THE DOCTRINE AND COVENANTS
SECTION 68
Revelation given through Joseph Smith the Prophet, at Hiram, Ohio, November 1831, at the request of Orson Hyde, Luke S. Johnson, Lyman E. Johnson, and William E. McLellin. HC 1: 227—229. Although this revelation was given in response to supplication that the mind of the Lord be made known concerning the elders named, much of the content pertains to the whole Church.
[President Joseph Fielding Smith wrote: “At the close of the conference of November 1–12, 1831, Elders Orson Hyde, Luke Johnson, Lyman E. Johnson and William E. M’Lellin, came to the Prophet and sought the will of the Lord concerning themselves, and their ministry. The Prophet made inquiry and received the revelation which appears as Section sixty-eight. Surely the Lord in his wisdom poured out knowledge, line upon line, precept upon precept as the members of the Church were prepared to receive it.” (Church History and Modern Revelation, 1:257–58.)
The Lord's response to their question, the first part (v. 1-12) Addressing Orson Hyde (v. 1-6)
Parenthesis on servants speaking by inspiration (v. 3-6) Addressing Hyde and the others (v. 7-12)
Additional comments by the Lord, the second part (v. 13-33) On Bishops (v. 14-24)
Point one - Additional Bishops to be set apart as High Priests under the MP (v. 14-15)
Point two - Literal descendants of Aaron have a claim to the office of Bishop by lineage and may claim it (v. 16-21) Point three - Bishops tried by First Presidency (v. 22-24)
On families (v. 25-31)
Point one - Children to be taught and baptized with laying on of hands at the age of eight (v. 25-28)
Point two - Observe the Sabbath day (v. 29)
Point three - Don't raise children to be lazy and greedy (v. 30-32)
Point four - Remember to pray (v. 33)
Conclusion (v. 34-35)]
1—5, Words of elders when moved upon by the Holy Ghost are scripture; 6—12, Elders are to preach and baptize, and signs shall follow true believers; 13—24, Firstborn among the sons of Aaron may serve as the Presiding Bishop (that is, hold the keys of presidency as a bishop) under the direction of the First Presidency; 25—28, Parents are commanded to teach the gospel to their children; 29—35, The saints are to observe the Sabbath, labor diligently, and pray.
[This revelation was in response to a petition on the part of (Orson Hyde, Luke Johnson, Lyman Johnson, and William E. McLellin see verse 7). The first 12 verses address their questions.]
1 MY servant, Orson Hyde, was called by his ordination to proclaim the everlasting gospel, [The Call of Orson Hyde Had Far-reaching Consequences “The prophecy in this verse was literally fulfilled. Orson Hyde proclaimed the gospel ‘from people to people, from land to land.’ In 1832, he and Samuel H. Smith traveled in the States of New York, Massachusetts, Maine, and Rhode Island—two thousand miles—on foot. In 1835 he was ordained an Apostle, and in 1837 he went on a mission to England. In 1840 he was sent on a mission to Jerusalem. He crossed the Ocean, traveled through England and Germany, visited Constantinople, Cairo, and Alexandria, and, finally, reached the Holy City. On October 24th, 1841, he went up on the Mount of Olives and offered a prayer, dedicating Palestine for the gathering of the Jews.” (Smith and Sjodahl, Commentary, p. 409.)] by the Spirit of the living God, from people to people, and from land to land, in the congregations of the wicked, in their synagogues, [ A Jewish place of worship; The English word is a transliteration of the Greek “sunagoge”, which can be translated to “gathering”. Thus, Hyde is not being called to specifically proselyte Jews, but to proselyte all people in their gathering places.] reasoning with and expounding all scriptures unto them.
2 And, behold, and lo, this is an ensample unto all those who were ordained unto this priesthood, [ While the Lord is addressing Orson Hyde specifically he now expands the revelation to all who are ordained in the priesthood. ] whose mission is appointed unto them to go forth—
3 And this is the ensample unto them, that they shall speak as they are moved upon by the Holy Ghost.
4 And whatsoever they shall speak when moved upon by the Holy Ghost shall be scripture, [ What Is Scripture? Scripture is the mind and will of God revealed through His servants. Peter declared, “Prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost” (2 Peter 1:21). Such scripture has been written and preserved in the standard works as priceless gems of eternal truth. The standard works are not the only source of scripture, however. As President Joseph Fielding Smith taught: “When one of the brethren stands before a congregation of the people today, and the inspiration of the Lord is upon him, he speaks that which the Lord would have him speak. It is just as much scripture as anything you will find written in any of these records, and yet we call these the standard works of the Church. We depend, of course, upon the guidance of the brethren who are entitled to inspiration. “There is only one man in the Church at a time who has the right to give revelation for the Church, and that is the President of the Church. But that does not bar any other member in this Church from speaking the word of the Lord, as indicated here in this revelation, section 68, but a revelation that is to be given as these revelations are given in this book, to the Church, will come through the presiding officer of the Church; yet, the word of the Lord, as spoken by other servants at the general conferences and stake conferences, or wherever they may be when they speak that which the Lord has put into their mouths, is just as much the word of the Lord as the writings and the words of other prophets in other dispensations.” (Doctrines of Salvation, 1:186.) see also D&C 46:28-30, D&C 50:30 Elder Harold B. Lee further defined scripture when he said: “It is not to be thought that every word spoken by the General Authorities is inspired, or that they are moved upon by the Holy Ghost in everything they read and write. Now you keep that in mind. I don’t care what his position is, if he writes something or speaks something that goes beyond anything that you can find in the standard church works, unless that one be the prophet, seer, and revelator—please note that one exception—you may immediately say, ‘Well, that is his own idea.’ And if he says something that contradicts what is found in the standard church works (I think that is why we call them ‘standard’—it is the standard measure of all that men teach), you may know by that same token that it is false, regardless of the position of the man who says it.” (The Place of the Living Prophet, Seer, and Revelator [address delivered to seminary and institute of religion faculty, 8 July 1964], p. 14.) President J. Reuben Clark Jr. said: “How shall we know when the things they have spoken were said as they were ‘moved upon by the Holy Ghost?’ “I have given some thought to this question, and the answer thereto so far as I can determine, is: We can tell when the speakers are ‘moved upon by the Holy Ghost’ only when we, ourselves, are ‘moved upon by the Holy Ghost.’ “In a way, this completely shifts the responsibility from them to us to determine when they so speak.” (When Are the Writings or Sermons of Church Leaders Entitled to the Claim of Scripture? [address delivered to seminary and institute of religion personnel, 7 July 1954], p. 7.)] shall be the will of the Lord, shall be the mind of the Lord, shall be the word of the Lord, shall be the voice of the Lord, and the power of God unto salvation.
6 Wherefore, be of good cheer, and do not fear, for I the Lord am with you, and will stand by you; and ye shall bear record of me, even Jesus Christ, that I am the son of the living God, that I was, that I am, and that I am to come.
7 This is the word of the Lord unto you, my servant Orson Hyde, and also unto my servant Luke Johnson, and unto my servant Lyman Johnson, and unto my servant William E. McLellin, and unto all the faithful elders of my church—
8 Go ye into all the world, preach the gospel to every creature, acting in the authority which I have given you, baptizing in the name of the Father, and of the son, and of the Holy Ghost.
10 And he that believeth shall be blest with signs following, [People often desire to see a sign or hear a voice from the unseen world. This desire may be manifest in some members of the Church at some stage of their spiritual development. A few honestly believe that such an experience would greatly strengthen their testimony or convince nonbelievers of the truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ. People who possess such a notion should remember that signs are not usually given before faith is shown, for such desires and manifestations are a detriment to the development of true faith and are the symptoms of wickedness (see Matthew 12:39; Notes and Commentary on D&C 63:7–12). Signs are the offspring of faith and serve to confirm righteousness. Signs follow faith, and without faith no miracle can occur (see Mark 16:17; Ether 12:12). The outward manifestation of God’s power is an assurance that our faith and righteousness have received divine sanction.] even as it is written.
11 And unto you it shall be given to know the signs of the times, and the signs of the coming of the son of Man; [ The earliest use of this title "Son of Man" (man here means "King") that I can find in the scriptures comes from the Book Of Enoch(Enoch 46:1-3). Other references to that title include Daniel(), Abraham() and Christ himself() and all of them would have had available the Book Of Enoch.
Enoch was given the title Son of Man as a descriptor for Jesus Christ. We find in written in the Book of Enoch 46:1-3 “And I asked the angel who went with me and showed me all the hidden things, concerning that Son of Man, who He was, and whence He was, (and) why he went with the Head of Days? And he answered and said unto me:
This is the Son of Man who hath righteousness, with whom dwelleth righteousness, and who revealeth all the treasures of that which is hidden, because the Lord of Spirits hath chosen Him, and whose lot hath the pre-eminence before the Lord of Spirits in uprightness forever. (BoE 46:1-3)”
So from these verses we can see that Enoch's angelic guide has declared that "the Son Of Man" is another name for Jesus Christ. This phrase is used by Daniel when he likens the person that he saw in his vision "like the Son of Man" (Daniel 7:13-14) as does Abraham when he described the individual who volunteered Himself to do the will of the Father as being “like unto the Son of Man.” Therefore the phrase “like the Son of Man” or “like unto the Son of Man,” (Abr 3:27) used in these two examples promote the familiarity through an external source to which both prophets would have had access to that being the Book of Enoch. (Abr 1:31)
This is also why Christ would have referred to himself as "the Son Of Man" because it was the messianic title that embodied the works and mission that would be preformed creation, example, atonement, resurrection, judgement(John 5:22-23,27) are all responsibilities that were given to the Son Of Man. Christ seems to use this title to place specific importance upon the subject matter He was teaching at the time, because the use of that title by Christ typically focuses on the prophecies of the Great and Terrible Day of the Lord and His latter-day responsibilities.
There is no reason to belive otherwise than those Jews who heard Christ use this title would have been fully aware the title’s source and the bold declaration represented by the messianic prophecies for him as described in the Book of Enoch. ] ;
12 And of as many as the Father shall bear record, to you shall be given power to seal them up unto eternal life. Amen.
14 There remain hereafter, in the due time of the Lord, other bishops to be set apart unto the church, [ calling of additional bishops] to minister even according to the first; [ or the first Bishop of the church is to serve as an example and the new bishops are to serve in a like manner. ]
15 Wherefore they shall be high priests who are worthy, and they shall be appointed by the First Presidency of the Melchizedek Priesthood, except they be literal descendants of Aaron. [ The literal descendants of Aaron do not need to be set apart as high priests in the Melchizedek priesthood. If persons are literal descendants of Aaron they possessa lineal right to serve in the office of Bishop. Among Jews, it is typically held that those who have the last name “Cohen” or some Cohen in their family follow this lineage as the Hebrew word“ cohen” literally translates to the English “priest”. This suggests literal descendants of Aaron can act in the office of Bishop without being ordained a high priest in the Melchizedek Priesthood. They would presumably be ordained to the office of a priest in the Aaronic Priesthood, and then consecrated to act as an ancient “high priest” (cf. Lev. 21:10-15, 2 Ne. 5:26), with equivalent duties of the contemporary Bishop (cf. Jacob 1:18-19).68.3It is curious the lineal right remains after the fulfillment of the Law of Moses. In D&C 84:27 we are informed John Baptist's ordination was to overthrow the house of Aaron. In the absence of the present verses, one would have interpreted the D&C 84 statement to mean the lineal right of the sons of Aaron was ended along with a lot of the other details associated with the Law of Moses. It is unclear which aspects of seemingly dispensation-specific covenants operate outside of their dispensations. But, since the Aaronic Priesthood is operating in the present dispensation, some of the regulations regarding its administration must go with it. It is possible v. 17 can be taken to mean that first born sons of Aaron have both the right and the keys of this office, but in order to use them within the LDS Church confines they must be authorized per v. 20. However, if they are operating outside of the confines of the LDS Church, say they were devout Jews, it is unclear what this right and these keys grant them, and what keys exactly is invested in them. Under What Conditions Can a Literal Descendant of Aaron Be a Bishop without Counselors? President Joseph Fielding Smith pointed out that this provision applied only to the office of Presiding Bishop of the Church: “It has no reference whatever to bishops of wards. Further, such a one must be designated by the First Presidency of the Church and receive his anointing and ordination under their hands. The revelation comes from the Presidency, not from the patriarch, to establish a claim to the right to preside in this office. In the absence of knowledge concerning such a descendant, any high priest, chosen by the Presidency, may hold the office of Presiding Bishop and serve with counselors.” (Doctrines of Salvation, 3:92.) “The office of Presiding Bishop of the Church is the same as the office which was held by Aaron. . . . It was this office which came to John the Baptist, and it was by virtue of the fact that he held the keys of this power and ministry that he was sent to Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery to restore that Priesthood, May 15, 1829. The person who has the legal right to this presiding office has not been discovered; perhaps is not in the Church, but should it be shown by revelation that there is one who is the ‘firstborn among the sons of Aaron,’ and thus entitled by birthright to this presidency, he could ‘claim’ his ‘anointing’ and the right to that office in the Church.” (Smith, Church History and Modern Revelation, 1:259.)]
16 And if they be literal descendants of Aaron they have a legal right to the bishopric, if they are the firstborn among the sons of Aaron;
17 For the firstborn holds the right of the presidency over this priesthood, and the keys or authority of the same.
18 No man has a legal right to this office, to hold the keys of this priesthood, except he be a literal descendant and the firstborn of Aaron.
19 But, as a high priest of the Melchizedek Priesthood has authority to officiate in all the lesser offices he may officiate in the office of bishop when no literal descendant of Aaron can be found, provided he is called and set apart and ordained unto this power, under the hands of the First Presidency of the Melchizedek Priesthood.
20 And a literal descendant of Aaron, also, must be designated by this Presidency, and found worthy, and anointed, and ordained under the hands of this Presidency, otherwise they are not legally authorized to officiate in their priesthood.
21 But, by virtue of the decree concerning their right of the priesthood descending from father to son, they may claim their anointing if at any time they can prove their lineage, or do ascertain it by revelation from the Lord under the hands of the above named Presidency.
22 And again, no bishop or high priest who shall be set apart for this ministry shall be tried or condemned for any crime, save it be before the First Presidency of the church; [ Are Bishops Found in Transgression to Be Tried by the First Presidency? “In case of the transgression of the presiding bishop of the Church, he could not be tried by a high council in the stake in which he lives, but he would have to be tried by the First Presidency of the Church. The reason for this is that he . . . is not under the jurisdiction of any ward or stake in this capacity. This order given for the trial of the presiding bishop does not apply to a local bishop in a ward, who is under the jurisdiction of the presidency of the stake.” (Smith, Church History and Modern Revelation, 1:259–60.).]
23 And inasmuch as he is found guilty before this Presidency, by testimony that cannot be impeached, he shall be condemned;
24 And if he repent he shall be forgiven, according to the covenants and commandments of the church.
25 And again, inasmuch as parents have children in Zion, or in any of her stakes which are organized, that teach them not to understand the doctrine of repentance, [ So who's responsibility is it to teach the gospel to the children? The Bishop, young Men's/women's leader, the primary or sunday school teacher? No it is the responsibility of the parents. We might also ask how can one teach children to understand the doctrine unless they study it. (verse 31) ] faith in Christ the son of the living God, and of baptism and the gift of the Holy Ghost by the laying on of the hands, when eight [ We need to be careful here, in light of D&C 29:47-49 where we are taught that until the age of accountability little children can't sin as satan is bound from them. Until they can make decisions for themselves. The number eight always points to a new beginning, purification, or the Atonement. It is found in association with temples, ordinances, or other holy themes. To help illustrate this, it helps if we first understand that the symbolism of eight is directly related to the symbolism of seven. In Genesis, we read:
“Thus the heavens and the earth were finished . . . And on the seventh day, God ended his work which he had made” (Gen. 2: 1-2).
Seven, therefore, in the Hebrew tradition means finished, whole, or complete. What then becomes of the eighth day? The eighth day then becomes the first day of a new period. In other words, not the beginning, but a new beginning. By exploring a few scriptures, we see that this new beginnings represents purification the Atonement of Christ.
For example, animals used for sacrifices stayed with the mother seven days, and then were slain on the eigth day. These animals were symbolic of Christ as an eternal sacrifice. Similarly, the priests of Aaron under Moses were to purge seven days, and on the eighth day they could enter the tabernacle, being purified, and make an atoning sacrifice.
We learn in Ezekial that “upon the eighth day, and so forward, the priests shall make your burnt offerings upon the altar and your peace offerings; and I will accept you, saith the Lord” (Ezekiel 43:26-27). ] years old, the sin be upon the heads of the parents. [ compare with 2 Ne. 4:5 Elder Harold B. Lee pointed out that the Lord “gave us what we might style as a five-point program by which parents could teach faith. First, he said, their children were to be baptized when they had reached the age of accountability at eight years; second, they were to be taught to pray; third, they were to be taught to walk uprightly before the Lord; fourth, they were to be taught to keep the Sabbath day holy; and fifth, they were to be schooled not to be idle, either in the Church, or in their private lives. “All parents who have followed that formula and have so taught their children have reaped the reward of an increased faith in their family, which has stood and will yet stand the test of the difficulties into which their children would yet go.” (In Conference Report, Oct. 1952, p. 17.) President N. Eldon Tanner noted: “Children who are taught obedience, to honor and obey the law, to have faith in God and to keep his commandments, will, as they grow up, honor their parents and be a credit to them; and they will be able to meet and solve their problems, find greater success and joy in life, and contribute greatly to the solution of the problems now causing the world such great concern. It is up to the parents to see to it that their children are prepared through obedience to law for the positions of leadership they will occupy in the future, where their responsibility will be to bring peace and righteousness to the world.” (In Conference Report, Apr. 1970, p. 65.) Regarding rebellious children of righteous parents, President Spencer W. Kimball observed: “I have sometimes seen children of good families rebel, resist, stray, sin, and even actually fight God. In this they bring sorrow to their parents, who have done their best to set in movement a current and to teach and live as examples. But I have repeatedly seen many of these same children, after years of wandering, mellow, realize what they have been missing, repent, and make great contribution to the spiritual life of their community. The reason I believe this can take place is that, despite all the adverse winds to which these people have been subjected, they have been influenced still more, and much more than they realized, by the current of life in the homes in which they were reared. When, in later years, they feel a longing to recreate in their own families the same atmosphere they enjoyed as children, they are likely to turn to the faith that gave meaning to their parents’ lives. “There is no guarantee, of course, that righteous parents will succeed always in holding their children, and certainly they may lose them if they do not do all in their power. The children have their free agency. “But if we as parents fail to influence our families and set them on the ‘strait and narrow way,’ then certainly the waves, the winds of temptation and evil will carry the posterity away from the path. “‘Train up a child in the way he should go; and when he is old, he will not depart from it.’ (Prov. 22:6.) What we do know is that righteous parents who strive to develop wholesome influences for their children will be held blameless at the last day, and that they will succeed in saving most of their children, if not all.” (In Conference Report, Oct. 1974, p. 160; or Ensign, Nov. 1974, pp. 111–12.)]
26 For this shall be a law unto the inhabitants of Zion, or in any of her stakes which are organized.
27 And their children shall be baptized for the remission of their sins [ We are taught that little children need no baptism (Moroni 8:10-15; 2 Ne. 9:25-26), so what sin is there to be remitted of? Or is he suggesting something different than the common tradition that we have in the church that baptism remits sin. Is is suggesting that Baptism teaches the process or the way, it is the path that will lead to remission of sin. So why does it say here that their children shall be baptized for a remission of their sins then? We need to really have a look at the point that he is really trying to make here. It is that they need to be taught to make a covenant with God to obey the law of obedience when they are eight. In order that they may know how to receive the remittance of their sin. As a matter of speaking when one says in church welcome to the cleanest members of the ward. In reality because they could not sin until they were baptized, until they had made the covenant with God that they would always do his will. So in essence what the Bishop is saying is "We would like to welcome the newest sinner of the ward." Why? Because he/she was really cleaner the day before as they could not sin then. "Baptism is a sign to God, to angels, and to heaven that we do the will of God" ] when eight [ The number eight always points to a new beginning, renewal, purification, or the Atonement. It is found in association with temples, ordinances, or other holy themes. To help illustrate this, it helps if we first understand that the symbolism of eight is directly related to the symbolism of seven. In Genesis, we read:
“Thus the heavens and the earth were finished . . . And on the seventh day, God ended his work which he had made” (Gen. 2: 1-2).
Seven, therefore, in the Hebrew tradition means finished, whole, or complete. What then becomes of the eighth day? The eighth day then becomes the first day of a new period. In other words, not the beginning, but a new beginning. By exploring a few scriptures, we see that this new beginnings represents purification the Atonement of Christ.
For example, animals used for sacrifices stayed with the mother seven days, and then were slain on the eigth day. These animals were symbolic of Christ as an eternal sacrifice. Similarly, the priests of Aaron under Moses were to purge seven days, and on the eighth day they could enter the tabernacle, being purified, and make an atoning sacrifice.
We learn in Ezekial that “upon the eighth day, and so forward, the priests shall make your burnt offerings upon the altar and your peace offerings; and I will accept you, saith the Lord” (Ezekiel 43:26-27). Also there were 8 people on the ark with Noah. ] years old, and receive the laying on of the hands.
29 And the inhabitants of Zion shall also observe the Sabbath day to keep it holy. [ A more specific command regarding the sabbath was given 3 months earlier and is recorded in section 59. ]
30 And the inhabitants of Zion also shall remember their labors, inasmuch as they are appointed to labor, in all faithfulness; for the idler shall be had in remembrance before the Lord.
31 Now, I, the Lord, am not well pleased with the inhabitants of Zion, for there are idlers among them; [ They are lazy - there sloth is setting a bad example. A human weakness that draws sharp rebuke from the Lord is that of an idler who lives upon the labor of others (see D&C 42:42; 56:17; 60:13; 75:29). Government welfare programs that dole out money or goods without requiring labor in return can help spread this problem. Elder David B. Haight taught: “What has this monstrous thing called government welfare done to the people? Today we have second- and third-generation welfare recipients. Millions have learned how to live off the government. Children are growing up without knowing the value and the dignity of work. The government has succeeded in doing what the Church welfare program seeks to prevent. . . . “But Church members are not immune to the perils of the government dole. There is evidence that some of our people are receiving something for nothing from the government. The fact that this condition exists in the Church highlights the need of our members to be knowledgeable about Church welfare principles. President Kimball has stated: ‘No true Latter-day Saint, while physically or emotionally able, will voluntarily shift the burden of his own or his family’s well-being to someone else’ (Ensign, May 1978, p. 79.” (In Conference Report, Oct. 1978, p. 86; or Ensign, Nov. 1978, p. 86.) The Lord’s welfare program emphasizes the principles of work and self-respect, requiring labor according to ability. ] and their children are also growing up in wickedness; [ Why? beacuse they are not teaching their children the gospel as detailed in vs 25; Secondly because they are not setting a good example but are lazy - most likely in both the physical sense as well as the gospel sense. ] they also seek not earnestly the riches of eternity, [ They are seeking earthly riches. They are not realizing that there is another world out there. You cannot really take this life seriously until you take the next life seriously. ] but their eyes are full of greediness. [ The things of this world. ]
32 These things ought not to be, and must be done away from among them; wherefore, let my servant Oliver Cowdery carry these sayings unto the land of Zion.
33 And a commandment I give unto them—that he that observeth not his prayers before the Lord in the season thereof, [ When is the season of prayer? morning noon and night and as needed and as blessing come forth. President Ezra Taft Benson spoke of the value of prayer, especially for youth, and said: “I counsel you, in the words of Jesus Christ, to ‘watch and pray always lest ye enter into temptation; for Satan desireth to have you, that he may sift you as wheat.’ (3 Ne. 18:18.) “If you will earnestly seek guidance from your Heavenly Father, morning and evening, you will be given the strength to shun any temptation. President Heber J. Grant gave this timeless promise to the youth of the Church: “‘I have little or no fear for the boy or the girl, the young man or the young woman, who honestly and conscientiously supplicates God twice a day for the guidance of His Spirit. I am sure that when temptation comes they will have the strength to overcome it by the inspiration that shall be given to them. Supplicating the Lord for the guidance of His Spirit places around us a safeguard, and if we earnestly and honestly seek the guidance of the Spirit of the Lord, I can assure you that we will receive it.’ (Gospel Standards, Salt Lake City: The Improvement Era, 1969, p. 26; italics added.)” (In Conference Report, Oct. 1977, p. 46; or Ensign, Nov. 1977, p. 32.)] let him be had in remembrance before the judge of my people. [ “The common judge in Israel is the ward bishop. It is his duty to watch over his flock. To aid him he has the force of the Aaronic Priesthood and all of the brethren holding the Melchizedek Priesthood who are at liberty and who may be called to serve as acting teachers and priests in his ward.” (Smith, Church History and Modern Revelation, 1:261.) ]
34 These sayings are true and faithful; wherefore, transgress them not, neither take therefrom. [ Similuar command Deut 4:2, Rev. 22:19]
35 Behold, I am Alpha and Omega, and I come quickly. Amen.
[Historical Material Pertaining to Doctrine & Covenants 68 Minutes from the Far West Record suggest this section is a composite of two different revelations, verses 1-12 received some time in November 1-3, 1831 and verses 13-35 were received November 11, 1831 (see Lyndon W. Cook’s The Revelations of the Prophet Joseph Smith for discussion). The request by the various elders coincided with a conference occurring at that time, hence the gathering of a large number of Elders. Excerpt from History of the Church As the following Elders Orson Hyde, Luke Johnson, Lyman E. Johnson, and William E. M'Lellin were desirous to know the mind of the Lord concerning themselves, I inquired, and received the following: [text of D&C 68 quoted] (Joseph Smith, History of the Church, volume 1, page 277)]