Tag: Agency

Section 51

In the spring of 1831, Bishop Edward Partridge had a problem. It was his job to organize and settle the saints who were gathering from New York to Ohio. Leman Copley was a member of the United Society of Believers in Christ’s Second Appearing when he converted to the restored gospel in Ohio. He offered to let the Colesville saints settle on some of his 759 acres in Thompson.[1] Bishop Partridge asked Joseph how to organize the immigrant saints.  Joseph asked the Lord, who gave Section 51,  “A revelation given to the Bishop at Thompson Ohio May 20th 1831 concerning the property of the Church.”[2]

This revelation begins to implement the law of consecration. Initially it instructed Bishop Partridge to obtain a deed from Leman Copley for his land “if he harden not his heart.” Copley returned to his former faith, however, and rescinded his offer for the gathering saints to settle on his land. He did not give consent to Bishop Partridge obtaining the title to it.[3] When Section 51 was first published in 1835, its instructions about Bishop Partridge obtaining a deed to Copley’s land were long since irrelevant, and were omitted from the published version.[4]

The saints who had gathered on Copley’s property were told by the Lord to gather to Missouri instead (section 54). Bishop Partridge implement section 51 in Missouri. He purchased hundreds of acres and established a storehouse to supply the needs of the saints. He was sued by a fellow named Bates who had donated fifty dollars to purchase land, then decided he wanted it back.[5] The suit was granted, apparently on the grounds that the bishop did exactly what Section 51 originally said. He purchased the land in his own name and then leased parts of it to individual stewards while he remained, on behalf of the Lord, the legal owner.  

Bishop Partridge must have felt like the law of the land prohibited him from carrying out Section 51. Joseph wrote to Bishop Partridge in Missouri in May 1833 to counsel him what to do, explaining much of Section 51 in the process.  Bates had expected something tangible in return for his fifty dollars.[6] Joseph assured the bishop that he remained bound by the law of the Lord to receive consecrated property to purchase inheritances for the poor. Joseph emphasized that such offerings were legal and in no way coerced. “Any man has a right . . . agreeable to the laws of our country, to donate, give or consecrate all the he feels disposed to give.” Joseph counseled the bishop to ensure that all offerings were legal by making sure that donors understood they were giving money freely for the poor, not in exchange for anything temporal. “This way no man can take advantage of you in law,” Joseph wrote.

He also counseled the bishop to apply Section 51 by deeding pieces of land to saints as their “individual property.” Joseph called this “private stewardship,” not ownership.  Bishop Partridge issued several such deeds based on Section 51. (See Titus Billings example.) When Section 51 was first published in 1835, much of verse 5 was added to keep folks like Bates from suing the Lord’s bishop. Joseph wrote to Bishop Partridge that the revelation in D&C 51:5 was given so “that rich men cannot have power to disinherit the poor by obtaining again that which they have consecrated.”[7]

Section 52

Acting on Section 44’s commandment to convene a conference, Joseph promised the priesthood leaders a blessing if they would come humbly and faithfully. “Therefore,” John Whitmer wrote, “the elders assembled from the East, and the West, from the North and the South.”[1] Joseph presided over the series of priesthood meetings from June 3-5, 1831.  He and others prophesied at the conference, rebuked the devil, and ordained the first high priests in the church.  The next day he received Section 52, which he described as “Directions to the Elders of the Church of Christ.”[2]

Section 52 gives the saints knowledge and therefore power to discern devilish counterfeits from the Lord’s power.  Satan tried mightily to deceive the saints from the time missionaries first arrived in Ohio through the priesthood meetings just prior to Section 52.  He mimicked spiritual gifts and convinced many people they were under the influence of the Holy Ghost.  Joseph taught that “some, by a long face and sanctimonious prayers, and very pious sermons, had power to lead the minds of the ignorant and unwary.”[3] The fact that someone speaks well or is overwhelmed with emotion is not evidence that their actions are acceptable to God. Section 52 adds important criteria for discerning. Do those overcome with emotion regain their composure and teach wise, restored truth? Do those who pray, whose attitude seems Christian, obey the ordinances Jesus has established his church and kingdom? Do they follow the revealed order of the Savior’s church?  Do excellent speakers obey Christ’s ordinances? Christ does not accept the sanctimonious prayers or pious sermons of those who are unwilling to obey his ordinances, and neither should the saints. The knowledge in Section 52 empowers the saints to separate satanic imitations from the Lord’s power.

Section 52 is exciting. This is the first revelation to identify Missouri as the location of Zion, the saints’ inheritance. It calls twenty-eight men to travel to Missouri for a conference at which the Lord will reveal more specifically the location for New Jerusalem.  The saints received Section 52 with great anticipation and many went to great lengths to obey its commands.  

Joseph and others the Lord called to travel with him left Kirtland, Ohio in mid-June and arrived in Independence, Missouri about a month later.  Most of the others who were called followed, taking different routes and making converts along the way, as Section 52 commanded.  The Lord fulfilled his Section 52 promise to reveal more about Zion (See Section 57).  

Section 52 draws the battle lines for a culture war. Missouri, it says, is the place the Lord chose for the saints’ inheritance. In 1831, however, Missouri was inhabited by people the Lord called “enemies” (verse 42). The Lord’s straightforwardness makes some readers squeamish. It doesn’t sound to them like their idea of Jesus Christ. If so, just keep reading the scriptures until the sentimental image of Jesus is replaced by the actual Christ whose voice dominates the Doctrine and Covenants. He sees things as they are and will be and speaks the truth. He knows who are his friends and who are his enemies. He demonstrates this knowledge in Section 52 and elsewhere in the Doctrine and Covenants. We come to know him by hearing his voice.

Section 53

Sidney was an entrepreneur a business partner of Newel Whitney in northern Ohio when the first missionaries to that area converted him in 1830. In the late spring of 1831, Sidney may have felt left out. He was not named in section 52 among the many missionaries called by the Lord to journey to Missouri that summer, and Joseph had prophesied that “the elders would soon have large congregations to speak to and they must soon take their departure into the regions west.” So Sidney asked Joseph what the Lord had in mind for him to do.[1]

The Lord had important work for Sidney and his family to do. He and his wife Elizabeth traveled to Missouri with Joseph Smith to obey section 53. There, at the Lord’s command (section 57), Sidney established a store to provide for the saints. He helped bishop Partridge purchase land for Zion. When the saints were driven from Jackson County in 1833, Sidney was among the church leaders who tried to pacify the mob and then obtain justice. The dreaded disease cholera slew Sidney in the summer of 1834. Until the end he was anxiously engaged in the cause of Zion.

Section 54

Newel Knight led the New York saints to Thompson, Ohio, where they settled on Leman Copley’s land and “commenced work in all good faith thinking to obtain a living by the sweat of the brow.”[1] Then Section 51 instructed Bishop Partridge to obtain a deed from Leman for the land “if he harden not his heart.”[2] But after obeying section 49’s command to preach the gospel to members of the United Society of Believers in Christ’s Second Appearing, Leman forsook his faith in the restored gospel and returned to that Society.[3] Then he ordered the saints off his land.

Joseph Knight said they “had to leave his farm and pay sixty dollars damage for putting up his houses and planting his ground.”[4] Where should they go and what should they do to provide for themselves? Joseph’s history says that the saints in Thompson, “not knowing what to do, sent in their elders for me to inquire of the Lord for them.” He did, and the Lord answered with Section 54.[5]

The eternal Lord Jesus Christ who was crucified for the sins of mankind speaks to Newel Knight, presiding Elder of the saints in Thompson. “You must stand fast in the office whereunto I have appointed you,” the Savior says. The Lord makes repentance and humility the conditions on which the saints in Thompson will escape their enemies. Because Leman Copley broke his covenant to consecrate land, the covenant is null and void. The Lord blesses the saints who have kept the covenant. He commands them to flee from their enemies by traveling to Missouri as a group, appointing a treasurer to pay fares and tolls along the way. 

Western Missouri which borders on the territory recently set apart by the U.S. government for Native Americans to settle. The Lord commands the saints to find ways to make a living after they arrive until Zion can be established and land provided for them to inhabit. He commands them to patiently endure hardships until the Lord’s coming. He will reward those who seek him. The souls of these early converts will rest with the Lord.  

As a result of Section 54, the saints from Colesville, New York continued their group trek all the way to Missouri. Led ably by Newel Knight, they became the nucleus of the church in Jackson County and gave their lives to building Zion.

Section 55

William Phelps edited the Ontario Phoenix newspaper in Canandaigua, New York. He was all mixed up inside. He aspired to prestigious offices, could be strikingly arrogant and condescending, and within weeks of the publication of the Book of Mormon he gained a deep and abiding testimony of it. After several months he visited Joseph Smith and determined to “quit the folly of my way, and the fancy and fame of this world, and seek the Lord and his righteousness.”[1] Shortly after most of the saints in New York left to gather to Ohio, William gave up his newspaper and set out with his family to gather with the saints. He arrived in Kirtland in June 1831 and told Joseph he had come “to do the will of the Lord.”  Joseph asked the Lord what that was and the Lord answered with section 55.[2]

In section 55, the Lord continues to recruit talent into his Church to lay the foundation of Zion. William was called to assist Oliver Cowdery as a printer, editor, and writer for the church, including producing books for the education of children. This calling requires William to go to Missouri with Joseph and Sidney to settle and work there. The Lord commands Joseph Coe to go with them also, and promises to reveal more later according to his will.  

William Phelps obeyed section 55.  He submitted to baptism and confirmation. He traveled with Joseph to Missouri and became the Lord’s printer there. He published the church’s first newspaper, hymnal, and Joseph’s revelations. Joseph Coe also responded to the Lord and traveled to Missouri to obey section 55.

Section 56

Think of section 56 as an emergency mission transfer. In section 52, Ezra Thayer had been called as Thomas Marsh’s companion on a mission to Missouri. Thomas got ready to go as called. Ezra balked. The same revelation called Newel Knight and Selah Griffin as companions to the same mission. When the saints from New York were not able to stay on the Copley farm and the Lord directed them to move on to Missouri in section 54, he called Newel Knight to remain as their leader. So Thomas Marsh and Selah Griffin needed new companions. The Lord assigns them to each other in section 56.

Some readers are disturbed by this section and others like it when the Lord changes course. How can that be, some wonder, if the Lord is always the same and knows everything? It seems inconsistent. Close reading of section 56 and revelations related to it shows it to be consistent with the Lord’s way, however. He locates agency in individuals and then responds, as needed, to the way those people choose to act. Leman Copley could have kept his covenant to let the New York saints settle on his land, freeing Newel Knight to go on the Missouri mission. Ezra Thayer could have accepted the call to go with Thomas Marsh on the Missouri mission. 

If the Lord had simply used his foreknowledge to avoid calling them to the work, they could not be free to choose whether to obey his will or not. He would have predetermined their choices instead of empowering them to choose for themselves. The Lord knew well when he called Ezra that he would have to choose to “humble himself” and that he would join Thomas only “if he be obedient to my commandments.”[1] Moreover, the Lord revoked the commandment for Newel to be Selah’s companion “in consequences of the stiffneckedness of my people . . . and their rebellions.”[2]

Thomas Marsh and Selah Griffin obeyed Section 56. As Thomas put it, they “journeyed to Missouri preaching by the way.”[3] From the beginning of the restoration, the Lord has extended calls to people who will not accept them or who fail to fulfill them. The Lord revokes the refused callings and rearranges assignments and the work gets done without the help of the unwilling. That’s a vastly superior plan to never calling anyone who might fall short or refuse to serve. Revelations like section 56 honor our choices and prophesy their sometimes painful consequences.

Section 57

Section 57 is the first revelation Joseph received in Missouri. After receiving the commandment to travel there from Ohio in section 52, it took Joseph two weeks to prepare and a month to make the long trip.  Mindful of prophecies of Isaiah, Joseph asked the Lord for details concerning their fulfillment: “when will the wilderness blossom as the rose; when will Zion be built up in her glory, and where will thy Temple stand unto which all nations shall come in the last days.”[1] Joseph described how the Lord answered with section 57.[2]

The Lord identified Independence, Missouri as the center of the place he appointed and consecrated for the gathering of the saints. It is the promised land, the site for New Jerusalem, the city of Zion. As if Joseph was a disoriented pedestrian, the Lord directs him to the spot where the temple should be built just a few blocks west of the courthouse. The Lord desires the saints to purchase that land and every tract they can in what is now Kansas City (all the way to the territory created in 1831 for Native Americans) and Independence. This land is ultimately to be inherited by faithful saints.      

The Lord commands Bishop Partridge to carry out his duties outlined in sections 41, 42, and 51. The Lord appoints Sidney Gilbert as the Bishop’s real estate agent, with directions to establish a store to supply the saints’ needs and to use the revenue to buy the land. Gilbert is also to obtain a license from the Indian agents to permit him get involved in supplying the Native Americans. The point of that is to get access to give the restored gospel to Native Americans and employment and resources for the saints.  

The Lord appoints William Phelps as the church’s printer and commands him to set up shop in Independence and use his skills to obtain as much money as he righteously can in order to build Zion. Oliver Cowdery is to assist him. The Lord commands these four men to become “planted” in Independence, along with their families, as soon as possible in order to begin the buying and building of Zion. They are to prepare for the gathering of other saints and to provide inheritances for them as they come. The Lord promises to provide further directions to that end.  

Sidney Rigdon dedicated the Land of Zion on August 1 and Joseph dedicated its temple site the following day. Bishop Partridge bought the 63 acres that included this site and over 2,000 acres in the area. These he technically owned, but he deeded many of them as stewardships to Latter-day Saints for their inheritances as sections 51 and 57 instructed him to do. Sidney Gilbert established a store across the street from the courthouse the Lord mentioned, and William Phelps established a printing office nearby. These men and their families went to work to build New Jerusalem.  

When the printing office was burned down two years later and Bishop Partridge was dragged from his home to be tarred and feathered on the courthouse square, it was not because a few loud-mouthed Latter-day Saints had created hard feelings among the Missourians. It was because the men named in section 57 and their families were doing what the revelation commanded them to do: printing the Lord’s revelations, legally buying the Lord’s land to provide inheritances for His people, and operating a store to facilitate the gathering of Israel. Having violently attacked the saints, a group of antagonistic citizens drafted a “Memorandum of agreement” between them. It stipulated that the saints stop doing exactly what section 57 commanded them to do.[3]

Antagonistic Missourians hated Zion.  No wonder the Lord had called them “enemies” (D&C 52:42).

Section 51 notes

[1] Geauga County Tax Records 1832, 230.  Dean C. Jessee, editor, The Papers of Joseph Smith (Salt Lake City: Deseret, 1989), 1:480.  Dean C. Jessee, editor, “Joseph Knight’s Recollection of Early Mormon History,” BYU Studies 17:1 (1976).

[2] “Revelation, 20 May 1831 [D&C 51],” p. 86, The Joseph Smith Papers, accessed July 30, 2020, https://www.josephsmithpapers.org/paper-summary/revelation-20-may-1831-dc-51/1.

[3] Newel and Joseph Knight sources.

[4] Compare “Revelation, 20 May 1831 [D&C 51],” p. 86, The Joseph Smith Papers, accessed July 30, 2020, https://www.josephsmithpapers.org/paper-summary/revelation-20-may-1831-dc-51/1, with “Doctrine and Covenants, 1835,” p. 150, The Joseph Smith Papers, accessed July 30, 2020, https://www.josephsmithpapers.org/paper-summary/doctrine-and-covenants-1835/158.

[5] “The Elders Stationed in Zion to the Churches Abroad,” The Evening and the Morning Star 2:14 (July 1822): 109.

[6] Painesville, Ohio Telegraph 26 April 1833, printed in Cook, 135.

[7] “Letter to Edward Partridge, 2 May 1833,” p. [1], The Joseph Smith Papers, accessed July 30, 2020, https://www.josephsmithpapers.org/paper-summary/letter-to-edward-partridge-2-may-1833/1.

Section 52 notes

[1] “John Whitmer, History, 1831–circa 1847,” p. 27, The Joseph Smith Papers, accessed September 30, 2020, https://www.josephsmithpapers.org/paper-summary/john-whitmer-history-1831-circa-1847/31.

[2] “Revelation, 6 June 1831 [D&C 52],” p. 87, The Joseph Smith Papers, accessed July 30, 2020, https://www.josephsmithpapers.org/paper-summary/revelation-6-june-1831-dc-52/1.

[3] “History, 1838–1856, volume C-1 [2 November 1838–31 July 1842],” p. 872, The Joseph Smith Papers, accessed September 30, 2020, https://www.josephsmithpapers.org/paper-summary/history-1838-1856-volume-c-1-2-november-1838-31-july-1842/51.

Section 53 notes

[1] Historical Introduction, Revelation, 8 June 1831 [D&C 53], The Joseph Smith Papers, https://www.josephsmithpapers.org/paper-summary/revelation-8-june-1831-dc-53/2#historical-intro. “History, 1838–1856, volume A-1 [23 December 1805–30 August 1834],” p. 121, The Joseph Smith Papers, accessed July 30, 2020, https://www.josephsmithpapers.org/paper-summary/history-1838-1856-volume-a-1-23-december-1805-30-august-1834/127.

Section 54 notes

[1] Newel Knight Autobiography, 30.

[2] “Revelation, 20 May 1831 [D&C 51],” p. 86, The Joseph Smith Papers, accessed July 30, 2020, https://www.josephsmithpapers.org/paper-summary/revelation-20-may-1831-dc-51/1.

[3] Dean C. Jessee, editor, “Joseph Knight’s Recollection of Early Mormon History,” BYU Studies  17:1 (1976): 29-39.

[4] Joseph Knight, Jr., Incidents of History 1827-1844, Church History Library, Salt Lake City.

[5] “History, 1838–1856, volume A-1 [23 December 1805–30 August 1834],” p. 121, The Joseph Smith Papers, accessed July 30, 2020, https://www.josephsmithpapers.org/paper-summary/history-1838-1856-volume-a-1-23-december-1805-30-august-1834/127. “John Whitmer, History, 1831–circa 1847,” p. 29, The Joseph Smith Papers, accessed July 30, 2020, https://www.josephsmithpapers.org/paper-summary/john-whitmer-history-1831-circa-1847/33.

Section 55 notes

[1] William W. Phelps, “Letter No. 6,” LDS Messenger and Advocate, Apr. 1835, 1:97.

[2] “History, 1838–1856, volume A-1 [23 December 1805–30 August 1834],” p. 124, The Joseph Smith Papers, accessed September 30, 2020, https://www.josephsmithpapers.org/paper-summary/history-1838-1856-volume-a-1-23-december-1805-30-august-1834/130.

Section 56 notes

[1] “Revelation, 15 May 1831,” p. 85, The Joseph Smith Papers, accessed September 2, 2020, https://www.josephsmithpapers.org/paper-summary/revelation-15-may-1831/1.

[2] “Revelation, 15 June 1831 [D&C 56],” p. 92, The Joseph Smith Papers, accessed September 2, 2020, https://www.josephsmithpapers.org/paper-summary/revelation-15-june-1831-dc-56/2.

[3] “History of Thomas B. Marsh, Written by Himself,” Church History Library, Salt Lake City.

Section 57 notes

[1] “History, 1838–1856, volume A-1 [23 December 1805–30 August 1834],” p. 127, The Joseph Smith Papers, accessed September 2, 2020, https://www.josephsmithpapers.org/paper-summary/history-1838-1856-volume-a-1-23-december-1805-30-august-1834/133.

 [2] “Revelation, 20 July 1831 [D&C 57],” p. 93, The Joseph Smith Papers, accessed September 2, 2020, https://www.josephsmithpapers.org/paper-summary/revelation-20-july-1831-dc-57/1.

[3] “Letterbook 2,” p. 54, The Joseph Smith Papers, accessed September 2, 2020, https://www.josephsmithpapers.org/paper-summary/letterbook-2/59.

Section 37

By the end of 1830, an astonishing amount had happened since the spring, when a handful of members organized the Savior’s Church. There were now dozens of members in New York, and missionaries had converted many more than that in Ohio before trekking to the western frontier to convert others and scout a location for New Jerusalem.

Meanwhile, Joseph and Sidney Rigdon were reading the Bible closely and seeking and receiving revelation that clarified and amplified it. Joseph received the Book of Moses by revelation, including the prophecy of Enoch, now Moses chapters 6-8 in the Pearl of Great Price. Church historian John Whitmer noted that “after they had written this prophecy, the Lord spoke to them again and gave further directions,” section 37.[1]

The Lord explained to Joseph that under these circumstances it was not useful for Joseph to continue revising the Bible until he goes to Ohio for the church’s sake, because of some unspecified enemy. The Lord commands Joseph to strengthen the saints in both western and eastern New York first. All saints in New York, the Lord says, are to move to Ohio quickly, before Oliver Cowdery returns from his mission to the west. This is the wise thing to do, but as free agents each of the saints must choose whether to do it. Soon the Lord will come and hold them accountable for their choice.   

Joseph and Sidney did exactly what the Lord told them to do.

John Whitmer’s history says that “after the above directions were received, Joseph and Sidney went to the several churches preaching and prophesying wherever they went, and greatly strengthened the churches.” Specifically, as the revelation directed, “Joseph and Sidney went to Colesville to do the will of the Lord in that part of the land and to strengthen the disciples in that part of the vineyard.” Joseph sent John Whitmer to Ohio to preside and to take a copy of the revelations to teach the saints there. John reported what he found: “The enemy of all righteousness had got hold of some of those who professed to be his followers, because they had not sufficient knowledge to detect him in all of his devices.”  

Back in New York the generally prosperous and long-settled saints struggled to come to terms with section 37. John blamed worldliness and false traditions for the saints’ hesitance to “believe the commandments that came forth in these last days for the upbuilding of the kingdom of God, and the salvation of those who believe.” They dragged their feet and waited for Section 38 to be revealed before doing what Section 37 commanded them to do, namely to choose to obey or disobey.[2]

Section 38

Early in 1831 Joseph Smith gathered the fledgling Church of Jesus Christ, not yet a year old, for general conference in Fayette, New York. Newel Knight remembered that “it was at this conference that we were instructed as a people, to begin the gathering of Israel, and a revelation was given to the prophet on this subject.”[1]

Joseph announced section 37’s command for them to move to Ohio right away. The saints wanted “somewhat more” explanation. Joseph asked the Lord during the meeting and received section 38.[2]

Unlike the terse command to move to Ohio in section 37, this time the Lord gives a detailed rationale for the commandment. The situation is bleak. All flesh is corrupted, the powers of darkness prevail, eternity is pained (D&C 38:11-12). The enemy, presumably Satan, plots the saints’ destruction. The Lord paints a vivid, apocalyptic picture of the different destinies awaiting those who believe and obey the revelation compared to those “who will not hear my voice but harden their hearts, and wo, wo, wo is their doom” (D&C 38:1-6).  

The January 1831 revelation compelled the saints to decide whether to serve themselves or the Lord.

It provided them a way out of the world. It envisioned an alternative society. It came in the voice of the Lord who took “the Zion of Enoch into mine own bosom . . . by the virtue of the blood which I have spilt” (D&C 38:4).  It foretold evil designs to destroy the saints “in process of time” (D&C 38:4, 13). 

Those were the exact same words recently revealed to Joseph to describe how Enoch’s Zion made it safely out of this world (Moses 7:21). Their eerie similarity to the New York saints living in “Babylon” suggests that a creeping, cultural evil posed a great threat to the spiritual welfare of the New York saints, though, like the proverbially slow-boiled frog, they could hardly discern it themselves.  

The revelation brought the crisis to the saints’ attention, compelling them to choose, for it described an either/or proposition, to begin the “process” of becoming like Enoch’s Zion or continue the “process” toward “destruction” (D&C 38:13).  To be saved, the New York saints must move to Ohio (D&C 38:10-13).  

The choice to escape was also a choice to acknowledge the Lord as the source of authority, the maker of worlds as well as laws, and Joseph Smith as his spokesman (D&C 21:1-8).  “Hear my voice and follow me,” the Lord commanded unequivocally  (D&C 38:22).  The revelation required the saints to relieve poverty, esteem everyone equally, and to “be one” (D&C 38:27). To those at the conference, the revelation shouted objections to the cultural messages they received every day to be partisan, to be covetous, and to “possess that which is above another,” “like the Nephites of old” (D&C 49:20, 38:39).  It seemed calculated to test the integrity of covenant-makers by compelling them to choose either the “the things of this world” or “the things of a better” (D&C 25:10, 38:17-20, 25-26, 39). The revelation was starkly indifferent to the saints’ carnal security. “They that have farms that cannot be sold, let them be left or rented as seemeth them good” (D&C 38:37). The irrelevance of property contrasts sharply with the revelation’s emphasis on the welfare of souls. There is a sense of urgency that the saints might make it safely out of a fallen world.  “That you might escape the power of the enemy, and be gathered unto me a righteous people, without spot and blameless: wherefore for this cause I gave unto you the commandment that ye should go to the Ohio” (D&C 38:31-32).  

The revelation caused an initial shock and division among the saints.

Some who were comfortable in New York did not want to obey it. Some projected their own selfishness onto the prophet, claiming he had invented the revelation to get gain himself. “This,” John Whitmer noted, “was because, their hearts were not right in the sight of the Lord.”[3]

That is not the most remarkable part. Given the individualistic attitude of the society in which these saints lived, the remarkable fact is not that “one or two” chafed at the “monumental sacrifice” of the command to gather in Ohio, but the stunning degree of obedience and sacrifice in response to section 38.[4] “The Lord had manifested his will to his people,” John noted, “Therefore they made preparations to Journey to the Ohio, with their wives, and children and all that they possessed, to obey the commandment of the Lord.“[5]

Newel Knight wrote, “as might be expected, we were obliged to make great sacrifices of our property.”[6] By keeping the command to pull up telestial roots and forsake telestial concerns, the New York saints were yielding up their selves to God.[7] They were making a bold, counter-cultural declaration.[8] By so doing they prepared themselves to receive the law of consecration the Lord promised to give them when they gathered to Ohio. They were self-selecting to be “endowed with power from on high” (D&C 38:32).

Sections 39-40

James Covel was a Methodist minister and president, in fact, of a Methodist Conference in western New York. Early in 1831 James came to Joseph and said he had covenanted with the Lord to obey any command the Lord gave him through Joseph. The Lord gave Joseph section 39 for James.[1]

The Lord reveals how well he knows James, and that his hearts is now right. The great sorrow of James’s past stems from his pride and worldly cares, which have led him to reject Christ many times, but the day of his deliverance has come. The Lord commands James to “arise and be baptized, and wash away your sins,” and receive the Holy Spirit.

If James will obey the law of the gospel, the Lord has greater work for him to do: preaching the fulness of the gospel, which Christ has sent forth as a covenant to recover the house of Israel. James will have power, great faith, and the Lord to go before him.  The Lord has called him to build the church so that Zion may rejoice and flourish. James is called to go to west to Ohio.

James Covill broke his covenant.

Almost immediately he “rejected the word of the Lord” in Section 39 “and returned to his former principles and people.” Joseph and Sidney wondered why, and the Lord explained in section 40.[2]

The order of events in Section 40 is important.  First, James Covill made a covenant with an honest heart. He sincerely received the gospel. Then Satan tempted him to fear the persecution that would result, to worry about giving up his paid ministry for a lay one. James chose to follow those fears and cares, resulting in a broken covenant.

This sequence highlights how revelation facilitates agency. A person has agency, or power to act independently, only when they know what God wants, Satan poses an alternative, and they are free to choose between the two (see section 29). Given section 39, James knew just what the Lord wanted him to do. Then Satan countered the commandments. James was free to choose between the two. He chose to break his covenant, making it null and void.  

Some have cited sections 39 and 40 as evidence that Joseph Smith was a fraud. 

They contend that these sections prove that Joseph’s God did not even know that James Covill would not obey. That conclusion depends on a particular conception of God that is not evident in Joseph’s revelations. The Lord who spoke through Joseph Smith does not function in that agency robbing way. Joseph’s revelations distinguished between the sovereignty of God and the agency of individuals (see Section 93). Joseph taught truly that “God sees the secret springs of human action, and knows the hearts of all living,” but it did not follow for Joseph that God caused bad behavior.[3] “I believe that God foreknew everything, but did not foreordain everything,” Joseph taught profoundly. “I deny that foreordain and foreknow is the same thing.”[4]

In other words, God did not make James Covill break his covenant. Rather, the Lord gave James power to make and keep his covenant and the agency to decide whether to make and keep it for himself. Revelation give us knowledge of God’s will. It makes us free to choose. Section 40 explains that James Covill made and broke his covenant of his own free will. It is a more significant revelation than one might assume based on its brevity.

Section 37 notes

[1] “John Whitmer, History, 1831–circa 1847,” p. 4, The Joseph Smith Papers, accessed July 25, 2020, https://www.josephsmithpapers.org/paper-summary/john-whitmer-history-1831-circa-1847/8.

[2] “John Whitmer, History, 1831–circa 1847,” p. 5, The Joseph Smith Papers, accessed July 25, 2020, https://www.josephsmithpapers.org/paper-summary/john-whitmer-history-1831-circa-1847/9.

Section 38 notes

[1] “Newel Knight Autobiography,” in Dan Vogel, editor, Early Mormon Documents (Salt Lake City: Signature, 2002): 4:64.

[2] “John Whitmer, History, 1831–circa 1847,” p. 6, The Joseph Smith Papers, accessed September 25, 2020, https://www.josephsmithpapers.org/paper-summary/john-whitmer-history-1831-circa-1847/10.

[3] “John Whitmer, History, 1831–circa 1847,” p. 9, The Joseph Smith Papers, accessed September 25, 2020, https://www.josephsmithpapers.org/paper-summary/john-whitmer-history-1831-circa-1847/13.

[4] William G. Hartley, Stand by My Servant Joseph (Salt Lake City: Deseret, 2003), 103.

[5] Book of John Whitmer, chapter 1, Community of Christ Archives, Independence, Missouri.

[6] “Newel Knight Autobiography,” 4:64.

[7] “We tend to think of consecration only as yielding up, when divinely directed, our material possessions.  But ultimate consecration is the yielding up of oneself to God.”  Neal A. Maxwell, Ensign, November 2002, 36.

[8] Elder Jeffrey R. Holland taught the same principle in our time: “Pay your tithing as a declaration that possession of material goods and the accumulation of worldly wealth are not the uppermost goals of your existence. As one young husband and father, living on a student budget, recently told me, “Perhaps our most pivotal moments as Latter-day Saints come when we have to swim directly against the current of the culture in which we live. Tithing provides just such a moment. Living in a world that emphasizes material acquisition and cultivates distrust for anyone or anything that has designs on our money, we shed that self-absorption to give freely, trustingly, and generously. By this act, we say—indeed—we are different, that we are God’s peculiar people. In a society that tells us money is our most important asset, we declare emphatically it is not.” Jeffrey R. Holland, “Like a Watered Garden,” Ensign, November 2001, 33.

Sections 39-40 notes

[1] “History, 1838–1856, volume A-1 [23 December 1805–30 August 1834],” p. 91, The Joseph Smith Papers, accessed July 25, 2020, https://www.josephsmithpapers.org/paper-summary/history-1838-1856-volume-a-1-23-december-1805-30-august-1834/97.

[2] “History, 1838–1856, volume A-1 [23 December 1805–30 August 1834],” p. 92, The Joseph Smith Papers, accessed September 25, 2020, https://www.josephsmithpapers.org/paper-summary/history-1838-1856-volume-a-1-23-december-1805-30-august-1834/98.

[3] “Letter to William W. Phelps, 11 January 1833,” p. 19, The Joseph Smith Papers, accessed July 25, 2020, https://www.josephsmithpapers.org/paper-summary/letter-to-william-w-phelps-11-january-1833/2.

[4] “History, 1838–1856, volume C-1 [2 November 1838–31 July 1842],” p. 1014, The Joseph Smith Papers, accessed September 25, 2020, https://www.josephsmithpapers.org/paper-summary/history-1838-1856-volume-c-1-2-november-1838-31-july-1842/186.

Section 29

Could you identify the voice of Jesus Christ the way you can quickly identify the voice of one of his living apostles? What does the Savior sound like? Section 29 begins with a command to listen to Christ followed by a reason why. 

It was given to Joseph at a small gathering of Church members at the Whitmer’s home in Fayette, New York, where they gathered for their quarterly conference in September 1830. They all wanted to better understand the prophecy of Isaiah, emphasized in the Book of Mormon, about when the Lord would bring again Zion (Isaiah 52:8, 3 Nephi 16:18, 20:32, 21:22-24). They also had different views about the nature of Adam’s fall. Joseph had been reading the Bible closely on that point and they all hoped the Lord would clarify some things about it.[1]

Section 29 is the first of Joseph’s revelations to use the word agency, the power with which God endows people to act of their own free will.

The revelation shows that agency comes when a set of ingredients combine in a person—a mixture of power to act, commandments that determine good and evil, knowledge of the commandments to act upon, and Satan’s opposition to our acting in obedience. 

Joseph’s Calvinist ancestors thought the elect were the relative few God arbitrarily chose to passively receive his grace. In section 29, the Lord defines the elect as those who actively choose to hear his voice (the commandments that comprise part of agency) and harden not their hearts.  The chicks he promises to gather like a hen are those who decide to humble themselves. That language is theologically significant and frames the entire revelation. Agency: who has it, how did they get it, and what are the results of using it to obey or disobey?  

Several of the revelations are eschatological, meaning they deal with the last days, the end of time as we know it at the Lord’s second coming.  None is more vividly eschatological than Section 29.  It paints a horrific picture of those who exercise their agency not to repent.  

The Lord never specifies the timing of his second coming in the scriptures.

He says only that it will be “soon,” but as Elder Neal A. Maxwell suggested, wristwatch-wearing mortals are not well positioned to determine what soon means to “Him who oversees cosmic clocks and calendars.”[2] Even if the revelations are purposefully vague about precise dates, eschatological revelations like section 29 are chronological. They tell the order of events that will lead up to and comprise the Savior’s return and reign. They are characterized by words such as “before that great day shall come” (14), “when the thousand years are ended” (22), and “before the earth shall pass away” (26).  Section 29 sets forth the logic of gathering the elect because the unrepentant will soon suffer the Lord’s just vengeance at his second coming.  “The righteous shall be gathered on my right hand unto eternal life; and the wicked on my left hand will I be ashamed to own before the Father.”  

The Lord explains that the wicked will be powerless to come where he is, and then transitions into a passage on the importance, therefore, of being endowed with power.  Section 29 thus prefigures the endowment of power restored later. How does this endowment of power work?  Using Adam and Eve as archtypes in section 29, the Lord talks us through the process of their creation, fall, and redemption. (Though, if I understand verses 30-31, this is all one process of creation in God’s image).

As the earliest known revelation to Joseph to describe pre-mortal life, section 29 explains Satan’s lust for power, and how he led away a third of heaven’s inhabitants “because of their agency” (D&C 29:36). We too easily assume that Satan conspired to undermine agency by coercing his followers. The scriptures don’t say that. They only say that he sought to destroy agency. Couldn’t he have done that by telling them their choices had no consequences, that anything they chose was as good as any other choice? 

Section 29 emphasizes Heavenly Father’s more excellent way.

When Adam and Eve chose of their own free will to become subject to Satan by obeying him, they were cast out of God’s presence “because” they transgressed the law. They thus died spiritually. In other words, they were first spiritual, then temporal. Their fall made them carnal, mortal, natural. But that was only “the beginning of my work,” the Lord says (D&C 29:32).  

God began the “last” phase of creating Adam and Eve in his image by lengthening their mortal lives to enable them to exercise agency. He sent angels to teach them the law of the gospel, namely “repentance and redemption through faith on the name of mine Only Begotten Son.” This plan safeguarded agency, justice, and mercy. It guaranteed redemption to all who chose to believe, “eternal damnation” to all who choose not to believe or repent (D&C 29:44). Both get just what they want, what they choose.  

Section 29 ends as it began with emphasis on agency.  Until His children are capable of acting for themselves, Heavenly Father restricts Satan’s power to tempt them.  In other words, we grow into free agents gradually, and we “begin to become accountable” in direct proportion to our ability to act on our knowledge of the Lord’s commands of our own free will.

Notes

[1] “Revelation, July 1830–A [D&C 29],” p. 36, The Joseph Smith Papers, accessed September 24, 2020, https://www.josephsmithpapers.org/paper-summary/revelation-september-1830-a-dc-29/1.

 [2] Neal A. Maxwell, “Hope through the Atonement of Jesus Christ,” Ensign, Nov 1998,  61.