The Evening and the Morning Star

Vol. 2. Kirtland, Ohio, August, 1834. No 23.

By: Oliver Cowdery

Narrated by: Virtual Voice

This 23rd issue of the original Evening and Morning Star declares with bold conviction once again, that the kingdom of God is not built merely upon ceremony, tradition, or inherited authority, but upon living revelation. But, what is new in this issue? When its editors maintain that throughout history the true church has always been known by unmistakable signs, they wrote that the true church not only includes prophets who were called by God’s own voice, but God also provides prophetesses speaking under divine inspiration as well (undoubtedly called by revelation through the law-giver prophet of His church). In the true church there are miracles that testify of heaven’s power; angels ministering among mankind; and a people united under the guidance of God. Ancient Israel prospered so long as it welcomed all these heavenly gifts; but when it rejected the prophets and silenced revelation, it drifted inevitably into apostasy and division.

The writers apply this same reasoning to the Christianity of their own age with force. They contend that many churches of the nineteenth century possessed outward respectability but lacked the spiritual power that defined the primitive church which was built upon apostles and prophets.

The repeated emphasis upon prophetesses alongside prophets in the article about the millennium was especially surprising. Again and again the text insists that when the kingdom of God flourishes, inspired men and women alike, arise to declare the will of heaven as authorized representatives of God. So, we see when reading about prophetesses in the Bible, these women were not noted in scripture as anomalies. However, this understanding that the early Saints embraced regarding elect women, was only lost because the church went into apostasy—because God does not change—His procedures stay the same throughout all the ages when He sends a prophet-seer and law-giver to restore lost doctrines and rescue His church from darkness. The times of Moses, and Christ, and Joseph Smith Jr., all followed the same pattern given by God for order and a united people.

There is also in these pages a profound sense that history itself moves according to a recurring pattern. Israel rose through revelation and fell through unbelief. Early Christianity flourished in miracles and spiritual gifts before descending into corruption. To them, America was not merely a republic among nations, but the stage upon which sacred history was repeating itself.

The conference minutes from Kirtland reveal another dimension of this movement: its fierce determination to defend the integrity of its leader and preserve unity amid opposition. Faced with rumors against Joseph Smith, the elders conducted what they believed to be a careful inquiry and emerged united in affirming his honesty and stewardship. They warned the Saints abroad that falsehood and slander often accompany any great moral or spiritual cause. In language both solemn and hopeful, they urged believers to remain “steadfast and immovable in the truth,” convinced that no assault of rumor or persecution could ultimately prevail against a covenant people walking in faith.

And finally, one cannot miss the spirit of endurance that breathes through the entire publication. The suffering of the Saints in Missouri, the hostility of mobs and newspapers, and the ridicule of the wider world were interpreted not as signs of failure, but as evidence that the restoration they proclaimed posed a challenge to the powers of the time. The editors believed deeply that truth is rarely welcomed comfortably into history. They saw themselves as participants in a great restoration—a movement calling mankind back to prophecy, lost doctrines, and the living voice of God, and the passion and certainty with which they proclaimed them remain unmistakable to this day.