Doctrine & Covenants 130 All

Doctrine & Covenants > Section 130

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Lexical notes

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Exegesis

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Doctrine & Covenants > Section 130

Questions

• What might it mean for "all things...past, present, and future" to be "continually before the Lord" (verse 7)? Does that place God outside of time?
• What kingdoms might be "higher" than the Celestial Kingdom--or at least the celestialized earth (verse 10)? Why don't we know more about these kingdoms?

Lexical notes

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Exegesis

In verse 8 we learn that God dwells on a giant Urim and Thummim. Verse 9 tells us that our own earth will become a Urim and Thummim to those who live on it when it becomes glorified. It will allow the inhabitants to see the knowledge and truths of the lower kingdoms: the telestial and terrestrial.

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Doctrine & Covenants > Section 130

Questions

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Lexical notes

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Exegesis

Verse 11 tells us that each person who comes to the celestial kingdom will receive a white stone. This stone will allow them (as indicated in verse 10) to learn things "pertaining to a higher order of kingdoms." Some have interpreted this to mean that it is through this stone that they will learn how to become as God is.

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Doctrine & Covenants > Section 130

Questions

• What can "principle" mean in verse 18? What of "intelligence"? How would such a principle of such intelligence rise with us (does this imply objectivation?)?

Lexical notes

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Exegesis

Verse 16

Joseph is "left . . . without being able to decide." This curious experience deserves close attention, perhaps provides a kind of model for doing theology in the face of revelation. What, then, is at stake here?

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Verses 20-21

• One law? See Jacob's blog post "What is the one law?" for a discussion of this referring to one law rather than every blessing having its own law.

Doctrine & Covenants > Section 130

Questions

Verse 22

• Why do you think this verse emphasizes the tangibility of the Father's body rather than, perhaps, its visibility?

Lexical notes

Verse 22

• "Personage." Webster's 1828 definition for personage lists three definitions. The first one is "exterior appearance; stature; air." Based on this definition, we might think that the "exterior appearance" of a spirit is the shape and form that a spirit takes on when it "appears." So we might think of a spirit as having a material body, though of “a finer matter,” matter that can be seen by spiritual eyes. The other two definitions for personage in Webster's are "character assumed" and "character represented." The definition for "character" in Webster's 1828 Dictionary is given here. If character is taken to refer to qualities or properties that are being represent or assumed, then the Spirit in this verse might be thought in terms of representing or assuming the qualities of God.

Exegesis

Verse 22

Verse 22 is the only scriptural source that clearly teaches that the Holy Ghost is a personage. It also purports to give a reason why a member of the Godhead does not have a body of flesh and bones, so the the Holy Ghost can "dwell in us". However, the source of this teaching is not only not from a prophet, but actually contradicts the prophetic teaching that the rest of the scriptural passage is based on.

The source of this teaching is Joseph Smith's corrections to a talk by Elder Orson Hyde at a conference in Ramus, Illinois on April 2, 1843. In the morning, Elder Hyde had preached that "it is our privilege to have the father & son dwelling in our hearts." After the morning meeting, at Joseph's sister Sophronia's house for dinner, Joseph indicated that he would correct Elder Hyde, who indicated his willingness to accept correction. Joseph then taught what we have in D&C 130:1-3, that "the idea that the Father and the Son dwell in a man's heart is an old sectarian notion, and is false."

When they returned for the evening session of the meeting, Joseph referred the congregation back to Elder Hyde's statement to give them the correction as well. This time he additionally taught (emphasis added):

The Father has a body of flesh & bones as tangible as mans the Son also, but the Holy Ghost is a personage of spirit. --and a person cannot have the personage of the H G in his heart he may receive the gift of the holy Ghost. it may descend upon him but not to tarry with him (Joseph Smith diary as recorded by Willard Richards)

The Holy Ghost is a personage, and a person cannot have the personage of the Holy Ghost in his heart. A man receive the gifts of the H. G., and the H. G. may descend upon a man but not to tarry with him. (William Clayton diary)

(Source for these documents is The Parallel Joseph; see the April 2, 1843 link below, footnote 1.)

Joseph's teachings as recorded by Willard Richards and William Clayton that the personage of the Holy Ghost cannot dwell in us are changed in the Doctrine & Covenants to state that he is a personage of spirit precisely so that he can dwell in us. This came about as follows:

Orson Pratt was given the assignment to select teachings of Joseph Smith for inclusion in the 1876 edition of the Doctrine & Covenants (see the December 1984 Ensign article The Story of the Doctrine & Covenants). In doing so, he relied on the compilations of Joseph's diaries and teachings by church historians (see link below) for details on who these historians were and when they wrote). Joseph himself wrote very little of his diary; it was actually kept by various people assigned to do so. Church historians compiled these various accounts into a cohesive whole (changing the text to the first person to appear as though Joseph had written it) and it formed the basis of the volumes of History of Church eventually edited by B.H. Roberts -- the ones most of us are familiar with.

Leo Hawkins was the historian who compiled the account that includes this scriptural passage from D&C 130. He added the sentence in question about the Holy Ghost dwelling in us, which contradicts what Joseph taught as recorded contemporaneously by his secretary.

Further sources for this information:

Scott H. Faulring, An American Prophet's Record: The Diaries and Journals of Joseph Smith, p.341

George D. Smith, An Intimate Chronicle; The Journals of William Clayton, p. 97

The Words of Joseph Smith: The Contemporary Accounts of the Nauvoo Discourses of the Prophet Joseph, compiled and edited by Andrew F. Ehat and Lyndon W. Cook [Provo: BYU Religious Studies Center, 1980], entries for 2 April 1843 (see particularly footnote 5)

Related links

Verse 22

• The Parallel Joseph

• April 2, 1943

• The Story of the Doctrine & Covenants

• Historians and Joseph's diary

• See RobertC's post "Can the Holy Ghost really dwell in us?" at the Feast blog.