record keeping, and the concept of "welding" generations through temple ordinances. The conversation highlights both theological innovation and the historical narrative, demonstrating how temple work for both the living and deceased underpins the Latter-day Saint understanding of salvation and Restoration.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The New Doctrine: Connecting the Living and the Dead [00:00–00:35]

• Joseph Smith's Most Radical Doctrinal Expansion:
  • "The temple is the place where the living and the dead are connected. Joseph is tying the fate of the deceased and the fate of the living together. The dead gain salvation through proxy ordinances, and the living gain salvation by laboring to carry out these ordinances." (Casey, 00:00)
  • "That's new doctrine, Casey, right there. I don't think that's anywhere else in Scripture. This is a new idea, and we get to participate in bringing about the salvation of the whole human family." (Scott, 00:14)
  • The emotional and Christlike nature of proxy temple work is celebrated: "There's nothing more powerful than going to the temple and thinking, I'm helping another person open the door to salvation." (Casey, 00:23)

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2. The Context of Section 128 [00:39–03:48]

• Joseph Smith Writes from Hiding:
  • While hiding due to accusations around the attempt on Lilburn Boggs, Joseph writes to guide the Saints in their emergent practice of baptisms for the dead.
  • Section 128 is the second of two "epistles from hiding" and is both a theological treatise and a historical review.
  • Noteworthy is Joseph’s introduction of the idea of “welding links” between generations and the Saints’ profound response to the letter, as recorded by William Clayton.

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3. Practical Organization: Recorders & Wards [04:16–08:12]

• Detailed Instructions for Keeping Sacred Records:
  • Joseph instructs not only on why baptisms for the dead should be recorded but also on how: each ward should have its own recorder, with a hierarchical system culminating in a “general church book.”
  • This administrative innovation laid the groundwork for the modern organization of wards and the importance of record keeping for ordinances.

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4. Theological Foundations for Temple Ordinances [08:12–19:23]

• Records on Earth and in Heaven:

  • Joseph draws from Revelation 20:12 and explains that the books referred to are records of earthly ordinances—a collaboration between heaven and earth.
  • This new doctrine underscores the sacred obligation to keep accurate records of temple work, linking it to the sealing power and “whatsoever you record on earth shall be recorded in heaven.”

• The Summum Bonum of Salvation:

  • "The great and grand secret of the whole matter and the summum bonum… is obtaining the powers of the holy priesthood." (Joseph Smith, quoted by Scott, 13:10)
  • Baptism (even for the living) is symbolically linked to death and resurrection, structurally aligning it with baptisms for the dead.

• Sealing Power as Authority to Record:

  • The record keeping itself, under the direction of those who hold the sealing keys, is an aspect of the sealing power—a rarely discussed but critical point of Latter-day Saint doctrine.

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5. The Welding Link: Malachi, Elijah, and Generational Bonding [19:36–31:26]

• Malachi's Prophecy and New Interpretation:

  • Joseph connects Malachi 4:5–6 (turning hearts of fathers to children) directly to baptisms for the dead and the Restoration of the priesthood.
  • This “welding link” is necessary to prevent the earth from being “smitten with a curse.”
  • "It is necessary… that a whole and complete and perfect union and welding together of dispensations and keys and powers and glories should take place… from the days of Adam even to the present time." (Scott, 27:00)

• Development of the Theology:

  • The line-upon-line revelation process is evident; what Joseph introduces as baptisms for the dead evolves through later prophets into broader temple ordinances such as washings, anointings, endowments, and sealings.

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6. Joseph’s Restoration Rhapsody: Review of Restoration Events [31:53–45:36]

• A “Restoration Rhapsody”:

  • Beginning in verse 19, Joseph launches into an emotional, almost poetic summary of angelic visitations and significant events of the Restoration.
  • "Shall we not go on in so great a cause? Go forward and not backward. Courage, brethren, and on, on to the victory. Let your hearts rejoice and be exceedingly glad!" (Joseph Smith, quoted by Scott, 42:32)
  • Joseph’s irrepressible optimism shines through, even as he writes from hiding.

• Unique Historical Tidbits:

  • Joseph provides the most detailed account of Peter, James, and John’s visitation and mentions Adam (Michael), Gabriel (Noah), and—even more cryptically—Raphael, with little explanation or further context.

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7. The Offering of the Sons of Levi – A New Kind of Sacrifice [48:35–63:03]

• Redefining Ancient Prophecy:
  • Joseph reinterprets the “offering” of the sons of Levi (Malachi/Section 13) as the book containing the records of the dead, rather than animal sacrifice.
  • Debate ensues on whether Joseph's understanding shifted away from the literal restoration of animal sacrifice by 1842, or whether both concepts could coexist (Casey and Scott, 59:05–64:29).

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8. Controversies & Evolving Doctrinal Understanding [48:48–58:54]

• Sealing Power and the Welding Link:

  • The understanding of "welding" the generations and the role of baptisms for the dead develops in stages, culminating in the full array of temple ordinances under later prophets.

• Who is Raphael?

  • Speculation abounds—some draw from the apocryphal Book of Tobit, others suggest unrecorded Restoration visitations. Raphael's identity and role remain mysterious, with even AI consulted for (inconclusive) input. (Scott and Casey, 54:45–58:54)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On the Spirit of Temple Work:
  • "There's nothing more powerful than going to the temple and thinking I'm helping another person open the door to salvation… a proxy act that helps save another person. What's more Christlike than that, really?" (Casey, 65:43)
• On Joseph's Vision and Enthusiasm:
  • "This is so big. It is bigger than you. It encompasses every person who's ever lived, and we get to participate in bringing about the salvation of the whole human family. How cool is that?" (Scott, 48:15)
• On Revelation as a Process:
  • "Like that quote that I just shared was in May of 1844, like one month before Joseph is martyred… there's a continuity to what Joseph had laid out that other prophets are then taking in, taking it to its completion." (Scott, 30:13)

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• [00:00–00:35] – The radical new doctrine: Salvation for dead and living becomes intertwined
• [04:16–08:12] – Temple record-keeping structure and origins of wards
• [13:10–19:23] – The deep symbolism of baptism, the sealing power, and record keeping
• [19:36–31:26] – Malachi, Elijah, and the development of generational sealing
• [31:53–45:36] – Joseph Smith’s Restoration Rhapsody: reviewing angels, keys, and priesthood
• [54:17–58:54] – The identity of Raphael and the evolving understanding of ordinances
• [59:05–64:29] – Sons of Levi, sacrifices, and the evolving doctrine
• [65:43–66:04] – The spirit of temple work and closing thoughts

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Flow, Takeaways, and Final Thoughts

• Doctrine & Covenants 128 is both an administrative guide and a soaring theological proclamation. Joseph Smith’s evolving insights set the stage for temple theology, record keeping as sealing power, and the ever-deepening connection between all generations of the human family.
• The episode is rich with gratitude for continuing revelation and the momentum of temple work—“line upon line, precept upon precept”—trusting that later prophets would finish what Joseph began.
• The hosts’ enthusiasm and candid reflections encourage listeners to appreciate the scope of temple work and recognize their personal opportunity to participate in “the greatest cause” envisioned by Joseph Smith.

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For Listeners

Whether or not you’ve read D&C 128 before, this episode offers an accessible yet thorough walk-through of its doctrine, context, and ongoing relevance—bridging deep theology, historical details, and Latter-day Saint lived experience.

Transcript

[A]

The temple is the place where the living and the dead are connected. Joseph is tying the fate of the deceased and the fate of the living together. The dead gain salvation through proxy ordinances, and the living gain salvation by laboring to carry out these ordinances.

[B]

That's new doctrine, Casey, right there. I don't think that's anywhere else in Scripture. This is a new idea, and we get to participate in bringing about the salvation of the whole human family.

[A]

There's nothing more powerful than going to the temple and thinking, I'm helping another person open the door to salvation. A proxy act that helped save another person. I mean, what's more Christ like than that, really?

[B]

How cool is that?

[A]

Hello, Scott.

[B]

Hello, Casey.

[A]

We're back and we're covering section 128 of the doctrine and Covenants, which is another epistle concerning work for the dead. But where Section127 is largely like, let's encourage people and let's be practical. We got to write stuff down. We got to record stuff. This is where he gets theological about work for the dead. And this definitely is worthy of inclusion in the Doctrine and Covenants, no doubt in my mind, because he's going to go into a lot of the scriptural and theological reasoning for why we do work for the dead and where the power comes from to do it.

[B]

Yeah, 100%. So if you're just joining us this week, and you thought this was the first episode, it's not. This is the second episode. We just got done going through sections 125 through 127 in our previous episode. Casey, you did a good job dropping us into the context of 128 already when you were talking about the context for 127. This is the second of two letters that Joseph wrote while he was in hiding. Anything you need to do to bring briefly recap the context for us of this letter particularly, or the broader context of why he's writing letters.

[A]

Joseph Smith is in hiding because of the assassination attempt on Lilburn Boggs. He's writing instructions to the saints during this time because they're practicing baptism for the dead. But it's a work in progress. They're figuring out as they go. Maybe the major thing with this one is this letter, which Joseph Smith writes probably in Edward Hunter's While he's in hiding, goes on to introduce the idea of connecting, welding links between the living and the dead. And this letter, at Joseph's request, is read to the entire church at the Grove near the temple. William Clayton, Joseph's secretary, during this time recorded in Joseph's journal that the important instructions contained in the foregoing letter made a deep and solemn impression on the minds of the saints, and they manifested their intentions to obey the instructions to the letter. The other thing I'd add about this letter is the first part is theological and talks about baptism for the dead. But the second part is really important too, where Joseph Smith starts to get excited about all the things that have happened, and he starts to, like, list off. Can you believe all this crazy stuff that we've been through? And from a historical perspective, it's really, really important as well. He lists the angels of the Restoration. He references several events that we only have hints at, like the. The appearance of Peter, James, and John. And then he. He kind of even like, throws out a couple of things that we have no record of except in section 128. Like Michael and Lucifer had a rematch on the banks of the Susquehanna. He just basically, like, throws that out as a single line. One line here.

[B]

Raphael visited him. Who on earth is Raphael?

[A]

Yeah. Yeah. Oh, my gosh. So the first half is theological. The second half is historical. And I, in my history classes, I refer to the second half all the time because it's Joseph Smith near the end of his prophetic career, basically saying, look at all the crazy stuff that's happened. This is amazing, and we should go.

[B]

On because of this invaluable review of the Restoration.

[A]

That's a good way to say it. He's reviewing everything that's happened. It's his greatest hits. This letter is also published October 1, 1842, in the Times and Seasons. And like section 127, it was included in the 1844 Doctrine and Covenants. So Joseph Smith wanted this canonized as well. He oversaw that edition of the Doctrine and Covenants before his death. So that shows you how the prophet felt about this particular item of instruction.

[B]

Perfect. Well, with that, let's dive into the letter. So our second c. The content, verse one, Joseph writing here, as I stated to you in my letter before I left my place, that would be section 127, that I would write to you from time to time and give you information in relation to many subjects. I now resume the subject of the baptism for the dead. Why Joseph? Because he explains, as that subject seems to occupy my mind and press itself upon my feelings, the strongest since I've been pursued by my enemies. Okay, so I've heard verse one used as a way to talk about, like, how to recognize revelation. I think that's interesting how Joseph Says, I can't get it off my mind, and it presses itself on my feelings mind. Feelings, feelings, mind. Like, maybe that's an indication if you have something you can't shake. Could potentially be an impression from the Lord. I love how he says that. Then in verse 2, he references section 127 again. He says, I wrote to you a few words concerning a recorder back in section 127, and I want to explain a little more. So that's what he now does in the next few verses. I realize there's a practical issue. He says in verse three that it would be very difficult for one recorder to be present at all times and to do all the business. So he now authorizes a recorder to be appointed in each ward of the city. And which we might just pause there for a fun little historical fact, too. Ward of the city. We now have wards in the church. We call it wards. There's bishops over wards. Nauvoo is the first place where we're going to start having bishops over wards. But it should be noted. It should be noted that wards themselves are actually just a political division. You see that language here? The wards of the city, which then eventually becomes the organizing unit of the church, which is kind of cool anyway. Just a little tidbit. Little side tangent.

[A]

Yeah, I think wards kind of start out as a way of administering welfare. There's a bishop called over every ward, and we sometimes miss this. But it's later on in Utah where Brigham Young says, well, why don't we assign an elder scorum to every ward and a relief society to every ward? And prior to that, those were sort of independent entities that weren't really attached to a ward. But Brigham Young is like, well, let's just put it all in one place. So a little ecclesiology there just to brighten your day. Those of you that are into ecclesiology, you're welcome.

[B]

You just got a free little gift from Church History Matters. There it is. Okay, let's talk about recorders being appointed for each word of the city. So he authorizes that, right? He says they have to be well qualified. They need to be good at taking notes, that kind of thing. And then they need to be able to name three or so individuals that were present, if there were people present who could at any time be called upon to certify that this person did get baptized on behalf of this dead person, Right? So in the mouth of two or three witnesses, every word may be established. And then with verse four, he says, but now let's create a recorder hierarchical structure. So you have these ward recorders. Now let's add to that verse four, a general recorder to whom these other records from the ward recorders can be handed to be attended to with certificates over their own signatures, etc. Certifying that the record is true. So now the general recorder now enter these into, enters these records into the general recording book. And when this is done he goes on to say, on the general church book, then the record shall be just as holy and shall answer the ordinance just the same as if he, the general recorder had seen with his eyes and heard with his ears and made a record of the same on the general church book. So boy, we're getting pretty detailed here about not only the importance of recording the ordinances that are done on behalf of the dead, in this case baptisms for the dead, but also like the hierarchical structure of like how to practically do that. Ward recorders, general recorder. This is how we're going to get it done. He says, why so detailed, Casey?

[A]

Well, he goes on in verse five to say, you may think that this order of things to be very particular, but let me tell you that it is only to answer the will of God. Then he goes on to say, the Lord ordained and prepared before the foundation of the world for the salvation of the dead, who should die without a knowledge of the gospel. And this is where he starts to open the scriptures and put together kind of the doctrinal structure for this. For instance, he's going to go to Revelation 20:12 in the next verse in verse 6 which reads, and I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God. And the books were opened and another book was opened which was the book of life. And the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books according to their works. So he's citing this well known biblical passage. And then in verse 7 he says this, the books spoken of must be the books which contain the record of their works and refer to the records which are kept on the earth. So in verses five through seven he's giving the doctrinal justification for really detailed record keeping, expounding on what he already started to explain in section 127, the idea of a recorder of keeping a record, of making sure that this isn't haphazard but that it is systematic that we're recording these things so that they mean something. So things are starting to get doctrinally rich. Take a look in verse 8 he says, now the nature of this ordinance consists in the power of the priesthood by the revelation of Jesus Christ, wherein it is granted that whatsoever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatsoever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. Or in other words, taking a different view on the translation, whatsoever you record on earth shall be recorded in heaven, and whatsoever you do not record on earth shall not be recorded in heaven. Then he ties it back to Revelation 20:12, saying that's what the books were that John saw in Revelation, that these were records of ordinances that had been performed.

[B]

That is an important insight. Right. That we're going to be judged out of the books isn't just about, like, angels above us who are silent notes taking of every action that we're doing, but it's about the official actions that we take in order to make covenants with God. Is that what he's saying?

[A]

Yeah, It's a collaboration between heaven and earth to keep a record. And it leads us to that idea of spending a couple hours in the temple to help a single individual receive their endowment or get sealed impresses upon us the importance of individuals that we need to keep records so that we know these people exist, so that they're not forgotten. And of course, God's not going to forget them. But it awakens within us this sense of heritage and ancestry and connection when we have the opportunity to assist God in making this book of life. To borrow from the term, from the Book of Revelation, that gives us a record of who made covenants. In fact, go on to verse nine. Joseph says, it may seem to some to be a very bold doctrine that we talk of a power which records or binds on earth and binds in heaven. Nevertheless, in all ages of the world, whenever the Lord has given a dispensation of the priesthood to any man by actual revelation or any set of men, this power has always been given. So again, he's pulling together New Testament, Old Testament texts and talking about binding power. So this power, which is commonly referred to in the Church today as sealing power, is not exclusive to this dispensation. Joseph Smith seems to be saying the word seal appears all over the Scriptures. Jesus Christ was sealed by God the Father. That's in John 6:27. Paul taught that the saints of his day that God had anointed and sealed them. That's in 2 Corinthians 1:21, 22. And when Paul wrote to the saints in Ephesus, he spoke of them being sealed by that holy Spirit of promise. That's Ephesians 1:13. In the book of Revelation, John spoke of God's servants being sealed in their foreheads. Revelation 7:3. The power to seal was also promised to the apostle Peter in Matthew 16:19, when the Lord said, I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven. Whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. So he's tying the power of the keys he's giving to Peter to this authority to bind on heaven and on earth. And the sealing power essentially gives the Lord's servants who hold it power to perform certain acts on earth that are validated or in other words, sealed. They have the Lord's seal of approval in heaven. The sealing keys were given to Joseph Smith by the ancient prophet Elijah when he appeared in the Kirtland temple. That's in section 110. And today the President of the church holds those sealing keys.

[B]

You referenced Matthew 16 where Jesus says to Peter, I'll give you the keys, and whatever you bind on earth is bound in heaven. Joseph actually quotes that right here in verse 10, right? He says for the precedent. Here it is Matthew 16, 18, 19. Then he quotes that very passage, and then things get really fun. In verse 11 he says, now the great and grand secret of the whole matter and the summum bonum of the whole subject that is lying before us consists in obtaining the powers of the holy priesthood. Let's pause for a sec. Summum bonum. He just drops that in there, which is so fun. This is a Latin term that means the highest good, summum bonum. The highest good, or especially as the ultimate goal according to which values and priorities are established in an ethical system. So if you're trying to prioritize things like the very highest priority, the highest virtue, or the summum bonum, that right is the most important thing. So here's what he says. The most important thing is obtaining the powers of the holy priesthood. He goes on, for him to whom these keys are given, there is no difficulty in obtaining a knowledge of facts in relation to the salvation of the children of men, both as well for the dead as for the living. This is the summum bonum. This is the summum bonum of salvation. You need somebody to obtain the powers of the priesthood so they can get revelation about the salvation of the children of men. That's pretty good. Herein he goes on in verse 12 is glory and honor and immortality and eternal life, the ordinance of baptism by water to be immersed therein in order to answer to the likeness of the dead. That one principle might accord with the other to be immersed in the water and come forth out of the water is in the likeness of the resurrection of the dead in coming forth out of their grapes. Hence this ordinance was instituted to form a relationship with the ordinance of baptism for the dead being in the likeness of the dead. That's new doctrine, Casey, right there. That the very ordinance of baptism itself, not baptisms for the dead, just baptism for normal living people, was actually designed in such a way as to have a relationship with baptisms for the dead, because you actually go under the water and come out symbolically of dying and being resurrected, because death is kind of built into the symbolism of baptism. You see, this is already connected to baptisms for the dead. That's super interesting. I don't think that's anywhere else in Scripture. This is a new idea right there. And then verse 13 goes on to say, consequently, the baptismal font was instituted as a similitude of the grave and was commanded to be in place underneath where the living are want to assemble to show forth the living and the dead, and that all things may have their likeness, and that they may accord one with another, that which is earthly, conforming to that which is heavenly, as Paul declared in 1 Corinthians 15. If we understand what he's saying here, like this imagery of. Of baptism as death being already present in the ordinance of baptism. That idea actually was taught by Paul. Right. Actually in Romans 6, 3, 6. Like Paul talks about when you're baptized into Christ, you're baptized into death. And so it feels like Joseph is kind of expanding on that, building on that idea, that imagery here, and explaining that the baptismal font for the dead should be placed underneath where the living are want to assemble. Which if you think about our modern temples today, and I think this started with the Nauvoo temple. Right. The baptismal font's always in the basement. It's in the lowest spot, closest to where dead people are, if you will. And like, even in one story temples, fonts are typically found in like a step down area. Right, right. So if a temple is built in conditions where like a font can't be placed underground, they put it at like the lowest spot because of, of this logic that Joseph's laying out in these verses here.

[A]

Yeah. And picking it up in verse 14. This is where it gets complicated. You and I were, were doing our prep work and you were like, what's going on in verse 14? I'm just going to read it. Okay. Howbeit that was not first, which is spiritual, but that which is natural and afterwards that which is spiritual. The first man is of the earth, earthy. The second man is the Lord from heaven, as is the earthy. Such are they also that are earthy. And as is the heavenly. Such are they also that are heavenly. And as are the records of the earth in relation to your dead, which are truly made out, so also are the records of heaven. This, therefore, is the sealing and binding power, and in one sense of the word, the keys of the kingdom, which consist in keys of knowledge. Now, the earthy and the heavenly seems to be a reference to Paul talking about Adam and Christ in that contrast. And he's saying that there's earthy records and there's heavenly records. And we're trying to connect the two. And he does define this as the sealing power in one sense of the word. And this is what you were freaking out about, Scott. You were saying, like, would anybody in the church define record keeping as the sealing power today?

[B]

Yeah, he literally says. He says this, therefore, is the sealing and binding power. Like, really?

[A]

What do you mean?

[B]

Keeping records is the sealing power. But then you helped reason with me and talk me down. So do you want to explain to our listeners how you worked through this? Right.

[A]

Today we tend to go for more ethereal things. Right. Like the connection between family members. But he is saying that part of the sealing power is the church has the right to create authoritative records, authoritative records that matter on the other side of the veil, too, that allow us to keep track of people and who's received ordinances and who's. Who's made covenants. So again, that isn't an aspect of the sealing power that we talk about a lot. But the idea that the church has the authority to keep records that matter in time and eternity is part of what he's saying is our responsibility here and is part of the sealing power, too, that not just whatsoever you bind on heaven, but whatsoever you write on earth is also written in heaven, that it's written into the Book of Life and the Book of the Lamb.

[B]

Yeah. So as you explained it to me earlier, you said it's under the direction of the one who holds the sealing keys, and that's what makes it binding. I think that fits with the logic of what Joseph is saying here for sure.

[A]

Yeah. And it has to be supervised and overseen by those who hold the sealing keys. And again, he's creating this idea here that today we tend to just think of in terms of people. But he goes on and says, let me assure you that these are principles in relation to the dead and the living, that cannot be lightly passed over as pertaining to our salvation, for their salvation is necessary and essential to our salvation. As Paul says concerning the Fathers, that they without us cannot be made perfect, neither can we without our dead be made perfect. And then he goes on and quotes 1 Corinthians 15:29, which is kind of an ambiguous text, but does mention baptism for the dead. It reads, paul's talking about resurrection. And as he's citing evidences of resurrection, he says, else what shall they do which are baptized for the dead? If the dead rise not at all, why are they then baptized from the dead? So he's quoting 1 Corinthians 15:29 in the discussion about resurrection. And he's also quoting Hebrews 11, where Paul lists ancient prophets who demonstrated faith in God and then states that they without us should not be made perfect. That's in verse 40 of Hebrews 11. And by quoting these two scriptures in verses 15 and 16, Joseph is tying the fate of of the deceased and the fate of the living together. The dead gain salvation through proxy ordinances, and the living gain salvation by laboring to carry out these ordinances. And it creates this concept or idea that the temple is the place where the living and the dead are connected together. In fact, there's this wonderful quote by Rutger Claassen, this early 20th century apostle. He said, we have two great churches, one in heaven, heaven, the other upon the earth. They are moving along parallel lines. And the temple of God, as it appears to me, is the connecting link that connects the heavens and the earth, because it is through the temple that we will be able to reach our dead and not otherwise. To pray for the dead may not be of any real assistance to them. To actually help them, we must do a work for them. And a little bit more recently, David A. Bednar taught this. He said, the temple is the great point of intersection between heaven and earth. In this sacred place, holy work will be performed through selfless service and love. The temple reminds me of all that is good and beautiful in the world. So I love this idea of we're creating a place like, I don't know, an embassy, a portal, a connecting area where these two realms that we typically talk about as completely separate places kind of come together where the heavens and the earth become one.

[B]

Yeah, well said. And then to build on that thought, he picks it up. Verse 17, he says, again, in connection with this quotation, I will give you a quotation from one of the prophets who had his eye fixed on the restoration of the priesthood. The glory is to be revealed in the last days and in an especial manner, this most glorious of all subjects belonging to the everlasting gospel, namely baptism for the dead. And then he quotes Malachi, chapter 4, verses 5 and 6. We know that this one's famous. This one's the one that's quoted in every standard war. This is the prophecy. I'll read it again. Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord. 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. Very familiar. We know this one. We know that Moroni quoted this to 17 year old Joseph Smith, tweaked the language a little bit to help him understand that this is about the work of the priesthood in the latter days. And, and that's what I find so interesting and curious about this. Casey. Notice that he said Malachi 4, 5, 6 is about the restoration of the priesthood. Really, the work of Elijah's keys to connect the children and parents down through the generations is about restoring the priesthood. Yeah. This is where Joseph's going to start using the word priesthood in a way that is much bigger than how we typically talk about it. We have to watch him carefully on this. So somehow the turning of the hearts of the children to the fathers and fathers to the children and connecting them forges what Joseph is going to refer to in this next verse. Verse 18, a welding link, A welding link between the fathers and the children. Let me pick up his thought in verse 18 and we'll continue to think about this and digest it. He said, I might have rendered a plainer translation to this, to Malachi 4, but it's sufficiently plain to suit my purposes. As it stands, he probably would have quoted it the way that Moroni quoted to him. Or maybe he'll add to that in Nauvoo. He quotes it a few different ways and instead of saying turn the hearts of the children, he'll say, seal the hearts of the children. Joseph is, he's very open to multiple ways to read this, which is, I think, insightful into his own sort of hermeneutic of scriptural interpretation. Right. Anyway, let's continue to the thought. We got to finish the thought before we talk any tangents about translation. He says it's sufficient to know in this case that the earth will be smitten with a curse unless there is a welding link of some kind. Or other between the fathers and the children upon some subject or other. And behold, what's that subject? It is the baptism for the dead. For we without the dead cannot be made perfect. Neither can they without us be made perfect. Neither can they nor we be made perfect without those who have died in the Gospel also. For it is necessary, notice this really carefully here. It is necessary in the ushering in of the dispensation of the fullness of times, which dispensation is now beginning to usher in, that a whole and complete and perfect union and welding together of dispensations and keys and powers and glories should take place and be revealed from the days of Adam even to the present time. Not only this, but those things which never have been revealed from before the foundation of the world, but have been kept hid from the wise and prudent, shall be revealed unto babes and sucklings in this, the dispensation of the fullness of times. Whoa. Okay, let's talk about that for a second. So what he's calling this welding link or this intergenerational linking is crucial, it turns out, in understanding the meaning of the restoration of the priesthood in this ultimate sense that Joseph is talking about it. So right here in verse, in verse 17, the Prophet Joseph is saying that Malachi had his eye fixed on the restoration of the priesthood in the last days when he penned his famous Elijah prophecy. And notice how that's connected with the binding of the hearts of the children of the fathers. The ultimate goal of this interlinking, he explains, is this perfect union, a welding together of all the people in all the dispensations from the days of Adam even to the present time. Casey, that's a different definition of the restoration of priesthood than I've ever hurt. If I understand Joseph correctly, he is saying in this sense that restoration of the priesthood is synonymous with the end result of linking the whole human family together into that eternal priesthood order that was first instituted in the days of Adam. That's referenced, I think, in section 107 and other places. And this intergenerational and interdispensational linking is brought about, Joseph says, through the ordinances of the temple received both for ourselves and the dead. Here he's only talking about baptisms for the dead. Fast forward two years and he's going to say this. And again, listen to the word priesthood. Here he uses it in a curious way. In May 1844, he explains, quote, those who are baptized for their dead must receive their washings and their anointings. For their dead, too, the same as for themselves, until they are connected to the ones in the dispensation before us and trace their lineage to connect the priesthood again. There's the summary of the work that we do in temples in the latter days. Right. We're trying to connect the priesthood again by receiving the ordinances of the temple ourselves and then on behalf of our dead until they are connected to the ones in the dispensation before us and before them all the way back to Adam. That's what Joseph's talking about with the welding together of the dispensation. Sounds like it's about getting the entire human family sealed into one, one network of eternalized relationships. Right. With all the keys, the powers, the glories that have been enjoyed in every gospel era, then the priesthood is considered fully restored. So a lot to chew on there, Casey. That seems to harken back to DNC 2, right. Where Moroni said elijah will help restore the priesthood. That definition seems to be this big family connection.

[A]

This idea, obviously, is just hatching in Nauvoo. He's taken the ceiling keys out for a test drive. And I think when we talk about creating a welding link, baptism for the dead probably isn't the first thing we think of. We think that it's the first steps, Right. But later on, other prophets, especially Brigham Young, are going to take this idea and extend it to start saying, hey, baptism for the dead is the first step. Then we're going to go on to do initiatories, sealings, marriages for the dead. We're going to connect all these families together and seal them into this great chain of posterity that goes back to Adam and then is connected to our heavenly parents. And so, yeah, this is the first steps in that direction. And we need to recognize and put this in context that Joseph Smith is just starting down this theological road. And it's going to be later prophets that kind of build onto the foundation that he lays here until we get to where we're at today, where it's a major subject in almost every general conference of the church to talk about our obligation to build temples, to staff the temples and then to attend the temples so that we're doing this great work on behalf of ourselves, but for the betterment of all mankind.

[B]

Yeah, well said. Yeah. None of us today, if you said, how do you seal the generations together, parents to children, children to parents, none of us would sail baptisms for the dead. We would say, there's an ordinance in the temple where children are sealed to Their parents. It's the sealing of children to parents ordinance. Right. But that's not in the picture quite yet. The theological picture is still developing, as you said. So Joseph starts with the first logical building block, which is baptisms for the dead, but more to come on that front.

[A]

And some of these things are filled in in Joseph Smith's own lifetime, but some of them have to be added by later prophets. And again, sometimes there's a tendency in the church to be kind of a Joseph Smith originalist. Like if Joseph Smith didn't teach it, then it's not valid. But no, no, we believe that other prophets have received very important understanding and revelations concerning the work that we've been asked to do.

[B]

Yeah, 100%. Like that quote that I just shared was in May of 1844, like one month before Joseph is martyred, where he says that if you. Once you get baptized for the dead, you also need to do washings and anointings for the dead. After he's killed, Cayce, he's killed. And then there's a hastening to try to hurry and finish the Nauvoo temple. We get it done by 1846, a lot of endowments are done for the living, none for the dead. We're not doing work for the dead other than baptisms for the dead, although Joseph had said you should do work for the dead for washings and anointings, etc. But we don't do that because we're in haste to get out of Nauvoo. Once we get over to Utah, we don't have a full fledged temple again until St. George in the 1870s. And then once we finally have a temple again in the 1870s, guess what we start to do almost immediately? Ordinances for the dead that are beyond baptisms. Right now we're doing washings and anointings, endowments, etc. Just as Joseph had begun to teach right before he was killed. So I think that's important. Right. There's a continuity here. It's not just other prophets just innovating on this thing. There's a continuity to what Joseph had laid out that other prophets are then taking in, taking it to its completion. Is that a fair way to say it? Like it was already headed in that direction. Right?

[A]

Yeah. He's pointing us down the road that other prophets are going to lead us to. But the first steps are definitely from Joseph Smith and the whole theology can kind of be constructed from these connections that he's making here in the scriptures. So verses 1 through 18 are kind of the theological part of section 128. And then 1925 is the historical part. The historical. What should we call, like a rhapsody?

[B]

Truman Madsen called it a rhapsody, which I love.

[A]

Truman Madsen calls it the Restoration Rhapsody. Let's call it that. Which a rhapsody is just like. You're effusively enthusiastic, ecstatic, you're expressing all your feelings. You'll note a lot of exclamation points in these verses. And this is one of my favorite Joseph Smith Smith rhapsodies of all time, where he just starts saying, you guys remember everything that happened. So let's start in verse 19, because this is one of my favorite passages in the whole Doctrine and Covenants. Now, what do we hear in the gospel which we have received? A voice of gladness, a voice of mercy from heaven, and a voice of truth out of the earth. Glad tidings for the dead, A voice of gladness for the living and the dead. Glad tidings of great joy. How beautiful. Beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of those that bring glad tidings of good things and that say unto Zion, behold, thy God reigneth as the dews of Carmel, so shall the knowledge of God descend upon them. And then he starts to get into the history again. What do we hear? Glad tidings from Cumorah Moroni, an angel of heaven declaring the fulfillment of the prophets, the book to be revealed. A voice of the Lord in the wilderness of Fayette, Seneca county, declaring the three witnesses to bear record of the book. Book. The voice of Michael on the banks of the Susquehanna, detecting the devil when he appeared as an angel of light. The voice of Peter, James and John in the wilderness between Harmony, Susquehanna county and Colesville, Broome county on the Susquehanna river, declaring themselves as possessing the keys of the kingdom and of the dispensation of the fullness of time. So he is doing a speedrun through the early Restoration. But he's talking about Moroni, the voice of the Lord making reference to when then the Father testified to the three witnesses that the book is true. And then other events that he's talking about he really hasn't talked about in any other place. For instance, this is the most comprehensive statement we get on the appearance of Peter, James and John. He gives not the precise location, but the approximate location. They appeared in the wilderness between Harmony, Susquehanna county and Colesville, Broome county on the Susquehanna River. Now, that's about a 20 mile stretch. Me and a crew from Scripture Central have driven this stretch. And although there's a Lot of theories. There's no obvious place where they would have appeared. But it's the most detailed statement Joseph makes about the appearance of Peter, James, and John. Then, in addition to that, there's section 27, which is partially received in 1830, and another section of it received received in 1835. Probably the part we're talking about was received in 1835, where the Lord clarifies that Peter, James, and John, using his words here, brought the keys of the kingdom and a dispensation of the Gospel for the last times, a fulness of times, in which I will gather together in one all things, both which are in heaven and which are in earth, and also all those whom my Father hath given me out of the world. That's section 271212 through 14.

[B]

Casey, what do you make of what Joseph says when he says the voice of Michael on the banks of the Susquehanna detecting the devil when he appeared as an angel of light? Like, what do we know about that story? Is there anything other than this right here?

[A]

This is kind of crazy too, right? Because this is the only mention of this particular story that seems like a.

[B]

Cool story we should know about this.

[A]

Sounds like a great experience to share in general. General Conference or something like that. But he only mentions it in this letter. Let's do a little detective work, okay? He says that Michael appeared on the banks of the Susquehanna, that he detected the devil as an angel of light. So this incident must have taken place early in the Restoration because Joseph and Emma are living on the banks of the Susquehanna in Harmony and Colesville and that general area while they're translating the Book of Mormon. And they leave that area in about September 1830. Persecution increases. They move up to Fayette, where the Whitmer family is. So it must have happened around that time frame. Michael is identified in the Scriptures as the archangel who contended with the devil. That's in Jude 1:9, Revelation 12:7. And then Doctrine and Covenants 27:11 identifies Michael as in fact. Doctrine and Covenants 29:11 identifies Michael as the Lord's archangel who will signal the great resurrection of the dead when he sounds his trump. In this passage, Joseph records that what Michael did was detect the devil's attempt to appear as an angel of light. And again, I wish we knew more about this story. It maybe ties into a section that's just next, which is section 129, which there's several instances. The earliest is an 1839 discourse that Joseph gives to the twelve apostles where he spoke about how to detect Satan. And he said in the discourse, as there are many keys to the kingdom of God, the following one will detect Satan when he transforms himself nigh unto an angel of light. And then he gives similar instructions on February 9, 1843, which later becomes Section 129 of the Doctrine and Covenants, which we'll talk about next week. So crazy that like a phrase in a sentence is oh yeah, yeah. You guys remember when Michael detected Satan on the banks of the Susquehanna? Like, I mean, when I take people to the Susquehanna, I'm like, you guys, literally, Michael and Satan had a rematch from premortality on the ground that you're standing on. And if I was Joseph Smith, I would have written a couple passages about this. But he just sort of throws it in here as he's rhapsodizing about the Restoration.

[B]

It's frustrating sometimes when you want to get at the historical richness behind a But whatever, it's okay. We're grateful for what we have. He goes on, still rhapsodizing, still reviewing and again, the voice of God in the chamber of old Father Whitmer in Fayette, Seneca county, and at sundry times in diverse places, through all the travels and tribulations of this Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. What's he talking about there? The voice of God in the chamber of old Father Whitmer. That's something that we he actually did, thankfully, talk about about in another place in his 1838 history. Joseph actually gives a detailed account of of what happened. This is when this is after Peter, James and John have come. So they're they're in Fayette, 1829. They're still working on the translation of the Book of Mormon. And Joseph says this in his history. He says that at length, we got together in the chamber of Mr. Whitmer's house when the word of the Lord came to us, meaning him and Oliver Cowdery in the chamber commanding us that I should ordain Oliver Cowdery to be an elder in the church, and he should ordain me. The Lord goes on to authorize them to confer the Holy Ghost at such a time as when the church is officially organized and to administer the sacrament there. And so Joseph, again reviewing super quickly here, drops that line in verse 21 about when God's voice spoke to us in the chamber of Father Whitmer and the voice of Michael the Archangel, the voice of Gabriel and of Raphael and of diverse angels from Michael or Adam down to the present time, all declaring their Dispensation, their rights, their keys, their honors, their majesty and glory and the power of their priesthood, giving line upon line, precept upon precept. Here a little, there a little. Giving us consolation by holding forth that which is to come, confirming our hope. I just can't get over it. He just drops things like, yeah, Michael, Gabriel, Raphael, you know, they spoke to us too. In fact, every one from Adam till the present came and declared their dispensation to us and gave us keys and declared their dispensation and honors and majesty and glory. It's like Joseph. Slow down and tell us the details. We never learn about when Gabriel came to him in any other place. We never learn about when Raphael came to him. Let's start with identity. Do we know anything about who Gabriel is? Cayce? And what about Raphael?

[A]

Yeah. So Joseph Smith does give a discourse where he identifies Gabriel as the ancient prophet Noah. And then in the discourse, Joseph Smith later taught that he, referring to Gabriel or Noah, stands next in authority to Adam in the precious. My students usually know that one. That one seems to have kind of made it into the consciousness of the Church. Raphael is a real like out of left field.

[B]

This is the only mention of Raphael.

[A]

Ever right in Latter Day Saint scripture. Now, Latter Day Saints tend to not use the apocrypha which Catholic Christians do. There are these 10 books of the Jewish scriptures that Catholics use, but most Protestants don't. And we tend to hew more closely to the Protestant tradition. But Raphael shows up in the Book of Tobit. He's mentioned in Tobit 3, 17 and chapter 5, verse 4. A couple things. The name Raphael means God heals. In the Book of Tobit, Raphael first appears as a human, and then when he reveals himself as an angel, he says that he is one of seven angels who stand ready and enter before the glory of the lord. That's Tobit 1215. The book of Tobit, like I said, is part of the Apocrypha. And the Lord, when he spoke to Joseph Smith about the apocrypha, said there are many things contained therein that are true, and it's mostly translated correctly, but also there are many things contained therein that are not true, which are interpolations by the hand of men. So whether or not these passages in the Book of Tobit are from God is a roll of the dice. The Lord says mostly it's true, but there's also interpolations. Outside of Section 128, however, Raphael is not mentioned in any other known statement of Joseph Smith. His Mention here confirms that he's an important messenger for God, even though we know very little about his mission and what his mortal identity was. And the phrase diverse angels in verse 21 implies that there are other angelic messengers who assisted in the restoration, whose labors might come to light at a later time. So diverse angels, like, who else are we talking about here? I wish this had been a discourse instead of a letter, because I'm sure somebody would have raised their hand and been like, hey, pause for just a second. Could you elaborate on who the other angels are? Can you explain a little bit more? But this is a letter, and so he's never given the chance to elaborate on it. As far as I know. There's no other place where he talks about Raphael, for instance.

[B]

We wish we had more, but we're grateful for what we have. Thank you, Brother Joseph. But I love the litany. I love the list. As Joseph is, is reviewing in his mind all the cool stuff that has happened, all leading up to this. I think in his mind is a crescendo of theology and practice rushing together to create what's going to become our temple theology. Right. As he reviews all of that and sees where it's going, I just love verse 22, when he says, brethren, shall we not go on in so great a cause? This is amazing. Go forward and not backward. He says, courage, brethren, and on, on to the victory. Let your hearts rejoice and be exceedingly glad. By the way. Pause. Joseph is in an attic hiding from people who falsely are accusing him of being a conspirator in the attempted assassination on Governor Boggs. He's. He's being hounded. He, you know, Section 127, he's like, I'm just used to being persecuted and having the wrath of the man pointed toward me. You just see, like his spirit here. People are trying to hold him down, hold him down. He's in hiding. He's in an attic. And what is he doing? He's writing this. Let the earth break forth into singing the irrepressible Joseph Smith. Let the dead speak forth anthems of eternal praise to the King Emmanuel, who hath ordained before the world was that which would enable us, the living, to redeem them, the dead out of their prison, for the prisoners shall go free. Nothing can keep Joseph down from seeing the clarity of what God is doing and then just speaking with enthusiasm to try to help the rest of us see it. Like, it's amazing what's underway. It's the most earth altering, like, incredible thing happening on planet Earth at this time, and Joseph could see it. I sometimes wondered, Casey, with Joseph's question earlier on, when he said, what do we hear in the gospel that we have received? I thought that that would be an interesting question to ask a lot of members of the church. It's an important question for all of us to think about. What do we hear in the gospel that we've received? This is what Joseph Smith hears. He thinks about all of this. He thinks about how incredible it is, what God is up to in this transformative work that's going to revolutionize the land of the living and the land of the dead. He thinks it's incredible. But I've wondered sometimes, Casey, at some times in my life, it's like Scott was what do you hear in the gospel that you've received? If you ask my young teenage self, I might say a list of rules. What I hear in the gospel I've received is like mediocre talks given at church sometimes. I sit through some boring lessons sometimes. And like, I don't know, like, what? What do I hear in the gospel I've received? You know what I mean? Like, there's different times in our lives. Like, we may answer this question differently. Compare and contrast that to Joseph Smith's vision here. And I think he's trying to help Latter Day Saints catch the vision of how incredible this is. There's probably saints in Nauvoo that are mourning the fact that Joseph's in hiding again. You know what's going to happen to him? He's always being hunted by his enemies. And here's Joseph saying, get the picture. Like, this cause is amazing. Shall we not go on in so great a cause? It's so cool.

[A]

And joy is an overriding theme here, right in verse 23. Let the mountains shout for joy. All ye vast valleys cry aloud. All ye seas and dry lands tell the wonders of your eternal king. Then he goes through the rivers and the brooks. Let the sun, moon and the morning stars sing together. And let all the sons of God shout for joy, making reference to the book of Job. And let the eternal creations declare his name forever and ever. And again I say, how glorious is the voice we hear from heaven, proclaiming in our ears glory and salvation and honor and immortality and eternal life, kingdoms, principalities and powers. Then, as he's closing the letter, he circles back to the theological premise that the whole letter is about. Behold, the great day of the Lord is at hand, referencing Malachi. Who can abide the day of his coming? Who can Stand. When he appeareth. He is like a refiner's fire and like fuller's soap. And he shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver. And he shall purify the sons of Levi and purge them as gold and silver that they may offer un unto the Lord an offering in righteousness. Let us therefore, as a church and as a people, and as Latter Day Saints, offer unto the Lord an offering in righteousness. And let us present in his holy temple when it is finished, a book containing the records of our dead which shall be worthy of all acceptation. Then he just closes. Brethren, I have many things to say to you on the subject, but I now close for the present and continue the subject for another time. Time. I am, as ever, your humble servant and never deviating friend, Joseph Smith. So these last few verses, he ties it all together by basically saying, we're going to make an offering unto the Lord in our work to perform and then record work for people that are deceased. The offering to the Lord, the offering of the saints, is compared with the offering of the sons of Levi described in an earlier revelation as an acceptable offering and sacrifice in the house of the Lord. That sacrifice, section 84, 31. So this time, going through the doctrine and covenants, the sons of Levi referenced in section 13, where he says that the sons of Levi may make an acceptable offering. I think one of the big light bulbs for me has been in section 84 when he says, if you accept the priesthood, you become a son of Aaron and a son of Moses, basically a son of Levi. And that what section 13 is talking about isn't mysterious in Joseph Smith's mind. It's our work, work to help the dead. That the offering that the sons of Levi are supposed to give is the work that Latter Day Saints do in temples because we become essentially the stewards of what the ancient Levites watched over, which is the sacred work that happens in temples.

[B]

See, that's beautiful. You know, what do we hear in the gospel that we have received? This ability to participate in the work of uniting the human family together. And the work that we do in temple temples, that's way better than I hear that we can't drink and we can't smoke. Open your eyes, brother. Like the. What have we received in the Gospel, brother? This is. This is so big. It is bigger than you. It encompasses every person who's ever lived, and we get to participate in bringing about the salvation of the whole human family. How cool is that?

[A]

Yeah, amazing. Some of Joseph Smith's Best writing, I'll say here. But let's move on to the controversies here. One of the things we kind of already brought up, which is when we talk about the welding link, Joseph Smith says, what's the welding link? It's baptism for the dead. Most members of the church wouldn't say baptism for the dead is the welding link. Or at the very least, they wouldn't say it's the only thing that constitutes the welding link. So how does our understanding of sealing and sealing powers change from. From when section 128 is written to what we believe today?

[B]

Yeah, and that can be controversial. Right, because it seems almost like Joseph Smith might not fully understand the doctrine himself here. Right. But I like how you phrased it earlier. Like this is Joseph Smith, line upon line, precept on precept. The building blocks of his understanding are unfolding in real time. He knows baptisms for the dead is part of this big picture of uniting the whole human family together. This is 1842. 2. He's still got two more years to develop this before he's martyred in June in 1844. And we know that he does. He starts mentioning not just baptisms for the dead, but also washings and anointings for the dead. And then the next logical steps are endowments for the dead, marriages for the dead, sealings of children to parents for the dead. And we should note, too, that that marriages for the dead was already happening as well. For instance, Hyrum Smith had lost his wife Jerusha, and Joseph has Hyram sealed to his dead wife Jerusha. So it's starting to happen piecemeal here a little, there a little. We're not doing endowments for the dead until we get to Utah.

[A]

Sometimes we. We don't appreciate that that work for the dead in Nauvoo, for. For the large part was limited to baptisms for the dead. Like you mentioned, there's exceptions like Hyrum and Jerusha Smith. Another notable exception is if you go to Nauvoo to day and do the temple city tour. By the way, just a wonderful experience to go to Nauvoo and learn this on the site. One of the experiences they do there, you start out in the home of William Weeks, who's the architect of the Nauvoo Temple. Then you go to Edward Hunter's home, which has been rebuilt, which is where section 127, section 128 are written. And then you go down the hill to the home of William and Esther Gein. When you walk into the William and Esther Gein home, they. They have a funeral. Funeral set up. They have, like, a casket because William Deane died in Nauvoo, and Esther, his wife, wanted to be sealed to him before she left Nauvoo. So it was happening in a limited sense, but it's really in the St. George Temple where all of the ordinances that we're familiar with sort of come together. And it's Wilford Woodruff and Brigham Young sitting down together and basically connecting the dots. Like in one discourse, Brigham Young does say that Joseph Smith basically said, I'm giving you. I'm paraphrasing here, but I'm giving you sort of the rough outline. I need you to fill in everything later on. And one of the connections they made was, well, if we're going to do baptisms for the dead, we need to do washings and anointings for the dead, we need to do endowments for the dead, and we need to seal the dead together as family. So, again, Section 128 is an early document explaining temple ordinances. But the whole beautiful theology of this that's so important to Latter Day Saints today is revealed through later prophets as. As they go and as they're continuing the work that Joseph starts here.

[B]

Yeah, 100%. In fact, I want to share a quote from President Packer about the sealing power. He says it like this quote. In the early days of the church, the saints didn't know how to use the sealing power on behalf of the dead. He just says it like that. Similarly, he says it took time for the saints to understand the message. Matter of ceilings. They knew there was a ceiling, yet they didn't quite know what it was. So they began by getting themselves, like, sealed to living prophets. This starts to happen. Starts talking about connecting like you'd have people that are getting connected as children to prophets. And then he says, In April 1894, this changes in General Conference, when President Wilford Woodruff explained the changes. And that's when we got, like, land lineage straightened out, when we knew what the sealing of families was all about. Close quote. So this is in a book he wrote called Things of the Soul. That's pages 214 to 216, President Packer and I mean, he's going off a little bit on a little tangent about sealing of the living to prophets instead of to their parents. But it just illustrates the point that everything wasn't ironed out in Nauvoo before Joseph Smith died relative to the sealing power. To your point, and to that question, like, how does it understanding of the sealing develop? Well, line upon line is how it develops here a little and there a little. Until 1894, for instance, it wasn't even standard practice yet to have children sealed to their parents all the way back. And so we're watching this unfold. The revelations are here, the theology, all the pieces are in place here. Right. He quoted in section 128, by the way, about the turning of the hearts of the children of the Father, fathers and fathers to the children, the linking of the dispensations, like the theology is already there to have children sealed to their parents. But we're just kind of figuring it out as we go. And until 1894, the Lord tells President Woodruff, like, all right, let's get this clear. Let's go. And so it's an interesting quote from President Packer, a kind of interesting admission, looking in our history and be like, yeah, we really didn't have that fully ironed out yet, did we? And that's okay. That's how. I mean, that's how the Lord works. I guess that's how we would answer that. Anything else you would add to that?

[A]

It's one thing to be a Joseph Smith originalist, but Joseph Smith laid the foundation. Many other prophets, many other great figures in the history of the Church helped forward what Joseph Smith did. Even something as basic as the Relief Society people had to pick up the banner after Joseph Smith's death and continue the work that he had started. And a lot of what happens in the Church today is to the credit of those successors of Joseph Smith, those people that followed in his footsteps.

[B]

Joseph himself wrote that we believe that God will yet reveal many great and important things pertaining to the kingdom of God. And many of those revelations come through his successors. Okay, I only have one more controversy. Casey, who the heck is Raphael?

[A]

I don't know. I don't know. And I could just purely speculate here. We talked in section 110 that maybe the Elias that appeared there was Abraham because all the dispensation heads appeared. Maybe Raphael is Enoch. We don't have any record of Enoch appearing to Joseph Smith. In Jewish Pseudepigrapha, Enoch does become an angel, and he has the coolest angel name of all time, Metatron, which sounds like somebody that should be fighting Optimus Prime. Right. But I don't know who Raphael is. And let me just say it's interesting because it seems really frustrating that Joseph Smith just like drops a reference to Michael fighting Satan and then Says Raphael here, too. But it seems like he did do that quite a bit. If you get one of those books like We Knew the Prophet or a later one that's really good, is Remembering Joseph by Mark McConkie. There's a lot of people who basically say, yeah, Joseph Smith would say things like, they're discussing the writings of Paul. And Joseph Smith goes, I'm paraphrasing here. The Apostle Paul was a short man with dark, beady eyes, a hooked nose, and a high, whiny voice, except when it was elevated and then it resembled the roaring of a lion. How do you know that? You know, Truman Madsen talks about this incident where Joseph was asked about his brother Alvin and said, Alvin was a handsome man, surpassed by none except Adam or maybe Seth. And I remember one other story where a person who was with Joseph Smith, basically, Joseph Smith said, we're going to have visions. Like, he said, let's go out in the woods, we'll pray, then we'll have visions. And they talk about the throne of God being shown to them. And he says, I saw Adam and Eve sitting on the throne. And then I remember him saying, Eve was a larger woman. I don't know what that means, but it speaks to the point that Joseph Smith was what Truman Manson calls a spiritual amphibian, that he just, like, went in and out of the spirit realm, that it was fairly common for him to see and discourse and speak with people that had long since passed on that were now coming back. That that's one of the really exciting things about this dispensation that Joseph Smith is putting forward here is it's like everybody's coming back, and everybody that ever did something significant on behalf of God is now bringing back something to help set off to help launch this last and greatest of all the dispensations.

[B]

I like it. While you were talking, I did ask AI whether or not Raphael could be Enoch. And for what it's worth, AI said, no, Raphael's not Enoch. And then it said this. However, the archangel Raphael is featured in the Book of Enoch as a companion and guide to Enoch, while Enoch himself is traditionally identified with Metatron after his transformation into an angel, Raphael is an archangel known for his healing powers, as seen in the Book of Tubit and the Book of Enoch, where he is tasked with healing the earth. Close quote. Whatever that means. There's AI's take on it.

[A]

So I'm guessing if you. If you asked AI is Michael Adam or is Gabriel Noah? It probably wouldn't say yes to that either. So I'm not going to close the door on Raphael being Enoch or some other significant figure from early on in the history of the world. Like maybe Raphael is. I'm just spitballing here, but maybe Raphael is Seth or Melchizedek or something cool like that. I have no proof to back any of these things up. I'm just throwing out names.

[B]

You know, it's interesting. While you were talking, I asked AI whether or not Michael was Adam and yeah, okay, AI said the prophet just Joseph Smith clearly identifies both Adam and Michael as one in the same person.

[A]

That's good. Okay, one point for AI there.

[B]

That's funny. Okay, off to consequences.

[A]

Let's go back to the last thing Joseph Smith says where he talks about this offering for the sons of Levi, which a lot of people have gone back and forth on what that means. The the sons of Levi in the Bible, for instance, oversaw burnt offerings, animal sacrifices, essentially under this complicated system explained in the book of Leviticus as to how Israelites would participate in temple worship. So Joseph Smith does speak about this. In fact, he even hints that as part of the restoration of all things, this system of animal sacrifice might make a temporary return. In fact, here's what he says. This is from an 1840 instruction. Joseph Smith gives these sacrifices as well as every ordinance belonging to the priesthood. Priesthood will when the temple of the Lord shall be built and the sons of Levi be purified, be fully restored and attended to all their powers, ramifications and blessings that ever did, and will exist when the powers of the Melchizedek priesthood are sufficiently manifest. Else how can the restitution of all things spoken of by the holy prophets be brought to pass? The same instruction clarified that this was so. Same discourse clarified that this was only to be a temporary restatement of animal sacrifice, adding, it is not to be understood that the law of Moses will be established again with all its rites and variety of ceremonies. This has never been spoken of by the prophets, but those things which existed prior to Moses day sacrifice will be continued. So on the one hand, him invoking the sons of Levi is part of this grand and glorious work to restore all things, the restitution of all things. But he also, in section 128, seems to clearly make the offering of the sons of Levi something different than an animal sacrifice. This offering made by the modern sons of Levi, as defined in section 84, verses 32 to 34, those who accept the priesthood and become the sons of Levi, their offering is their record, their record demonstrating that the ordinances of salvation have been performed for the living and the dead using the sealing power that was given in the last days. So, yeah, this is, is the start of sealing temple work connecting generations. These big, big ideas that do so much to motivate Latter Day Saints to get up, to search out their ancestors, to go to the temple, to spend time in the temple, and to do a work that connects all humanity together, at least as many as are willing to accept the covenants that are offered to them.

[B]

So I think that Joseph Smith wondered what the sons of Levi offering again and offering unto Lord in righteousness meant when John the Baptist came to him. I think he's been pondering that for many years. And in 1840, with the logic of the restitution of all things on his mind, he therefore concluded that animal sacrifice, I guess, is going to have to come back in order to fulfill that sons of Levi offering. But then what I think, and this is the controversial part, I think that 1842, right here, this letter, section 128, shows Joseph updating his understanding. I think he moved away from this idea of the restoration of animal sacrifice in understanding that the offering of the sons of Levi would be the book containing the records of our dead, which he calls it here, right in verse 24. And I can't prove it. I can't prove that he moved from 1840 to a new position in 1842. My only evidence is he never ever talks about animal sacrifices that again. And I think this is where all of his energy by the end of his life is going toward temple and not animal sacrifice, not restoring that in the least, but actually trying to get everything set up so that we could perform these ordinances and have it recorded on earth and in heaven. So my opinion is the Revelation is represented here in section 128, and that sermon in 1840 is likely Joseph Smith trying to put the pieces together himself before that revelation came. What do you think?

[A]

I'm going to push back because I think his reasoning in the 1840 discourse is still solid that we really do believe in the restitution of all things. And throughout the doctrine and Covenants, there is a serious consideration of animal sacrifice. I mean, one of the things that's interesting about the saints is they're not New Testament. Only people, like they read the whole Bible, they take the whole Bible really seriously. And we're going to talk about that a little bit when we talk about plural marriage and the introduction of it in a couple episodes. And so I think that that logic of, well, if everything has to be restored, then there has to be animal sacrifice, at least temporarily. Still stands. But I agree with you that he does later come to understand. Oh, but this is probably the more important thing, right? That this record of the work for the dead. So I don't think it has to be either or. I think animal sacrifice, in my opinion, will be temporarily brought back. But I also think that the major point, the real deal is this work for the dead. The sons of Levi, meaning those who accept the priesthood, have to carry out. So, yeah, I'm okay with his understanding growing, but I think his logic from 1840 is still sound as well. But yeah, it seems like the early saints really believed we got to bring back everything, that everything has to be brought back into one big hole, even if it's just for demonstration purposes. And then we move on.

[B]

Okay, well, I guess we will see on that one. Okay. Consequences of section 128. The work for the dead continues in earnest. And I think Joseph's enthusiasm here in this section is contagious. That's one of the major consequences of this. Just to see how excited he is about this work, how consequential he understands it to be, I think has permeated at least the upper echelons of our church leadership, considering how much time and money and resources are put into building temples and to encouraging the saints. But Casey, I'm encouraged. I see Latter Day Saints all over the place that are excited about work for the dead. Just this morning I was driving my daughter to an early practice for her, a sport she's involved in. And in the early ambrosial hours of the day, I see these college kids walking toward the temple just excited to go and do work for their. For the dead. And I just said to my daughter, how cool is that? Look at that. They're just happily heading to the temple at this hour of the day, which is amazing. And the enthusiasm for the work for the dead just continues. I love section 128 for so many things, but especially for Joseph's enthusiasm for and his vision of the. The work that we're involved in. It's very contagious.

[A]

There's nothing more powerful than going to the temple and thinking I'm helping another person open the door to salvation. They got to choose to go in. But the fact that we get to help open that door is really special. And a proxy act that helps save another person. I mean, what's more Christlike than that, really? That's ultimately what the Savior did for us.

[B]

The prisoners shall go free. So good. Well, thank you, Casey. Casey, another great discussion with you. Appreciate your insights and thoughts as always. We look forward to next week, section 129 through 132, some of the crowning doctrines of the Restoration. Casey. With some controversy in there as well, especially with section 132. So stay tuned. We'll look forward to diving into all of it next week with you.

[A]

See you then.

[B]

Sa.