For Valentine’s Day: Why is Christ Called the Bridegroom?
Every Christian on earth today will say that they love Jesus. And we know that he loves them. But are they only “dating” him, or are they bound to him as their bridegroom in a covenant relationship that will last for eternity?
Most Christians today consider themselves to be part of the “body of Christ”, or that mystical world of believers who have accepted him as their personal Lord and Savior. And the New Testament is replete with references to Christ as the “bridegroom”, and those of his church as his “bride”.
Before we fall in love with someone, we might meet them initially in many different ways and situations, perhaps when we’re in a school class or an office, a hobby or service group, an online dating service, or sometimes involving an introduction to them by a friend or family member.
As we begin the dating process, at first we visit with them socially. We are sometimes seen together in public places. We may spend long hours in private conversations, to learn more about each other.
At a certain point in the relationship, if it continues to develop, we progress to the next level. We make a decision to commit to each other, with a promise to enter into a covenant relationship that we call marriage. We participate in a public joining ceremony or ritual that is prevalent in almost every culture on earth. Even native tribes in the least civilized portions of the world have some sort of wedding tradition.
This ceremony is a public declaration of love, and a commitment willingly entered into by a couple before selected witnesses and other members of their community. It gives them the social and legal right to be in constant companionship with each other night and day, and to join together as “one flesh” in the most intimate aspects of their relationship. In many communities, the bride takes upon herself the surname of her husband.
Most Christians will say that they have a “personal relationship with Jesus Christ”. So let’s explore the nature of that relationship, and compare it to the Biblical allegory of the bride and bridegroom.
A person may be introduced to Jesus in many ways; through a sermon, a radio broadcast or television show, a billboard, an online ad, or an invitation from a friend or family member.
They may begin to learn more about Christ the beloved Son of God, through reading scriptures or other writings about him and his teachings, and through conversations with other believers. At some point they will begin to have private conversations with God the Father, as they pray to him in the name of his son, Jesus Christ.
As they begin to grow stronger in their love for Jesus, they may join with groups of other believers in worship, singing, and scripture study. On these “dates” where they’ve carved out specific times in their calendars to spend time with Jesus, they come to know him better. Through the mysterious workings of his co-eternal member of the Godhead, the Holy Spirit, they may begin to feel their “hearts burn within them” with love for Christ.
So what then? Is that all? For many Christians, sadly it is. They are stuck in a perpetual “dating” phase in their relationship with Christ. Usually it’s not their fault. They’ve been told by Bible teachers and ministers that they’re “saved” when they confess their love for Jesus with their mouths, and that’s all that matters.
But what does God say? What would YOU say if you were in a lovely dating relationship, and you wanted to take it to the “next level”, but your partner doesn’t even realize there’s MORE ? When Jesus sent his apostles out to “all the world” to teach people about him, he specifically instructed them to also take those they taught to the next step beyond belief …. Baptism.
Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved.” (Mark 16:15)
Likewise, on the day of Pentecost when Peter was teaching over three thousand people about Jesus, we’re told in the 2nd chapter of Acts that they were “pricked in their hearts” by the Holy Spirit, who bore a supernatural witness to the truth of Peter’s message. They were ready for the next step. They asked Peter and the other apostles, “Men and brethren, what shall we do?” (Acts 2:37-38)
There are many pastors and Bible teachers who would have a different answer to the question “what shall we do?” than the one Peter gave at Pentecost. They would say (and they often do) “you don’t have to do anything. Jesus did it all for you on the cross, and now you’re “saved”.
But that wasn’t Peter’s answer. His answer to the query “What shall we do?” was, “repent and be baptized”. And Jesus himself didn’t stop at mere belief in his Great Commission. He told his disciples not only to teach, but also to BAPTIZE those who believed. Many Christians say that today water baptism is just “an outward symbol of the inner belief” they’ve received via the Spirit, but Jesus told Nicodemus that if a man were not baptized “of the water AND the spirit”, he could not enter the Kingdom of Heaven. (John 3:3,5)
Let’s go back to the dating analogy. If a couple feels “pricked in their hearts” and they confess their love to each other, what should they do? What does God command them to do? Unfortunately, many people today say, “Let’s move in together.” They feel they don’t need a ceremony or a “piece of paper” (marriage license) to live together as though they were husband and wife. The laws of many nations today do allow that, but God frowns on it. Someday down the line as the expression goes, “there will be hell to pay”.
So, like marriage, baptism is an outward ordinance that demonstrates an inner commitment and covenant, and this time it is with Jesus, the bridegroom. In a very real sense, it is like a wedding ceremony. In it, we take upon ourselves the name of Christ, just as a bride takes the surname of her husband. We promise to “love and obey” Christ. When we renew those baptismal covenants each week as we partake of the Sacrament, we promise to “always remember him”, just as a husband and wife should always remember and keep their vows to each other, and to our Heavenly Father.
But who has the authority to perform this ordinance? Any person recognized by the State can conduct a legal marriage that is recognized by the government, and ministers, priests, rabbis, etc. can join couples in a union that lasts “till death do you part”, or “for the period of our mortal lives.”
But in baptism (and in marriage), do we want to have a covenant that’s in force only until death? What about the Hereafter? What about eternity?
When Jesus gave Peter the “keys of the kingdom”, he told him it was the authority of God to “bind on earth what will be bound in Heaven” (Matt 16:19). That authority pertains both to the covenant of baptism and the covenant of marriage. And where does it come from? The Bible says that “no man taketh that honor unto himself, but he that is ordained of God” (Heb. 5:4) Jesus ordained his disciples saying “Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you”. (John 15:16)
After Jesus was resurrected and ascended into heaven, his apostles ordained others, including the Seventy, Bishops, Elders, Deacons, etc. for their callings in local church administration. But these lower priesthood officers did not receive the “keys” to ordain other apostles. So when the last apostle died, those keys were taken from the earth and the authority to act for God was eventually lost.
It was not until 1829 that John the Baptist, and later Peter, James, and John returned to earth as resurrected beings, and restored the keys of authority to act for God as part of the “restitution of all things” promised to occur before Christ’s 2nd Coming. (Acts 3:21)
If we truly love someone, we will want to enter a lasting covenant relationship with them. We will not be content to be a boyfriend or girlfriend, but we’ll desire to publicly and totally give ourselves to each other. Likewise, if we truly love Jesus, we’ll want to be baptized in the way he prescribed, and to take his name upon us. We’ll want to make a public and eternal commitment to him, and to “always remember him” in everything we do.
February is often referred to as the “month of love”. What a wonderful time to express our love not only to those we cherish here on earth, but also to our Heavenly Father who “so loved the world that he gave his Only Begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life”.
Happy Valentine’s Day.
Robert Starling has been a writer and producer for the NBC Television Network, and has worked at Schick Sunn Classic Pictures, Osmond Productions, and the media production department of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He has served in various writing and producing capacities on feature films such as: “Jack Weyland’s Charly”, “In Search of Historic Jesus”, “Tears of a King”, “Scout Camp: The Movie”, and “Abandoned Mine”. His book “A Case for Latter-day Christianity” is available in many bookstores, on Barnes and Noble, and on Amazon.com in printed and e-book versions. A free .pdf version is available upon request at [email protected] . He lives in Riverton, Utah with his wife Sharon. They have four adult children and eleven grandchildren.
Why Does the Lord Compare the Earth’s Millennial Glory to the Mount of Transfiguration?
View the original post on Scripture Central.
“When the earth shall be transfigured, even according to the pattern which was shown unto mine apostles upon the mount; of which account the fulness ye have not yet received.” Doctrine and Covenants 63:21
The Know
After Joseph Smith returned from Missouri to Kirtland, “the Saints were extraordinarily anxious to learn the Lord’s will about Zion.”1 Despite the overall righteousness of many of the Saints, some had apostatized while Joseph was away, and others who had traveled to Missouri with him had ill feelings about the state of the land Zion was to be located in. In answer to these concerns, Joseph Smith received Doctrine and Covenants 63, revealing the Lord’s will concerning the building up of Zion and the need to live worthily enough to inherit the blessings the Lord has prepared for the Saints.
After warning against various sins, the Lord promised the faithful that they would not only be able to inherit the city of Zion but also prepare themselves for the Millennium: “He that endureth in faith and doeth my will, the same shall overcome, and shall receive an inheritance upon the earth when the day of transfiguration shall come; when the earth shall be transfigured” (Doctrine and Covenants 63:20–21). As Casey Paul Griffiths has observed, the Lord’s reference to “the ‘day of transfiguration’ refers to the day the earth ‘will be renewed and receive its paradisiacal glory’ (Article of Faith 10).”2 Through these verses, the Lord set the following instructions for building the city of Zion in context of the eternal glories that life in Zion is preparing the Saints to receive.
One additional aspect of these promises of millennial glory is found in the second half of verse 21: “When the earth shall be transfigured, even according to the pattern which was shown unto mine apostles upon the mount; of which account the fulness ye have not yet received” (Doctrine and Covenants 63:21; emphasis added). In this verse, the Lord is most likely referring to events at the Mount of Transfiguration, in which “Jesus taketh Peter, James, and John his brother, and bringeth them up into an high mountain apart, and was transfigured before them: and his face did shine as the sun, and his raiment was white as the light”3 There, the Apostles saw Moses and Elias, heard the voice of the Father declare that Jesus was His Son, and also saw Jesus in His full glory (see Matthew 17:3–9). Peter, James, and John were then instructed, “Tell the vision to no man, until the Son of man be risen again from the dead” (Matthew 17:9).
While the Lord has not revealed everything that happened on the Mount of Transfiguration, some prophets have clarified what happened on that occasion. In 1839, for instance, Joseph Smith taught, “The Savior, Moses, and Elias gave the Keys to Peter, James, and John on the Mount when they were transfigured before him.”4 This would mirror Joseph’s own experience in the Kirtland Temple in which Elijah, Elias, and Moses appeared to Joseph and Oliver Cowdery. At that time, the two were also given priesthood keys (see Doctrine and Covenants 110). For Joseph and Oliver, this occurred in a holy temple that was accepted by the Lord. For Peter, James, and John, this occurred on a mountaintop, which could serve as a natural temple.5
C. Wilfred Griggs has also noted that the Mount of Transfiguration was closely connected to the temple in early Christian thought, as is evidenced in Peter’s declaration, “Lord, it is good for us to be here: if thou wilt, let us make here three tabernacles; one for thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elias” (Matthew 17:4). According to Griggs, this could be understood as the desire to build “a three-part temple,” especially because “the words used there are, in fact, the words used for temple in the Old Testament.”6 Even with the command that the participants were not to reveal everything from that holy manifestation, “enough is present to ensure the establishment of a temple context for this experience. The priesthood keys were therefore temple related.”7
Furthermore, some Apostles have discussed the events that occurred upon the Mount of Transfiguration in terms of the temple. Heber C. Kimball, for instance, explicitly connected the experience of Peter, James, and John to the experiences of all Latter-day Saints who are endowed in the holy temple in this dispensation:
Jesus took Peter, James, and John into a high mountain, and there gave them their endowment, and placed upon them authority to lead the Church of God in all the world, to ordain men to the Priesthood, to set in order the Church and send forth the Elders of Israel to preach to a perishing world. For the same purpose has the Lord called us up into these high mountains, that we may become endowed with power from on high in the Church and kingdom of God, and become kings and priests unto God, which we never can be lawfully until we are ordained and sealed to that power, for the kingdom of God is a kingdom of kings and priests, and will rise in mighty power in the last days.8
Joseph Fielding Smith likewise taught, “The Savior took the three disciples up on the mount, which is spoken of as the ‘Mount of Transfiguration,’ he there gave unto them the ordinances that pertain to the house of the Lord and . . . they were endowed. That was the only place they could go. That place became holy and sacred for the rites of salvation which were performed on that occasion.”9
Joseph Smith also hinted at this possibility throughout some of his Nauvoo sermons and writings. In an editorial for the Times and Seasons in September 1842, for instance, Joseph wrote that Peter was “endowed by the Lord.”10 Just over nine months later, Joseph taught again, “At one time God obtained a house where Peter was endowed.”11 These remarks came specifically in the context of temple ordinances being performed in Nauvoo, including baptisms for the dead, washings and anointings, endowments, and sealings.12 As such, Joseph clearly intended to convey that Peter was “the recipient of temple-related ordinances” and had received a temple endowment like those being performed in Nauvoo.13
Steven C. Harper notes that in addition to teaching that Peter had been endowed, “Joseph’s Nauvoo teachings strongly suggested that Peter’s more sure word of prophecy was a kind of knowledge he gained via a process of covenant making and keeping, mediated by templelike ordinances that led recipients ultimately to certainty of eternal life.”14 As such, Peter’s life and teachings recorded in the New Testament reflected an experience that all worthy Latter-day Saints could experience in the temple. The events on the Mount of Transfiguration appear to have had a significant impact on Peter, who later referred to the event as allowing the Apostles to be “eyewitnesses of his majesty” (2 Peter 1:16; see vv. 16–18).
The Why
In the temple, Latter-day Saints learn about the past, present, and future of the earth as they make covenants with God. These covenants prepare Latter-day Saints to live with God and return to His presence. Faithfully living these covenants will also allow Latter-day Saints to “receive an inheritance upon the earth when the day of transfiguration shall come,” just as the Lord has promised (Doctrine and Covenants 63:20). Furthermore, these covenants are made through Priesthood authority that has been restored through the Prophet Joseph Smith by Peter, James, John, Moses, Elias, and other angelic messengers.
As Latter-day Saints progress through the temple, they are likewise able to ritually enter the presence of God in the celestial kingdom. When the words in Doctrine and Covenants 63:20–21 are understood through this lens, it becomes clearer why the Lord stated, “The earth shall be transfigured, even according to the pattern which was shown unto mine apostles upon the mount” (Doctrine and Covenants 63:21). The future of the earth is glorious—it will become part of the celestial kingdom (see Doctrine and Covenants 88:25–26).
Ultimately, as Griffiths concluded, “While we do not know everything about what happened on the Mount of Transfiguration, it is clear that what was shown to Peter, James, and John was of great importance to the future of God’s children and to the destiny of the earth itself.”15 And while the full details have not been revealed, modern Latter-day Saints can continue to utilize the instructions throughout Doctrine and Covenants 63 and in the temple to prepare themselves for that glorious future day.
Further Reading
Casey Paul Griffiths, Scripture Central Commentary on the Doctrine and Covenants, 4 vols. (Scripture Central; Cedar Fort, 2024), 219–34.
C. Wilfred Griggs, “The Sacred and the Temple in Ancient Christianity,” in The Temple: Plates, Patterns, and Patriarchs. Proceedings of the Sixth Interpreter Foundation Matthew B. Brown Memorial Conference, “The Temple on Mount Zion,” 4–5 November 2022, ed. Stephen D. Ricks and Jeffrey M. Bradshaw (Interpreter Foundation; : Eborn Books, 2024), 1–32.
Steven C. Harper, “Peter and the Restored Priesthood,” in The Ministry of Peter, the Chief Apostle, ed. Frank F. Judd Jr., Eric D. Huntsman, and Shon D. Hopkin (Brigham Young University, Religious Studies Center; Deseret Book, 2014), 361–73.
Footnotes
1. Steven C. Harper, Making Sense of the Doctrine and Covenants: A Guided Tour Through Modern Revelations (Deseret Book, 2008), 218.
2. Casey Paul Griffiths, Scripture Central Commentary on the Doctrine and Covenants, 4 vols. (Scripture Central; Cedar Fort, 2024), 2:223.
3. Matthew 17:1–2. This revelation may have come shortly after Joseph Smith translated Matthew 17 as well, which may help explain some of the context behind this revelation and its discussion on the Mount of Transfiguration.
4. “Discourse, between circa 26 June and circa 4 August 1839–A, as Reported by Willard Richards,” p. 65, The Joseph Smith Papers; spelling and punctuation modernized.
5. See John M. Lundquist, “What Is a Temple? A Preliminary Typology,” In Temples of the Ancient World: Ritual and Symbolism, ed. Donald W. Parry (Foundation for Ancient Research and Mormon Studies, 1994), 84–87. On another occasion, Joseph Smith taught regarding certain keys or “signs and words . . . which cannot be revealed to the Elders till the Temple is completed. The rich can only get them in the Temple. The poor may get them on the mountaintop as did Moses.” “Journal, December 1841–December 1842,” p. 94, The Joseph Smith Papers; spelling, capitalization, and punctuation standardized.
6. C. Wilfred Griggs, “The Sacred and the Temple in Ancient Christianity,” in The Temple: Plates, Patterns, and Patriarchs. Proceedings of the Sixth Interpreter Foundation Matthew B. Brown Memorial Conference, “The Temple on Mount Zion,” 4–5 November 2022, ed. Stephen D. Ricks and Jeffrey M. Bradshaw (Interpreter Foundation; Eborn Books, 2024), 4.
7. Griggs, “Sacred and the Temple,” 4.
8. Heber C. Kimball, in Journal of Discourses, 26 vols. (Latter-day Saints Book Depot, 1855–86), 9:327.
9. Joseph Fielding Smith, Doctrines of Salvation, ed. Bruce R. McConkie, 3 vols. (Bookcraft, 1954–56), 2:170.
10. “Baptism,” Times and Seasons 3 (September 1, 1842): 904.
11. ”Discourse, 11 June 1843–A, as Reported by Willard Richards,“ p. 246, The Joseph Smith Papers; spelling and punctuation modernized.
12. ”Discourse, 11 June 1843–A, as Reported by Willard Richards,“ p. 246, The Joseph Smith Papers.
13. Steven C. Harper, “Peter and the Restored Priesthood,” in The Ministry of Peter, the Chief Apostle, ed. Frank F. Judd Jr., Eric D. Huntsman, and Shon D. Hopkin (Brigham Young University, Religious Studies Center; Deseret Book, 2014), 367.
14. Harper, “Peter and the Restored Priesthood,” 367.
15. Griffiths, Scripture Central Commentary, 225.
Did the Melchizedek Priesthood Restoration take Place This Weekend in History?
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All photographs taken by the author.
Introduction
We have celebrated the restoration of the Aaronic Priesthood from the time I was a young boy. We were in the St. Louis Missouri Stake and I remember gathering for wonderful fathers and sons outings in various places with amazing speakers and meals and campouts that commemorated this amazing event. I never remember once celebrating the restoration of the Melchizedek Priesthood. I think we didn’t because we didn’t know the exact date or many details of that sacred event. We actually know more than we think.
The Restoration of the Aaronic Priesthood
Joseph and Emma’s home in Harmony Township served as the place where the major portion of The Book of Mormon was translated.
We have all been taught about the events and the context of the restoration of the Aaronic Priesthood. Joseph and Oliver had been working on the translation of The Book of Mormon for 38 days. They came to the account of the Savior’s visit to the Nephites and to his teachings about the mode and manner of baptism. They read about authority: “Having authority given me of Jesus Christ, I baptize you in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen” (3 Nephi 11:25).
This ignited discussion between them.
Joseph Smith’s Account
Joseph recorded:
“We still continued the work of translation, when in the ensuing month (May, 1829), we on a certain day went into the woods to pray and inquire of the Lord respecting baptism for the remission of sins, that we found mentioned in the translation of the plates. While we were thus employed, praying and calling upon the Lord, a messenger from heaven descended in a cloud of light, and having laid his hands upon us, he ordained us, saying:
Approximate area where John the Baptist restored the Aaronic Priesthood to the earth.
“Upon you my fellow servants, in the name of Messiah I confer the Priesthood of Aaron, which holds the keys of the ministering of angels, and of the Gospel of repentance, and of baptism by immersion for the remission of sins; and this shall never be taken again from the earth, until the sons of Levi do offer again an offering unto the Lord in righteousness.
“He said this Aaronic Priesthood had not the power of laying on hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost, but that this should be conferred on us hereafter; and he commanded us to go and be baptized, and gave us directions that I should baptize Oliver Cowdery, and afterwards that he should baptize me. Accordingly we went and were baptized. I baptized him first, and afterwards he baptized me, after which I laid my hands upon his head and ordained him to the Aaronic Priesthood, and afterwards he laid his hands on me and ordained me to the same Priesthood—for so we were commanded.
“The messenger who visited us on this occasion, and conferred this Priesthood upon us, said that his name was John, the same that is called John the Baptist in the New Testament, and that he acted under the direction of Peter, James and John who held the keys of the Priesthood of Melchizedek, which Priesthood he said would in due time be conferred on us, and that I should be called the first Elder of the Church, and he (Oliver Cowdery) the second. It was on the 15th day of May, 1829, that we were ordained under the hand of this messenger and baptized.”[i]
Oliver Cowdery’s Account
Oliver Cowdery gave us his perspective with other details. He and Joseph had pulled themselves away from “the abodes of men” and prayed fervently.
“On a sudden, as from the midst of eternity, the voice of the Redeemer spake peace to us, while the veil was parted and the angel of God came down clothed with glory and delivered the anxiously looked for message, and the keys of the Gospel of repentance…
“Then his voice, though mild, pierced to the center, and his words, ‘I am thy fellow-servant,’ dispelled every fear. We listened, we gazed, we admired! ‘Twas the voice of an angel from glory—’twas a message from the Most High, and as we heard we rejoiced, while His love enkindled upon our souls, and we were rapt in the vision of the Almighty! Where was room for doubt? Nowhere; uncertainty had fled, doubt had sunk, no more to rise, while fiction and deception had fled forever.
“But, dear brother, think further, think for a moment what joy filled our hearts and with what surprise we must have bowed, (for who would not have bowed the knee for such a blessing?) when we received under his hands the Holy Priesthood, as he said, ‘Upon you my fellow servants, in the name of Messiah, I confer this Priesthood and this authority, which remain upon earth, that the sons of Levi may yet offer an offering unto the Lord in righteousness!’”[ii]
Two Unknown Events
Oliver refers to two things we know little to nothing about. One is “the voice of the Redeemer spake peace to us.” What did the Savior say to them at this time? What revelation was given through His sublime voice? Oliver also said, “…and we were rapt in the vision of the Almighty!” We clearly are only given a small portion of all that happened on that Friday, May 15, 1829. We look forward to the day when all those things will be discovered or revealed.
The Restoration of the Melchizedek Priesthood
There has been much discussion over the years about determining the exact date of the restoration of the Melchizedek Priesthood under the hands of the ancient apostles Peter, James and John. In the broadest range, every evidence points to the fact that this sacred event took place sometime between Friday, May 15, 1829 and August of 1830. Specific evidence, however, points to a much narrower field.
We have always had the date for Section 18 of the Doctrine and Covenants listed as June 1829. This section seems to offer a clue to our search for the date of the event. Verse 9 may be a key:
And now, Oliver Cowdery, I speak unto you, and also unto David Whitmer, by the way of commandment; for, behold, I command all men everywhere to repent, and I speak unto you, even as unto Paul mine apostle, for you are called even with that same calling with which he was called (emphasis added). It appears from this language that the keys of the apostleship had already been given. But we don’t know the date of this section. Or do we?
Letter from Oliver Cowdery to Hyrum Smith
Oliver Cowdery wrote a letter to Hyrum Smith dated June 14, 1829 in the which he uses specific language that clearly comes from Section 18. He wrote:
“These few lines I write unto you feeling anxious for your steadfastness in the great cause of which you have been called to advocate and also feeling it a duty to write to you at every opportunity.
“Remember the worth of Souls is great in the Sight of God. Behold the Lord your God Suffered death upon the cross after the maner of the flesh; wherefore he Suffered the pains of all men that all men might repent and come unto him and he hath risen again from the dead that he might bring all men unto him upon the conditions of repentence and how great is his joy in the Soul that repents and behold he commandeth all men to everywhere to repent and [be] baptised and not only men but women [and] children which have arrived to the years of accountibility.” (Emphasis added)[iii]
Oliver’s specific references to Section 18 clearly indicate that this revelation must have been received on or before this date, at least soon before he wrote this letter. This would narrow the date of the restoration of the Melchizedek Priesthood to between Friday, May 15, 1829 and Sunday, June 14, 1829—a period of just 30 days. But we can narrow it even further.
David Whitmer’s Trip
David Whitmer came to this very spot on or around May 29, 1829 to take Joseph and Oliver to his parents’ home in Fayette, New York.
Joseph and Oliver invited David Whitmer to come to Harmony, Pennsylvania and bring them to his parents’ home in Fayette Township, Seneca County, New York. David Whitmer’s report indicates that about the 1st of June they arrived in Fayette. From that time for the next two weeks (bringing us to June 14) we have enough evidence of activities and the schedule of the work of translation (including the obtaining of the copyright for The Book of Mormon on June 11), that it seems unlikely the event took place in the first 14 days of June. Now we bring in one more witness.
Brother Addison Everett’s Recollection
Addison Everett, a contemporary with the Prophet Joseph, wrote a letter to Oliver B. Huntington in 1881. Although this was many years after the conversation he would quote, it gives us further insights into the events around the restoration of the Melchizedek Priesthood. Everett wrote:
“I heard the following conversation between Joseph and Hyrum a few days before they were martyred. … Oliver Cowdery was spoken of and Joseph went on to state that ‘at Coalville [Colesville] he and Oliver were under arrest on charge of Deceiving the people and in court he stated that the first miracle done was to create this earth. About that time his attorney told the court that he wanted to see Mr. Smith alone a few moments. When alone Mr. Reid said that there was a mob in front of the house and hosting [hoisting] the window, Joseph and Oliver went to the woods in a few rods, it being night, and they traveled until Oliver was exhausted and Joseph almost carred him through mud and water. They traveled all night and just at the break of day Oliver gave out entirely and exclaimed O Lord, How long Brother Joseph have we got to endure this thing.’
“Brother Joseph said that at that very time Peter, James and John came to them and ORDAINED THEM to the APOSTLESHIP.
The banks of the Susquehanna River between 16 and 17 miles from the Hale Home.
“They had 16 or 17 miles to travel to get back to Mr. Hale’s, his father-in-law, and Oliver did not complain any more of fatigue.
“Now, brother Huntington, I have told you what I heard Bro. Joseph tell almost the last time I ever heard him talk.”[iv]
Elder Erastus Snow’s Witness
Apostle Erastus Snow gave a similar account in Logan, Utah in a conference address in 1882:
“In the due course of time, as we read in the history which he [Joseph] has left, Peter, James and John appeared to him—it was at a period when they were being pursued by their enemies and they had to travel all night, and in the dawn of the coming day when they were weary and worn, who should appear to them but Peter, James and John, for the purpose of conferring upon them the Apostleship, the keys of which they themselves had held while upon the earth, which had been bestowed upon them by the Savior. This Priesthood conferred upon them by those three messengers embraces within it all offices of the Priesthood from the highest to the lowest.”[v]
Exploring the banks of the Susquehanna River at the approximate location of the visitation of Peter, James and John based on the Addison Everett account.
Elder Snow and Addison Everett were contemporaries in St. George, Utah, so it is possible that Elder Snow got those details from Brother Everett. Brother Everett’s recalling of the court trial and the reference to Mr. Reid seems better suited to a case the Prophet Joseph records in the summer of 1830. But it is possible that this Colesville case is a different one than the Prophet talks about.
Their account give us some interesting details that we have not talked about much in our historical accounting of this sacred event.
Joseph Smith Writes of the Sacred Event
The Prophet Joseph gives us one more reference to this event in our scriptural canon:
“And again, what do we hear?… The voice of Michael on the banks of the Susquehanna, detecting the devil when he appeared as an angel of light! The voice of Peter, James, and John in the wilderness between Harmony, Susquehanna county, and Colesville, Broome county, on the Susquehanna river, declaring themselves as possessing the keys of the kingdom, and of the dispensation of the fulness of times! (D&C 128:20)
This adds an interesting detail. It appears from the sequence of events that at the very time the holy priesthood was about to be restored, Satan appeared as an angel of light and it was Michael (Adam) who intervened and cast him out!
Alvin R. Dyer Adds His Commentary
Elder Alvin R. Dyer commented about this event:
“It is to be remembered that it was Michael, the archangel, who was called upon to expel Lucifer and his disobedient and rebellious pre-mortal followers from the presence of God. The fact is that Michael, or Adam by his human name, has the God-given assignment to keep Lucifer within his bounds.
“Further evidence of this is seen in the attempt made by Lucifer to thwart the bestowal of the Melchizedek Priesthood by Peter, James and John upon the heads of Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery. Apparently, not having yet received the Higher Priesthood, they were not able to detect the presence of Lucifer, who, according to the words of the Prophet Joseph Smith, appeared on the Susquehanna River as an angel of light to deceive them and no doubt to attempt to interfere with the conferring of the Holy Priesthood upon them. We are informed by the Prophet of the appearance there of Michael, the archangel, who came to detect the deception of Lucifer and banish him from the scene.”[vi]
Dr. Alonzo Gaskill Adds Insights
Alonzo L. Gaskill writes about this:
“Satan, in an effort to deceive, appeared in the form of an “angel of light” to the Prophet Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery. It was immediately after this Luciferic encounter that Peter, James, and John restored the Melchizedek Priesthood…
“Lucifer tried to deceive Joseph and Oliver in their frightened and exhausted state by giving them a false revelation. At that very moment Adam appeared and cast Satan out. He then introduced Peter, James, and John as the messengers that Joseph and Oliver should give heed to. Joseph and Oliver were then ordained to the Melchizedek Priesthood. The placement of this event in section 128 of the Doctrine and Covenants, immediately preceding section 129 on the discernment of spirits, is likely not coincidental.”[vii]
Day to Celebrate the Restoration of the Melchizedek Priesthood
We don’t have enough evidence to narrow the date to one specific day, but based on all the context and circumstances we can assume that Peter, James and John returned to the earth sometime between Saturday, May 16, 1829 and before Saturday, May 29, 1829.
Based on Addison Everett’s recollections, we can rule out the following dates in May that year (based on the court schedule): May 16, 17, 18, 23, 24, 25. Based on Joseph’s record of the baptism of Samuel Harrison Smith (May 25), we can likely rule out May 26 and May 27 (because of the distance to travel to Colesville). Joseph also received some revelations in May, apparently before May 29. This likely rules out May 19, 20, 21 and 22.
In order for David Whitmer to get Joseph and Oliver to Fayette by June 1, he would have had to taken them on May 29 at the latest. Based on all these assumptions, the most likely day of the visitation of Peter, James and John is Thursday, May 28, 1829.
Joseph lamented that he did not keep a more careful record and that many of the important details of the coming forth of the Kingdom of God on the earth (including the exact date of the restoration of the Melchizedek Priesthood) were lost.
We publish this article today to commemorate this coming weekend, which most likely marks the 187th anniversary of the Restoration of the Melchizedek Priesthood to the earth.
Conclusion: Source Documents and Background of the Restoration of both Priesthoods
There are a surprisingly large number of primary source (and secondary source) Church documents that impressively record critical details about the restoration of both the Aaronic and Melchizedek Priesthoods. More than twenty years ago, Brian Q. Cannon and the BYU Studies Staff published excerpts from 70 different historical documents that referred to either one or both of these events. Their research was published in BYU Studies, Volume 35:4 (1995). You can access that entire piece by clicking here.
Dr. Larry C. Porter has also done an impressive amount of research into determining the date of the restoration of the Melchizedek Priesthood. His findings are easily accessible in the June 1979 Ensign article entitled Dating the Restoration of the Melchizedek Priesthood.
Dr. Porter also wrote another wonderful article in December 1996 talking about the restoration of both priesthoods. That article can be found by clicking here.
This author also produced a video in 2005 entitled Witness of the Light which documented some of these sources (including the recollection of Addison Everett) which gave us the above-mentioned-details about the events surrounding the restoration of the Melchizedek Priesthood. A two-hour documentary-style video covered the life of Joseph Smith including this brief segment on the restoration of the Melchizedek Priesthood:
[i] Smith, Joseph. History of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Volume 1:39-41.
[ii] See Joseph Smith History Endnote or History of the Church, 1: 42, note 3.
[iii] Letter of Oliver Cowdery to Hyrum Smith, Fayette, New York, 14 June 1829.
[iv] Letter of Addison Everett to Oliver B. Huntington, St. George, Utah, 17 Feb. 1881, recorded in “Oliver Boardman Huntington, Journal #14, [under back-date of] 31 Jan. 1881,” Harold B. Lee Library, Brigham Young University. See also O. B. Huntington Diary #15, 18 Feb. 1883, pp. 44–47, where additional particulars are recorded. Original spelling has been retained.
[v] Journal of Discourses, 23:183.
[vi] Dyer, Alvin R. Meaning of Truth, Deseret Book Company, Salt Lake City, 1961, pp. 153-54.
[vii] Gaskill, Alonzo L., The Lost Language of Symbolism, Deseret Book Company, Salt Lake City, 2003. See Chapter 11.
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