DC-KJV and JE-D&C 3
This annotated version of D&C 3 shows the intertextuality between the Doctrine and Covenants, the Book of Mormon, the KJV and Jonathan Edwards. The footnotes show the frequency of appearance in each source of specific phrases and terms, along with some examples and explanations. If a source isn’t listed, the term/phrase doesn’t appear in it.
The annotation ignores most common terms and phrases (e.g., it came to pass) and focuses on nonbiblical language. As expected, Edwards used many of the KJV passages in his sermons and writings. There are few KJV citations that are not also found in Edwards, but many Edwards citations not found in the KJV.
The Edwards citations (JE) refer mostly to edwards.yale.edu, which has gaps in the database that can be filled from the 1808 edition of Edwards’ works which may produce more references.
Annotation of D&C 3
D&C 1 is a good example of evidence that Joseph Smith translated and received revelations “after the manner of his language” because it shows that a high percentage of Joseph Smith’s language is also KJV language (in bold below).
Few of the KJV words/phrases are not also found in Jonathan Edwards, including the so-called "blended" passages.
The revelations include non-Biblical, sophisticated terms that Joseph could not have learned from the translation process, suggesting Joseph’s lexicon was greater than would be expected of an ignorant, illiterate farm hand. Many of these terms and phrases, are found in Edwards.
The blue D&C words/phrases in the annotation are nonbiblical and also not found in Edwards. In some cases noted below, the nonbiblical language is close to Edwards (e.g., plural instead of singular). There are several examples in the Book of Mormon and D&C of paraphrased or misquoted passages from the KJV that are identical to paraphrased or misquoted KJV passages in Edwards' works.
The red words/phrases are nonbiblical D&C wording that are also found in Edwards' works.
Purple are nonbiblical D&C words/phrases similar to Edwards.
Naturally, Edwards is not the only person who ever used this nonbiblical Book of Mormon terminology. English is a common language or we couldn't understand one another. But the ready availability of Edwards' works in Palmyra during Joseph's youth indicates that Edwards was a possible source for Joseph's vocabulary that he used when translating the plates and receiving revelations.
Bold = KJV
Blue = nonbiblical BofM/D&C w/o JE (If unique to this instance, no footnote is given)
Red = nonbiblical BofM/D&C and JE
Purple = nonbiblical BofM/D&C similar to JE
Section 3
Revelation given to Joseph Smith the Prophet, at Harmony, Pennsylvania, July 1828, relating to the loss of 116 pages of manuscript translated from the first part of the Book of Mormon, which was called the book of Lehi. The Prophet had reluctantly allowed these pages to pass from his custody to that of Martin Harris, who had served for a brief period as scribe in the translation of the Book of Mormon. The revelation was given through the Urim and Thummim. (See section 10.)
(Doctrine and Covenants 3–3, Heading)
1 The works, and the designs,[1] and the purposes of God[2] cannot be frustrated,[3] neither can they come to naught.[4]
2 For God doth not walk in crooked paths,[5] neither doth he turn to the right hand nor to the left, neither doth he vary[6] from that which he hath said, therefore his paths are straight[7], and his course is one eternal round.
3 Remember, remember that it is not the work of God[8] that is frustrated,[9] but the work of men;[10]
4 For although a man[11] may have many revelations,[12] and have power to do[13] many mighty works,[14] yet if he boasts[15] in his own strength,[16] and sets at naught the counsels of God,[17] and follows after the dictates[18] of his own will and carnal desires,[19] he must fall[20] and incur[21] the vengeance[22] of a just God[23] upon him.
5 Behold, you have been entrusted[24] with these things, but how strict[25] were your commandments; and remember also the promises[26] which were made to you, if you did not transgress[27] them.
6 And behold, how oft[28] you have transgressed the commandments and the laws of God[29], and have gone on[30] in the persuasions of men.[31]
7 For, behold, you should not have feared man[32] more than God[33]. Although men set at naught[34] the counsels of God[35], and despise his words[36]—
8 Yet you should have been faithful; and he would have extended his arm[37] and supported you against all the fiery darts of the adversary[38]; and he would have been with you in every time of trouble[39].
9 Behold, thou art Joseph, and thou wast chosen to do the work of the Lord[40], but because of transgression[41], if thou art not aware[42] thou wilt fall[43].
10 But remember, God is merciful[44]; therefore, repent of that which thou hast done which is contrary to[45] the commandment which I gave you, and thou art still chosen, and art again called to the work[46];
11 Except thou do this, thou shalt be delivered up[47] and become as other men[48], and have no more gift[49].
12 And when thou deliveredst up that which God had given thee sight and power[50] to translate[51], thou deliveredst up that which was sacred[52] into the hands[53] of a wicked man[54],
13 Who has set at naught the counsels of God, and has broken the most sacred promises which were made before God, and has depended upon his own judgment[55] and boasted in his own wisdom[56].
14 And this is the reason[57] that thou hast lost thy privileges for a season—
15 For thou hast suffered the counsel of thy director[58] to be trampled[59] upon from the beginning.
16 Nevertheless, my work shall go forth[60], for inasmuch as the knowledge of a Savior[61] has come unto the world, through the testimony of the[62] Jews, even so shall the knowledge of a Savior come unto my people—
17 And to the Nephites, and the Jacobites, and the Josephites, and the Zoramites, through the testimony of their fathers[63]—
18 And this testimony shall come to the knowledge of[64] the Lamanites, and the Lemuelites, and the Ishmaelites, who dwindled[65] in unbelief[66] because of the iniquity of their fathers[67], whom the Lord has suffered to destroy their brethren the Nephites, because of their iniquities[68] and their abominations[69].
19 And for this very purpose[70] are these plates preserved, which contain these records—that the promises of the Lord[71] might be fulfilled, which he made to his people;
20 And that the Lamanites might come to the knowledge of their fathers, and that they might know the promises of the Lord, and that they may believe the gospel[72] and rely upon the merits[73] of Jesus Christ, and be glorified[74] through faith in his name,[75] and that through their repentance they might be saved. Amen.
(Doctrine and Covenants 3:1–20)
[1] “designs” BM (7) DC (3) JE (642); “designs of God” JE (11) “no designs of God are new” “all the deep designs of God will be unfolded in their events;” “all the glorious wise purposes and designs of God's wisdom and grace” “he understands all his designs & Purposes” “the more special designs and purposes of marriage” “the purposes and designs of his work of redemption” “God will have obtained the end of all his great works that he had been doing from the beginning; then all the deep designs of God” “there are different subordinate designs that God has in his different works”
[2] “purposes of God” DC (1) JE (2) “purpose of God” NT (1) Rom. 9:11. JE 1808: “all the purposes of God are purposed in Christ”
2. Jonathan Edwards. A History of the Work of... [page 518 | Paragraph | Sub2Sect | SubSect | Section]
which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ: to the intent that now … might be known by the church the manifold wisdom of God, according to the eternal purpose … in Christ Jesus our Lord"]. What has been said shows how all the purposes of God are purposes which he hath purposed in Christ, and how he is before all, and above all, and all things consist by him, and are governed by him, and are for him, Colossians 1:15–18
[3] “frustrated” BM (3) DC (2) JE (99); “be frustrated” DC(1) JE (35). “And that he cannot be frustrated "in one design or thought" (Job 42:2).
[4] “come to naught” BM (1) DC (2) JE (2); “come to nought” OT (3) NT (3) (5).
[5] “crooked paths” OT (1) BM (1) DC (1) JE (1) “Of crooked paths there may be a great deal of difference.”
[6] “vary” BM (4) DC (1) JE (19) JE: “Build your hopes on the Word of God: that don't vary , it is always the same” [NT (variance, variance, variableness) BM (nothing varying, variableness) DC (variance) PGP (various, variation) JE “There is nothing in the world more constantly varying”]
[7] “paths are straight” BM (1) DC (1) JE (0)
[8] “work of God” OT (4) NT (2) BM (0) DC (3) JE (534)
[9] “frustrated” BM (3) DC (2) JE (99) JE: "And that which the Lord of Hosts hath purposed, none shall disannul" (Isaiah 14:27). And that he cannot be frustrated "in one design or thought" (Job 42:2). “the great and glorious designs God had in view, in the work of man's redemption by his Son Jesus Christ, would appear to have been built on a precarious bottom; then the decrees of God might be frustrated , and his intentions defeated, contrary to that declaration”
[10] “work of men” DC (1) JE (1) Came in suddenly upon their minds when they heard nothing said about it they should more think it was the work of G. but now because it Came only in by Preaching they fear it was only the work of men .
[11] BM (1) DC (2)
[12] “many revelations” BM (5) DC (1) JE (2)
[13] BM (2) DC (1) JE (8) JE: “ they have power to do many things…”
[14] “mighty works” NT (10) BM (3) DC (6) JE (42)
[15] “boasts” DC (1) JE (9)
[16] “his own strength” DC (1) JE (36) “but after what manner doth he triumph over them. not as men by boasting of his Own strength”
[17] “counsels of God” BM (1) DC (3) JE (8) it may also be observed that all that was done before the beginning of time in the eternal counsels of God; Thus deep are the counsels of God concerning his people; thus kind are his designs towards them.
[18] “dictates” DC (1) PGP (1) JE (138) “Unless man wills according to the dictates of reason,” “true virtue is not the same as that which conscience dictates” “The dictates of men's consciences are what do bring them under a next or most immediate obligation to act: but 'tis that which is a good foundation for such a dictate of an enlightened conscience, that alone is a solid foundation of a right in him so to act.”
[19] “carnal desires” DC (1) JE (9) “will not submit to Gods Commandments but Nor hearken to his dictates but will Rather. set Up his Own Carnal Reason his pleasure” “so the river that runs through the new Babylon, the antichristian church, that wicked carnal society, signifies, according to the opposite character of the city, her worldly, carnal supplies, to satisfy their carnal desires and thirstings. This New Jerusalem is called in this book the "paradise of God"; and therefore is represented as having the tree of life growing in it”
[20] DC (1) JE (7)
[21] “incur” BM (1) DC (1) JE (15) “that he could incur God's displeasure and vengeance , and his own destruction”
[22] OT (38) NT (7) BM (13) DC (10) PGP (3) JE (500)
[23] “just God” OT (1) BM (6) DC (1) JE (17)
[24] “entrusted” BM (5) DC (8) JE (37)
[25] BM (1) DC (1) JE (8)
[26] DC (1) “remember the promises” BM (1)
[27] DC (1) JE (1) JE: “every one must take heed to himself that he did not transgress”
[28] OT (3) NT (1) BM (4) DC (2) JE (10)
[29] BM (3) DC (3) JE (10)
[30] DC (1) JE (40) JE: “You have gone on in those ways and practices…”
[31] “persuasions of men” DC (2) JE (0); “persuasions” BM (2) DC (2) JE (21) “through the deceitful persuasions of a pretended friend” “He is brought to it by the persuasions of Reuben and Judah”
[32] DC (2)
[33] DC (1) PGP (3) JE (12) JE: “they that do thus heed their Companions more than God “ “they love the world more than God” Moses 5:18 “they loved Satan more than God”
(Moses 5:13)
[34] “set at naught” BM (3) DC (2) JE (14) “set at nought” OT (1) NT (4) JE quoting Prov 1:25: “ ye have set at naught all my counsel”
[35] BM (1) DC (3) JE (7)
[36] “despise his words” DC (1) “despise his word” JE (1)
[37] BM (1) DC (1)
[38] “fiery darts” NT (1) BM (1) DC (2) JE (15). NT Eph. 6:16: “quench all the fiery darts of the wicked” BM: “fiery darts of the adversary” DC: “fiery darts of the adversary/wicked” JE: paraphrasing Eph 6:16 “be able to quench the fiery darts of the devil.” I.e., devil = adversary
[39] OT (8) DC (2) JE (30)
[40] OT (5) NT (2) BM (5) DC (3) JE (10)
[41] BM (1) DC (1)
[42] OT (1) NT (3) DC (1) PTP (1) JE (27)
[43] NT (1) DC (1)
[44] OT (1) BM (1) DC (1) JE (1)
[45] NT (9) BM (20) DC (6) JE (1,000)
[46] DC (3) JE (6)
[47] OT (5) NT (3) BM (11) DC (8) JE (40)
[48] OT (1) NT (1) DC (1) JE (50)
[49] DC (2)
[50] “sight and power” DC (1)
[51] “power to translate” DC (3)
[52] BM (3) DC (2) JE (1)
[53] OT (12) NT (5) BM (11) DC (8) JE (200)
[54] OT (18) BM (6) DC (3) JE (250)
[55] DC (2) JE (50)
[56] OT (1) BM (5) DC (1) JE (65) JE: “And how easily does Satan make fools of men, if confident in their own wisdom and strength, and left to themselves?” “is a mistake, persons often run into, through their trusting to their own wisdom and discerning, and making their own notions their rule, instead of the Holy Scripture. “
[57] OT (1) DC (2) JE (50) “this is the reason that” DC (2) JE (9) “This is the reason that they can hear such things on the sabbath”
[58] BM (3) DC (1) JE (8) JE: “Where the objects which are proposed, appear equally fit or good, the will is left without a guide or director; and therefore must make its own choice, by its own determination” “we shall have God to be our director”
[59] BM (2) DC (2) JE (70) JE: “Without doubt, it makes God angry to see that he is slighted, and his laws trampled upon, by poor dust and ashes that he has made, and that depend upon him for life and breath and all things.”
[60] OT (23) BM (10) DC (16) PGP (2) JE (50)
[61] BM (1) DC (2)
[62] “testimony of the” OT (1) BM (5) DC (8) PGP (1) JE (75)
[63] “testimony of their fathers” DC (1) “testimony of the fathers” JE (3) JE: “Although it be said that weight ought to be laid on the testimony of the fathers…”
[64] NT (1) BM (10) DC (2) JE (27)
[65] “Dwindled” BM (11) DC (1) JE (5) “Is not a spirit of devotion, a spirit to worship God, to think of and talk of God and divine things, in a great measure dwindled away from amongst us?”
[66] “dwindled in unbelief” BM (11) DC (1)
[67] OT (2) BM (2) DC (1) JE (4)
[68] OT (1) BM (9) DC (2) JE (2)
[69] OT (18) BM (14) DC (3) JE (10)
[70] DC (2) JE (2) JE: “I believe the variety that there is in the rays of the sun, and their various beautiful colors, were designed in the creation for this very purpose.”
[71] BM (9) DC (2)
[72] NT (1) BM (1) DC (2) JE (20)
[73] Bm (4) DC (1) JE (40) Moro. 6:4 “the merits of Christ” JE: “the merits of Christ”
[74] OT (8) NT (9) BM (2) DC (8) JE (200)
[75] NT (1) BM (2) DC (1)