The following is a revelation received by apostle of the Church of Christ, and president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, John Taylor. We ask members of the Fellowship to read this revelation prayerfully to determine if it should be added to the Fellowship Doctrine and Covenants.
A revelation given through President John Taylor June 27, 1882. The following revelation was given to gain guidance on the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints’ “Council of 50.” The Council of Fifty was then used as a political arm in both the original church and in their denomination.
1 Verily, thus saith the Lord, I have instituted my Kingdom and my laws, with the keys and power thereof, and have appointed you as my spokesman and my Constitution, with President John Taylor at your head,
2 Whom I have appointed to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and my Kingdom as Prophet, Seer, and Revelator, and to preside over my Church and over my Kingdom, and to be my mouthpiece unto my Church and unto my Kingdom.
3 And I will honor him, and he shall speak forth the words that I will reveal unto him from time to time by the whisperings of my Spirit, by the revelation of my will and my word, or by mine own voice, as I will, saith the Lord; and ye shall listen to his words as my words, saith the Lord your God.
4 ¶ Thus saith the Lord God who rules in the heavens above and in the earth beneath: I have introduced My Kingdom and my government, even the Kingdom of God, that my servants have heretofore prophesied of,
5 And that I taught my disciples to pray for, saying: Thy Kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven; for the establishment of my rule, for the introduction of my Law, for the protection of my Church, and for the maintenance, promulgation and protection of civil and religious liberty in this nation and throughout the world.
6 And all men of every nation, color and creed shall yet be protected and shielded thereby; and every nation and kindred, and people, and tongue shall yet bow the knee to me, and acknowledge me to be Ahman Christ, to the glory of God the Father.
7 And my law, and my rule, and my dominion shall extend over the whole earth, and no one shall stay my hand, or question my authority; for I rule by right in the heavens above, and in the earth; and my right, and my rule, and my dominion shall yet be known and extended to all people.
8 ¶ And now, behold, I speak unto you through my servant John, whom you have acknowledged and shall acknowledge as my spokesman.
9 ¶ Thus saith the Lord God, the Maker of heaven and earth, the Ruler of the Universe, whose right it is to rule in the heavens above, and in the earth beneath: Behold, I raised up my servant Joseph Smith to introduce my Gospel, and to build up my Church and establish my Kingdom on the earth;
10 And I gave unto him wisdom, and knowledge and revelation, and intelligence pertaining to the past, the present, and the future, even to that extent which was not known among men;
11 And I endowed him with power from on high, and conferred upon him the Priesthood of Aaron, and also the Priesthood of Melchizedek which is after the order of the Son of God, rven the power of an endless life, and administereth forever in this world and the world to come.
12 He was called and ordained to this office before the world was; he was called by me, and empowered by me, and sustained by me to introduce and establish my Church and Kingdom upon the earth, and to be a Prophet, Seer, and Revelator to my Church and Kingdom over Israel.
13 He was slain for the testimony of Jesus and for the word of God; but ye yet lives, and is with me where I am.
14 ¶ And now I speak unto you who are members of this council and of my Kingdom, and I say unto you, as I said unto my disciples of old: Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you.
15 I called you by my servant Joseph, and by my servant Brigham, and by my servant John.
16 You did not teach and instruct me; but I have taught and instructed you and organized you according to my eternal laws.
17 Ye are my Constitution, and I am your God; and I will be acknowledged; and my will and my word, and my law shall bear rule in my Kingdom, saith the Lord.
18 If is does not, then it is not my Kingdom, and then are ye not my spokesmen; for if it is by the wisdom of man, by the intelligence of men, and under the direction of man, then it is a Kingdom of man, and it is not of me, and I will not acknowledge it, saith the Lord God.
19 ¶ Have I not instructed you in all that you know, and is not this Kingdom organized and directed by revelation from me?
20 Is it not called the Kingdom of God? If, therefore, it is not my Kingdom, why do you make use of my name and invoke my authority and my aid?”
21 Is this Kingdom not called the Kingdom of God, and His laws, with the keys and power thereof, and judgment in the hands of his servants Ahman Christ?
22 ¶ And because I am kind and beneficent to all peoples, and because I have given to men his free agency and have always maintained that free agency among all peoples, and have treated all men alike among all nations, and made the sun to shine on the evil and the good, on the just and the unjust, and have never controlled the consciences of men;
23 Think ye, therefore, that I have no rights, and will yield up all my authority to the dictates and caprices of wicked and corrupt men? Verily, I say unto you, Nay.
24 ¶ Behold, Satan sought to take away the free agency of man in the beginning, for which cause he was thrust out of heaven, and has sought to introduce the same principles upon the earth, which principles are opposed to me, to my institutions, and my laws, and to the freedom, the welfare, and happiness of man.
25 And by which principles the Government of the United States sought to deprive my people of their free agency.
26 And because men have been under the influence and power and dominion of Lucifer, and because tyranny and oppression and evil have abounded by him, and not by me saith the Lord your God, shall righteousness and justice and judgment, and truth, and virtue, and holiness be forever trampled under foot?
27 And the principles of tyranny, oppression and misrule, and anarchy, deception, and fraud forever prevail? Verily, I say unto you Nay.
28 ¶ And for this cause have I introduced my Church and my Kingdom, that pure and righteous principles might be inculcated, and man, by his free agency, yield a willing obedience to my law;
29 For after this testimony and the rejection thereof, I will sweep the earth of evil doers as with the besom of destruction; for this is my right, and while man has his free agency, judgment belongs to me, saith the Lord.
30 And I will come out of my hiding place and vex the nations of the earth because of their iniquities, their misrule, their tyranny, their oppression, their corruption, their murders, their adulteries and fornications and all their abominations;
31 And because my servant Joseph, whose soul was pained because of their cruelties and oppressions, the injustice, fraud and corruption, and the inhumanity of men, proclaimed himself the advocate of human rights, the advocate of liberty, and the friend of man;
32 And because, according to my eternal decrees, the free agency of man should be guaranteed to all men, I moved upon him to introduce into my Kingdom certain parties not in my Church, for the purpose of exhibiting unto my Kingdom that I would still maintain the free agency of man, and that I hold inviolate that principle and will still maintain it to the end.
33 ¶ Think ye, therefore, that because they are thus admitted to a share in my Government and my laws that they shall be permitted to break their covenants, violate their obligations, and reject me and my laws and authority, and seek to overthrow the Kingdom of God, and deprive my people who are contending for freedom, and who shall yet maintain it, of their agency, and of my laws?
34 Verily, I say unto you, Nay.
35 They may be admitted to the rights of representation in the manner appointed, after subscribing to my covenants and commandments, and have a full and free opportunity of presenting their views, interests, and principles, and enjoying all the freedom and rights of this council;
36 But they shall acknowledge me and my laws in this council, saith the Lord God; for my people’s rights and immunities and free agency shall be acknowledged as well as those of all other people, and my laws and government shall be sustained, or I will not acknowledge you, saith the Lord.
37 I have invested you with the keys and power of my Kingdom and they cannot be bartered away to others.
38 ¶ Shall all men be free? Yes, free to do right, free to express their sentiments and opinions, and have a full, fair, and free representation;
39 But no man shall violate his covenants, pervert my laws, subvert others’ free agency, and trample upon mine authority in this council, saith the Lord your God.
40 Again, I say unto you as I said before, Henceforth do as I shall command you, saith the Lord your God. Even so, Amen.
Interpretation
The Fellowship interprets this revelation to state, among other things, that John Taylor was called of God to lead that branch of our shared faith. In addition, it makes clear that freedom for some to oppress others is not true freedom.
If accepted, this section will be placed with other like revelations from Community of Christ Doctrine and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints’ Doctrine and Covenants.
Thoughts, comments, and other interpretations are welcome below.