In an article by Scot Proctor, he went through a lot of ideas about the possible date for the restoration of the Melchizedek Priesthood, narrowing it down to May 29, 1829 [1].  It is an excellent article.  If you haven’t read it, I would suggest that you do.  (https://latterdaysaintmag.com/determining-the-date-of-the-melchizedek-priesthood-restoration/   The purpose of this article is not to rehash what he has already said but to possibly add some additional insight.

            I served my mission in the Rochester, New York Mission.  In the spring, I was transferred to Binghamton, New York.  Our mission boundaries were based on stake boundaries, and the southern boundary of my area extended quite a few miles into Pennsylvania.  However, we were on bikes and didn’t go there too often. 

Colesville, the town where the Colesville saints were from, was part of my area.  It is a beautiful area that is quite rural.  Towns in New York, as in many of the early colonies, were areas that were designated towns, though they were not urban.  Sometimes, these were referred to as townships.  I remember the first time my companion and I went to the “town” of Colesville.  We found it to be a rural area, not a “town” as we used in our vernacular.

A quick look at the makeup and history of Colesville shows it to be an area of 79.2 square miles, with a population of 2,389, as recorded in the 1830 census.  The population has gone up and down, with the 2020 census showing 4,877 [2].

            Colesville is a beautiful area northeast of Binghamton.  It was about ten miles from our apartment to the boundary of Colesville, so if my companion and I biked there to work, we would make a day of it.  We once had a ward social at a park there alongside a beautiful flowing stream. 

Two rivers flow through and along the Colesville area.  Flowing through Colesville toward the south is the Susquehanna River.  To the west of Colesville is the Chenango River.   These two rivers join at Binghamton.  To get to Harmony from Colesville, a person would have to travel south and west.

In the springtime, the year I was there, the Susquehanna River, joined by the Chenango River, flooded widely beyond its low-level banks, creating a marshy area along much of its length.  This is quite common.

Binghamton hosts a strawberry festival, a wonderfully fun event with street vendors and lots of good food.  Of course, there is about every kind of strawberry dessert a person could ever want.  Add to that the New York-style hot dogs made with beef and sausage, covered in a myriad of spices, along with many varieties of the Coney dog, and a person could experience some incredible cuisine.  It’s good my companion and I were biking everywhere, or I probably would have come home much heavier from my mission than when I left.

The strawberry festival is typically held in mid-to-late June, although strawberries can be found for sale much sooner.  This gives the rivers time to subside by the time it is held.  This is important, because one of the big events is the river regatta.  People make boats, or more accurately, floating objects, to traverse down the river from the starting point to the finish line.

Floating bathtubs with sails rigged up, barrel rafts, and every other imaginable and unimaginable thing that will float are used.  There are prizes for innovation, and everyone has a good time.  However, many of these watercraft don’t make it the full length of the course, and the participants have to be pulled from the river.  If the water was high like it often was in the spring, the regatta would be dangerous.

So, what does this have to do with the restoration of the Melchizedek Priesthood?  The year I was in Binghamton, the rivers flooded wide and marshy until a couple of weeks into June.  If the time of the restoration of the priesthood was on or near May 29th, as Scot Proctor’s research suggests, that would mean the rivers were probably still in the flood stage.  As his article tells us, at this time Joseph and Oliver were being held in Colesville, and they were informed a mob had gathered to hang them.  They escaped out a window and went to the woods, heading toward Harmony. [1] 

To get to Harmony, they would likely have had to pass through some tough, swampy areas, making travel hard and exhausting.  According to Scot’s article, Addison Everett, a contemporary of Joseph Smith, wrote in a letter about overhearing a conversation between Joseph and Hyrum.  Talking about what Joseph said, he wrote (spelling and grammar unchanged):

 “…Joseph and Oliver went to the woods in a few rods, it being night, and they traveled until Oliver was exhausted and Joseph almost carried him through mud and water. They traveled all night and just at the break of day Oliver gave out entirely and exclaimed O Lord, How long Brother Joseph have we got to endure this thing.’” [1]

The fact that Joseph and Oliver were traveling through mud and water would match the May 29th date, as the rivers would have made the passage difficult and marshy.

Another insight we can consider pertains to what is stated in the scriptures.  In the Doctrine and Covenants, section 128, parts of verses 20 and 21, we find some interesting points. 

D&C 128:20  . . . The voice of Michael on the banks of the Susquehanna, detecting the devil when he appeared as an angel of light! The voice of Peter, James, and John in the wilderness between Harmony, Susquehanna county, and Colesville, Broome county, on the Susquehanna river, declaring themselves as possessing the keys of the kingdom, and of the dispensation of the fulness of times!

D&C 128:21  . . . And the voice of Michael, the archangel; the voice of Gabriel, and of Raphael, . . .

What makes these sections of scripture interesting and possibly tied together is the calling of these angels in relation to the events unfolding at this time.  As Scot points out in his article, Michael, whom we know is Adam, has the assignment to defend against Satan.  He mentions that Dr. Alonzo L. Gaskill says (spelling and grammar unchanged):

“Lucifer tried to deceive Joseph and Oliver in their frightened and exhausted state by giving them a false revelation. At that very moment Adam appeared and cast Satan out.”[1]

On my mission, one of the things we were taught was to be careful to take care of our health, because Satan will try to take advantage of us in a weakened state to deceive or destroy us.  Some missionaries would fast for days, thinking it was spiritually beneficial.  Because of this, we were directed never to go more than 24 hours without food.

Most members of the church are likely already aware of the information about Michael, and it is not new to us. However, I want to consider the scripture in Doctrine and Covenants 128, section 21. 

D&C 128:21  . . . And the voice of Michael, the archangel; the voice of Gabriel, and of Raphael, . . .

The scripture once again mentions Michael, but it adds Gabriel and Raphael.  We are familiar with Gabriel.  He is the messenger that was sent to Zacharias to tell him that Elizabeth would have a child. 

Luke 1:19 And the angel answering said unto him, I am Gabriel, that stand in the presence of God; and am sent to speak unto thee, and to shew thee these glad tidings.

He was also the one who came to Mary to tell her she would be the mother of the Savior.  As she questioned how she could have a child without a man, he explained the work of the Lord to her and how it would come to pass.

We have one other person Gabriel is mentioned to have visited in the Bible.  When Daniel was pondering the meaning of his vision, Gabriel came to explain it to him.

Daniel 8:15 And it came to pass, when I, even I Daniel, had seen the vision, and sought for the meaning, then, behold, there stood before me as the appearance of a man.

Daniel 8:16 And I heard a man’s voice between the banks of Ulai, which called, and said, Gabriel, make this man to understand the vision.

Gabriel then explains the vision to Daniel. 

Returning to Gabriel speaking to Zacharias, he says,

Luke 1:19 And the angel answering said unto him, I am Gabriel, that stand in the presence of God; and am sent to speak unto thee, and to shew thee these glad tidings.

It appears that Gabriel, whom we know from modern revelation is Noah, has the assignment to announce important events and/or give understanding and explanation about visions or things that have or are going to happen.  He stands in the presence of God and is sent as God’s messenger to those whom God needs to understand these things.

The last one mentioned, Raphael, is an angel who is rarely mentioned in our church.  However, in the Catholic and some protestant churches, his role is considered of great significance.  In our scripture study guide, the only mention of him is in reference to the aforementioned Doctrine and Covenants 128, and the study guide, https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/gs/raphael, simply says: “An angel of the Lord who participated in the restoration of all things.”

There may be a good reason that the Lord has not disclosed more about Raphael in His modern church.  I will discuss this more later.  However, for now, it would be good to examine what the Catholic Church says about him.

In the Catholic Church, angels have a hierarchy.  At the top level are Michael, Gabriel, Raphael, and Uriel. Although we don’t speak of Raphael other than in Doctrine and Covenants 128 as previously mentioned, nor of Uriel at all, they are included in the Apocryphal books, which the Prophet Joseph was told we should carefully study by the Spirit [3]

D&C 191:1 Verily, thus saith the Lord unto you concerning the Apocrypha —There are many things contained therein that are true, and it is mostly translated correctly;

D&C 191:2 There are many things contained therein that are not true, which are interpolations by the hands of men.

D&C 191:4 Therefore, whoso readeth it, let him understand, for the Spirit manifest eth truth;

D&C 191:5 And whoso is enlightened by the Spirit shall obtain benefit therefrom;

D&C 191:6 And whoso receiveth not by the Spirit, cannot be benefited. Therefore it is not needful that it should be translated. Amen.

Though Uriel is not part of our discussion here, the reading about him is fascinating.  His name is derived from the Hebrew אוּרִיאֵל and means “God is my light.” It is also translated as “Fire of God.”  He is considered the angel of wisdom. (https://www.christianity.com/wiki/angels-and-demons/who-is-the-archangel-uriel.html). [3]

Raphael, who is part of this discussion, is considered the angel of healing and can be found in the Dead Sea Scrolls [4]  Raphael’s name itself means “God Heals” [5].

According to Hopler, Raphael is a compassionate angel who can assist people who are struggling physically, mentally, emotionally, or spiritually.  Also, Raphael brings people closer to God and helps them find the peace God wants them to have [5].

Raphael appears in the Book of Tobit in the Catholic and Orthodox Christian religions, as well as in the Book of Enoch and Jewish texts.  He is also found in the Muslim faith.  In The Hadith, a collection of the Prophet Muhammad’s traditions, Raphael is listed as the angel who will blow the trumpet to announce that Judgment Day is coming [5].

Hopler also tells us that people seek out Raphael for healing [5].  It is easy to find lists of Catholic prayers to Raphael, whom they revere as a saint, for everything from healing to helping find a spouse [6].  We could write a book about Raphael, but the real point here is that his primary assignment is viewed as that of an angel who heals.

One thing to note is the tendency of those in the Catholic Church to pray to Raphael, which might be why he is relatively unknown in our church.  We know that we pray to God in the name of Jesus Christ, and to no one else.  It is only according to God’s will that angels carry out their assignments.

So, where am I going with all of this?  I think Doctrine and Covenants 128, verse 21 doesn’t just happen to mention Gabriel and Raphael randomly with Michael.  Michael is mentioned in the previous scripture, and we understand it is in the wilderness between Colesville and Harmony.  He comes to thwart Satan’s plan against Joseph and Oliver.  But then, when the three angels are mentioned together in the following scripture, it appears there is a reason.

Putting their assignments together indicates to me that in Joseph and Oliver’s weakened state, Satan came to cause problems.  At that point, Michael came to thwart Satan.  I believe that something as important as the Melchizedek Priesthood, which is God’s power to do His work and seal His covenants with His children, warranted Gabriel’s appearance to announce and explain the priesthood’s importance, and possibly even give some direction on how to use it.

I think that then, in Joseph and Oliver’s weakened state, God sent Raphael to heal them.  There is an indication this healing occurred in the letter Addison Everett wrote, referring to the Prophet Joseph’s account of the event.  In his letter, he mentions Oliver eventually collapsing and Joseph trying to carry him further through the mud.  However, after all that happened there and the priesthood was given, Brother Everett says, “They had 16 or 17 miles to travel to get back to Mr. Hale’s, his father-in-law, and Oliver did not complain any more of fatigue” [1].  This indicates that Oliver was likely healed.  Whether it was done by Raphael or not, we don’t know, but if that truly is Raphael’s assignment, it is very likely.

It is also possible, in the order of events, that Raphael came before Peter, James, and John, or Gabriel came to instruct them, but that is not important here.  The important thing to note is that this scripture indicates God protected, taught, and healed His servants so they could do the work He needed them to do.  And once they had the Melchizedek Priesthood, they could then use it to protect themselves against Satan and to heal others.

One final note here also comes from Scot’s article, as mentioned by Dr. Alonzo Gaskill.  The very next section of the Doctrine and Covenants, section 129, is the section on discerning spirits.  This section is to help all of us know how to detect Satan and his followers, who appear as angels of light, so we are not deceived.  That is probably not a simple coincidence. [1]   

References

[1]        Scot Facer Proctor, “Determining the Date of the Melchizedek Priesthood Restoration,” LatterDaySaintMag.com. Accessed: Apr. 05, 2025. [Online]. Available: https://latterdaysaintmag.com/determining-the-date-of-the-melchizedek-priesthood-restoration/

[2]        “Colesville, NY,” Wikipedia. Accessed: Apr. 05, 2025. [Online]. Available: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colesville,_New_York

[3]        “Archangel.” Accessed: Apr. 11, 2025. [Online]. Available: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Archangel

[4]        Cecilia Wassen, “Angel in the Dead Sea Scrolls,” in Deuterocanonical and Cognate  Literature Yearbook 2007. Angels: The Concept of Celelstial Beings-Origins, Development and  Reception., F. Reiterer, T. Nichlas, and K. Schöpflin, Eds., New York: Atlanta, GA: Scholars Press, 1985, pp. 499–523.

[5]        W. Hopler, “Meet Archangel Raphael, the Angel of Healing.” Accessed: Apr. 05, 2025. [Online]. Available: https://www.learnreligions.com/meet-archangel-raphael-angel-of-healing-124716

[6]        “Prayers to Raphael.” Accessed: Apr. 05, 2025. [Online]. Available: https://yourprayernow.com/st-raphael-the-archangel-prayer