Calculating Salvation

This chapter examines Smith’s creation of the Mormon law (D&C 20 and 42) and formation of a hierarchical priesthood structure to govern the kingdom of God, which he based on a charismatic reception of the law through revelation, a restoration of his church through angelic visits and theophany, and his expectation that church members have their own revelations and see God for themselves (D&C 88:1). The chapter examines the emergence of several new rituals in the Kirtland period before turning attention to Smith’s 1836 priesthood restoration narrative about Elijah, the Old Testament prophet, who reportedly visited Smith on April 3, 1836. The idea of Elijah returning to usher in the Second Coming was commonly preached by antebellum Protestants who accentuated the millennialism in the fourth chapter of Malachi. The chapter traces Smith’s interest in the Old Testament, which led to his study of Hebrew and his discovery of the Passover tradition of leaving a cup of wine for Elijah in anticipation of his return. The chapter views Elijah’s restoration of priesthood as the pinnacle of the development of the Mormon priesthood that would endow the Mormons with power from on high. The chapter traces Smith’s attempts to reconcile the tension between following the law (even his own revelatory commandments), empowering a hierarchy of priests, and being assured salvation through physical rites. It charts the beginning of new Mormon ritual efforts to recreate its members as prophets/prophetesses, priests/priestesses, and kings/queens, all while maintaining Smith’s central role. The rituals endowed the Mormon membership with authority and connected them to the ancient order of Melchizedek and prepared for Christ’s Second Coming. Participation in solemn assemblies, anointings, and the School of the Prophets assured Mormons of their salvation and role in the kingdom within a hierarchical ecclesiology that upheld Smith’s authority. His new liturgies, particularly those featured in the new “House of the Lord” (later termed “temple”) in Kirtland, offered members kingly and prophetic authority without threatening the hierarchical structure of the priesthood.