We’ll discuss the revelations from 1834-1838 including the uncanonized Zelph Revelation. In 1834, Joseph Smith changed the name of the church from Church of Christ to Church of the Latter Day Saints. Check out our conversation…
Don’t miss our other conversations with David Hocking: http://gospeltangents.com/people/david-hocking
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Uncanonized Zelph Revelation
One particularly intriguing inclusion in Hocking’s book, treated as a revelation although not canonized by the LDS Church today, is the account of Zelph. This account originates from Joseph Smith’s history and details an experience while roving over the plains of the Nephites during Zion’s Camp. Joseph Smith described discovering a skeleton. Through a vision or revelation, he understood that the person was “a white Lamanite, a large thick set man, and a man of God” named Zelph. Zelph was identified as “a warrior and a chieftain under the great prophet Onandagus who named from the eastern sea.” The eastern sea is likened to Lake Ontario.
The account describes Zelph’s injuries, including a broken side caused by a stone from a sling and death from an arrow found among his ribs during a battle.
Hocking notes that B.H. Roberts, in a book written before his involvement with History of the Church, also discussed Zion’s Camp passing mysterious earth mounds, which Roberts suggested were related to the Nephites, Lamanites, or people of Jared. Hocking sees Joseph Smith’s account of finding Zelph as a way of demonstrating a physical witness of the Book of Mormon peoples. Joseph Smith, having provided the spiritual testimony through the translated book, was now offering a physical witness for those on the journey. Those who went on Zion’s Camp reportedly stayed faithful, potentially due to this physical witness.
While the story of Zelph might seem “fantastical” to some, and perhaps for this reason it hasn’t been canonized by the modern LDS church, Hocking includes it because Joseph Smith presented it as a revelation where the heavens were opened and the Almighty gave him understanding.
Later Revelations and Profound Connections
Moving into the later period (1838-1843), which includes the Nauvoo temple era, Hocking’s book covers 20 revelations. He also includes statements from Joseph Smith that he treats “as if they’re revelations because they’re statements.”
One powerful example is found in what is now Section 128 of the Doctrine and Covenants. While in hiding, Joseph Smith wrote a letter to the church about baptisms for the dead. Within this letter, he includes what Hocking calls a “poetical utterance,” similar to passages in Nephi or Lehi. Joseph Smith speaks of glad tidings from Cumorah and Moroni, the voices of Peter, James, and John on the banks of the Mississippi, the voice of the Heavenly Father, and significantly, the voices of Michael the archangel, Gabriel, Raphael, and “diverse angels from Michael or Adam down to the present time.” These angels are described as declaring their dispensations, rights, honors, keys, majesty, glory, and priesthood power.
Hocking found this section particularly striking after studying the Book of Enoch, which features conversations with Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael. He posits that Joseph Smith is a “new Enoch,” drawing parallels between their lives.
Furthermore, Hocking discovered profound correlations between Joseph Smith’s translation work and other ancient texts. He highlights the Joseph Smith Translation of Genesis 18, where three men who visit Abraham are identified as “angels which were holy men and they were sent after the order of God,” in contrast to the King James Version which simply calls them “three men”. Comparing this to the Book of Jasher (published 10 years after Joseph Smith’s revelation), Hocking found a passage stating, “and the Lord appeared unto him at the plain and sent three of his ministering angels.”
Delving deeper, Hocking examined rabbinical commentaries in the Babylonian Talmud regarding this same biblical passage. Rabbis there identify the three men as the angels Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael, assigning specific tasks to each: Michael announced Sarah would have a son, Raphael healed Abraham after his circumcision, and Gabriel overturned Sodom. Hocking then found support for these specific roles in the Book of Enoch, which describes Michael as merciful, Raphael as being “set over all the diseases and the wounds of men,” and Gabriel as being “set over all powers.”
These correlations between Joseph Smith’s revelations and texts like the Book of Jasher, Babylonian Talmud, and Book of Enoch are described as exciting discoveries for Hocking. He finds these connections, often not discussed in standard gospel classes, help validate Joseph Smith’s work, suggesting he wasn’t a charlatan but received genuine revelation.
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Gospel Tangents
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Except for book reviews, no content may be reproduced without written permission
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