The Books Were Opened

I was impressed to see that Joseph Smith used the work book or books 19 times in his letter to the Saints now canonized as Doctrine and Covenants 128. As he was in hiding from his enemies, he was focused on sacred books and records important to the Lord. Writing about the need to properly record baptisms for the dead which were performed, he said, “Then the general church recorder can enter the record on the general church book, with the certificates and all the attending witnesses, with his own statement that he verily believes the above statement and records to be true, from his knowledge of the general character and appointment of those men by the church. And when this is done on the general church book, the record shall be just as holy, and shall answer the ordinance just the same as if he had seen with his eyes and heard with his ears, and made a record of the same on the general church book” (v4). Three times he mentioned this “general church book” upon which the records were to be kept. Clearly for the church to have books with records of ordinances and important events was very important to Joseph.

               Joseph also spoke about books that will be a part of the judgment day. He quoted the Bible—another book—to emphasize the importance of the records they were taking: “ remember that John the Revelator was contemplating this very subject in relation to the dead, when he declared, as you will find recorded in Revelation 20:12—And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened; and another book was opened, which is the book of life; and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.” John saw books that would be a part of the judgment, and he also saw the book—the book of life. Joseph commented, “You will discover in this quotation that the books were opened; and another book was opened, which was the book of life; but the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works; consequently, the books spoken of must be the books which contained the record of their works, and refer to the records which are kept on the earth. And the book which was the book of life is the record which is kept in heaven” (v6-7). So there are records kept on earth which become part of the books used in our judgment, and there is a record kept in heaven which is the book of life, also used in our judgment. Clearly what is written in these books is vital to us. The Savior put it this way to the Nephites, “And behold, all things are written by the Father; therefore out of the books which shall be written shall the world be judged” (3 Nephi 27:26). That which is written by the Father must surely be that book of life.

               Joseph also spoke of another vital book for us in the last days in this letter. He wrote, “And again, what do we hear? Glad tidings from Cumorah! Moroni, an angel from heaven, declaring the fulfilment of the prophets—the book to be revealed. A voice of the Lord in the wilderness of Fayette, Seneca county, declaring the three witnesses to bear record of the book!” (v20) This of course is the Book of Mormon which came forth from the ground and was testified of by God to the three witnesses who declared, “We also know that they have been translated by the gift and power of God, for his voice hath declared it unto us; wherefore we know of a surety that the work is true.” I love how Joseph referred to it as “the book” instead of “a book” for it is the book for our day to gather scattered Israel and lead us to salvation.

               The letter finishes with a reference to one additional book that we are to be writing as a church together now. He said, “Let us, therefore, as a church and a people, and as Latter-day Saints, offer unto the Lord an offering in righteousness; and let us present in his holy temple, when it is finished, a book containing the records of our dead, which shall be worthy of all acceptation” (v24). We are to create a book—surely the largest ever written—with a record of all the ordinances of the temple that we have done in this dispensation for our dead. It is a digital book which is, in my opinion, the full entirety of FamilyTree. We each can play a part in contributing to that great book as we labor for the salvation of our dead in the holy temples of the Lord.

It is impressive to me that Joseph was thinking about books and records while he was in hiding on the run from his enemies. All of these references to books highlight the importance to each of us of to cherish the sacred books we have been given and to write our own records for a future day. And we should strive to live a life in such a way that we will not be ashamed by the book of life that heaven is recording about us every day.