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Questions and Answers, between circa 16 and circa 29 March 1838–B [D&C 113:7–10]

Source Note

“Questions by ,” [, Caldwell Co., MO], [between ca. 16 and ca. 29 Mar. 1838]. Featured version copied [ca. mid- or late Apr. 1838] in JS, Journal, Mar.–Sept. 1838, p. 18; handwriting of ; CHL. Includes use marks. For more complete source information, see the source note for JS, Journal, Mar.–Sept. 1838.

Historical Introduction

Sometime after JS arrived in , Missouri, he apparently answered two sets of questions, one regarding Isaiah chapter 11 and the other, labeled “Questions by ,” relating to Isaiah chapter 52. The dating of these two sets of questions and answers is uncertain, but they were probably produced sometime between 16 and 29 March 1838. While JS could have met with Higbee, who was a member of the , anytime during this period, the one time they were known to be together was during a meeting of the high council and on 24 March 1838, suggesting that Higbee may have posed his questions to JS after the meeting adjourned that evening. The answers to the first set of questions, regarding Isaiah 11, begin with “thus saith the Lord.” The revealed answers may have provoked Higbee to ask the questions about Isaiah 52:1–2, though the answers given to Higbee’s questions do not include the same revelatory language. These verses regard the redemption of and introduce Isaiah’s suffering servant oracles, including the material in chapter 53, which is one of traditional Christianity’s most important texts for Christianizing the Old Testament. Isaiah 52:1–2 is quoted twice in the Book of Mormon, and other passages in chapter 52 also appear in the book. JS revelations also repeat or allude to verses in this chapter, using them to explain the and reestablishment of the house of Israel in the latter days.
posed two questions. The answers, presumably from JS, stated that those called of God in the last days would be given authority to gather scattered Israel home to Zion. These answers may have been considered as having special significance at this time because of JS’s move to , the Saints’ “Land of Zion.” Probably sometime in mid- or late April, inscribed the questions and answers in the “Scriptory Book,” probably from an earlier manuscript.

Footnotes

  1. [1]

    See Historical Introduction to Questions and Answers, between ca. 16 and ca. 29 Mar. 1838–A [D&C 113:1–6].

  2. [2]

    Minutes, 24 Mar. 1838.

  3. [3]

    See, for example, Calvin, Commentary on the Book of the Prophet Isaiah, 4:109–132; Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament, 3:2085–2088; and Henry, Exposition of the Old and New Testament, 4:241–248.

    Calvin, John. Commentary on the Book of the Prophet Isaiah. Translated by William Pringle. 4 vols. Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans Publishing, 1948.

    Wesley, John. Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament. 4 vols. Bristol, England: William Pine, 1765.

    Henry, Matthew. An Exposition of the Old and New Testament: Wherein Each Chapter Is Summed Up in Its Contents; the Sacred Text Inserted at Large, in Distinct Paragraphs; Each Paragraph Reduced to Its Proper Heads; the Sense Given, and Largely Illustrated; with Practical Remarks and Observations. First American ed. 5 vols. Philadelphia: Ed. Barrington and Geo. D. Haswell, [1828].

  4. [4]

    Book of Mormon, 1830 ed., 78, 498 [2 Nephi 8:24–25; 3 Nephi 20:36–37].

  5. [5]

    See Book of Mormon, 1830 ed., 31, 182, 187, 188, 215, 488, 498–499, 500, 501 [1 Nephi 13:37; Mosiah 12:21–24; 15:14–18, 29–31; 16:1; 27:37; 3 Nephi 16:18–20; 20:32, 34–35, 38–45; 21:8, 29].

  6. [6]

    See Revelation, 2 Jan. 1831 [D&C 38:42]; Revelation, 7 May 1831 [D&C 49:27]; Revelation, 3 Nov. 1831 [D&C 133:5]; and Revelation, 22–23 Sept. 1832 [D&C 84:98].

  7. [7]

    See Revelation, 20 July 1831 [D&C 57:1–2, 14].

  8. [8]

    See Questions and Answers, between ca. 16 and ca. 29 Mar. 1838–A [D&C 113:1–6].

Asterisk (*) denotes a "featured" version, which includes an introduction and annotation.
*Questions and Answers, between circa 16 and circa 29 March 1838–B [D&C 113:7–10]
Journal, March–September 1838 History, 1838–1856, volume B-1 [1 September 1834–2 November 1838] “History of Joseph Smith”

Page 18

Questions by
1st. Q. What is ment by the command in Isiah 52d. chap 1st. verse which saith Put on thy strength O and what people had I[sa]iah referance to
A. He had reference to those whome God should call in the last day’s who should hold the power of to bring again zion and the redemption of Israel.
And to put on her strength is to put on the authority of the priesthood which she (zion) has a right to by lineage: Also to return to that power which she had lost
Ques. 2d. What are we to understand by zions loosing herself from the bands of her neck 2d. verse.
A. We are to understand that the scattered remnants are exorted to to return to the Lord from whence they have fal[l]en which if they do the promise of the Lord is that he will speak to them or give them revelation See 6th. 7th. and 8th. verses The bands of her neck are the curses of God upon her or the remnants of Israel in their scattered condition among the Gentiles. [p. 18]
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Related Case Documents
Editorial Title
Questions and Answers, between circa 16 and circa 29 March 1838–B [D&C 113:7–10]
ID #
8607
Total Pages
1
Print Volume Location
JSP, D6:54–56
Handwriting on This Page
  • George W. Robinson

Footnotes

  1. [1]

    JS asserted that the priesthood and church authority held by the ancient prophets and apostles had been lost in a great apostasy but had been restored to him and that the Church of the Latter Day Saints was “the only true & living Church upon the face of the whole Earth,” with a mission to gather and redeem the house of Israel. (JS History, ca. Summer 1832, 1–2; Revelation, 1 Nov. 1831–B [D&C 1:30]; see also Revelation, 5 Jan. 1831 [D&C 39:11]; and Revelation, ca. Aug. 1835 [D&C 27:5–18].)

  2. [2]

    Some of JS’s revelations and translations connect priesthood authority to lineal descent. (See Revelation, ca. June 1835 [D&C 68:14–21]; Revelation, 6 Dec. 1832 [D&C 86:8–10]; Instruction on Priesthood, between ca. 1 Mar. and ca. 4 May 1835 [D&C 107:13–17, 69–76]; and “The Book of Abraham,” Times and Seasons, 1 Mar. 1842, 3:704, 705 [Abraham 1:2, 27].)

  3. [3]

    JS’s revelations and translations foretell the gathering of Israel and the establishment of Zion. (See, for example, Book of Mormon, 1830 ed., 499 [3 Nephi 21:1]; and Revelation, 24 Feb. 1834 [D&C 103:13].)

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