Today we’re looking at the real meaning of a ‘revelation’ Joe Smith pronounced upon Martin Harris, one of the original 3 BoM Witnesses. I use the word ‘pronounced’ because it was more like a curse put on Harris, if he didn’t adhere to the demands of Smith’s god.
“A commandment of God and not of man to you.” Prophecy from Joseph Smith meant for Martin Harris, March, 1830.
You can find two versions of this – one in the Book of Commandments Chapter XVI, the other in Doctrine and Covenants Section 19. The Church had to rewrite the BoC when their printing press was burned down by the locals in July 1833. As ‘luck’ would have it, two young sisters managed to salvage some of the writings during the mêlée. You can read more on that story in our article The True Story of Mary Rollins Lightner.
Below is a side-by-side comparison from both writings. For the sake of brevity, we’ve only listed the relevant verses; to read them in full, see links above. (more…)
The spiritual climate of early America was dominated by the palpable urgency of men and women alike looking to hear from God through dreams they would interpret as personal revelations. As a result of the activities, it didn’t take a lot of coaxing to encourage many to try their hand at creating new churches.
York’s landscape in the early 19th century. The eastern seaboard had already seen its fair share of ne-er-do-wells with the likes of 
o. 6, February 6, 1882, pp 86-87
