S5E8 D&C 10 Part 2

Summary

Podcast Summary: Standard of Truth – S5E8 D&C 10 Part 2

Host: Dr. Gerrit Dirkmaat
Guest: Dr. Richard Leduc
Release Date: February 20, 2025
Episode Title: D&C 10 Part 2

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Introduction to D&C 10 Part 2

In this episode of Standard of Truth, hosts Dr. Gerrit Dirkmaat and Dr. Richard Leduc delve deeper into Doctrine and Covenants Section 10, Part 2. Building upon their previous discussion, they explore the complexities surrounding the lost 116 pages of Joseph Smith’s translation, the persistent opposition from adversarial forces, and the profound implications for Latter-Day Saints today.

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Recap of Part One and Overview of Part Two

Dr. Dirkmaat begins by summarizing Part One, where they discussed the miraculous nature of the Book of Mormon’s translation and the historical context of the revelations received by Joseph Smith. He highlights the mystery surrounding the exact timing of the revelation and its subsequent modifications through Joseph Smith's prophetic guidance.

Quote:
"We spent a great deal of time in part one laying the background and just how miraculous the work of the Lord was in bringing forth the Book of Mormon."
— Dr. Dirkmaat [00:27]

Transitioning to Part Two, Dr. Dirkmaat emphasizes the intensifying opposition Joseph Smith faced, paralleling it with the satanic interference evident during Joseph’s First Vision.

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Understanding the Opposition

The hosts discuss the nature of the opposition detailed in D&C 10, highlighting how satanic forces actively sought to impede Joseph Smith’s work. They draw connections between the historical persecutions faced by early Saints and the ongoing spiritual battles described in the revelation.

Quote:
"The opposition is not just, hey, these people don't like your dang fangled new religion... Satan is desperately trying to stop the work from going forward."
— Dr. Dirkmaat [02:00]

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The Loss of the 116 Pages

A significant portion of the discussion centers on the controversial loss of the 116 pages Joseph Smith had translated. Dr. Dirkmaat and Dr. Leduc examine the revelation’s implications that these pages were stolen by the servants of Satan, undermining any notion that they were merely lost.

Quote:
"The revelation says that it is a group of people, so it can't just be Lucy Harris. And in fact, the revelation says that it is men who have taken them."
— Dr. Dirkmaat [48:09]

They critique alternative theories suggesting that Lucy Harris herself may have destroyed the pages, reinforcing the idea that a concerted effort by adversarial forces was responsible.

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The Role of Priesthood and Divine Authority

Dr. Dirkmaat underscores the miraculous aspect of Joseph Smith performing translations without being ordained to a priesthood office at the time. This serves to illustrate that the power of God transcends ecclesiastical structures.

Quote:
"Joseph Smith is acting as a seer. He is, by the gift and power of God, performing the greatest miracle of modern times. And he hasn't had hand won put on his head giving him the priesthood."
— Dr. Dirkmaat [06:18]

He further explains that while the Church today is organized with specific authority structures, miracles and divine interventions are not confined within these boundaries.

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Satan as a Real Adversary

A pivotal theme of the episode is the affirmation of Satan as a real, personal being actively working against divine purposes. The hosts contrast this belief with the declining belief in Satan among modern Christians, discussing the dangers of viewing evil as merely a concept rather than a personified force.

Quote:
"We don't believe that Satan is just a way that you talk about evil in the world. Satan is a real being."
— Dr. Leduc [19:21]

They explore survey data indicating that less than half of American Christians believe in Satan’s existence, highlighting theological and moral implications of this shift.

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Implications for Modern Believers

Dr. Dirkmaat advises listeners to discern the voices and influences in their lives, emphasizing that recognizing Satan as a personal adversary is crucial for overcoming temptation and maintaining spiritual integrity.

Quote:
"All false revelation, all of it has one thing in common, and that is it tells you what you want to hear."
— Dr. Leduc [48:32]

He warns against the allure of flattering voices that contradict prophetic guidance, urging adherence to divine commandments to safeguard one’s soul.

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God’s Sovereignty Amidst Chaos

Despite the seemingly insurmountable opposition, the revelation in D&C 10 reassures believers of God’s ultimate control and wisdom. The hosts reflect on historical persecutions and current societal secularization, affirming that God’s plan prevails despite human and satanic interference.

Quote:
"Doctrine covenant section 10 is something that makes you want to shout hallelujah to God because he had our welfare in mind hundreds of years."
— Dr. Dirkmaat [40:10]

They draw parallels between ancient biblical narratives and Joseph Smith’s experiences, reinforcing the continuity of divine protection and purpose.

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Conclusion: Perseverance and Faith

In wrapping up, Dr. Dirkmaat and Dr. Leduc reiterate the importance of faith and perseverance in the face of adversity. They encourage listeners to trust in God’s plan, acknowledging that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints will endure through divine assistance despite external and internal challenges.

Final Thoughts:
"The Lord Jesus Christ has established this church and it will persevere until the Lord Jesus Christ sets his foot back down on the earth again."
— Dr. Dirkmaat [47:52]

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Notable Quotes with Timestamps

• Dr. Dirkmaat [00:27]:
  "We spent a great deal of time in part one laying the background and just how miraculous the work of the Lord was in bringing forth the Book of Mormon."

• Dr. Dirkmaat [02:00]:
  "The opposition is not just, hey, these people don't like your dang fangled new religion... Satan is desperately trying to stop the work from going forward."

• Dr. Dirkmaat [06:18]:
  "Joseph Smith is acting as a seer. He is, by the gift and power of God, performing the greatest miracle of modern times. And he hasn't had hand won put on his head giving him the priesthood."

• Dr. Leduc [19:21]:
  "We don't believe that Satan is just a way that you talk about evil in the world. Satan is a real being."

• Dr. Leduc [48:32]:
  "All false revelation, all of it has one thing in common, and that is it tells you what you want to hear."

• Dr. Dirkmaat [40:10]:
  "Doctrine covenant section 10 is something that makes you want to shout hallelujah to God because he had our welfare in mind hundreds of years."

• Dr. Dirkmaat [47:52]:
  "The Lord Jesus Christ has established this church and it will persevere until the Lord Jesus Christ sets his foot back down on the earth again."

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Key Takeaways

1. Divine Opposition: Doctrine and Covenants Section 10 vividly portrays the relentless opposition from satanic forces aimed at thwarting the restoration of the Church.

2. Miraculous Translation: Joseph Smith’s ability to translate the Book of Mormon without initial priesthood authority underscores the unparalleled power of God at work.

3. Satan as a Personal Adversary: Recognizing Satan as a real being is crucial for spiritual resilience and combating temptation effectively.

4. Theft of the 116 Pages: The revelation clarifies that the loss of the 116 pages was due to deliberate theft by adversarial forces, not mere misplacement or accidental loss.

5. Faith and Perseverance: Despite historical and ongoing challenges, steadfast faith in God’s plan ensures the Church’s endurance and ultimate triumph.

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Conclusion

This episode of Standard of Truth provides a profound exploration of D&C 10 Part 2, offering listeners a deepened understanding of the spiritual battles faced by Joseph Smith and the enduring principles that guide Latter-Day Saints today. Through insightful analysis and scriptural references, Dr. Dirkmaat and Dr. Leduc encourage believers to maintain unwavering faith amidst adversity, trusting in God’s supreme wisdom and protection.

For more insights and resources, visit standardoftruth.com.

Transcript

[A]

Welcome to Search these Commandments, a Standard of Truth podcast production. In this podcast, Dr. Garrett Dirkmaat and Dr. Richard Leduc review each section of the Doctrine and Covenants and the revelations received by the prophet Joseph Smith to strengthen your faith and deepen your understanding. They approach the Doctrine and Covenants with faith expertise and humor.

[B]

Foreign welcome to Search these Commandments a Standard of Truth podcast production. I'm your host, Dr. Garrett Dirkmont, and I'm joined by my fellow doctor, Dr. Richard Leduc.

[C]

Hello, Garrett. Thanks for having me back. Last week we talked about doctrine covenants, section 10, part one, where we, where we. You kind of provided some context and we got, we got, you read, we.

[B]

Got deep into it.

[C]

You read verse one. Now this is. There's 70 verses in this section. You read verse one that took an hour.

[B]

And, and now you're saying reading the entire hour.

[C]

No, it's true. No, no, I'm saying just getting to it. But now in, in, in the, in the pre recording, in the prep, you said, I really got to go back to verse one.

[B]

I don't think I really covered it hard enough. Yeah. So if you are listening, if you're just tuning in and you're like, oh, they mislabeled this and they said that it's part two, but it has to be part one because they're talking about verse one. Welcome to the Standard of Truth family of podcast. We spent a great deal of time in part one laying the background and just how miraculous the. The work of the Lord was in bringing forth the Book of Mormon. And we talked about words of Mormon, we talked about Nephi and Mormon and their preparation without knowing why, for something that was going to happen in the future. We also talked about the history of the revelation, how we're not entirely sure when it was received and that it has been modified over the course of time, prophetically through Joseph Smith's revelation. So the question of course becomes, what do we do now that those pages are lost? Now, whether that question was asked in 1828 or whether that question was asked in 1829, or whether it was asked both times. I mean, maybe they ask again. I don't know. The reality of just how much opposition there is coming from the devil is just very front and center in this section. And you get a sense, much the same way you do from Joseph Smith's explanation of what happened to him with the first vision that Satan is desperately trying to stop in every way he can, the work from going forward. And yet, because God is God, he already knew that the servants of Satan were going to. To do what they did. If, if we go to section 10, Joseph is told and. And it is in the past tense. So part of the reason why you know this is after Doctrine Covenant Section 3, even though we don't have the date. And also you lost your gift. This is verse two. And also you lost your gift at that same time and your mind became darkened. So I want to ruminate on something. I know. Let's spend the rest of this time on verse two. How about that?

[C]

That sounds great.

[B]

Wouldn't it be great if we put out a 70 part series on section 10?

[C]

So instead of hitting all the Doctrine Covenants, we're going to get to 10 and then we're going to do that for two years.

[B]

Yeah. We just keep doing 10. Yeah. And people like, I can't wait to find out what happens in verse six. And they come back each week for that. It's weird. I know it's not an audible sound, but I can hear people canceling as they. They're uninstalling the podcast as I'm talking. It's crazy.

[C]

They're weird. They could unsubscribe to our podcast, but you're saying they're deleting the entire app from their. They're showing their phone in the garbage.

[B]

They're deleting the podcast app from their Apple phones and they're deleting Spotify as well. In fact, they're probably deleting apps that have no bearing on what they listen to. They're deleting Google at this point. They're deleting everything. They're like, what do I have to do to get this? It's kind of like when it's two in the morning and you wake up and you hear that little chip coming from your smoke detector.

[C]

Yeah.

[B]

And you went from this peaceful slumber to you are willing to burn your own house down to find which one of them is making the chirp sound and making it stop. Or am I the only one that has that happen? No.

[C]

First of all, this is part of the reason why this whole, this whole part will be on verse two. But I, I just helped move my dad to Idaho. He had four smoke detectors. I thought he just had just maybe two or whatever. I was driven to the madness of like an Edgar Allen Poe nevermore. I was, I was driven to absolute madness trying to find these smoke detectors.

[B]

So it was like the Telltale Heart then. It was.

[C]

Yeah, yeah.

[B]

It's crazy. Like if I'm ever captured in War. The way to get me to tell.

[C]

You, I love the idea of you, like, the military coming. Garrett, we need you to enlist.

[B]

Yeah, well, look, I figure things are going pretty bad if they're coming to me saying, you know what? We need you. I mean, so at that point, they're taking everybody and. But if I were captured, I have to tell them, if someone were to play that sound, I would give up everything. Even though it only goes off like. And actually the worst part is it only goes off like, every minute.

[C]

Yeah, I'd rather have baby shark on a loop for 30 hours in a row than that.

[B]

I would. I would rather have kazoo baby shark on a loop, you know, just.

[C]

Yeah, not a real kazoo, like wax paper and a cone.

[B]

Right. One that from the 1930s. That's. Yeah, that's.

[C]

Or activity days.

[B]

So anyway, I digress. But the reason why I want to spend a little bit of time on verse two is this. It is an important thing to recognize that Joseph Smith has the gift and power of God. But what priesthood office has he been ordained to? None. Right. He has already translated well over a hundred pages of. Of these gold plates, putting them to paper now that they're gone. But I mean, he had done it, and he hasn't been ordained to any priesthood office. Joseph Smith is acting as a seer. He is, by the gift and power of God, performing the greatest miracle of modern times. And he hasn't had hand won put on his head giving him the priesthood. I think it's important to recognize that, to stop and to think about the incredible power of God sometimes I know, at least I thought when I was younger, that I couldn't possibly pray for miracles or perform them if I didn't have the priesthood. If I didn't have priesthood given to me, if I wasn't, you know, even when I had the Aaronic priesthood, if I wasn't a Melchizedek priesthood holder and an elder, obviously God hears and answers prayers. Obviously God performs miracles with people who don't have any priesthood authority at all. The power of God is given however God wills it. Now, we know that God has a structure whereby he gives that authority inside of the church. But men and women both have access to perform miracles by the prayer of faith through the power of God. And Joseph Smith is a perfect example of this. He has not even been baptized. He has not even received or made the first covenant, let alone received authority. And even when he received authority, at first, it's just the Aaronic priesthood. And yet he's Receiving revelations that are now scripture that we are discussing right now. God works in the ways that God chooses to work. Look, the church is structured today. Of course, it needs to be. There's 17 and a half million of us, hundreds of different languages and countries. There needs to be a structure so that you don't have your local Sunday school president claiming that he received authority, that we're all supposed to move to the mountains, which happens at times. Right? So there does have to be a structure. But I think it's important that we don't allow the fact that God has given us a structure today to let that restrict God. God gives us boundaries that we stay in, but it's not because God is actually bound. God has created them so that we can function as a church the way that he wants us to function. And so I just want to pause and make that point. All of these revelations that you've read so far, all the way up really through doctrine covenants, section 10 and even beyond, are scripture that you are reading that were received by an illiterate farm boy who doesn't have. Who has less authority than a deacon. That, that's. That's how great and powerful this miracle is. Now we, like I said, we know that this is after Doctrine Covenant Section three, because he lost his gift to translate and his mind became darkened. I mean, that's a pretty good way of describing, remember the despondency that. The weeping and wailing, the gnashing of teeth, that happened because Joseph truly thought he was damned. But verse three, he had his authority. He had that power restored unto you again and continue unto the finishing of the remainder of the work of translation as you have begun. Verse 4 and 5 are scriptures that were memorized by many people with the Scripture Mastery Program. Do not run faster or labor more than you have strength and means provided to enable you to translate, but be diligent unto the end. So that's obviously one of the most applicable verses there is in here. You need to do whatever you can do to build the kingdom, but it doesn't help anybody if you end up trying to do so much that you do nothing at all. Right? Just be diligent, but then pray always that you may come off conqueror, yea, that you may conquer Satan, that you may escape the hands of the servant of Satan that do uphold his work. Now, I remember reading this when I was in high school and thinking, yeah, this is a reason to pray because Satan really is there. And again, we should apply this to ourselves. You do need to pray always to prevent Satan and the minions who follow him from leading you down a ruinous path. But in direct application to Joseph Smith, this is not an ethereal if you pray, you're going to be able to overcome the servants of Satan because the remainder of the revelation is going to go on to say, there literally are people right now that are trying to destroy you. Now Joseph's got a pretty good idea that people are trying to. I mean, people have assaulted him multiple times, they've broken into his house multiple times, they've dug up his yard, ransacked his house, they've tried to try him for, for the crime of fraud, they've taken potshots through his parents house at him. He clearly knows that there is opposition. But I almost wonder if Joseph doesn't realize at this point that the opposition is not just, hey, these people don't like your dang fangled new religion. Karnsarnet. The same being that tried to stop you from uttering that prayer is the same being that is trying to destroy this work and to destroy you. And I think that helps bring into relief. Honestly, one of the most important things you will ever do in your life is understand who it is who's speaking to you in your mind. When you feel that impulse, when you feel that, oh, I should go do this, I should go do that, knowing who's speaking to you changes everything. Because if you hear words in your mind that are things like, you're worthless, you're garbage, you've made so many mistakes that you can't ever change, no one could ever possibly love you, God doesn't even love you. Look at how horrible you've been. God hates you. There is no repentance for you. You can't make it right. There is a being that is speaking to you, but it's not God. One of the increasingly unique principles of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints among the Christian world is we don't believe that Satan is just a way that you talk about evil in the world. It's one of the most fascinating studies to watch. People who are Christians who absolutely believe in God and absolutely believe in Jesus, the same Christian, to say that they don't actually believe that Satan is a real being, that that's just a way of talking about sin, but that it's not actually a real being. And the Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter Day Saints from its inception has said Satan is a real being. Now, Joseph will not have read this yet, although maybe Nephi wrote something similar on the large plates that he already translated that Martin Harris lost. But it's striking to me as a historian to read what Nephi has to say about the day in which the Book of Mormon comes forth. Right the that there shall be many. We shall say, eat, drink and be merry, for tomorrow we die, and it shall be well with us. And there shall also be many which shall say, eat, drink and be merry. Nevertheless, fear God he will justify in committing a little sin, yea, lie a little, take advantage of one because of his words, dig a pit for thy neighbor, there is no harm in this. And do all these things, for tomorrow we die. And if it so be that we are guilty, God will beat us with a few stripes and at last we shall be saved in the kingdom of God. And there shall be many which shall teach after this manner false and vain and foolish doctrines, and shall be puffed up in their hearts and shall seek deep to hide their counsels from the Lord, and their works shall be in darkness. And you know, Joseph, you know, unless there's something similar in the Book of Lehi, he, he hasn't read this, but imagine what it will be like when he does translate it, when he's talking about these last days. For at that day he shall rage in the hearts of the children of men and stir them up to anger against that which is good. Boy. If there is a better description of the rage people have towards Joseph Smith and the claims of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints and others, he will pacify and lull them into a carnal security. And they will say, all is well in Zion, yea, Zion prospereth, all is well. And thus the devil cheateth their souls and leadeth them carefully down to hell. And behold, others, he flattereth away, and he telleth them there is no hell. And he saith, I am no devil, for there is none. And he whispereth in their ears until he grasp them with his awful chains, from whence there is no deliverance. We are watching the prophecy of the Book of Mormon unfold in real time in Christianity. Now, I don't expect an atheist to believe that Satan is a real being because they don't believe in beings beyond the other side, right? But what's amazing is to see the parting graphs of surveys where a Christian who affirms that they believe in God in the same survey, same Christian says they don't believe that Satan exists.

[C]

Garrett, there's some interesting so it depends on the source you go to, but there's the Christian post from 2009 that has 35% of American Christians. Christians believing in Satan. There is a. There's another article that's more recent that puts that number closer to the kind of the mid-40s.

[B]

But regardless, whatever it is, the majority of American Christians.

[C]

Christians. Yeah, right.

[B]

Not atheists. Again, I get it. Atheists or, you know, or Hindus or. I understand if you're Buddhist, that you may not believe in Satan, but Christians, Christians who are saying that Jesus exists and that Jesus is their savior and that God exists. Under 50% believe that Satan exists. What do you think the implications are of people no longer believing that the devil is real?

[C]

Yeah, and in those same articles, they talk about maybe evil influence or that there's like, that's kind of the blanket that they throw over all of the mysteries of suffering and evil and wickedness. Right. But without it being an actual person.

[B]

Yeah. And I think that the danger is, well, the number one thing you have to do in order to avoid temptation, as I said, is to figure out who's speaking to you. Well, if you don't believe anyone else is trying to tempt you, well, then it's just yourself speaking to you. Right. And it's a lot easier to commit sins saying, well, you know, everybody's like that. Everyone has those thoughts. Everyone does that once, you know, you no longer believe that there is an adversary desperately trying to destroy your soul. I love the quote from Wilford Woodruff where he talks about that there's only two great powers in this world, the power of God and the power of Satan. That. That those are the two operative powers. Every other power that people think is just. It's. That's just that it's them thinking that they have power. But this is the continuation of the war in heaven here on earth. And. And Joseph certainly knows that there really is a real being in the unseen world, which he stresses in his history when he tries to tell you about the first vision. This is not imaginary. This is not just, oh, I was feeling a little uncertain when I prayed. No, there is a real being that tried to destroy me. And now he's learning that part of the reason why things have been so horrific is that that being is actually inspiring other people to try to destroy this work. First of all, Satan tempted Martin Harris to get him to get. Give Joseph Smith, have him hand over the 116 pages and verse eight. And because you've delivered the writings into his hands, behold, wicked men have taken them from you. Therefore you have delivered them up that which was sacred unto wickedness. And then we get to learn what the plan of those people was, was Satan has put into their hearts to alter the words which you have caused to be written or which you have translated, which have gone out of your hands. And behold, I say to you, because they have altered those words, they read contrary to that which you've translated and caused to be written. And on this wise, the Devil, again, this is not. This is not just evil people who, you know, sure love their. Their. Whatever sect of Christianity they belong to, and they want to undermine Joseph. The devil has sought to lay a cunning plan that he might destroy this work. For he has put it into their hearts to say that by lying they might say that they've caught you in words which you have pretended to translate. Verily I say unto you that I will not suffer, that Satan shall accomplish his evil design in this thing. One of the most fascinating aspects of this temptation is if you don't believe that Joseph Smith is getting the words from God, why in the world would you need to alter the words that he's copying down? I mean, I don't know what kind of, you know, Mensa members, the people who stole the pages are, but it doesn't take a rocket scientist to know that if the way that you really think that Joseph Smith is creating this book is a. He's writing it out himself, okay, well, in that sense, it's absolutely not going to be the same, right? Or. And if you wonder, anyone listening to me, who's gone, if they remember back. I don't want to give you any ptsd, but back in high school or college, you had a paper and you were writing it, and this is back before the days of autosave, and you lost it, and there was weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth. I mean, it's probably the most deflating thing that's ever happened to me as a writer is to have spent hours and hours and hours on something and to have it lost. Like, you almost can't even begin again and you know the whole time you do begin again, that it's not as good as it was the first time. Now, maybe there's other people like, no, I do it much better the third or fourth time after I lose everything. Okay? But for me anyway. But anyone who's written anything knows you can't rewrite the exact same thing with the exact same words. Well, what's the other thing? Well, I'm sure Joseph isn't writing it himself. He has some manuscript that he's stolen and he's using that manuscript as his basis. And he's dictating that manuscript along with some of his own little flourishes in there, and that's how you got the pages. Okay, well, in that scenario, then there are going to be literally hundreds of variations. Hundreds of variations. They've calculated this, that in a highly literate society like ours, if you copy a page from the Bible and you try to copy it exactly, and you know it's your job to copy it exactly, you'll make three and a half, four average errors per page. And you're more literate. Every person listening to me is more literate than every person who lived back in the time of the Bible, basically. So. So why would they have to alter the words? It seems like all they'd have to do is do nothing. And however Joseph produced the first 116 pages as soon as he brought them forth, there would be hundreds of differences, even if all they're doing is copying. So what strikes me about this is that in their very plan, they are admitting the power of God. Is that not crazy when you think about it? And you drop down to verse 16, it even says that. And behold, they say and think in their hearts, we will see if God has given him power to translate. If so, he will give him power again. And if God giveth him power again, or if he translates again, or in other words, if he bringeth forth the same words, behold, we have the same with us and we have altered them. Now that is self condemnation.

[C]

It reminds me of the thing that you've talked about several times with the Sanhedrin and their anger at Jesus isn't that he performed a miracle or that it was a lie that he performed a miracle. It was actually that he had performed the miracle.

[B]

I mean, that's what Caiaphas has to say, that because of the miracle. And this is when Jesus raises Lazarus from the dead. Okay. When Jesus raises Lazarus from the dead. It is so incredible, it is a miracle so great that if you jump over to John 11 real quick, you can read this with us. But he has this, this miraculous healing of Lazarus. Many of the Jews which came to see Mary and had seen these things which Jesus did, believed on him. This is John 11:45. Sorry, I'm terrible at giving you references. That's all part and parcel of you being tempted to delete every app on your phone. But some of them went their ways to the Pharisees and told them the things that Jesus had done. Then gathered the chief priests and the Pharisees at council and said what do we do? For this man doeth many miracles. And if we let him thus alone, all men will believe on him. And the Romans shall come and take away both our place and our nation. The dispute is no longer like it was with the blind man. Remember, with the blind man. Right, right. Well, obviously you weren't born blind. Let's go find his parents. And his parents like, yeah, he's born blind, but please don't kick us out of the synagogue. Right. With the blind man. They desperately tried to prove that it wasn't really a miracle. By the time they've graduated to Lazarus, there's no way to try to prove that it wasn't a miracle. And instead of saying, just maybe this is the actual Messiah, this is someone being raised from the dead three days after they're dead. Has never happened before. Even when Elisha's raising the child from the dead, it's the same day, but this is days later. And instead of saying, this has to be a trick, this has to be a lie, clearly he made this up. The counsel is, this man doeth many miracles. What do we do now? And that's when Caiaphas says, and one of them, named Caiaphas, being the high priest that same year, said to them, ye know nothing at all. Nor consider that it is expedient for us that one man should die for the people and that the whole nation perish. Not so from that day forth, as verse 53, they took counsel together to put him to death. It is eerily similar, as you point out. Great point, Richard. That the plan of these people is not. Joseph Smith is obviously making this up, and so he's not going to be able to produce the same writing. Their plan is, if God gave him power and he brings forth the same words, we have the same with us and we've altered them. And we will say that he has lied in his words and that he has no gift and that he has no power. Therefore we will destroy him and also the work. And we will do this that we may not be ashamed in the end and that we may get glory of the world. Think about how far gone that group of people is. Their plan actually rests upon the fact that the words of the Book of Mormon translation are miraculous. And instead of pushing the pause button and saying, you know what? Maybe if it's God that's giving him these words, we ought to not try to destroy him. Instead, they lean all the way in, why verse 20 and 21. Satan has great hold upon their hearts, and he stirreth them up to iniquity against that which is good. And their hearts are corrupt and full of wickedness and abominations. And they love darkness rather than light because their deeds are evil. Therefore they will not ask of me Satan stirreth them up, that he may lead their souls to destruction. Now, again, Joseph doesn't know. He hasn't read second Nephi yet. He hasn't translated it yet. But boy, had he read two Nephi, these words that the Lord is giving would sure sound pretty similar. He has laid a cunning plan, thinking to destroy the work of God. But I will require this at their hands. Yea, he stirreth up their hearts to anger against the work he saith in them. Deceive and lie, and wait to catch that you may destroy. Behold, this is no harm. And thus he flattereth them and telleth them that it is no sin to lie, that they may catch a man in a lie, that they may destroy him. And thus he flattereth them and leadeth them along until he drageth their souls down to hell, and thus he causeth them to catch themselves in their own snare. And then we get this statement about the devil that he goeth up and down to and fro in the earth, seeking to destroy the souls of men. That is a chilling thing, but also something we need to understand that the devil tries to flatter us. And, you know, flattery is not a word we use terribly often anymore. You know, it used to be, you know, the phrase when someone's like, oh, this is some of the best, you know, super bowl bean dip I've ever had. They're like, oh, flattery will get you every, you know, that kind of thing. But it's the idea of telling people what they want to hear. What is flattery? Flattery is telling people what they want to hear. This is going to surprise you at the Standard of Truth podcast. Not every email I receive is happy with me. There are a considerable number of wonderful people who email and are very supportive. But what's always most surprising to me is the number of people who email who really want to believe that what they think is right, even though it goes against what President Nelson is teaching, even though it goes against what Joseph Smith taught. And that's why you have to be so careful when it comes to voices that you listen to. All false revelation, all of it has one thing in common, and that is it tells you what you want to hear. That's why it's so effective. So when someone says, well, I just don't really, you know, I've prayed about it, and I just think that, you know, X or Y or whatever they say, of course that's what you want to believe. How very convenient that the revelation you got was what you already wanted to believe before you started praying. That just so happens to contradict what the prophet of God has said. I know it's tough, and I know that it makes people uncomfortable to think about this because we all want to kind of maintain that level of agency to where it's like, well, I'll decide what's right and wrong. That's why God called a prophet, so that you wouldn't have to flail about in the dark so that you would actually have some guidance. Now, you need personal revelation. But the number of people who say things like, oh, well, I, I. From my own personal revelation, I've learned that, you know, I don't need to pay tithing anymore. Well, that's not personal revelation that you're entitled to. That's not how that works. Personal revelation helps you understand what you need to do in your life to follow the prophet, not to undercut him and denigrate him. And that means that on that altar of consecration, you're going to eventually have to leave some kind of political or social or personal belief that you desperately want to hang on to, but is contrary to what God has revealed. It's just essential for us to make sure that we are following God's prophet. Don't allow someone to flatter you to tell you what you want to hear and drag your soul to hell. Don't allow someone to tell you words that you want to hear instead of the words you need to hear. And that's one of the things that Joseph learns about Satan in this revelation. The Lord's then going to go on to explain Satan's plan is verse 33. He thinketh to overpower your testimony in this generation, that the work may not come forth in this generation. So the plan is to delay the entire restoration. But the Lord tells him, I'm going to take care of this, don't worry. And then gives him the answer to the question of what do we do when we translate verse 38. And now, verily I say unto you that an account of those things that you have written which have gone out of your hands is engraven upon the plates of Nephi. Yea, and you remember that it was said in those writings that a more particular account was given of these things upon the plates of Nephi. And now, because the account which is Engraven upon the plates of Nephi is more particular concerning the things which in my wisdom I would bring to the knowledge of the people in this account. Therefore, you shall translate the engravings which were on the plates of Nephi down until you come to the reign of King Benjamin, or until you come to that which you have translated, which you have retained. And behold, you shall publish it as the record of Nephi. And thus I will confound those who have altered my words. People are always asking, what are some of the things that were in the lost 116 pages? Well, we know that at least one of the things that was on the lost 116 pages is apparently Nephi explaining that he's making another set of plates and that on those smaller plates is things that are more prophecies, more particularly about God, and that the other is about the history of his people. And so when it says you remember that it was said that there was a more particular account given. Clearly Joseph already knows that you remember that it was said because he translates. So one of the things that we know is in the lost 116 pages is at some point Nephi explains I'm making another set of plates. It's ridiculous. I don't know. Clearly Nephi doesn't say it's ridiculous. I want to believe that he does. I want to believe that he's like, you know what, maybe Mormon edited that out though, because you know, he had done the same thing.

[C]

So he was like, that seems it's more classic. Sam, am I right?

[B]

Yeah, that's right.

[C]

Come on.

[B]

Or Lemuel from the Living Scriptures. Right? It's getting lighter. Like I don't know why they decided that Lemuel was like a 35 year old man that hadn't hit puberty yet. But that's the voice that you get, you get a smarmy Lemuel. But the, this is a really fascinating aspect. And again the, the culmination of, from 600 years bc flash forward, you know, 24, I mean 2400 years in the future to where Joseph is. God had prepared so that we wouldn't lose anything. Behold, I will not suffer that they shall destroy my work. I will show unto them my wisdom is greater than the cunning of the devil. They have only got a part or an abridgment of the account of Nephi, which is because Mormon made an abridgment. Behold, there are many things engraven upon the plates of Nephi which throw greater views upon my gospel. Wherefore it is wisdom in me that you should translate this first part of the engravings of Nephi and send forth in this work, behold all the remainder of this work does contain all the parts of my gospel which all my, which my holy prophets say also my disciples desired in their prayer should come forth unto this people. So it the Lord explains to, to, to Joseph exactly how they're not going to lose anything from this record. And even though there's all of this opposition again, there's no church yet, there's not even any real believers yet when Joseph receives this revelation, it's his family, it's the knights, it's sometimes Martin Harris, certainly not his wife. It's maybe Josiah stole. It's almost no one who believes him, all kinds of opposition. And now he knows that people that are so inspired by Satan that they know that the translation is miraculous and they're trying to use the fact it's miraculous to destroy the word. It's in verse 10. So it's in section 10 that the direct connection is made. You might wonder, you know, why is it that Latter Day Saints will always point out the verse that you know, Jesus shares with his disciples when he says, you know, other sheep I have which are not of this fold, you know, it's from John 10:6, right? Well, it's because Doctrine Covenants Section 10 directly uses that verse 57. Behold, I am Jesus Christ, the Son of God. I came unto my own, and my own received me not. I am the light which shineth into the darkness, and the darkness comprehendeth it not. I am he who said, other sheep I have which are not of this fold unto my disciples. And many there were that understood me not. And I will show unto this people that I had other sheep and that they were a branch of the house of Jacob. And I will bring to light their marvelous works, which they did in my name. And that is first of all, that is some beautiful prose. I mean a revelation from the Lord. So that makes sense why it's so beautiful. But it's the reason why Latter Day Saints point to that verse in John 10, that other sheep, because the Lord directly gives commentary on it. When I said other sheep, I meant the ones that were a branch of the house of Jacob here in the Americas. It's interesting that as, as you go through the, the remainder of, of the revelation, it talks about the things that Satan does, like trying to stir people up, trying to, to contention one with another. And the Lord is trying to teach something very similar to what he teaches the Nephites in the New World in third Nephi, but that's part of the Book of Mormon translation that they haven't gotten to yet. So, Dr. Gibbon, Section 10 is fascinating to me in so many different ways. It is one of the great revelations of Joseph Smith's early seerhood. And it demonstrates something to everybody. First of all, the depravity of the servants of Satan. Is it possible that someone could know that this is the true work and still fight against it? Well, absolutely. And then the great wisdom of God who knoweth all things, that he set in motion a way to stop this from becoming a disaster. Many years earlier, when Joseph first publishes the Book of Mormon, he includes in it a preface, because he knows now from God that there is a plan to reproduce this work to try to undermine the work. And now it's certainly going to read differently because he didn't even translate the same plates anymore. He translated a completely different story. The one was Mormon's, you know, Reader's Digest abridged version. And this is the firsthand account from Nephi himself that's actually in the book. And so when he publishes the Book of Mormon, he publishes, he says, as many false reports have been circulated respecting the following work, and also many unlawful measures taken by evil designing persons to destroy me. And also the work I would inform you that I translated by the gift and power of God and caused to be written 116 pages the which I took from the Book of Lehi, which was an account abridged from the plates of Lehi by the hand of Mormon, which said account, some person or persons have stolen and kept from me, notwithstanding my utmost exertions to recover it again. And being commanded of the Lord that I should not translate the same over again. For Satan had put it into their hearts to tempt the Lord their God, by altering the words that they did read contrary from that which I translated and caused to be written. And if I should bring forth the same words, or in other words, if I should translate the same over again, they would publish that which they had stolen, and Satan would stir up the hearts of this generation that they might not receive this word. Notice the reason why I always call it the stolen 116 pages. So Joseph calls them the stolen 116 pages. I don't know. At some point we decided to start calling them lost. But it's stolen. They, they, they're not lost, as I've said before. I mean, if. If you parked your car in a parking lot at the mall and you came out after shopping and it wasn't there, Anymore, you wouldn't say, oh, no, no, my car's lost. I've lost it. Where to go? Lost. It's not like it's a dog that you put an ad in the paper for. I mean, the. These were stolen and they were stolen by the servants of Satan.

[C]

Yeah, but in fairness, the servants of Satan. My understanding is that from an organizational perspective, it's. They have a lot of papers, they have a lot of files, and it's.

[B]

Right, so they keep hold of them.

[C]

Yeah. What I'm saying is that they stole them, but they can be both things, Right.

[B]

Stole them and then misplace them.

[C]

That's a classic, classic disciples of Satan move, I believe.

[B]

Yeah. It's true that they're, they're, they're, they're really good. They know how to take the pages. They don't know how to hold the pages.

[C]

Yeah, they don't do a lot of continuous improvement, you know, kind of dimming, operational improvement.

[B]

You think they're doing a lot of, like, Six Sigma training on their end.

[C]

Or you should see the lost and found at the Church of Satan.

[B]

It's, it's just, you know, the books, that the world itself could not contain them anyway. But behold, the Lord said unto me, I will not suffer that Satan shall accomplish his evil design in this thing. Therefore, thou shalt translate from the plates of Nephi until you come to that which you have translated, which you have retained. So again, it's very important. That doctrine of section 10 also explains that Joseph didn't give every page to Martin Harris. There was some portion which he retained. And, and, and that. That's where he and Oliver are going to start up once they begin their, their. Their translation efforts. Behold, you shall publish it as the record of Nephi. And thus I will confound those who have altered my words, and I will not suffer that they shall destroy my work. Yea, I will show unto them that my wisdom is greater than the cunning of the devil. Wherefore to be obedient to the commandments of God, I have, through the great his grace and mercy, accomplished that which he has commanded me. Respecting this thing. I would also inform you that the plates of which have been spoken were found in the township of Manchester, Ontario County, New York. And then Joseph Smith, the authors, signs it so right there in the preface of the Book of Mormon. The Lord has, you know, the Revelation doctrine coverage. Section 10 is repeated back to much of the world who will see the book. I will show unto them that my wisdom is greater than the cunning of the devil. The story of Doctrine and covenant. Section 10 is the story that however bleak things look for the kingdom of God on earth, and they have looked bleak. They have looked at times when people are being butchered and murdered out in Missouri, when armies are marching on the Saints in Utah, when people are straggling across the plains. However bleak they might look, it is God who is in control. And we see this miraculously every day. Look around you. All of the Christian religions in this country, in the United States, in Canada, in the western world, they are rapidly losing their memberships. They are rapidly secularizing. And you see the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints standing out as one of these sects that that isn't. It's already. It's miraculous. Just from a demographic perspective, every major Christian religion in the United States is losing membership hand over fist. And anti Mormons attack us saying, well, your rate of growth isn't as high as it used to be. You know who'd kill for our rate of growth? The Episcopalians. They would probably steal pages and alter them and print them saying that they were from the original Book of Mormon. To have our rate of growth, we live in a world that is rapidly the western world jettisoning the idea of God. So yeah, a growth rate at all is a miracle. And you can talk to pastors from a lot of religions who would see it as a miracle. The question of what happened to the pages, I think I'll spend just a little bit of time on Everyone wonders what happens to the pages. It became a pretty common refrain for people to later claim that it was Lucy Harris herself who stole the pages. And then of course, many later, you know, there was an. A Nauvoo resident, Lorenzo Saunders, who gave an interview in 1884, and he claimed that everybody knew that Lucy Harris burned the pages. And there's even one account that she almost immediately burned the pages. That pages existed seems to be accepted across even the most antagonistic of antagonists. They all accept that pages existed. And, and, and so the claim of what happened to them. Well, like I said, Lucy Harris is often blamed for it. And you know, look, I'm not the right person to try to take some heat off of Lucy Harris for her attempts to destroy Joseph Smith. But my opinion of the pages and what happened to them is that however involved Lucy Harris was, and my guess is she probably was involved, I mean, they were stolen from her house, from her dresser, you know, her bureau drawer. I'm guessing people weren't just wandering into her house knowing exactly where to go, found just the pages and only stole them. She probably is complicit in some way. At the very least, turning her. Turning her back to the people coming into her house. And, you know, technically, she has a history of stealing pages. If you remember when Joseph copied down the characters from the gold plates, Martin Harris made a copy of those that that character's document, and she bartered her daughter. There was a guy who wanted to marry her daughter who she didn't like, and so she didn't want him to marry her, but was so frustrated over the gold plates that she said, okay, if you can secretly steal the document where my husband has all these characters from the Book of Mormon drawn off, if you can secretly steal that, then copy it, then put it back without him knowing, you can marry my daughter. You know what? He would do anything for love. Unlike Meatloaf Flanders Dyke said, I would do anything for love, and I will do that. And he steals them. So. So, look, as the kids say, that's pretty sus. Right? We know it was stolen from her house and from her bureau, and we also know that she's already stolen pages from Martin Harris or page from Martin Harris. So it would be her modus operandi to take pages that are in her house at the same time. That's not what God says in Doctrine and Covenants, Section 10. Whenever Doctrine, Covenant, Section 10 was received, it was received months later at the very earliest. And so they clearly were not immediately burned. And clearly it's not just Lucy Harris, because the revelation says that it is a group of people, so it can't just be Lucy Harris. And in fact, the revelation says that it is men who have taken them. Now, maybe Lucy Harris is complicit with these men, but the reality of what we have by revelation is that they certainly weren't destroyed immediately and that it's a group of people. They are referred to in the plural over and over and over again. So we don't really know exactly. And of course, there's all kinds of people who claim, oh, no, they were found, they were found. There's always people claiming that they found them. Frankly, probably God doesn't intend for them to be found until the millennium, and we'll get them with the other scripture that we get. But my guess is that Lucy probably conspired with. I mean, she conspired with Flanders Dyke to steal the character's documents. So that's what my guess is. My guess is she talked to other people who, you know, or they talked to her and said, hey, we want to stop this because we've been inspired by Satan. They probably didn't say that part, but. And what, what can we do? So these later accounts that she burned them really run kind of contrary to what the Lord says. The Lord says they retain them now, maybe after that they burn them, but certainly not almost immediately like some of the other, some of the later antagonistic sources say, trying to talk about what happened to them. So this the claims, and you'll hear them all the time. Oh, this might have been part of the lost 116 pages. Be very suspect of any of those claims if they're not coming from the church history department itself, from a statement from the church. In fact, there have been multiple apostate groups that have led people away from the church claiming that they've got part of the lost 116 pages. So don't be beguiled by them. If God decides to bring them forth, it's not going to be in the back of someone's trailer somewhere that you just have to know the right person to know whose they are. We don't know what happened to them. I hope someday they're found. It would be the greatest thing that ever happened at Latter Day Saint history. But what I'm most grateful for is that God, the same God who knows you and loves you, the same God who knows what you're struggling with, has already seen how to help you out of your problems. He already knows it. He already knows that your suffering will have an end. He already knows it. He's already seen it. Just like he already saw the plot to steal these pages thousands of years before they happen. Doctrine covenant section 10 is something that makes you want to shout hallelujah to God because he had our welfare in mind hundreds of years. And when things look bleak, when. When it seems like things aren't going to work out, remember, we already know who's going to win this war. The issue is not in doubt. We are not like the the Marines on Tarawa in World War II saying, issue in doubt. The issue is not in doubt. However much suffering, however much difficulty, the Lord Jesus Christ has established this church and it will persevere until the Lord Jesus Christ sets his foot back down on the earth again. So thank you so much for joining us.

[A]

Thank you for listening to Search these Commandments, a standard of truth podcast production of the revelations found in the Doctrine and Covenants, hosted by historian Dr. Garrett Dirkmaat. If you know anybody that could benefit from the material in this episode, please share it with them. And for more resources, visit standardoftruth.com.