Did Joseph Smith teach Adam-God?

[Dario_M]

Adam is not God. You got to be kidding. 🤦‍♂️

Edited March 11, 2023 by Dario_M

[Tacenda]

7 minutes ago, Dario_M said:

Adam is not God. You got to be kidding. 🤦‍♂️

If you read the full article of Joseph Smith's King Follett sermon, you can see why Grug and Brigham Young might be steered to believe Adam is God or a God. I sat in a dramatized version of this at Nauvoo a few years ago. They had an actor play Joseph Smith. Yet in all my 40 or so years of membership I hadn't known of this sermon by Joseph Smith. And now I wonder how much the church wants it out there for the world to see, which was why I was so surprised that they had the enactment in Nauvoo, Illinois. Here is the website for reference. https://www.josephsmithjr.org/king-follett-sermon-transcription/

God and Exalted Man
First, God himself, who sits enthroned in yonder heavens, is a man like unto one of yourselves, that is the great secret. If the vail was rent to-day, and the great God, who holds this world in its orbit, and upholds all things by his power; if you were to see him to-day, you would see him in all the person, image and very form as a man; for Adam was created in the very fashion and image of God; Adam received instruction, walked, talked and conversed with him, as one man talkes and communes with another.

In order to understand the subject of the dead, for the consolation of those who mourn for the loss of their friends, it is necessary they should understand the character and being of God, for I am going to tell you how God came to be God. We have imagined that God was God from all eternity. These are incomprehensible ideas to some, but they are the simple and first principles of the gospel, to know for a certainty the character of God, that we may converse with him as one man with another, and that God himself; the Father of us all dwelt on an earth the same as Jesus Christ himself did, and I will show it from the Bible. I wish I had the trump of an arch angel, I could tell the story in such a manner that persecution would cease forever; what did Jesus say? (mark it elder [Sidney] Rigdon;) Jesus said, as the Father hath power in himself, even so hath the Son power; to do what? why what the Father did, that answer is obvious; in a manner to lay down his body and take it up again.

Jesus what are you going to do? To lay down my life, as my Father did, and take it up again.— If you do not believe it, you do not believe the Bible; the scriptures say it, and I defy all the learning and wisdom, all the combined powers of earth and hell together, to refute it. Here then is eternal life, to know the only wise and true God. You have got to learn how to be Gods yourselves; to be kings and priests to God, the same as all Gods have done; by going from a small degree to another, from grace to grace, from exaltation to exaltation, until you are able to sit in glory as doth those who sit enthroned in everlasting power; and I want you to know that God in the last days, while certain individuals are proclaiming his name, is not trifling with you or me; it is the first principles of consolation. How consoling to the mourner, when they are called to part with a husband, wife, father, mother, child or dear relative, to know, that although the earthly tabernacle shall be dissolved, that they shall rise in immortal glory, not to sorrow, suffer or die any more, but they shall be heirs of God and joint heirs with Jesus Christ.

What is it? to inherit the same glory, the same power and the same exaltation, until you ascend the throne of eternal power the same as those who are gone before. What did Jesus do? why I do the things I saw my Father do when worlds came rolling into existence. I saw my Father work out his kingdom with fear and trembling, and I must do the same; and when I get my kingdom I shall present it to my Father, so that he obtains kingdom upon kingdom, and it will exalt his glory, so that Jesus treads in his tracks to inherit what God did before; it is plain beyond disputation, and you thus learn some of the first principles of the gospel, about which so much hath been said. When you climb a ladder, you must begin at the bottom and go on until you learn the last principle; it will be a great while before you have learned the last. It is not all to be comprehended in this world; it is a great thing to learn salvation beyond the grave. I suppose I am not allowed to go into an investigation of any thing that is not contained in the Bible, and I think there are so many wise men here, who would put me to death for treason; so I shall turn commentator to-day; I shall comment on the very first Hebrew word in the Bible; I will make a comment on the very first sentence of the history of creation in the Bible, Berosheit. I want to analyze the word; baith, in, by, through, in, and every thing else. Rosh, the head. Sheit, gramatical termination. When the inspired man wrote it, he did not put the baith there. A man, a Jew without any authority, thought it too bad to begin to talk abut the head. It read first, ‘The head one of the Gods brought forth the Gods,’ that is the true meaning of the words.

[Dario_M]

33 minutes ago, Tacenda said:

If you read the full article of Joseph Smith's King Follett sermon, you can see why Grug and Brigham Young might be steered to believe Adam is God or a God. I sat in a dramatized version of this at Nauvoo a few years ago. They had an actor play Joseph Smith. Yet in all my 40 or so years of membership I hadn't known of this sermon by Joseph Smith. And now I wonder how much the church wants it out there for the world to see, which was why I was so surprised that they had the enactment in Nauvoo, Illinois. Here is the website for reference. https://www.josephsmithjr.org/king-follett-sermon-transcription/

God and Exalted Man
First, God himself, who sits enthroned in yonder heavens, is a man like unto one of yourselves, that is the great secret. If the vail was rent to-day, and the great God, who holds this world in its orbit, and upholds all things by his power; if you were to see him to-day, you would see him in all the person, image and very form as a man; for Adam was created in the very fashion and image of God; Adam received instruction, walked, talked and conversed with him, as one man talkes and communes with another.

In order to understand the subject of the dead, for the consolation of those who mourn for the loss of their friends, it is necessary they should understand the character and being of God, for I am going to tell you how God came to be God. We have imagined that God was God from all eternity. These are incomprehensible ideas to some, but they are the simple and first principles of the gospel, to know for a certainty the character of God, that we may converse with him as one man with another, and that God himself; the Father of us all dwelt on an earth the same as Jesus Christ himself did, and I will show it from the Bible. I wish I had the trump of an arch angel, I could tell the story in such a manner that persecution would cease forever; what did Jesus say? (mark it elder [Sidney] Rigdon;) Jesus said, as the Father hath power in himself, even so hath the Son power; to do what? why what the Father did, that answer is obvious; in a manner to lay down his body and take it up again.

Jesus what are you going to do? To lay down my life, as my Father did, and take it up again.— If you do not believe it, you do not believe the Bible; the scriptures say it, and I defy all the learning and wisdom, all the combined powers of earth and hell together, to refute it. Here then is eternal life, to know the only wise and true God. You have got to learn how to be Gods yourselves; to be kings and priests to God, the same as all Gods have done; by going from a small degree to another, from grace to grace, from exaltation to exaltation, until you are able to sit in glory as doth those who sit enthroned in everlasting power; and I want you to know that God in the last days, while certain individuals are proclaiming his name, is not trifling with you or me; it is the first principles of consolation. How consoling to the mourner, when they are called to part with a husband, wife, father, mother, child or dear relative, to know, that although the earthly tabernacle shall be dissolved, that they shall rise in immortal glory, not to sorrow, suffer or die any more, but they shall be heirs of God and joint heirs with Jesus Christ.

What is it? to inherit the same glory, the same power and the same exaltation, until you ascend the throne of eternal power the same as those who are gone before. What did Jesus do? why I do the things I saw my Father do when worlds came rolling into existence. I saw my Father work out his kingdom with fear and trembling, and I must do the same; and when I get my kingdom I shall present it to my Father, so that he obtains kingdom upon kingdom, and it will exalt his glory, so that Jesus treads in his tracks to inherit what God did before; it is plain beyond disputation, and you thus learn some of the first principles of the gospel, about which so much hath been said. When you climb a ladder, you must begin at the bottom and go on until you learn the last principle; it will be a great while before you have learned the last. It is not all to be comprehended in this world; it is a great thing to learn salvation beyond the grave. I suppose I am not allowed to go into an investigation of any thing that is not contained in the Bible, and I think there are so many wise men here, who would put me to death for treason; so I shall turn commentator to-day; I shall comment on the very first Hebrew word in the Bible; I will make a comment on the very first sentence of the history of creation in the Bible, Berosheit. I want to analyze the word; baith, in, by, through, in, and every thing else. Rosh, the head. Sheit, gramatical termination. When the inspired man wrote it, he did not put the baith there. A man, a Jew without any authority, thought it too bad to begin to talk abut the head. It read first, ‘The head one of the Gods brought forth the Gods,’ that is the true meaning of the words.

Yeah..i don't really buy this. I have asked my missionaries about this matter and they looked at me as if i whas getting a little crazy. One of them is from Utah and the other one is from Hawai. Both of my missionaries have the right knowlege to know and to consider the right answers. 

I know for sure that if i tell all my church members tomorrow about this topic and ask them or Adam is God that they will all laugh at me. Maybe my Bishop will stay serious though. Only to be polite offcourse. But apart from that. 

But..Neandertal is ignoring me.  I don't think he will even read this post.

I don't think he get the point at all. He feels himself to good for that maybe. 

Edited March 11, 2023 by Dario_M

[MiserereNobis]

11 minutes ago, Dario_M said:

Yeah..i don't really buy this. I have asked my missionaries about this matter and they looked at me as if i whas getting a little crazy. One of them is from Utah and the other one is from Hawai. Both of my missionaries have the right knowlege to know and to consider the right answers. 

I know for sure that if i tell all my church members tomorrow about this topic and ask them or Adam is God that they will all laugh at me. Maybe my Bishop will stay serious though. Only to be polite offcourse. But apart from that. 

But..Neandertal is ignoring me.  I don't think he will even read this post.

I don't think he get the point at all. He feels himself to good for that maybe. 

Hey Dario, I started another thread about conversions to the LDS faith. I wouldn't mind you sharing your experience there if you'd like. I bring up the issue of new converts maybe not having enough exposure to the practices, doctrines, and history of the LDS church before they join.

[Grug the Neanderthal]

1 hour ago, Dario_M said:

But..Neandertal is ignoring me.  I don't think he will even read this post.

I don't think he get the point at all. He feels himself to good for that maybe. 

It’s not personal Dario, I just don’t feel inclined to respond to you in light of your downvotes and heckling comments. It’s not because I think I’m too good for you, it’s that I don’t see any value in conversing with you when you act this way. 

Like I said before, I’m happy to converse with you if you get it together and knock this stuff off, but I until then, I’ll pass. 
 

 

[Dario_M]

1 hour ago, MiserereNobis said:

Hey Dario, I started another thread about conversions to the LDS faith. I wouldn't mind you sharing your experience there if you'd like. I bring up the issue of new converts maybe not having enough exposure to the practices, doctrines, and history of the LDS church before they join.

😉

[Grug the Neanderthal]

Cool Dario, yet another downvote. That will surely convince me that there’s value in conversing with you. 

Another downvote incoming…

[Dario_M]

8 minutes ago, Grug the Neanderthal said:

It’s not personal Dario, I just don’t feel inclined to respond to you in light of your downvotes and heckling comments. It’s not because I think I’m too good for you, it’s that I don’t see any value in conversing with you when you act this way. 

Like I said before, I’m happy to converse with you if you get it together and knock this stuff off, but I until then, I’ll pass. 
 

 

Sorry i can't take this anymore Neanderthal. I just can not read this contemptuous tone of yours against me. 

You must be feeling prity prity big, right, and especially GO(O)D, aren't you? You know it all so well. 

Maybe the name of this topic should not even be called Adam-God but insted Grug-God.

I am actually a bit done with you Neanderthal for the moment sadly. 

Good day too you. ✝️

[Dario_M]

@Grug the Neanderthal Yeah and if you will continieu with this contemptuous behavoir against me i will give you another downvote as well indeed. 

Edited March 11, 2023 by Dario_M

[Pyreaux]

5 hours ago, Dario_M said:

Yeah..i don't really buy this. I have asked my missionaries about this matter and they looked at me as if i whas getting a little crazy. One of them is from Utah and the other one is from Hawai. Both of my missionaries have the right knowlege to know and to consider the right answers. 

I know for sure that if i tell all my church members tomorrow about this topic and ask them or Adam is God that they will all laugh at me. Maybe my Bishop will stay serious though. Only to be polite offcourse. But apart from that. 

But..Neandertal is ignoring me.  I don't think he will even read this post.

I don't think he get the point at all. He feels himself to good for that maybe. 

Officially, in the Church, Adam is not God, you are doing well for standing up as the voice of orthodoxy. As a new convert, it will serve you well and keep you safe from possible heresy. The Prophet, your bishop, every missionary and maybe your entire ward will agree with you.

What we are doing is trying to understand the origin and meaning of the theory. Doing so makes the issue complicated, sometimes we sound crazy and incoherent. We consider, what is an "Adam"? What is a "god"? Is every human an "Adam"? Is every exalted human a "god" of sorts? Is God a human and when was that? Before the creation of earth or after? Asking these questions alter our perception of the issue and expands our understanding. Each time Grug says Adam is God, he knows he's flirting with heresy, he's just trying to understand the truth, which is a noble pursuit. He knows he could be completely correct and still be deemed a heretic by the church and all his peers.

It is wise for you to ignore him, even if we continue to engage with him. I am proud that you are standing for truth as you know and understand it. Sometimes it can be a better quality than to adopt our unskillful curiosity that could lead us astray, if we allowed it. Since it is a heresy in the church, no matter right or wrong, God will more likely punish us than you, God could probably end up giving Grug 1 point and a pat on the back for being clever, -1 point for not following the modern Prophet. Perhaps knowledge will have to be its own reward for his effort.

Edited March 11, 2023 by Pyreaux

[Grug the Neanderthal]

12 minutes ago, Dario_M said:

@Grug the Neanderthal Yeah and if you will continieu with this contemptuous behavoir against me i will give you another downvote as well indeed. 

So you downvote multiple posts of mine, some which weren’t even directed at you, and make several condescending or heckling remarks towards me. Then when I ask you to stop or I’ll ignore you, you downvote that request and keep doing it. And then complain that I’m ignoring you because I think I’m too good.

Then when I reach out again to try and help you see why I’m not responding and again ask you to stop this behavior, you respond with more downvotes and accuse me of being contemptuous. 

My offer still stands. I’m happy to converse with you again, if you knock this stuff off, but until then I’m out. 

 

 

[CA Steve]

1 hour ago, Dario_M said:

Yeah..i don't really buy this. I have asked my missionaries about this matter and they looked at me as if i whas getting a little crazy. One of them is from Utah and the other one is from Hawai. Both of my missionaries have the right knowlege to know and to consider the right answers. 

Dario,

For what it is worth, many of the people posting here were also missionaries. I was and I can tell you that most missionaries really are not well informed about the doctrine and history of the church. I know I wasn't. 

 

[JLHPROF]

51 minutes ago, CA Steve said:

Dario,

For what it is worth, many of the people posting here were also missionaries. I was and I can tell you that most missionaries really are not well informed about the doctrine and history of the church. I know I wasn't. 

 

That's an understatement.  Most missionaries have only understanding of the milk, the first principles.  They know very little about the meat.

[Tacenda]

1 hour ago, Grug the Neanderthal said:

So you downvote multiple posts of mine, some which weren’t even directed at you, and make several condescending or heckling remarks towards me. Then when I ask you to stop or I’ll ignore you, you downvote that request and keep doing it. And then complain that I’m ignoring you because I think I’m too good.

Then when I reach out again to try and help you see why I’m not responding and again ask you to stop this behavior, you respond with more downvotes and accuse me of being contemptuous. 

My offer still stands. I’m happy to converse with you again, if you knock this stuff off, but until then I’m out. 

 

 

What do you want Grug? Just someone saying that it's true Joseph taught it? Or will you accept that he and BY taught it but that it isn't really true, because if you think it is, then you're throwing the current leadership under the bus, IMO. It sounds to me like you need it to be true. If you feel gas lit I would totally back you on it, because I've felt that way on the board when discussing things that some say isn't true yet I've shown it is. For instance back in 2012 I brought up Joseph Smith's method for translating with the hat the BoM and I was told it wasn't true on this board.

Edited March 11, 2023 by Tacenda

[Grug the Neanderthal]

6 minutes ago, Tacenda said:

What do you want Grug?

What I want is genuine discussion about the topic, where people actually consider the evidence for (and against) Adam-God and discuss it intelligently and civilly, rather than instantly putting up walls and gaslighting (to use your term) or lashing out because the evidence and its possible implications make them uncomfortable. But perhaps that is asking for too much. 

[Benjamin Seeker]

5 hours ago, Grug the Neanderthal said:

There are statements by Joseph Smith that appear to have Christ above Adam in authority, but there are also statements by Joseph Smith that appear to have Adam above Christ in authority. 

Joseph’s statement that "Christ is the great high priest, Adam next" is typically interpreted to mean that Christ is higher in authority to Adam, but it can also be understood the other way around. 

The quote you are referring to says:

"Adam delivers up his stewardship to Christ, that which was delivered to him as holding the keys of the universe, but retains his standing as head of the human family."

It doesn’t say that Adam returns the keys of the universe to Christ. It says that he delivers these keys up to him. Big difference in my opinion. 

Adam holding the keys of the universe, sounds like Adam is God the Father. This would at least make him a member of the Godhead, right? He can’t be Christ, so if he’s not the Father, then does that make him the Holy Ghost? 

If Adam is one of the three Gods who created the world, which God is he? And where does he fit in this statement by Joseph Smith:

"Everlasting covenant was made between three personages before the organization of this earth, and relates to their dispensation of things to men on the earth; these personages, according to Abraham's record, are called God the first, the Creator; God the second, the Redeemer; and God the third, the witness or Testator." (TPJS, p. 190)

God the First, the Creator, is Heavenly Father, right?

God the Second, the Redeemer, is Jesus Christ, right?

God the Third, the witness or testator, is the Holy Ghost, right? 

Where is Adam (one of the Gods of creation) in this group? 

Im sure there are more quotes, at the very least the one that talks about Noah being after Adam, and Adam being after Christ.

Where does Adam fit? My best guess is that he fits in that third position somehow, Holy Ghosting it up in some mysterious way, though aside from the endowment, I’ve seen no indication from JS teachings, quotes, etc. that he taught that. 

[Grug the Neanderthal]

52 minutes ago, Benjamin Seeker said:

Where does Adam fit? My best guess is that he fits in that third position somehow, Holy Ghosting it up in some mysterious way

So do you actually believe that Adam is the Holy Ghost then? Or what are you suggesting?

57 minutes ago, Benjamin Seeker said:

I’ve seen no indication from JS teachings, quotes, etc. that he taught that. 

I agree.

I would say that the statements from Joseph Smith and the scriptures about Adam are much more easily reconciled with Adam being God the Father, than Adam being the Holy Ghost. 

[Benjamin Seeker]

6 hours ago, Grug the Neanderthal said:

There are statements by Joseph Smith that appear to have Christ above Adam in authority, but there are also statements by Joseph Smith that appear to have Adam above Christ in authority. 

Joseph’s statement that "Christ is the great high priest, Adam next" is typically interpreted to mean that Christ is higher in authority to Adam, but it can also be understood the other way around. 

The quote you are referring to says:

"Adam delivers up his stewardship to Christ, that which was delivered to him as holding the keys of the universe, but retains his standing as head of the human family."

It doesn’t say that Adam returns the keys of the universe to Christ. It says that he delivers these keys up to him. Big difference in my opinion. 

Adam holding the keys of the universe, sounds like Adam is God the Father. This would at least make him a member of the Godhead, right? He can’t be Christ, so if he’s not the Father, then does that make him the Holy Ghost? 

If Adam is one of the three Gods who created the world, which God is he? And where does he fit in this statement by Joseph Smith:

"Everlasting covenant was made between three personages before the organization of this earth, and relates to their dispensation of things to men on the earth; these personages, according to Abraham's record, are called God the first, the Creator; God the second, the Redeemer; and God the third, the witness or Testator." (TPJS, p. 190)

God the First, the Creator, is Heavenly Father, right?

God the Second, the Redeemer, is Jesus Christ, right?

God the Third, the witness or testator, is the Holy Ghost, right? 

Where is Adam (one of the Gods of creation) in this group? 

Hey Grug, I owe you a better response. Here is an important discourse from JS that will help us move the conversation forward. This is from the site boap.org that is an awesome resource for all of the different notes people took on JS’ discourses.

 

Instructions delivered sometime in July 1839 

 

Source: Willard Richards Pocket Companion, probably copied in part from notes of John Taylor. The sermon was widely copied in England. See, for example, Samuel W. Richards notebook, MS 1841, Church History Library, Salt Lake City, UT.

 

Adam is Michael

 

The Priesthood was.

¶ first given to Adam: he obtained the first Presidency & held the Keys of it, from generation to Generation; he obtained it in the creation before the world was formed as in Gen. 1, 26:28,--he had dominion given him over every living Creature. He is Michael, the Archangel, spoken of in the Scriptures,--

 

Noah is Gabriel

Then to Noah who is Gabriel, he stands next in authority to Adam in the Priesthood; he was called of God to this office & was the Father of all living in his day, & To him was given the Dominion. These men held keys, first on earth, & then in Heaven.--

The Priesthood is an everlasting principle & Existed with God from Eternity & will to Eternity, without beginning of days or end of years. the Keys have to be brought from heaven whenever the Gospel is sent.--

When they are revealed from Heaven it is by Adams Authority. 

 

Eschatological Meeting

¶ Dan VII Speaks of the Ancient of days, he means the oldest man, our Father Adam, Michael; he will call his children together, & hold a council with them to prepare them for the coming of the Son of Man. He, (Adam) is the Father of the human family & presides over the Spirits of all men, & all that have had the Keys must stand before him in this great Council. This may take place before some of us leave this stage of action. The Son of Man stands before him & there is given him glory & dominion.--Adam delivers up his Stewardship to Christ, that which was deliverd to him as holding the Keys of the Universe, but retains his standing as head of the human family.

/end cut and paste.

The first part of the sermon puts Adam at the head and Noah second. Then it goes into the big meeting where Adam gives his stewardship to Christ. You mentioned it doesn’t say that Adam returns the keys which is true, but the word stewardship does indicate that it was something given to him in the first place.

So, where does Christ fit in with Adam first and Noah second? Is Christ third? I think the obvious answer is Christ is above Adam in JS’ understanding, and Adam is returning his stewardship.

[Benjamin Seeker]

3 minutes ago, Grug the Neanderthal said:

So do you actually believe that Adam is the Holy Ghost then? Or what are you suggesting?

I agree.

I would say that the statements from Joseph Smith and the scriptures about Adam are much more easily reconciled with Adam being God the Father, than Adam being the Holy Ghost. 

I don’t have a great guess for what JS intended in terms of Adam’s relationship with the Holy Ghost. But Adam as third in command makes more sense with everything else JS taught. Make sure to check out my other post before this one.
 

The 1st verse in the 2nd chapter of the book of Moses, points in that same direction. It’s says that God created everything through his Only Begotten. If you use that to interpret the endowment you again end up with God the Father telling Christ to go do things and Adam assisting.

[Benjamin Seeker]

One more relevant quote, this one from 1840:

“These angels are under the direction of Michael or Adam who acts under the direction of Christ.”

here’s the link: http://boap.org/LDS/Parallel/1840/5Oct40.html#N_1_

I also noticed that in that 1839 sermon I posted earlier, JS called Michael an archangel, not a title you’d expect for God the Father.

 

[JLHPROF]

22 minutes ago, Benjamin Seeker said:

One more relevant quote, this one from 1840:

“These angels are under the direction of Michael or Adam who acts under the direction of Christ.”

here’s the link: http://boap.org/LDS/Parallel/1840/5Oct40.html#N_1_

I also noticed that in that 1839 sermon I posted earlier, JS called Michael an archangel, not a title you’d expect for God the Father.

 

Two years before the temple endowment and three years before the King Follett doctrine.

Joseph's theology changed repeatedly.

Edited March 11, 2023 by JLHPROF

[Benjamin Seeker]

4 minutes ago, JLHPROF said:

Two years before the temple endowment and a year before the King Follett doctrine.

Joseph's theology changed repeatedly.

I don’t disagree. However, the whole discussion of Adam as the ancient of days and having the keys of the universe is 1839, a year before this quote. So this one is strong evidence that 1839 shouldn’t be interpreted as teaching Adam-God.

[Benjamin Seeker]

Also, the best precursor and a great summary of King Follett comes in early 1841: http://boap.org/LDS/Parallel/1841/30Jan41.html

My point is, that all of these concepts were evolving at the same time and in this general time period.

I don’t think it’s impossible that JS taught Adam-God as Brigham Young taught it, but as I’ve been trying to show, it seems unlikely. Way more likely that Brigham developed a misunderstanding of what JS had taught, maybe a combination of the endowment and that 1839 sermon on the Adam and priesthood or something similar.

8 minutes ago, JLHPROF said:

Two years before the temple endowment and a year before the King Follett doctrine.

Joseph's theology changed repeatedly.

 

[Grug the Neanderthal]

22 minutes ago, Benjamin Seeker said:

One more relevant quote, this one from 1840:

“These angels are under the direction of Michael or Adam who acts under the direction of Christ.”

here’s the link: http://boap.org/LDS/Parallel/1840/5Oct40.html#N_1_

28 minutes ago, Benjamin Seeker said:

This line was changed slightly in the Manuscript History and later in the published Documented History of the Church. 

These Angels are under the direction of Michael or Adam, who acts under the direction of the Lord.
https://www.josephsmithpapers.org/paper-summary/history-1838-1856-volume-c-1-2-november-1838-31-july-1842/551

Was this change an error or was it correcting a previous error in the record? 
 

29 minutes ago, Benjamin Seeker said:

I also noticed that in that 1839 sermon I posted earlier, JS called Michael an archangel, not a title you’d expect for God the Father.

What does the title archangel mean? 

There are also multiple accounts in the scriptures of the Angel of the LORD appearing to someone and then being referred to as God Himself. Examples include the appearance to Moses in the burning bush, the appearance to Gideon, the appearance to Samson's parents, and the freeing of Abraham from the altar in Egypt. 

[JLHPROF]

5 minutes ago, Benjamin Seeker said:

I don’t disagree. However, the whole discussion of Adam as the ancient of days and having the keys of the universe is 1839, a year before this quote. So this one is strong evidence that 1839 shouldn’t be interpreted as teaching Adam-God.

I agree.  I see no evidence that Joseph understood Adam as Heavenly Father prior to the 1840s.

He did understand that Adam:

1. Was the same being as Michael and the Ancient of Days.
2. That Adam presides over the entire human family.
3. That Adam is actually the head of all dispensations and presides over this creation because:

• Each time priesthood is sent from heaven it's by Adam's authority
• All seven grand dispensations will be turned over/sealed to him at Adam Ondi Ahman
• That he will be the one to bestow Christ's inheritance (ie the family of man) upon the Savior while retaining his position as head of the family

Given these teachings from his actual record it's not hard to see how he may have moved to Adam God a couple of years later.  All the elements are in his recorded teachings except the two or three main ones.  And those exist as hearsay.