Revelation given through Joseph Smith the Prophet, at Hiram, Ohio, November 1831. HC 1: 224—225. The occasion was that of a special conference, and the publication of the revelations already received from the Lord through the Prophet was considered and acted upon. See heading to Section 1. It was decided that Oliver Cowdery and John Whitmer should take the manuscripts of the revelations to Independence, where W. W. Phelps would publish them as the “Book of Commandments. ” Many of the brethren bore solemn testimony that the revelations then compiled for publication were verily true, as was witnessed by the Holy Ghost shed forth upon them. The Prophet records that after the revelation known as Section 1 had been received, some negative conversation was had concerning the language used in the revelations. The present revelation followed.
[ Some of the Elders present at a pre-production meeting for the Book of Commandments express concern over the language used to compose them. The Lord makes it clear to them that substance is more important than style. So this section deals with the discussion that they have when they decided to run off 10,000 copies of the book of commandments which included 65 revelations later in august of 1832 it was reduced to 3,000 copies there were 10 elders who were present on this occasion as they discussed this and several of them found fault with Joseph Smith's writing of these revelations. First this must have hurt Joseph a little, after all he was doing his best, but he did lack the formal education that some of them like William McLellin had, Joseph did put some commas in the wrong places, and other punctation was most likely not up to their standards. ]
14 Let not your minds turn back; and when ye are worthy, in mine own due time, ye shall see and know that which was conferred upon you by the hands of my servant Joseph Smith, Jun. Amen.
[Historical Material Pertaining to Doctrine & Covenants 67 It is easy to fault McLellin for his involvement in these events, particularly given his later apostasy. However, in D&C 68 he is labeled as “one of the faithful elders of my Church”. Thus, it possible McLellin was selected given his education and profession as a school teacher (given v. 6). Had his intentions been to discredit Smith, it seems unlikely the Lord would call him a “faithful elder” shortly thereafter. McLellin had only first met Smith a week beforehand, and by his own account was very favorably impressed with him. It is likely the controversy was simply the suggestion that someone edit the revelations for rhetorical style and flourish prior to their publication (given v. 5), as opposed to their legitimacy being questioned, which is the usual assumption. The Lord takes issue with this because He is not concerned with impressing the scholars of the day with eloquent writing. Excerpt from History of the Church After this revelation [D&C 1] was received, some conversation was had concerning revelations and language. I received the following: [text of D&C 67 quoted] After the foregoing was received, William E. M'Lellin, as the wisest man, in his own estimation, having more learning than sense, endeavored to write a commandment like unto one of the least of the Lord's, but failed; it was an awful responsibility to write in the name of the Lord. The Elders and all present that witnessed this vain attempt of a man to imitate the language of Jesus Christ, renewed their faith in the fulness of the Gospel, and in the truth of the commandments and revelations which the Lord had given to the Church through my instrumentality; and the Elders signified a willingness to bear testimony of their truth to all the world. Accordingly I received the following: The testimony of the witnesses to the book of the Lord's commandments, which He gave to His Church through Joseph Smith, Jun., who was appointed by the voice of the Church for this purpose; we therefore feel willing to bear testimony to all the world of mankind, to every creature upon the face of all the earth and upon the islands of the sea, that the Lord has borne record to our souls, through the Holy Ghost, shed forth upon us, that these commandments were given by inspiration of God, and are profitable for all men, and are verily true. We give this testimony unto the world, the Lord being our helper; and it is through the grace of God, the Father, and His son, Jesus Christ, that we are permitted to have this privilege of bearing this testimony unto the world, that the children of men may be profited thereby. [Footnote states: This “Testimony” to the truth of the “Book of Commandments” was doubtless drawn up with the intention of having it signed by the Elders present at the conference; but whether that was done or not does not appear in the Ms. of the Prophet's history. The testimony itself, however, is in the manuscript History. This is remarked because it has not been published heretofore in the History of the Prophet. The matter appears to stand thus: Each of the Elders present at the conference testified to the truth of the revelations then about to be published; and, as already seen (p. 222 note), expressed a willingness to testify to the truth of the revelations to all the world. Accordingly this testimony was prepared with the intention of having it signed and published in the “Book of Commandments.” It may have been signed, too, and carried to Missouri, but owing to the fact that the printing press was destroyed by a mob before the “Book of Commandments” was all printed, the “Testimony” does not appear in the part of it that was printed. The names of the Elders present at this special conference, according to the minutes of it in the Far West Record (p. 15), are as follows: Joseph Smith, Jun., Oliver Cowdery, David Whit-mer, John Whitmer, Peter Whitmer, Jun., Sidney Rigdon, William E. M'Lellin, Orson Hyde, Luke Johnson, Lyman E. Johnson.] (Joseph Smith, History of the Church, volume 1, pages 224-226) Excerpt from Doctrine and Covenants Commentary A special conference was held at Hiram, Ohio, on the first day of November, 1831. Oliver Cowdery and John Whitmer were making preparations for the journey to Independence, where the Revelations received up to this time were to be published. and the brethren devoted a great deal of time to the consideration of this important undertaking. The conference authorized the printing of ten thousand copies under the title of the Book of Commandments. The Revelation contained in Section 1, and known as The Lord's Preface to the Book of Commandments (Sec. 1:6) was also received on this occasion. The Prophet asked what testimony those present were willing to bear to the Commandments. Several declared that they were willing to testify that they were of the Lord. On the second day of the Conference, Oliver Cowdery read The Lord's Preface, and then the brethren arose, and each in turn testified to the truth of all of the Revelations received (Hist. of the Church, Vol. I., p. 222). However, there was not perfect harmony among the brethren. A few criticized the language found in some of the Revelations. They forgot that the spirit of God uses as they are, the instruments through which He communicates with man, just as an author, when writing, makes use of whatever pen, paper, and ink he may be able to obtain. They forgot that God calls to the prophetic office men as He finds them, be it behind the plough, among the sheep, in the royal courts, or the study of the scholar. (Hyrum M. Smith and Janne M. Sjodahl, Doctrine and Covenants Commentary, pages 403-404)]