Nathaniel Hart
Dr. Jeffrey G. Cannon
Religion C 225 - Foundations of the Restoration
Reading Reflection #4: The Doctrine of Revelation
19 September, 2023
These three revelations from God were given by means of the Prophet Joseph Smith to his scribe, Oliver Cowdery. Joseph Smith revealed these to Oliver while Oliver dictated them. Oliver had questions in his heart regarding his role as a scribe. Joseph had inquired of the Lord about Oliver, and God revealed secret things to Joseph that no one else knew but Oliver. The revelations serve as answers to Oliver Cowdery’s soul-searching and defining questions. They were created in April 1829, with exact dates unknown. However, the texts were dictated in Harmony, Pennsylvania just after he had arrived to serve as Joseph’s scribe These questions allow us to interpret the text so we may observe the context of Oliver’s life, calling, and necessity of being Joseph’s main scribe for the translation of the Book of Mormon. Furthermore, this text highlights a defining moment in Oliver’s discipleship due to his search for divine validation and truth preceding his special assignment. God gave a clear message to Oliver that he
must keep God’s commandments, preach repentance, acknowledge and use his spiritual gift of revelation, and stay true to Joseph’s council, and the bestowal of keys to translate were given to Joseph and Oliver. The gift of translation was offered to Oliver as long as he asked with a sincere
heart. This gift wasn’t more special than any other gifts given to him, either. This shows to me that God can give anyone who is worthy and willing spiritual gifts to accomplish His work. Oliver was commanded to rely on the Holy Ghost as he helped Joseph in the translating process. However, he was at one point unsuccessful in using the Holy Ghost, and God revealed to him that his gift of translation was taken away. Yet God wasn’t finished with Oliver. God reminded Oliver of the process by which he must translate, and that He wanted Oliver to continue translating with Joseph when he was ready.
