By
Greg DeVore This
spring term BYU will do something that it has never done before.
In selected Doctrine & Covenants courses students will be
required to use a new software program entitled Virtual Historian:
Doctrine & Covenants.
Doctrine
or History?
So
why would BYU be interested in requiring a piece of software for
their Doctrine & Covenants courses? Dr. Dennis Wright, Professor
of Church History and Doctrine said, "We have always had
that struggle – do we teach the history or the doctrine of the
Doctrine & Covenants?" The D&C forces us to pose
this question because of its unique format. Unlike other books
of scripture, there is no narrative. The revelations are presented
as separate entities with limited information about what inspired
them. Little if any information is given to connect the various
revelations into an overall story.
Why
does that matter? Bits of historical trivia will not gain us
salvation. It is the proper understanding and application of
doctrinal principles that will allow us to gain eternal life.
So why not just study the doctrine?
The
answer lies in the fact that not all of the lessons to be learned
from the D&C are taught in the actual verses themselves.
If we "fill in the gaps" between the sections we can
begin to piece together a story that illustrates among other things:
·
The development
of Joseph Smith as a prophet
·
The refining of
the early Latter-day Saints
·
The manner in which
the Lord will interact with His covenant people
·
The process through
which revelation is received
So
while the primary purpose of the D&C is to document restored
gospel truths, the careful study of the story of the Doctrine
& Covenants can help us to understand how the Lord will interact
with us in our daily lives.
Sections
3 and 10 are excellent examples of this fact. These revelations
describe the reprimand that Joseph Smith received for following
"after the dictates of his own will and carnal desires"
(D&C 3:4) and allowing Martin Harris to take the 116 pages
of manuscript of the translated Book of Mormon. The basics of
the story are as follows:
·
Martin asks to
take the manuscript to show his wife so that she will be convinced
of the veracity of the Book of Mormon.
·
Joseph asks the
Lord for permission to do this. He is forbidden to do so.
·
Martin implores
Joseph to ask the Lord again.
·
Joseph complies
with Martin's requests and is denied again. The process repeats
and after the third time Joseph is given permission to deliver
the 116 pages to Martin Harris.
·
The 116 pages are
lost. Joseph Smith is forbidden from retranslating them because
the Lord knows of the evil intentions of those who have taken
them and has prepared a way the thwart their designs.
·
Joseph is reprimanded
and prohibited from translating for a time as punishment for him
having "feared man more than God" (D&C 3:7).
This
short rendition of the facts behind these revelations teaches
us much about how we must interact with the Lord in our daily
lives. Without this information sections 3 and 10 would not have
their full impact. But through this information is very useful,
there are more lessons to be learned if we will dig a little deeper.
On
September 22, 1823 Joseph saw the Gold Plates for the first time.
This was three-and-half-years after the first vision. At the
direction of the angel Moroni, Joseph went to the Hill Cumorah.
There he was shown the gold plates but was prohibited from taking
them because he had not "kept the commandments of the Lord."
Four
long years later the plates were finally entrusted to him. Soon
after, he began the work of translation.
For
years, Joseph Smith had been marginalized and ridiculed for claiming
to have beheld a vision, but Martin Harris, a respected farmer
in Palmyra, had taken an interest in him. He had been fascinated
by Joseph's accounts and believed that the work Joseph was doing
was true. He provided some financial support to assist Joseph
in moving to Harmony, Pennsylvania where the translation process
began.
Verification
from a third party was important to Martin Harris. So important
that in February of 1828 (the middle of winter), Martin carried
hand-transcribed characters taken from the plates, along with
their translation, to New York City. There he hoped to receive
the professional opinion of Charles Anthon, a linguist expert.
Anthon affirmed that the translation was correct but destroyed
his written verification when he learned of the fantastic story
about how the ancient record was found.
Martin
returned to Harmony and began functioning as scribe for Joseph.
Harmony was quite a distance from Martin's home in Palmyra, and
his wife, Lucy, a jealous and mean-spirited woman, began to wonder
why her husband was investing so much time and money into Joseph
Smith and his work.
Martin
began to act as scribe during Joseph's translations in April of
1828. He must have felt constant pressure from his wife to return
home and abandon his foolish endeavors. In his mind he believed
that if he could just show her and some others tangible evidence
of their work, then she would be more supportive. It is certain
that Joseph felt greatly indebted to Martin for his assistance.
He most certainly did not want to lose one of his key supporters.
Martin's insistent request to borrow the manuscript must have
been a weight for Joseph.
On
June 14, 1828 Martin left Harmony with the 116 pages. The trials
began immediately for Joseph. On June 15th Joseph's first son
was born and died on the same day.
For
the next few weeks as Joseph dealt with the loss of his son he
began to wonder why Martin was delayed in returning. Finally,
in July he went up to Palmyra to seek Martin out. Martin reluctantly
visited Joseph at his parents' frame home and informed him that
the manuscript had been lost. It was now over 8 years from the
date of the first vision. The only tangible evidence of the work
Joseph had done as a prophet was gone.
The
realization of what he had done devastated Joseph. His mother
said, "He continued walking backwards and forwards, weeping
and grieving like a tender infant until about sunset, when we
persuaded him to take a little nourishment." Joseph was
not mildly contrite. This was true Godly sorrow.
The
plates and the urim and thummim were taken from him for a period
of three months. Think of what he was going through. In one
month's time, he had not only lost his first child but had incurred
the displeasure of his Father in Heaven. In one of the most trying
times of his life up to that point, when he most needed the comfort
of his Father in Heaven and most needed to provide comfort to
his grieving wife, he had succumbed to a weakness that prevented
him from fulfilling his prophetic duty.
It
is interesting to note that the Doctrine & Covenants places
the date of section 10 as the summer of 1828. In verse 3 it states,
"Nevertheless, it (the gift of translation) is now restored
unto you again; therefore see that you are faithful and continue
on unto the finishing of the remainder of the work of translation
as you have begun." This could lead us to believe that Joseph
only lost the ability to translate for a few weeks or maybe a
month. But Joseph Smith himself stated that he did not receive
the urim and thummim and begin translating again until September
22 of that year. Apparently this verse was added to the revelation
at a later date. It is also interesting to note that September
22, 1828 would have marked the one-year anniversary of Joseph
receiving the plates. One year after being entrusted with the
translation of the Book of Mormon, Joseph had to start from scratch.
This
has only been one example, but it shows how much more we can understand
about the revelations of the D&C if we understand the history
behind them. With an understanding of the full story can we not
empathize with Joseph and Martin's desire to show their work to
those who doubted them? In addition we gain a further appreciation
for the seriousness with which Joseph took his prophetic calling.
The resounding lesson is that in our lives we must trust the counsel
of our Heavenly Father even when we do not understand it or when
the actions we wish to take seem harmless.
An
Integrated Approach
From
this example we can see the value of an integrated approach to
the study of the Doctrine & Covenants. In short, an understanding
of the history, people, and places surrounding the D&C will
enhance our understanding of the doctrines taught therein. Virtual
Historian: Doctrine & Covenants offers students a unique
tool for studying the Doctrine & Covenants in this way. It
combines:
·
Scripture
·
Historical Commentary
·
Timelines
·
Biographies
·
Virtual Reality
Photographs
Some
of you might not know what a Virtual Reality (VR) photograph is.
A VR photo is a picture that you can "turn around in"
while viewing it on a computer. Over 100 VR photographs of Church
Historical sites have been included in Virtual Historian: Doctrine
& Covenants. This allows the user to "stand"
on the banks of the Susquehanna River, in the Revelation Room
at the John Johnson Farm, or in the Valley of Adam-ondi-Ahman
to just name a few. (Click here to see sample VR photographs of
the Nauvoo Temple and Translation Room in the Newel K. Whitney
Store.)
The
VR photographs will allow students to at least experience in part
the power of these locations. But the real advantage to the student
will be the integrated format of the information contained in
Virtual Historian: Doctrine & Covenants. A student
of the D&C can:
·
Read historical
commentary right alongside the actual revelations
·
View maps of the
areas where the revelations were received
·
Click on names
of people in the text and read biographies on those people
·
Click on the names
of locations in the text and see Virtual Reality photographs of
those locations
·
View timeline information
detailing the events surrounding the revelation being studied
In
short it offers a tool that has been tailored specifically for
the study of the Doctrine & Covenants.
As
students at BYU begin using Virtual Historian: Doctrine &
Covenants in their study, they will have a greater understanding
and appreciation for the revelations contained within the Doctrine
& Covenants. For the last three years as my brother Trevor
DeVore and I have worked on this project, our understanding of
the Doctrine & Covenants and our appreciation for the Prophet
Joseph Smith has deepened. It is inspiring to learn of the development
of Joseph Smith from his early mistakes in Harmony, to the outpouring
of restored truths in Ohio, to the despair of Liberty Jail, and
finally to his martyrdom at Carthage, Illinois. Preparing this
program has allowed us to "fill in the gaps" in the
story between the revelations and understand them in a whole new
light. We hope that students at BYU and others who use Virtual
Historian: Doctrine & Covenants will have the same experience.
Editor's
Note: More information on this program can be found at
www.virtual-historian.com
