Caused Him to Reject the Word

In his book “Making Sense of the Doctrine and Covenants,” Steven Harper made this comment on sections 39-40 regarding James Covel: “Critics cite sections 39 and 40 as evidence that Joseph Smith was a fraud. They contend that these sections prove that Joseph’s God did not know that James Covill would not obey. There is faulty logic. Such critics must imagine that when God speaks, a person has no choice but to obey him…. God did not make James Covill break his covenant. Rather, the Lord gave James power to make and keep his covenant and the agency to decide for himself whether to make and keep the covenant. Revelations give us knowledge of God’s will. They make us free. God gives agency by telling us what he wants us to do, allowing Satan to tempt us otherwise, and enabling us to choose between them freely. Section 40 explains that James Covill made and broke his covenant of his own free will. It is a more significant revelation than its brevity might suggest, for few theological works are as profound and efficient as this one.” Indeed, in section 39 the Lord was clear that James had a choice and the language provided for the fact that he might not accept the Lord’s command. He said, “But, behold, the days of thy deliverance are come, if thou wilt hearken to my voice, which saith unto thee: Arise and be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on my name, and you shall receive my Spirit, and a blessing so great as you never have known. And if thou do this, I have prepared thee for a greater work” (v10-11, italics added). James had agency and the Lord’s promise of future blessings described in the section were contingent upon him choosing to do as the Lord required.

                The Lord gave three reasons why James rejected the word, and these are warning for us who have also covenanted with the Lord. He stated, “And he received the word with gladness, but straightway Satan tempted him; and the fear of persecution and the cares of the world caused him to reject the word” (Doctrine and Covenants 40:2). Each of us are subject to the temptations of the adversary, and one of the repeated messages of this book of scripture is that Satan is real and can indeed tempt us. We must, as the Lord said elsewhere, “pray always” that we can conquer Satan and his servant (Doctrine and Covenants 10:5). James also rejected the word because of the “fear of persecution.” We too may face various kinds of persecution or rejection when we follow the gospel path. It may not be tar and feathering or death like the early Saints that we face today, but surely the fear of what men think or how they might reject us if we strive to follow Christ can influence our commitment to our covenants. To avoid following in the footsteps of James Covel we must learn to fear God more than we fear man, just as the Lord warned David Whitmer: “Behold, I say unto you, David, that you have feared man and have not relied on me for strength as you ought” (Doctrine and Covenants 30:1) He said something similar to Joseph Smith: “For, behold, you should not have feared man more than God” (Doctrine and Covenants 3:7). To stay on the covenant path we must learn to fear God more than we fear the opinions of men. Lastly the Lord described how “the cares of the world” caused James to reject His word. This reminds us of the parable of the sower in which one class of people was described this way: “He also that received seed among the thorns is he that heareth the word; and the care of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, choke the word, and he becometh unfruitful” (Matthew 13:22). We must guard against the deceitfulness of riches and the cares of the world that can choke our testimony if we let them. The story of James Covel is a reminder that we are all in danger of rejecting the Lord’s commands to us if we aren’t vigilant against the temptations of Satan, the fear of rejection, and the material cares of the world.