Sacred Texts: Mormons

Doctrine and Convenants: 3. Revelation to Joseph Smith, Harmony, Pennsylvania, July 1828.

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This is a revelatory text from the Doctrine and Covenants, the canonized scripture of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, presented as direct divine speech within the tradition of Restoration theology. The passage is a rebuke delivered to Joseph Smith following his loss of the 116 translated manuscript pages — given to his associate Martin Harris against divine counsel — framing the episode as a failure of faith born from fearing men more than God. Its central theological argument is that God's purposes are immutable and cannot be frustrated by human failure, but individual participants can forfeit their roles through disobedience and pride. The text balances accountability with mercy, warning Smith he risks losing his prophetic gift entirely while simultaneously offering reinstatement through repentance. A distinctive feature is its explicit naming of Book of Mormon peoples — Nephites, Lamanites, Jacobites, Zoramites, and others — positioning the recovered scripture as providentially preserved to fulfill ancient covenantal promises to these groups. The passage closes with a missional claim: that knowledge of a Savior will reach Native American peoples through these plates just as it reached the world through Jewish testimony.

Doctrine and Convenants: 3. Revelation to Joseph Smith, Harmony, Pennsylvania, July 1828.

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