Oliver Cowdery’s Gift
December 2, 2007
This image relates to a mysterious item, discussed at length in Section 8 of the Doctrine and Covenants, called “the gift of Aaron”. The heading to Section 8 provides the context for the discussion:
Revelation given through Joseph Smith the Prophet to Oliver Cowdery, at Harmony, Pennsylvania, April 1829…In the course of the translation of the Book of Mormon, Oliver, who continued to serve as scribe, writing at the Prophet’s dictation, desired to be endowed with the gift of translation. The Lord responded to his supplication by granting this revelation.
The revelation states, in relevant part:
6. Now this is not all thy gift; for you have another gift, which is the gift of Aaron; behold, it has told you many things;
7. Behold, there is no other power, save the power of God, that can cause this gift of Aaron to be with you.
8. Therefore, doubt not, for it is the gift of God; and you shall hold it in your hands, and do marvelous works; and no power shall be able to take it away out of your hands, for it is the work of God.
9. And, therefore, whatsoever you shall ask me to tell you by that means, that will I grant unto you, and you shall have knowledge concerning it.
10. Remember that without faith you can do nothing; therefore ask in faith. Trifle not with these things; do not ask for that which you ought not.
11. Ask that you may know the mysteries of God, and that you may translate and receive knowledge from all those ancient records which have been hid up, that are sacred; and according to your faith shall it be done unto you.
(D&C 8:6-11, emphasis added)
What is “the gift of Aaron”? The text provides several clues. First, Oliver has a history of using it, since “it has told [him] many things”. Second, it is “the gift of God”. Third, it is to be held in Oliver’s hands (and kept there, impervious to any power). Fourth, it allows Oliver to “do marvelous works”. Fifth, it is “the work of God”. Sixth, the Lord will speak through it to Oliver and tell him anything he asks while using it. Seventh, it works through faith. Finally, it enables Oliver to translate ancient sacred documents.
With only these clues, the gift of Aaron remains very hard to identify. The task becomes much easier, however, when we look at the original version of the revelation as contained in The Book of Commandments, a predecessor volume to The Doctrine and Covenants, used by the LDS Church from 1831 to 1835. Section 7 of the book contains the same wording as the current version, except that the term “gift of Aaron” is replaced with the following language (in bold):
Now this is not all, for you have another gift, which is the gift of working with the rod: behold it has told you things: behold there is no other power save God, that can cause this rod of nature, to work in your hands…
What is the gift of Aaron? It is a “rod of nature”.
What is a “rod of nature”? The historical record indicates that it is a divining rod (or dousing rod), which Oliver Cowdery used as a youth to hunt for buried treasure. See e.g., Dan Vogel, ed., Early Mormon Documents (Salt Lake City: Signature Books, 1998), 1: 603-05, 619-20. Cowdery’s use of a divining rod to search for buried treasure evokes similar images of Joseph Smith hunting for treasure with a stone in a top hat. Oliver also wished to use his divining rod, in the same way Joseph Smith used his stone and hat, to translate ancient scriptures. Section 8 of the Doctrine and Covenants indicates that the Lord, through Joseph Smith, granted Oliver’s request.
Additional information about Oliver Cowdery’s rod is found here.
December 31st, 2007 at 1:11 am
Ahhhh…very nice! This was a recent issue for me that got stuck in my craw. The change Joseph made was very good as it made everything “fit” the mysterious ancient priesthood power, something that obviously we weren’t made privy to (such the apologia), but the original revelation is quite plain and hard to be misunderstood for anything different than your representation. Too bad Oliver couldn’t get his rod to work, then perhaps he could have been exposed to earlier polygamy revelations and made it easier for him to accept “that nasty Fanny Alger affair” that drove him out later. Now, how about a contrasting one of Hirum Page’s stone, [female]Chase’s stone, and Joseph’s stone (though apparently Oliver mentioned 2 stones like glasses used long after the Urim and Thummim was reportedly sent back to the angel), with a title like “The revelations from that stone are not from me..”
Good job as always. I’m glad to see more content! Why can’t the church just drop it’s propogandistic renderings? Latterday Skeptic
February 14th, 2008 at 5:59 pm
Not all restoration churches deny their history. Many of us have studied enough of the church’s history to know the truth from the fiction our churches propagated for many years. Wise leadership would admit these discrepancies.
February 15th, 2008 at 12:31 pm
Why the big secret? It seems to me that everything Jesus did was in the open. How is this different from intellectual dishonesty? Divining, is nothing less than a form of fortune telling and associated with the occult which is condemned by the Bible.
George Mather, Co-author The Encyclopedic Dictionary of cults, Sects, and World Religions (Zondervan).
February 15th, 2008 at 8:57 pm
George:
Using seer stones and divining rods has certainly fallen out of favor in the United States as a vehicle for spiritual endeavor, but it is no more superstitious to me than lighting candles, taking communion, baptism, or even praying.
I am curious to know why Joseph Smith felt a need to edit Oliver Cowdery’s divining rod out of the revelation, though. Perhaps people around him were starting to agree more with you.
January 16th, 2009 at 10:39 am
Hymn # 274: The Iron Rod
The gift of Aaron was in part the power and authority to teach and expound on the word of God given to the prophet Moses. The word of God is “the rod”.
Each and every person that has access to the holy word “rod”, including any portion of the rod (ie. stick of Judah, stick of Joseph, etc.) or the rod in its entirety can seek for this gift and receive it. Prayerful study of the “rod”, or earnest prayer while holding and pondering the “rod” is a true source of knowledge and power. The key is holding tight the rod, with faith and patience until the direction comes.
It doesn’t have to just be a mystery, it can be a reality with a bit of faith and practice; personal revelation directly from God or by the “rod” are meant to be used in conjunction.
Regarding actual rods and sticks, now that’s another story.
February 7th, 2009 at 11:20 pm
I just read a great article about the rod [BYU Studies vol. 24, no.4 (1984) “The Gift of Aaron”]. It was, perhaps, not a divining rod at all but a straight rod, more like the rod that Aaron and Moses used. Of course we cannot really know for sure. It makes sense though; especially considering the reference to Aaron. Some suppose that it may have been among the artifacts found with the plates. One even thinks it may have been the bow or rod that held the Urim and Thumim and worked for Oliver when he attempted to translate. Other prophets of the latter days used rods to receive revelation: Brigham Young, Heber C. Kimball.
April 15th, 2009 at 9:22 am
I don’t like the connection with the divining rod, it seems weird to me. However the rod as in the rod of iron, the word of God makes more sense to me. Think of Ezekiel where the stick of Judah and the stick of Joseph become one. Stick, rod they both seem to me to be pointing to the scriptures. Furthermore from the Doctrine and Covenants student manual we get this quote.
D&C 8:6–9. What Was the Gift of Aaron?
“There was another gift bestowed upon Oliver
Cowdery, and that was the gift of Aaron. Like Aaron
with his rod in his hand going before Moses as a
spokesman, so Oliver Cowdery was to go before
Joseph Smith. Whatever he should ask the Lord by
power of this gift should be granted if asked in faith
and in wisdom. Oliver was blessed with the great
honor of holding the keys of this dispensation with
Joseph Smith, and, like Aaron, did become a
spokesman on numerous occasions. It was Oliver
who delivered the first public discourse in this
dispensation.” (Smith, Church History and Modern
Revelation, 1:52.)