D&C 10. Part 5. Verses 30-41.

This segment of the revelation continues the discussion of the manuscript thieves and their designs in using it. The role of Satan in the theft or at least in the plans for using the manuscript is fleshed out. There is some hint at the content of the lost manuscript and it appears that in some ways if must be inferior to the proposed alternate text. As usual, changes from the 1833 Book of Commandments and the 1835 Doctrine and Covenants are indicated in red. We discuss some aspects of these following the comparative text. While the text on the right is from the 1835 publication, we have inserted modern verse numbers in the 1835 text for easy reference.

Free will and foreknowledge

Joseph Smith (JS) seemed comfortable postulating both that mankind generally, with exceptions, have free choice (at least internal moral choice) and that God has perfect foreknowledge. Although perhaps the latter can be (and has been) debated in some sense. Of course there are more complex shades of meaning here.