All Things Witness

Thoughts on the mission and power of Jesus Christ

Tag Archives: Joseph Smith

Gold plates on a table


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Revelations Good and Evil

‘Some revelations are from God: some revelations are of man; and some revelations are of the devil.’ (Joseph Smith Jr)

I recall hearing this quote from Joseph Smith many years ago. It applies a caution to each of us as we seek – or even receive, as we believe – revelation from God for our lives. What I wasn’t taught at the time, was the context for the quote.

The context is that Joseph had received a revelation that Hiram Page and Oliver Cowdery should travel to Canada where they would succeed in selling the copyright for the Book of Mormon for a considerable sum of money. When they returned from Canada empty handed, they asked Joseph how he could have received the revelation of success when that wasn’t what happened. His reply was the quote above.

I find this fascinating, because it suggests Joseph himself saying that this particular revelation hadn’t come from God. I presume he believed it had come from himself rather than from the devil.

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Time to Talk About the ‘P’ Word

I’ve been putting off this post for some time, but some recent events have brought to me the feeling that now is the time. I believe the Lord wants me to now add my voice to those of many others. So, here goes …

Yesterday was my wife’s and my 31st wedding anniversary. There is no doubt in my mind that there is no better woman I could have at my side and I’m so glad that all those years ago I asked her to marry me, and that she said ‘Yes’.

I can’t say that those intervening years have been anything other than ‘bloody hard’ at many times. But it’s simply not possible to put into words just how much love I have for my wife. To say that I love her with all my heart is a huge understatement. She is part of my heart. She is part of my mind. She is part of my very soul. There is no part of me in which she isn’t a huge part. I truly feel that we are one.

Here’s the problem. On the one hand, the church I belong to (The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, sometimes known as Mormons), has no teachings more glorious than the ‘eternal sealing’ of husband and wife. I love that concept – that we have been married ‘in view of the eternities’, as the prophet Joseph Smith said, and that we will be together forever. However, at the same time, the church I belong to also believes in polygamy1.

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