Explanation of Scripture, 1830 [D&C 74]
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Source Note
Explanation of Scripture, , NY, 1830. Featured version copied [ca. Mar. 1831] in Revelation Book 1, pp. 60–61; handwriting of ; CHL. Includes redactions. Fore more complete source information, see the source note for Revelation Book 1.
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Historical Introduction
This “explanation” clarifies a New Testament verse, 1 Corinthians 7:14, which historically had been an important passage for justifying infant baptism. Like the Book of Mormon, this document rejects the need for infant baptism by explaining that little children are made clean through the atonement of Jesus Christ, without . Although it is possible that questions regarding 1 Corinthians 7:14 or infant baptism prompted this explanation, the precise circumstances are unknown.The date the document was produced is also uncertain. When copied the document into Revelation Book 1 in 1831, he dated it simply “1830.” However, he placed it between documents dated 6 January 1831 and 4 February 1831. The editors of the Book of Commandments did not include this document with JS’s printed revelations in 1833, and when it was included in the Doctrine and Covenants in 1835, no date was mentioned. Years later, the editors of JS’s history mistakenly wrote that JS dictated this document in January 1832 in conjunction with his revision of the New Testament. But the location, which Whitmer identified as , New York, indicates that the document was created before JS moved to in the second half of January 1831, and that it could have been written as early as January 1830.
Footnotes
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1
According to one modern theologian, “With the exception of the Scripture passage where Jesus blesses little children no passage has been laid under a more laborious contribution to serve the cause of infant baptism than this one.”a The topic of infant baptism was also prevalent in Christian debates during JS’s time.b JS had earlier clarified a biblical passage regarding John the Beloved.c
(aJewett, Infant Baptism and the Covenant of Grace, 122. bSee, for example, Woods, Lectures on Infant Baptism, 75–93; Dwight, Theology: Explained and Defended, 317–318, 324–330; Frey, Essays on Christian Baptism, 38–42; and Jerram, Conversations on Infant Baptism, 64–67. cAccount of John, Apr. 1829–C [D&C 7].)Jewett, Paul K. Infant Baptism and the Covenant of Grace. Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans, 1978.
Woods, Leonard. Lectures on Infant Baptism. Andover: Mark Newman, 1828.Woods, Terry K. Ohio’s Grand Canal: A Brief History of the Ohio and Erie Canal. Kent, OH: Kent State University Press, 2008.
Dwight, Timothy. Theology; Explained and Defended, in a Series of Sermons. Vol. 5. Middletown, CT: Clark and Lyman, 1819.
Frey, J. S. C. F. Essays on Christian Baptism. Boston: Lincoln and Edmands, 1829.
Jerram, Charles. Conversations on Infant Baptism. New York: Swords, Stanford, 1839.
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2
The Book of Mormon condemned infant baptism as “solemn mockery before God.” (Book of Mormon, 1830 ed., 581 [Moroni 8:9].)
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3
Revelation Book 1, p. 60. Although most documents in Revelation Book 1 appear in chronological order, there are exceptions. Whitmer copied this document and “Articles and Covenants” about the same time, and Articles and Covenants was dated 10 April 1830, possibly suggesting that this document was also dictated in April. JS dictated another revelation in April that addressed whether new members needed to be baptized into the Church of Christ if they previously had been baptized in a different religion.a Alternatively, if the revelation’s placement in Revelation Book 1 is chronologically correct, it may indicate a relationship to the revelation regarding James Covel, dated 6 January 1831. Though Covel’s personal views about baptism are unknown, other New York Methodists of that time promoted the baptism of infants.b
(aArticles and Covenants, ca. Apr. 1830 [D&C 20]; Revelation, 16 Apr. 1830 [D&C 22]. bSee Seaman, Annals of New York Methodism, 193.)Seaman, Samuel A. Annals of New York Methodism: Being a History of the Methodist Episcopal Church in the City of New York from A.D. 1766 to A.D. 1890. New York: Hunt and Eaton, 1892.
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4
JS History, vol. A-1, 178. This date cannot be correct because Whitmer copied the revelation into Revelation Book 1 before he carried the book to Missouri in late 1831.
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5
JS could have been in Wayne County at almost any point during 1830, but there is some likelihood this document was produced during April, when JS was known to be in Wayne County. During that month, JS began baptizing believers and organizing branches of the church in New York; he also dictated two revelations that gave directions regarding baptism.a Conversations with new and prospective converts may also have led to discussion about scriptural passages regarding infant baptism. In early December 1830, JS met recent convert Sidney Rigdon, who opposed infant baptism. JS and Rigdon worked together in December on JS’s Bible revision, and during that period JS dictated a passage about baptism, but at that time JS and Rigdon were working in Seneca County. Similarly, any discussions JS might have had with James Covel would likely have taken place in Ontario or Seneca counties, not in Wayne County.b If this document did result from contact with Covel, it could possibly have been produced in late January 1831 when JS and Rigdon traveled through Wayne County on their way to Ohio.c
(aJS History, vol. A-1, 37–41; Articles and Covenants, ca. Apr. 1830 [D&C 20]; Revelation, 16 Apr. 1830 [D&C 22]. bOld Testament Revision 1, p. 16 [Moses 7:11]; Faulring et al., Joseph Smith’s New Translation of the Bible, 57; see also Historical Introduction to Revelation, 5 Jan. 1831 [D&C 39]. cSee Tucker, Origin, Rise, and Progress of Mormonism, 76–79; Lucy Mack Smith, History, 1844–1845, bk. 10, [8]; and Minute Book 2, 1 Jan. 1831.)Faulring, Scott H., Kent P. Jackson, and Robert J. Matthews, eds. Joseph Smith’s New Translation of the Bible: Original Manuscripts. Provo, UT: Religious Studies Center, Brigham Young University, 2004.
Tucker, Pomeroy. Origin, Rise, and Progress of Mormonism: Biography of Its Founders and History of Its Church. New York: D. Appleton, 1867.
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