By November 1831, Joseph Smith had received more than 60 revelations.
Including some already failed prophesies (such as selling the copyright of the Book of Mormon in Canada), but let’s skip past that.
The Prophet convened a conference in Hiram, Ohio, to discuss publishing them as a book that would be called the Book of Commandments. A committee of elders drafted a preface to the book. Unsatisfied with this draft, those who attended the conference requested that Joseph Smith ask the Lord for a preface. After petitioning the Lord in prayer, Joseph received a preface by revelation.
So this book is the only one, to my knowledge, that has a preface written by God himself. That’s an impressive and… extraordinary claim. You know where I’m going, where is the extraordinary evidence?
Modern English version of D&C 1; or “Why does god sound like someone copying 1700’s English?)
V1: Everyone, Everywhere, listen up.
V2: No really, EVERYONE, hear this deep down
V3: People who don’t listen, it will be bad for you.
V4: I’m warning you through my chosen servants
V5: And nobody is stopping my servants
So, one thing we notice about God’s voice even by verse 5, is that He repeats himself, a lot. He’s very poetic, and likes to threaten.
V6: I have authority, they have authority to publish this preface on this book. (God’s copyright).
V7: and this stuff is scary, yo.
V8-9: The people who bring this to you have power to seal on earth and heaven not to love and eternal life, but to wrath against the end of the world(Quite the statement!)
V10: Poetic description of second coming of Christ
V11: I’m saying this to all y’all.
V12-14: Cause I’m mad, do prepare all of you, and if you don’t listen it’s gonna bad.
Again, God repeats himself, loves poetic language and speaks like He is a century behind the times.
And what is it that gets God soooo upset that He would go on and on about how bad it’s going to be?
For they have strayed from mine ordinances, and have broken mine everlasting covenant;
They seek not the Lord to establish his righteousness, but every man walketh in his own way, and after the image of his own god, whose image is in the likeness of the world, and whose substance is that of an idol, which waxeth old and shall perish in Babylon, even Babylon the great, which shall fall.
Hmmm, yes, I can see why the lesson only mentions the scripture, but doesn’t go into depth about it.
When has someone sought to get your attention and warn you about something? How did you respond?
Given that it is now over 100 years after the original end times stated by Joseph Smith/Jesus and Wilford Woodruff, I’d say a lot like the people in the “Boy who cried wolf”.
How do you feel about that person’s efforts to warn you?
A real warning to a clear and present danger, grateful. To a false warning that is just to get a rise out of my emotions, I get upset. I have things to focus on, and simply getting hyped up because one can is off-putting. I would say that putting hyperbole and poetry repeated over and over in order to warn people would fall into the latter category.
Display your copy of the Doctrine and Covenants, and explain that in this book the Lord provides warnings, commandments, and instructions that are crucial for our happiness and salvation.
Another extraordinary claim. I’d like to see extraordinary evidence that people who had the Doctrine and Covenants are happier or saved more. Go on, any evidence at all.
The gospel was restored through Joseph Smith to prepare the world for the calamity of the last days
That are TOTALLY going to happen. Any day now. I mean, just look at that mall built in SLC, clearly that means that the trip back to Missouri for the meeting at Adam-ondi-ahman is going to happen any day.
As well as the building of an apartment complex next to a temple on the east coast. Yup, it’s a good thing that this voice of warning wasn’t just crying wolf or else people might question the need for all the dire speak. But if they were willing to question that, they might also question 1700’s english from a God who speaks all languages.