Difference between revisions of "D&C 1:11-16"

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(Verse 16)
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== Lexical notes ==
 
== Lexical notes ==
===Verse 16===
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* ''Idolatry.''  Idolatry seems only to be mentioned one other time in the Doctrine and Covenants ([[D&C 52:39]]), although it is a prominent theme of earlier prophets (see the [http://scriptures.lds.org/en/bd/i/2 Bible Dictionary] and [http://scriptures.lds.org/en/tg/i/3 Topical Guide] entries).  One reason the otherwise infrequent reference to idolatry may be given here is that in the subsequent verses Joseph's call as a prophet is given and explained.  Idolatry then serves as a rhetorical device linking Joseph's prophetic calling to the common theme of idolatry spoken against by many former prophets.  Related themes, such as worldliness, riches, vanity, pride, etc. are discussed at length in the Doctrine and Covenants, but in terms other than idolatry per se, thus making the occurence here notable.
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== Exegesis ==
 
== Exegesis ==

Revision as of 18:48, 10 February 2010

Doctrine & Covenants > Section 1

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Lexical notes

Exegesis

Verse 18

This verse introduces a most curious moment of divine logic, a moment in which the Lord Himself provides reasons for doing His work. Though other moments in scripture present the Lord offering reasons for a particular action, this might be the only occasion in all of scripture where the Lord simply lays out all the reasons He has for getting a plan of salvation under way, for sending messengers to bring further light and knowledge. The list of reasons is surprisingly long (several verses, at any rate), and all of these reasons present vital points of understanding. Each might be considered in turn.

The first of the Lord's reasons for putting together in the first place a plan of salvation is offered in this first verse, but the anticipatory sense that characterizes the first reason complicates it from the beginning. The first reason, quite clearly, is that "all this" is done so "that it might be fulfilled, which was written by the prophets." The point seems quite clear: the prophets are to be fulfilled, and all of this is to that fulfillment. The Lord gets the work of salvation underway precisely so that the prophets are not ashamed, so that their word is confirmed by historical completion. But then there seems to be some difficulty here, because the next verse goes on as if it were quoted quite specifically the word of the prophets. It must be pointed out--even if a little early here--that verse 19 does not quote any known prophecy. It is closest, perhaps, to 1 Cor 1:27, but there is still something of an important gap between the phrasing of verse 19 and that saying by Paul. All in all, though the prophets are here cited, there does not seem to be any particular saying the Lord has in mind: one is to read verse 19 (and the verses that follow it) as a sort of summary of the prophetic message over all. A first--and a major--consequence: the great majority of the weight of the "reasons" the Lord offers to justify His saving activity in the last days is to be felt in this first mention of things, since the following verses are collectively a sort of explanation of the ancient prophet message. Hence, detailed attention must first be paid to this initiating verse 18.

The difficulty, however, of working out the meaning of verse 18 from the start is that the following verses, precisely because they summarize the prophetic work of so many millennia, seem to be the undergirding of why the Lord would desire to confirm the prophets at all. For present purposes, the work must begin, unfortunately, somewhat blindly.

The question to be asked, then, is this: is the whole plan of salvation, as issued through the Prophet Joseph and according to this "last dispensation," entirely motivated by a desire to confirm the ancient prophets? Or perhaps the question to ask is this: if the Lord feels to undertake a justification of sorts, is He here justifying Himself or the prophets? In the end, however the question is asked, the thrust of the difficulty here is bound up with the intertwined roles of the prophet and his God. One must interpret the relation between God and His messengers from the very beginning. The question is perhaps all the more important in the first part of the twenty-first century, because of the radical reinterpretation of the prophetic role that is underway in biblical criticism. If the prophet has been decided now to be a rather political figure, one attuned to contemporary events and one, hence, without the extra-temporal visions that allow his/her words to transcend her/his age, why on earth or in heaven would the Lord feel to justify words one might quite simply bury in the historical melieux of the past? A necessary answer emerges precisely here: the prophets are being misunderstood if they are completely swallowed up in their own history.

What verse 18, especially as it opens the following few verses, accomplishes is this: God is stripped, as it were, of His absoluteness. One must be careful in stating the point, but it seems quite clear. God is, according to the relativization at work in verse 18, not one to offer absolute reasons for things. The opening of a last dispensation is not simply to bring about "new things," unknown before, but also to hark back to the "former things," to bring the former things out in the new things, just as "Second Isaiah" works out and reinterprets "First Isaiah." In short, if Joseph is a prophet, he cannot--absolutely must not--be separated from the former prophets: the message is the same, and the sender of the messengers is the same. If only a few verses after this, the Lord will quite explicitly introduce the necessity of recognizing the historical context into which the modern prophetic activity falls, He quite explicitly introduces here the necessity of recognizing also that these same prophets transcend their historical context because they are fulfilling ancient prophecies. And with that, the Lord can turn to specifications in the next few verses.

A chiasm

As soon as one turns to the passage in which the Lord lays out His very broad interpretation of what has been prophesied all along, one notices that there is a specific structure at work in these verses:

  And also gave commandments to others, that they should proclaim these things unto the world; 
  and all this that it might be fulfilled, which was written by the prophets--
     The weak things of the world shall come forth and break down the mighty and strong ones...
        But that every man might speak in the name of God the Lord, even the Savior of the world;
           That faith also might increase in the earth;
        That mine everlasting covenant might be established;
     That the fulness of my gospel might be proclaimed by the weak and the simple... before kings and rulers.
  Behold, I am God and have spoken it; these commandments are of me, and were given unto my servants in their weakness,
  after the manner of their language, that they might come to understanding.

The chiastic structure highlights the fact that this is the Lord's voice in this revelation, but it also accomplishes a couple of interesting poetic things: verse 21 is set at the center of things, and the whole passage is wrapped about with the Lord's clear statement of purpose. Moreover, the everlasting covenant is set parallel to every man's speaking in the name of God the Lord, which is certainly suggestive. Also, the doubling of the word "commandments" seems to highlight the nature of what the Doctrine and Covenants (perhaps more strictly, the Book of Commandments) is all about. At any rate, the structure opens the possibility of considering the passage as a whole.

Verse 19

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