Without Disclosing My True Identity
[I] marveled how it was that he had obtained an inheritance in that kingdom,
seeing that he had departed ... and had not been baptized for the remission
of sins. Thus came the voice of the Lord unto me, saying: All who have died
without a knowledge of this gospel, who would have received it if they had
been permitted to tarry, shall be heirs of the celestial kingdom of God; also all
that shall die henceforth without a knowledge of it, who would have received
it with all their hearts, shall be heirs of that kingdom. For I, the Lord, will
judge all men according to their works, according to the desire of their hearts.
And I also beheld that all children who die before they arrive at the years of
accountability are saved in the celestial kingdom of heaven.^58With a single vision, Joseph negated the efficacy and significance of baptism for the
dead, along with infant baptism, and, for that matter, the physical act of baptism in general.
During the early years of the Church, Joseph kept giving the people hints about what things
were really important. He taught as often as he could—without disclosing his true identity
and while giving the people what they wanted—that the only thing that would be required
of them at the “Day of Judgment” was how they had treated their fellow man.^59
John C. Bennett was not around when Joseph taught the early Saints. Bennett was
among those who brought up the question again as he became more transfixed on his own
importance and more acquainted with the purpose for which the Saints envisioned their
temples. As the LDS/Mormons became more obsessed with the doctrines and
commandments of men, baptism for the dead became something that the Saints felt should
be necessary for salvation. Tired of trying to convince them otherwise, Joseph finally gave in
and delivered to the people what they wanted.^60
Joseph Introduces a New “Revelation”
After a hiatus from constructing revelations for a time, Joseph produced what would
later become church doctrine found in the D&C, section 124, in January of 1841, which was
unprecedented in the scope of detail and subjects it covered. It started out as a political
epistle and proclamation addressed to “all the kings of the world.”^61 It set up Nauvoo as a
city of “light and glory of Zion, for the set time has come to favor her.”^62 It condemned the
Saint’s oppressors and called upon the “kings of the earth”^63 to bring their “gold and silver,
to the help of my people.”^64 It introduced Robert B. Thompson^65 —not Joseph—as the author
of the political “proclamation”^66 contained therein, with a caveat that everyone misses, “that
his stewardship will I require at his hands.”^67 In other words, Thompson was solely
responsible for what he wrote in the “proclamation”—Joseph wanted nothing to do with it.
The “revelation” also gave more personal advice to individuals than any other Joseph had
heretofore given.
The revelation praised Hyrum for being the only one that “loveth that which is right
before me, saith the Lord.”^68 It gave John C. Bennett exactly what he was looking for—
praise, adoration, acceptance by “the Lord” and a “crown with blessings and great glory.”^69
It aggrandized and acknowledged Lyman Wight, who, as a result of the revelation, was
shortly thereafter called and ordained to take the place of David Patten as a member of the
Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. (Patten had been killed during the Missouri Wars.)
Because Lyman’s name was mentioned numerous times, he became a steadfast believer that
“the Lord” was speaking directly to him in the revelation; and for the first time, “the Lord”