RLDS Chapter Context

Intro: SECTION 95 Revelation given through Joseph Smith, Jr., August 6, 1833, at Kirtland, Ohio. No word of the culmination of the Missouri troubles had yet reached the Saints in Kirtland. The contents of this revelation are particularly significant in view of this fact.

1a Verily I say unto you, my friends, Fear not, let your hearts be comforted, yea, rejoice evermore, and in everything give thanks, waiting patiently on the Lord;

1b for your prayers have entered into the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth, and are recorded with this seal and testament:

1c the Lord hath sworn and decreed that they shall be granted; therefore, he giveth this promise unto you, with an immutable covenant, that they shall be fulfilled, and all things wherewith you have been afflicted, shall work together for your good, and to my name's glory saith the Lord.

2a And now, verily I say unto you, concerning the laws of the land, It is my will that my people should observe to do all things whatsoever I command them, and that law of the land, which is constitutional, supporting that principle of freedom, in maintaining rights and privileges belongs to all mankind and is justifiable before me;

2b therefore, I, the Lord, justify you and your brethren of my church in befriending that law which is the constitutional law of the land; and as pertaining to law of man, whatsoever is more or less than these, cometh of evil.

2c I, the Lord God, make you free; therefore, ye are free indeed: and the law also maketh you free; nevertheless when the wicked rule the people mourn;

2d wherefore honest men and wise men should be sought for, diligently, and good men and wise men, ye should observe to uphold; otherwise whatsoever is less than these, cometh of evil.

3a And I give unto you a commandment, that ye shall forsake all evil and cleave unto all good, that ye shall live by every word which proceedeth forth out of the mouth of God; for he will give unto the faithful, line upon line, precept upon precept;

3b and I will try you, and prove you herewith; and whoso layeth down his life in my cause, for my name's sake, shall find it again; even life eternal;

3c therefore, be not afraid of your enemies; for I have decreed in my heart, saith the Lord, that I will prove you in all things, whether you will abide in my covenant, even unto death, that you may be found worthy;

3d for if ye will not abide in my covenant, ye are not worthy of me; therefore, renounce war and proclaim peace, and seek diligently to turn the hearts of the children to their fathers, and the hearts of the fathers to the children.

3e And again, the hearts of the Jews unto the prophets; and the prophets unto the Jews, lest I come and smite the whole earth with a curse, and all flesh be consumed before me.

3f Let not your hearts be troubled, for in my Father's house are many mansions, and I have prepared a place for you, and where my Father and I am, there ye shall be also.

4a Behold, I, the Lord, am not well pleased with many who are in the church at Kirtland, for they do not forsake their sins, and their wicked ways, the pride of their hearts, and their covetousness, and all their detestable things and observe the words of wisdom and eternal life which I have given unto them.

4b Verily I say unto you, that I, the Lord, will chasten them and will do whatsoever I list, if they do not repent and observe all things whatsoever I have said unto them.

4c And again, I say unto you, If ye observe to do whatsoever I command you, I, the Lord, will turn away all wrath and indignation from you, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against you.

5a Now, I speak unto you, concerning your families; if men will smite you, or your families, once, and ye bear it patiently and revile not against them, neither seek revenge, ye shall be rewarded, but if ye bear it not patiently, it shall be accounted unto you as being meted out a just measure unto you.

5b And again, if your enemy shall smite you the second time, and you revile not against your enemy, and bear it patiently, your reward shall be an hundredfold.

5c And again, if he shall smite you the third time, and ye bear it patiently, your reward shall be doubled unto you fourfold; and these three testimonies shall stand against your enemy, if he repent not, and shall not be blotted out.

5d And now, verily I say unto you, If that enemy shall escape my vengeance that he be not brought into judgment before me, then ye shall see to it, that ye warn him in my name that he come no more upon you, neither upon your family, even your children's children unto the third and fourth generation;

5e and then if he shall come upon you, or your children, or your children's children unto the third and fourth generation, I have delivered thine enemy into thine hands, and then if thou wilt spare him thou shalt be rewarded for thy righteousness; and also thy children and thy children's children unto the third and fourth generation;

5f nevertheless thine enemy is in thine hands, and if thou reward him according to his works, thou art justified, if he has sought thy life, and thy life is endangered by him; thine enemy is in thine hands, and thou art justified.

6a Behold, this is the law I gave unto my servant, Nephi; and thy father Joseph, and Jacob, and Isaac, and Abraham, and all mine ancient prophets and apostles.

6b And again, this is the law that I gave unto mine ancients, that they should not go out unto battle against any nation, kindred, tongue, or people, save I, the Lord, commanded them.

6c And if any nation, tongue, or people should proclaim war against them, they should first lift a standard of peace unto that people, nation, or tongue, and if that people did not accept the offering of peace, neither the second nor the third time, they should bring these testimonies before the Lord;

6d then, I, the Lord, would give unto them a commandment, and justify them in going out to battle against that nation, tongue, or people,

6e and I, the Lord, would fight their battles, and their children's battles and their children's children until they had avenged themselves on all their enemies, to the third and fourth generation;

6f behold, this is an ensample unto all people, saith the Lord, your God, for justification before me.

7a And again, verily I say unto you, If, after thine enemy has come upon thee the first time, he repent and come unto thee praying thy forgiveness thou shalt forgive him, and shall hold it no more as a testimony against thine enemy,

7b and so on unto the second and the third time, and as oft as thine enemy repenteth of the trespass wherewith he has trespassed against thee, thou shalt forgive him, until seventy times seven;

7c and if he transgress against thee and repent not the first time, nevertheless thou shalt forgive him; and if he trespass against thee the second time, and repent not, nevertheless thou shalt forgive him; and if he trespass against thee the third time and repent not, thou shalt also forgive him;

7d but if he trespass against thee the fourth time, thou shalt not forgive him but shall bring these testimonies before the Lord, and they shall not be blotted out until he repent and reward thee fourfold in all things wherewith he has trespassed against you;

7e and if he do this thou shalt forgive him with all thine heart, and if he do not this, I, the Lord, will avenge thee of thine enemy an hundredfold; and upon his children, and upon his children's children, of all them that hate me, unto the third and fourth generation;

7f but if the children shall repent, or the children's children and turn unto the Lord their God with all their hearts, and with all their might, mind, and strength, and restore fourfold for all their trespasses, wherewith they have trespassed, or wherewith their fathers have trespassed or their father's fathers,

7g then thine indignation shall be turned away and vengeance shall no more come upon them, saith the Lord your God, and their trespasses shall never be brought any more as a testimony before the Lord against them. Amen.