Israel's God is Their God

There are three sections in the Doctrine and Covenants which are letters from the Prophet Joseph Smith: sections 85, 127, and 128. One of the things that impresses me about these sections is the emphasis that the Prophet put on the Bible to teach modern revelation. As was the case in much of his teaching, he referred numerous times to the Biblical passages, people, and events in order to teach and explain his revelations in this dispensation. His frequent references to the Bible are a reminder that one of the purposes of the Restoration, and Book of Mormon in particular, is to prove the truthfulness of the testimony of the Bible, not to replace it: “These last records, which thou hast seen among the Gentiles, shall establish the truth of the first” (1 Nephi 13:40). Joseph sought to do just that as he referred to John who saw the dead stand before God (128:6), to Peter who received the keys from the Savior (128:10), and to Paul who gloried in tribulation (127:2). From the latter apostle he quoted words from two different parts of his epistle in 1 Corinthians 15 in his own letter to the Saints (128:14, 16). The New Testament was clearly of paramount importance for the Prophet in understanding the gospel and the message of the Restoration in the latter days.  

                I am particularly impressed in these letters by the numerous references he made to Old Testament passages in these three sections of the Doctrine and Covenants. He spoke of the “still small voice,” likely a quotation of 1 Kings 19:12. He used the story of Uzzah steadying the ark in 2 Samuel 6:6-7 to warn, “That man, who was called of God and appointed, that putteth forth his hand to steady the ark of God, shall fall by the shaft of death, like as a tree that is smitten by the vivid shaft of lightning.” He also referred to the “book of remembrance” which undoubtedly was a quote from Malachi 3:16. The final verse of section 85 explicitly refers to Ezra 2:62-63 which he used to teach about those who were cut off from the church (Doctrine and Covenants 85:6,8-9,12). Section 85 also refers three times to the “book of the law,” a phrase which is repeated numerous times in the Old Testament such as in Deuteronomy 31:26 and Joshua 1:8. In his letter on baptisms for the dead, the Prophet quoted Malachi 4:5-6 to teach about the coming of Elijah to turn the heart of the children to their fathers. He referred to the “dews of Carmel,” a place in the Old Testament where Elijah went as recorded in 1 Kings 18:42. He also referenced Malachi 3:1-3 as he wrote about how the Lord “shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver, and he shall purify the sons of Levi” and encouraged the Saints to work to “offer unto the Lord an offering in righteousness” as Malachi prophesied (Doctrine and Covenants 128:17,19,24). Clearly for the Prophet Joseph the Old Testament was a valuable book of scripture meant to be used and applied to us in our day as he encouraged us to look back and remember how the Lord protected and blessed the children of Israel: “Let all the saints rejoice, therefore, and be exceedingly glad; for Israel’s God is their God, and he will mete out a just recompense of reward upon the heads of all their oppressors” (Doctrine and Covenants 127:3). Indeed, the God of Israel in the Old Testament is our same God today, and their stories and writings and prophecies can serve to inspire us still today.