In First Kings, chapter 22, we have a divine council setting. This follows temple rituals where an assembly is initiated into heavenly secrets. The famous verse in Amos 3:7 teaches this principle: “Surely the Lord God will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets.” The Hebrew word for secret is cowd, meaning “a council or an assembly.” It’s not secret for those in the meeting.
We have this idea expounded as Jeremiah explains the test for a true prophet:
“For who hath stood in the counsel of the Lord, and hath perceived and heard his word? who hath marked his word, and heard it?
“But if they had stood in my counsel, and had caused my people to hear my words, then they should have turned them from their evil way, and from the evil of their doings.” (Jeremiah 23:18, 22).
We discover a King James Translation failure in these verses. The Hebrew word for counsel is the same word as in Amos 3:7. It’s the word cowd, so it should be translated as council, since it refers to a company or an assembly. The NIV Translation for verse 22 reads,
“But if they had stood in my council, they would have proclaimed my words to my people and would have turned them from their evil ways and from their evil deeds.”
There is an important temple message here. We discern true messengers by their authority and not merely the message. In these divine councils there is a line of communication between heaven and earth, similar to the temple, where the veil is very thin sometimes. I have experienced and am aware of others’ sacred experiences that are too sacred to share here.
We have a divine council in Psalm 82:
“God standeth in the congregation of the mighty; he judgeth among the gods.” This one is a divine council verdict. Israel is on trial for unrighteous judgment, conspiring with the wicked, and abusing the poor and needy. Then the Lord says, “Ye are gods; and all of you are children of the most High.” Usually in these councils, heaven warns about imminent danger on earth. The Lord then said, “But ye shall die like men, and fall like one of the princes.”
Other divine councils occur in Isaiah chapters 1, 6, and 40, D&C 1, and Helaman 5.
Isaiah 1 is another divine council verdict. The language in verse 2 calls heaven and earth together. By the way, when you see heaven and earth together in the same verse, it’s probably temple related. The definition of temple is the sacred space where heaven meets earth. The case against Israel is stated: “Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth: for the Lord hath spoken, I have nourished and brought up children, and they have rebelled against me.” The Lord presents his argument against Israel calling them “corrupters” with putrifying sores. He is sick of their burnt offerings and their insincerity. In verse 15, the Lord mentions the Hallel Gesture, as they “spread forth their hands,” and He sees dirty hands. The evidence against Israel is obvious, yet in divine council language, the Lord says, “Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.”
D&C chapter 1 has many similarities to Isaiah 1. The Lord says, “Hearken, O ye people of my church, saith the voice of him who dwells on high, and whose eyes are upon all men; yea, verily I say: Hearken ye people from afar; and ye that are upon the islands of the sea, listen together.” There is more divine council language as the Lord invites them to “listen together.” When you see phrases like, “come now and let us reason together,” or “listen together,” or “come ye near unto me, hear ye this” (Isaiah 48:16), or “bring forth your strong reasons” (Isaiah 41:21; D&C 71:8), you know this is a divine council. D&C 1 speaks of “a voice of warning.” The word voice appears nine times in this section. It’s a repetitive theme word (Leitwort), symbolizing the voice of the divine council. Israel has messed up again and is charged with violation of ordinances, breaking the everlasting covenant, and even idol worshipping. Really? Idol worshipping? Where is the golden calf? Seriously though, idol worshipping is alive and well in our day.
Isaiah 1 and D&C 1 both fall chronologically in the middle of their respective books. D&C Section 1 falls somewhere between Sections 66 and 71, and most scholars place Isaiah 1 between chapters 39 and 40, right before the merciful chapters where the Lord comes to rescue wayward Israel. Do you ever wonder why the Book of Mormon Isaiah chapters start with chapter 2? But latter-day Israel, and really the whole world, is in deep trouble, so heaven needs to intervene:
“Wherefore, I the Lord, knowing the calamity which should come upon the inhabitants of the earth, called upon my servant Joseph Smith, Jun., and spake unto him from heaven, and gave him commandments.” (D&C 1:17). Joseph Smith becomes a messenger for the divine council.
Isaiah 6 is Isaiah’s calling. The “seraphims” surrounding the throne of God are symbolic members of the divine council. The people are in trouble with fat hearts, heavy ears, and closed eyes. Heaven must intercede. They need a messenger to rescue them. The council asks, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here am I; send me.” Notice the plurality in the request, “Who will go for us?” This is the formula for a divine messenger. Isaiah accepted the call, and more importantly, the Savior Jesus Christ accepted His calling.
In Helaman 5, Nephi and Lehi are imprisoned and about to be slain. They are encircled by fire, yet they are not burned. Their captors are “overshadowed with a cloud of darkness, and an awful solemn fear came upon them. And it came to pass that there came a voice as if it were above the cloud of darkness, saying: Repent ye, repent ye, and seek no more to destroy my servants whom I have sent unto you to declare good tidings. And it came to pass when they heard this voice, and beheld that it was not a voice of thunder, neither was it a voice of a great tumultuous noise, but behold, it was a still voice of perfect mildness, as if it had been a whisper, and it did pierce even to the very soul.” (Helaman 5:29-30). Nephi and Lehi looked up to heaven, and it appeared they were talking to someone. A bystander in the crowd spoke up saying, “They do converse with the angels of God.” The Lamanites in the prison were filled with the Holy Ghost, as the Holy Spirit of God came down from heaven. Then, they heard a voice saying, “Peace, peace be unto you, because of your faith in my Well Beloved, who was from the foundation of the world.” The word voice appears 16 times in this chapter to emphasize the divine council setting.
There is an account of Heber J. Grant, who was shown a vision of a divine council. He had just been called to the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles at age 25 but felt he wasn’t worthy to be called at such a young age. He said, “When I would testify of my knowledge that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the Living God, the Redeemer of mankind, it seemed as though a voice would say to me: ‘You lie! You lie! You have never seen Him.’”
One day while horseback riding with Brigham Young Jr. and several others, he asked to be alone for a stretch, and the following vision was opened to him:
“As I was riding along to meet them on the other side I seemed to see, and I seemed to hear, what to me is one of the most real things in all my life, I seemed to see a Council in Heaven. I seemed to hear the words that were spoken. I listened to the discussion with a great deal of interest. The First Presidency and the Council of the Twelve Apostles had not been able to agree on two men to fill the vacancies in the Quorum of the Twelve. There had been a vacancy of one for two years, and a vacancy of two for one year, and the Conference had adjourned without the vacancies being filled. In this Council the Savior was present, my father was there, and the Prophet Joseph Smith was there. They discussed the question that a mistake had been made in not filling those two vacancies and that in all probability it would be another six months before the Quorum would be completed, and they discussed as to whom they wanted to occupy those positions, and decided that the way to remedy the mistake that had been made in not filling these vacancies was to send a revelation. It was given to me that I had done nothing to entitle me to that exalted position, except that I had lived a clean, sweet life. It was given to me that because of my father having practically sacrificed his life in what was known as the great Reformation, so to speak, of the people in early days, having been practically a martyr, that the Prophet Joseph and my father desired me to have that position, and it was because of their faithful labors that I was called, and not because of anything I had done of myself or any great thing that I had accomplished. It was also given to me that that was all these men, the Prophet and my father, could do for me; from that day it depended upon me and upon me alone as to whether I made a success of my life or a failure.”
Please see the video below for the full story from “FHE On the Road.” This is a great YouTube channel.
In 1 Kings 22, Micaiah foretells the defeat and death of Ahab, who was king over the northern kingdom of Israel. Ahab was arguably the most wicked king of the northern kingdom. Micaiah sees a divine council:
“And he said, Hear thou therefore the word of the Lord: I saw the Lord sitting on his throne, and all the host of heaven standing by him on his right hand and on his left. And the Lord said, Who shall persuade Ahab, that he may go up and fall at Ramoth-gilead? And one said on this manner, and another said on that manner” (1 Kings 22:19-20).
This is another theophany with God sitting on His throne surrounded by angelic members of the council. The punishment of Ahab is being discussed. According to the King James Version, one of the spirits came forth and volunteered to be a “lying spirit” to persuade Ahab to go to battle against Ramoth-gilead. 1 Kings 22:23 states, “Now therefore, behold, the Lord hath put a lying spirit in the mouth of all these thy prophets.” But the Study Helps for these chapters explains that the Joseph Smith Translation of 2 Chronicles 18:20-22 clarifies that the Lord found a lying spirit among Ahab’s prophets rather than put a lying spirit in them. Ahab’s false prophets persuaded Ahab to go to battle against the Syrians despite Micaiah’s prophecy that Israel would be defeated and Ahab would die in battle. Ahab went into battle in disguise but was still killed. It should be noted that after Ahab stole the vineyard of Naboth by committing deception and fraud with the help of his wife Jezebel that Elijah prophesied his death and that dogs would lick up his blood. Ahab had already been warned and given multiple chances to repent.
Sometimes divine council experiences seem to transcend the veil as recollections of the premortal world. President Henry B. Eyring described such an experience of holiness:
“One experience of wanting more holiness came for me in the Salt Lake Temple. I entered the temple for the first time having been told little of what to expect. I had seen the words on the building: ‘Holiness to the Lord’ and ‘The House of the Lord.’ I felt a great sense of anticipation. Yet I wondered if I was prepared to enter.
My mother and father walked ahead of me as we entered the temple. We were asked to show our recommends, certifying our worthiness.
My parents knew the man at the recommend desk. So they lingered a moment to speak with him. I went ahead alone into a large space where everything was sparkling white. I looked up at a ceiling so high above me it seemed an open sky. In that moment, a clear impression came to me that I had been there before.
But then, I heard a very soft voice—it was not my own. The softly spoken words were these: ‘You have never been here before. You are remembering a moment before you were born. You were in a sacred place like this. You felt the Savior was about to come into the place where you stood. And you felt happiness because you were eager to see Him.’
That experience in the Salt Lake Temple lasted only a moment. Yet the memory of it still brings peace, joy, and quiet happiness.”
