Denver Snuffer is a polarizing figure in Mormonism. Many view him as a prophet and many others view him as a false prophet. However, I think the truth is somewhere in the middle. As with all things there is some truth mixed with error and our job is to find the truth in the pile of garbage.
Denver
It is not my intention to discuss who Denver is and whether his overall claims are true or not. I think many of the things that Denver has discussed in his books and lectures are true and helpful. However, I believe many of them are misleading as well. I also believe Denver could very literally have seen God as he claims. God manifests himself to many people regardless of church affiliation or personal circumstances. God’s ways are certainly not our ways.
The problem though is assuming that once you see God, then everything you do from that point on is God’s will. It can certainly be hard to determine truth when there is so much conflicting noise. This struggle however in determining truth is exactly what makes us the type of people that God wants us to be. To begin, it is helpful to note that in Denver’s Lecture 10, he mentions that we can disagree with him however we must be careful because if we do so then we can incur the divine wrath of God. He mentions:
The Lord has said to me in His own voice, “I will bless those who bless you, and curse those who curse you.” Therefore, I want to caution those who disagree with me, to feel free, to feel absolutely free to make the case against what I say. … But take care; take care about what you say concerning me for your sake, not for mine. … I do not want you provoking Divine ire by unfortunately chosen words if I can persuade you against it.
Denver Snuffer – Lecture 10
It seems Denver is fine with people disagreeing with him. However, if we do so then we get on God’s bad side which is obviously a problem. This is then directly implying that in most cases Denver and God agree perfectly. Therefore, disagreeing with Denver is disagreeing with God. In looking at other aspects of Denver, then it seems that he doesn’t claim to be a prophet. However, he certainly has no qualms with people in his groups referring to him as a prophet.
He also has allowed his writings to be canonized as scripture in his movement. In some of the revelations it even mentions that God commands the writings to be canonized as scripture. In one of these revelations, Denver mentions that God changed his name to David. This is presumably with the intent that Denver could be labelled the prophesied Davidic Servant at some time. However, to my knowledge Denver has never officially made this claim.
Getting a name change from God though is no small thing if it is true. Denver in his revelation initially said he didn’t want the name of David because he thought it was a negative sign, but eventually relented. I am not sure about anyone else, however if God gave me a name, any name, I would gladly own it and thank him for it. It certainly appears to be a bit of false modesty if he does come out and claim to be the Davidic Servant at some time.
Lastly, to my knowledge Denver is still practicing as an attorney and simply moonlights as a prophet during the weekends. There is nothing wrong with this as Paul said in 2 Thessalonians that it is good for people to support themselves. However, Denver does appear to be attempting to build an organized church with conferences, and a temple. This is certainly at a different level than a weekend side job would suggest. There is certainly nothing wrong with this specifically, however it does appear to be trading one set of LDS problems for another set of LDS problems. Does God want us to go from Brigham-LDS to Denver-LDS?
It is also interesting how Denver received a commandment to build a temple in 2018, condemned the Nauvoo saints for being slothful about their temple, and then now 6 years later nothing has been done about their temple. If God is speaking to Denver and God wants a temple then shouldn’t Denver be out there doing whatever he can to build that temple? Instead, he is spending his time as an attorney presumably making a lot of money in the pursuit of Babylon. The Nauvoo members were rejected for not building their temple, however it seems Denver’s group is not held to the same standards.
Covenant of Christ
For some time, Denver had been working on a new modernized English translation of the Book of Mormon. On June 20th, 2024, Denver said that he received word that this new translation was acceptable to God. This new version, called the Covenant of Christ, was also to be viewed as binding new scripture for the people. Without a doubt this must have been a large undertaking. I can certainly understand why they felt the need to do this. Currently, there are a few different modernized versions which some people find easier to read.
As many know today, the current King James wording can be hard to get into and hard to understand at times. This is why people will commonly skip over the Isaiah parts of the Book of Mormon. However, these are some of the most pertinent parts for us today. Denver’s new edition does honestly read a little smoother and can be easier to understand for certain things. However, I believe this is ultimately the undoing of the entire project.
The Book of Mormon was translated by Joseph directly from reformed Egyptian into English. This was through divine assistance under the supervision of God. Joseph was able to do this and keep the chronology, geography, and narrative all consistent with no mistakes. The entire process was miraculous and would be very difficult for a team of experts to replicate today. Therefore, it seems safe to assume that God wanted it that way. Certainly, this doesn’t mean it won’t change. However, it does mean we should be very selective in how it changes.
Anytime you translate a text from one language to another, without fail the work will involve a number of assumptions pertaining to the thoughts and beliefs of the translators. For instance, the KJV we have is a wonderful translation however it also reflects the trinitarian beliefs of the scholars at the time. We can however go back to the Hebrew and Greek to understand the original meaning of the authors. This is why we have many improved translations of the Bible today.
The KJV is however superior in the poetic language and really does an amazing job in that regard. Today, if there are any kind of disagreements it is great to consult BibleHub and see the many alternate translations available and see the original meaning. For instance, Acts 8:37 is confusing and some translations skip it altogether. However, we can go to the original Greek to understand what was meant. This however is the fundamental problem with this new translation of the Book of Mormon. There is no original language to go back to besides the English version given to Joseph.
Therefore, any changes are automatically going to be different from what God originally intended. They also very easily can change the text and the intended meaning during the translation process. I have no problems with a new English version, however calling it scripture is entirely misleading. This is exactly what they say on their website:
The Covenant of Christ is a groundbreaking book of sacred writings unlike any other. It was written as scripture for the present day.
Covenant of Christ
I will admit that I have not gone through the new edition in any kind of detail. However, if I did then I am quite confident as to what I will find. From a cursory reading it seems to be generally a good English version. However, it suffers from a fatal flaw that makes it nothing more than a fun book to read for a modern audience that struggles with the older language. For instance, if we look at the original wording for the very first verse in the Book of Mormon, we can see something quite valuable.
I, Nephi, having been born of goodly parents, … nevertheless, having been highly favored of the Lord in all my days;
1 Nephi 1:1
The important phrase is “highly favored of the Lord“. This is incredibly significant with word links to other parts of the scriptures. If we look at Denver’s English version, we can see this completely removed. His version reads:
I Nephi was born to excellent parents … while at the same time I’ve been greatly blessed by the Lord
1 Nephi 1:1 – Covenant of Christ
The phrase “highly favored of the Lord” was changed to “greatly blessed” and as a consequence any potential word links were completely lost. This destruction of word links through the new English version has to be pervasive as the language was greatly changed in some places. This might not seem like a big deal, however blessed has a completely different connotation than favor. There is certainly some overlap, however blessed is a state of mind while favor is a visible attribute. Highly favored is found 7 times in the Book of Mormon, while blessed is found 125 times. They are certainly not the same concept.
If we look at the original version, we can see this phrase “highly favored” of the Lord used in several other places such as Alma 27:30, Ether 1:34, Alma 9:20, Alma 48:20, Alma 13:23, Mosiah 1:13, and even Oliver Cowdrey’s description of Moroni’s visit to Joseph in 1823. The importance of this is described in Alma 9 and tells how being highly favored of the Lord is a very special blessing with associated miracles like visitation of God and angels.
If the word was blessed though, instead of favored, then Alma 9 would be confusing. This is why God chose favored instead of blessed like Denver did. Essentially favored is a very special status within the larger status of blessed. This word link is very important to understand when reading the scriptures.
However, it is completely lost in Denver’s version. For instance, in all the listed scriptures, Denver has changed “highly favored” to either “blessed” or “greatly blessed”. This is an abomination to the original meaning. For instance, I am certainly “blessed” and in some ways “greatly blessed”. However, I am nowhere near the level of saying I am “highly favored of the Lord” like Nephi can. This is the problem when you change the scriptures and then declare your changes to be scriptures themselves. You lose so much of the meaning and importance of what God put there to begin with.
If we let people like Denver continue, then eventually we will get meaningless scriptures that are void of eternal truths. We will get a modern easy to read book that is utterly garbage. God wants to elevate us from our current situation, not get us complacent in it. The book that many will regard as scriptures with divine truth will read something like this:
Yo, I be Nephi with alright parents. … God been good.
1 Nephi 1:1 in the future
God gives us what we want whether good or bad. We absolutely should be careful. We can look at one last change, that Denver has made, to illustrate the significant problem with this project. When Christ appeared to the Nephites, he gave them a version of the Beatitudes that is very similar to the one that he gave to the Jewish people during his mortal life. There is really no way to say this other than to mention that the Beatitudes are a work of mastery and contain layer upon layer of meaning. The Bible Project has done deep dives into these, and I would highly recommend their great insights.
If we compare though the version in the Book of Mormon against Denver’s version, then we can see significant changes to the meaning. If we just look at a single verse from the Beatitudes in 3 Nephi 12, then it becomes clear. Denver has made this same change throughout the entire Beatitudes. The Book of Mormon version reads:
And again, blessed are all they that mourn, for they shall be comforted.
3 Nephi 12:4
We are all very familiar with this version. This may seem a bit counterintuitive, however the concept of being blessed is very deep with rich symbolism. We are blessed because we are relying on God. We have turned our will and our understanding over to God. We recognize that he is in charge, and we allow him to lead us. This is what blessed means. When we are in a state of sadness, then we can realize what we are missing and find it through God. The Bible Project has done many hours of videos and podcasts on this very subject.
Denver, however, has mutilated the plain and precious scriptures again for really no valid reason. If we look at his version for this same scripture, we can see the beauty and symbolism completely removed from the Beatitudes. His version reads:
And also, God is with all those who mourn, for they will be comforted.
3 Nephi 12:4 – Covenant of Christ
As we can see, “blessed” was changed to “God is with”. I can understand what they are meaning, however God is with us all the time. Is he not? There is never a time when God is not with us. Therefore, ultimately this verse loses all of its meaning. The original verse meant that when we are in a state of sorrow, then we can turn to God and rely on him. Denver’s version however is stating an obvious statement that is ultimately meaningless now. God is with me when I am happy or sad. He is with me all the time. Denver’s verse now has a completely different meaning than what Christ originally said.
It is also interesting to look at BibleHub and compare all the other Biblical translations for this same verse in Matthew 5. None of them translate it remotely similar to the way that Denver does. Some translations certainly seem to be better than others, however if we are honest then Denver’s translation seems to be the worst of them all. This is the major problem with changing the language of scriptures. We have to be incredibly careful in what we do and how we do it. We can obscure the meaning, and water the truth down, until all the plain and precious parts are removed through good intentions.
We can see one last change that Denver has made and try to see the effects this is going to have on people. 2 Nephi 14:1, is quoting from Isaiah 4:1, and seems to describe a situation where seven women will attach themselves somehow to one man. The specifics are certainly not clear and a lot of people, including Joseph, have said this verse belongs with the curses of Isaiah 3. The original records were not divided, into chapters and verses, like they are today so there was not a clear distinction. It certainly seems like a curse instead of a blessing. However, people have been talking about it for a long time. The verse itself reads:
And in that day seven women shall take hold of one man, saying, “We will eat our own bread, and wear our own apparel; only let us be called by thy name, to take away our reproach.”
2 Nephi 14:1
This is certainly not the clearest, however immediately before this the record discusses men falling in war so it would seem to be describing a case where there is a vast imbalance between men and women. The problem however, is that Denver’s version drastically changes this verse to add things that are not supported by Jewish culture or any historical record we have concerning Isaiah’s writings. Denver’s version reads:
In that coming day, seven women will sustain the priesthood authority of a man and say: we are self-sufficient; but let us be called by the name of our Messiah through baptism because the Messiah removes our sins.
2 Nephi 14:1 – Covenant of Christ
I honestly could not imagine a further deviation from the two. They certainly agree with the seven women and one man concept. However, Denver adds a whole new element with priesthood authority, and being baptized for remission of sins. This is so strange considering the preceding verses are filled with wars and destructions and now the women are flocking to a single man to get baptized.
This is also directly supportive of Denver’s unscriptural idea that seven women have to agree to a man’s priesthood authority before it is valid. This is a huge problem with changing scripture to support a specific interpretation. People will read this and assume certain things that are not supported at all by the original record. This is exactly how apostasies start. Little changes here and there until you are completely off the mark. All based on good intentions that were left unchecked.
Priesthood
The next thing to really understand is Denver’s view of the priesthood. I certainly don’t agree with the LDS view of priesthood and think they don’t have a claim to the Melchizedek priesthood like they think they do. However, Denver completely misses the boat on this in his desire to show the LDS church is in apostasy. For instance, in Denver’s 10 talk series he mentions that the LDS church lost their priesthood by excommunicating him. This is nonsensical to put it lightly. He mentioned:
Last general conference, the entire First Presidency, the Twelve, the Seventy, and all other general authorities and auxiliaries, voted to sustain those who abused their authority in casting me out of the church. At that moment, the Lord ended all claims of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to claim it is led by the priesthood
Denver Snuffer – Lecture 10
This passage is even canonized by him as Section 166 in his updated Teachings and Commandments. Denver honestly may not realize this, however many people have been unjustly excommunicated from the LDS church. I am really not sure why his disciplinary council caused the priesthood in the LDS church to become void. This is certainly an extraordinary claim to make with no supporting evidence at all. Does this then mean that if the LDS church didn’t discipline Denver, then they would be God’s church today and not in apostasy?
If, however, the LDS church had a claim to the priesthood as we would view it today, then they certainly would have lost that claim long ago according to D&C 124. This section is very clear that as of January 19th, 1841, the fullness of the priesthood was removed from the church, and we have no record of it ever being returned. Of course, the LDS church could be led by a lower level of the Priesthood, which it seems to be. Joseph actually said this on August 27th, 1843, when he remarked that the Patriarchal priesthood was the highest the church had at the time.
However, there is still no clear reason why Denver being excommunicated would cause all the priesthood to be removed from the church. In speaking about the priesthood however, Denver seems to completely shift what the priesthood is with enormous implications. As I have previously shown, Joseph remarked that there were three priesthoods with the Melchizedek being the highest. This Melchizedek priesthood is also given by God directly according to JST Genesis 14.
Denver however, changed things so that the Patriarchal priesthood is the highest. He clearly mentions this in the glossary to his scriptures as well as his Lecture 10. It is really not clear why he did this other than a need to say that since the LDS church had the patriarchal priesthood according to Joseph then that must be the highest so it could be removed by the excommunication of Denver.
This is just a relabeling of priesthoods to suit a purpose and a blatant ignoring of the scriptures. For instance, the LDS church relabels the Patriarchal priesthood as Melchizedek to make themselves feel better. Denver seems to label the Melchizedek priesthood as the Patriarchal to make himself feel better. This is very strange on both sides since it clearly ignores the text from where the record comes from. Denver however is more egregious since he clearly ignores all the records while claiming to be more correct than the LDS account. In this regard Joseph said:
3 grand orders of priesthood referred to here. 1st King of Shiloam—power & authority over that of Abraham holding the key & the power of endless life … 2nd Priesthood, patriarchal authority finish that temple and god will fill it with power. 3d Priesthood. Levitical
Joseph Smith, record
Joseph is clearly saying there are three priesthoods, however Denver claims that the exact ordering from top to bottom is unclear, which is true. However, this is incredibly misleading because we have two other scribes that also wrote the discourse. For instance, Franklin D. Richards and James Burgess. They confirm the ordering with Levitical being the lowest and Melchizedek being the highest. In this case Denver is completely wrong. Joseph is clear in what he said. D&C 124 is also clear that the Melchizedek priesthood was lost, and the church was being governed by the Patriarchal priesthood instead. Denver should accept the word of God instead of changing the word of God to suit his purposes.
D&C 110
This final point also pertains to Denver’s reworking of the LDS priesthood in order to support his claims to the priesthood instead. In 1836, it is recorded that Joseph and Oliver experienced a grand vision just after the dedication of the Kirtland temple. This vision is canonized as D&C 110 in the LDS scriptures. However, in Denver’s scriptures it was completely removed for a time and then added back with significant changes.
I have looked at this vision previously and how it is very likely a true vision, but just has different implications then we want it to have. To just summarize this point, the vision was recorded by Oliver’s brother Warren who was a scribe at the time. Warren and Oliver subsequently left the church with Oliver becoming somewhat hostile towards Joseph. They certainly could have discredited Joseph by saying the vision was fraudulent, however they never did. This is the same logic faithful members use for the witnesses, however for some reason it is insufficient when applied to this.
Denver took this one step further and said the whole revelation was fraudulent so it should be removed. It was removed until Denver said he received a revelation on July 14th, 2017, adding it back with significant changes. The implication is that Warren recorded the vision significantly wrong, so Denver’s revelation is the full truth. This really makes no sense, however we can go with it for now.
In order to fully understand the implications of this, then we can look at D&C 110 and the understanding of the LDS church. The vision itself describes a visit from Christ, then subsequent visits from Moses, Elias, and Elijah who each gave keys to Joseph and Oliver. According to the LDS church it is here that Joseph received the sealing power from Elijah. There is literally nothing to suggest this at all, however the LDS church still makes the claim.
In my previous look at this subject, I make it clear that this event was a downgrade to the church since they had rejected God and were now being cast back into the wilderness. They received the dispensation of Abraham, not the fulness of the Gospel like the LDS church claims. The Gospel of Abraham is a preparatory gospel. This downgrade was the reason that the vision was recorded and then filed away. It also supports the fact that almost immediately after the vision the church was turned over to Satan and descended into spiritual darkness. In a very real sense, the church almost destroyed itself.
If we look at Denver’s version of this vision, then he keeps the visit from Christ, but completely omits the visitations from Moses, Elias (who likely was Abraham), and Elijah. At the end of the vision, Denver instead claims that Joseph and Oliver experienced some kind of outpouring of divine knowledge. Again, it seems entirely unclear why the first half would be recorded correctly by Warren, but the second half would not.
It seems the only reason to do this would be to undermine the LDS version of events so he can instead supplant it with his version. I don’t agree with the LDS interpretation, however the visitations seem to be in line with the workings of God and the fact that the church was downgraded. Joseph had the vision recorded, and then never spoke of it. This doesn’t mean it’s fraudulent as Denver claims it was.
Instead, it means it wasn’t a positive event. Joseph had just tried to get the members to see the face of God and they largely failed to do so. The Kirtland Temple dedication was not the outpouring of spiritual manifestations that Joseph was hoping for because the members didn’t qualify themselves.
If Brigham had made it up, then how could he have gotten Warren to write it, who was long dead at the time? The whole idea that the vision is fake is strange to me. It is even stranger to consider that Denver claims the mutilated version is a true revelation from God. His version supports his claims and undermines the LDS claims so it is completely understandable why he would do this. However, God is clear In Jeremiah 23 that those that speak falsely in the name of God will be destroyed.
Conclusion
I doubt Denver is approaching anything with a malicious intent. I have communicated with multiple people who have said Denver is a kind and generous person. This, however, doesn’t say anything about his claims. For instance, in the Book of Mormon we can read about Korihor who was deceived by an angel and taught a different gospel. According to Korihor, he was teaching what he thought was correct until the very end when he found it to be woefully incorrect.
If we specifically look at Denver, then we can see that he mentioned disagreeing with him is disagreeing with God. He changed the Book of Mormon to remove many of the plain and precious parts. He changed the priesthood to support his claims to truth. He changed revelations from God to suit his version of God’s plan. He is claiming ongoing communication with God, that really seems to be going away from God instead. Denver is systematically changing Mormonism into his image in an attempt to wrestle believers away from the LDS church. In many ways I agree with him. However, in many other ways it is a dangerous game that he is playing.
When we seek to alter truth to conform to our understanding then we ultimately are only deceiving ourselves. Truth always wins in the end. Christ said, while visiting the Nephites, in 3 Nephi 27, that if we are not built upon him and his gospel then we will only have joy in our works for a season. However, in the end our false beliefs and works will be destroyed and cast into the fire. We always have a choice to make as to whether we trust in the arm of flesh and seek what is popular, or seek the everlasting God and determine through his help what is true.
