1 BEHOLD, I say unto thee, Oliver, that it shall be given unto thee that thou shalt be heard by the church in all things whatsoever thou shalt teach them by the Comforter, [ Note the word teach - or preach just as the prophets through out time have been instructed, by the spirit. John 14:26,
15:26, 16:13-14. ] concerning the revelations and commandments which I have given.

2 But, behold, verily, verily, I say unto thee, no one shall be appointed to receive commandments and revelations in this church excepting my servant Joseph Smith, Jun., for he receiveth them even as Moses. [ For reference here Joseph is like Moses in his role. ]

3 And thou shalt be obedient unto the things which I shall give unto him, even as Aaron, [ For reference Oliver is like Aaron in his relationship with Joseph. Oliver was certainly the more educated and eloquent of the two and started to see himself as an equal to Joseph with respect to governing the Church. Here the Lord makes it clear to him this is not the case and provides the concept of Priesthood authority. Oliver is reminded of his position and relationship with respect to Joseph, cp. D&C 8:6. ] to declare faithfully the commandments and the revelations, with power and authority unto the church.

4 And if thou art led at any time by the Comforter to speak or teach, or at all times by the way of commandment unto the church, thou mayest do it.

5 But thou shalt not write by way of commandment, [ Joseph's roles as the prophet is to receive the commandments from the Lord - not Oliver. Lesson in church leadership. vs. 6. ] but by wisdom; [ He is to provide commentary by discerning and understand the meaning of the Scriptures and then teach it, cp. Moroni 10:9-10. ]

6 And thou shalt not command him who is at thy head, and at the head of the church;

7 For I [ The Lord. ] have given him [ Joseph Smith. ] the keys of the mysteries, and the revelations which are sealed, [ Notice this is not the directive power but it is a power to which hidden things are brought forth to our understanding see D&C 84:19. ] until I shall appoint [ Statement of who is in charge here - the Lord and he alone decides who is to lead the church. There is only one President at a time. The Presidency is not something one earns by tenure or qualifies for, thereby opening up the possibility of multiple equal leaders of the Church. See D&C 43:4-7. ] unto them another in his stead.

[ Verses 1-7 told Oliver what not to do vs tells him what to do. ]

8 And now, behold, I say unto you that you [ Oliver Cowdery. Parley P. Pratt will join Oliver and then later will write write about this mission: "Thus ended our first Indian mission, in which we had preached the Gospel in its fullness and distributed the record of their forefathers among three tribes, viz.: the Cattaraugus Indians, near Buffalo, N.Y.; the Wyandots, of Ohio; and the Delawares, west of Missouri..." (Autobiography of Parley P. Pratt, p. 56-61). ] shall go unto the Lamanites and preach my gospel unto them; and inasmuch as they receive thy teachings thou shalt cause my church to be established among them; and thou shalt have revelations, but write them not by way of commandment. [ Oliver may receive personal revelation or revelations pertaining to his mission to the Lamanites, but he will not revelations which are commandments for the Church. ]

9 And now, behold, I say unto you that it is not revealed, and no man knoweth where the city Zion shall be built, but it shall be given hereafter. Behold, I say unto you that it shall be on the borders by the Lamanites. [ So the Lord gives us a clue here. At this time(1830) the western boundary of the United States stretched from Canada clear down towards the gulf of Mexico. The line of the far western border of the United States at the time would have gone right down the outside edge of Missouri, Arkansas and Louisiana - Independence is right along the far edge of the state of Missouri. So the borders by the Lamanites at the time would have been right there. ]

10 Thou shalt not leave this place until after the conference; and my servant Joseph shall be appointed to preside over the conference by the voice of it, and what he saith to thee thou shalt tell.

11 And again, thou shalt take thy brother, Hiram Page, between him and thee alone, [ Have a private conversation with Hiram Page. Not how the Lord chooses to deal with Hiram - since he is not deliberately spreading through out the church the issue of the stone in a selfpromoting manner the Lord deals with him in private as well - public display of teachings by Hiram would require a public censure, cp. Matt.18:15-17, D&C 42:88. ] and tell him that those things which he hath written from that stone are not of me and that Satan deceiveth him;

12 For, behold, these things have not been appointed unto him, neither shall anything be appointed unto any of this church contrary to the church covenants.

13 For all things must be done in order, and by common consent in the church, [ In essense as instructed through revelation in D&C 26. So in other words a people united in the Spirit are led by God, and there is no division or contradiction, cp. 4 Ne. 1:2-3. Revelation then is dispensed along the lines of keys, the people recognize its inspiration by faith and prayer and they consent to it accordingly. ] by the prayer of faith.

14 And thou shalt assist to settle all these things, according to the covenants of the church, before thou shalt take thy journey among the Lamanites.

15 And it shall be given thee from the time thou shalt go, until the time thou shalt return, what thou shalt do.

16 And thou must open thy mouth at all times, declaring my gospel with the sound of rejoicing. Amen.

[ Excerpt from Newell Knight Autobiography After arranging my affairs at home, I again set out for Fayette, to attend our second conference, which had been appointed to be held at Father Whitmer's, where Joseph then resided. On my arrival I found Brother Joseph in great distress of mind on account of Hyrum Page, who had managed to get up some dissension of feeling among the brethren by giving revelations concerning the government of the Church and other matters, which 28.5
he claimed to have received through the medium of a stone he possessed. He had quite a roll of papers full of these revelations, and many in the Church were led astray by them. Even Oliver Cowdery and the Whitmer family had given heed to them, although they were in contradiction to the New Testament and the revelations of these last days. Here was a chance for Satan to work among the little flock, and he sought by this means to accomplish what persecution failed to do. Joseph was perplexed and scarcely knew how to meet this new exigency. That night I occupied the same room that he did and the greater part of the night was spent in prayer and supplication. After much labor with these brethren they were convinced of their error, and confessed the same, renouncing the revelations as not being of God, but acknowledged that Satan had conspired to overthrow their belief in the true plan of salvation. In consequence of these things Joseph enquired of the Lord before conference commenced and received the revelation published on page 140 of the Doctrine and Covenants, wherein God explicitly states His mind and will concerning the receiving of revelation. Conference having assembled, the first thing done was to consider the subject of the stone in connection with Hyrum Page, and after considerable investigation and discussion, Brother Page and all the members of the Church present renounced the stone, and the revelations connected with it, much to our joy and satisfaction. The sacrament was then administered, a number were confirmed, many were ordained, and a great variety of Church business was transacted.
During this time we had much of the power of God manifested among us and it was wonderful to witness the wisdom that Joseph displayed on this occasion, for truly God gave unto him great wisdom and power, and it seems to me, even now, that none who saw him administer righteousness under such trying circumstances, could doubt that the Lord was with him, as he acted--not with the wisdom of man, but with the wisdom of God, the Holy Ghost came upon us and filled our hearts with unspeakable joy. Before this memorable conference closed three other revelations [i.e., D&C 29, 30, 31] besides the one already mentioned [i.e., D&C 28] were received from God by our prophet, and we were made to rejoice exceedingly in His goodness. (Newell Knight, "Newel Knight's Journal," Classic Experiences and Adventures, Bookcraft, 1969, chapter 5, paragraphs 10-11). ]