D&C 102-105 Quotes and Notes

D&C 102 February 17, 1834

Historical Background

During the winter of 1833-4, while the Saints in Missouri were still in distress at having been driven out of Jackson County and the Kirtland Saints were making preparations to come to their aid, Joseph Smith continued to receive revelation on a number of other topics as well. One of these dealt with the organization of the first high council of the Church in this dispensation. On 12 February 1834, Joseph met with a council of high priests and elders at his home in Kirtland. On the subject of councils, Joseph remarked that “in ancient days councils were conducted with such strict propriety, that no one was allowed to whisper, be weary, leave the room, or get uneasy in the least, until the voice of the Lord, by revelation, or the voice of the council by the Spirit, was obtained, which has not been observed in this Church to the present time. . . . Ask yourselves, brethren, how much you have exercised yourselves in prayer since you heard of this council; and if you are now prepared to sit in council upon the soul of your brother.”^[1]Smith, History of the Church, 2:25, 26.

Five days later, on 17 February 1834, another council, consisting of high priests, elders, priests, and members, met again at Joseph’s home for the purpose of proposing and sustaining twelve high priests to serve as members of the first high council of the Church in the latter days. These twelve would be presided over by the First Presidency of the Church, who also served as the stake presidency in Kirtland. The minutes of that meeting, as recorded by Orson Hyde and Oliver Cowdery, provide the text of Doctrine and Covenants 102. The minutes of the 17 February meeting were corrected by the Prophet and accepted by the council two days later, on 19 February.

On 3 July 1834, the Prophet organized another high council in Clay County, Missouri, with the Presidency of the Church in Missouri as its presidency. “In 1834, these two councils were sufficient to take care of all matters that properly belonged to and should be considered by high councils in the Church. As the Church grew and spread abroad it became necessary for high councils to be organized in each stake of Zion, over which the presidency of stakes presides, and it was no longer necessary for a general high council to sit or be organized, over which the First Presidency of the Church should preside.”^[2]Joseph Fielding Smith, Church History and Modern Revelation, 1:480.

It will be observed that in some ways the first high council of the Church prefigured the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles which was organized a year later in February 1835. Once the Quorum of the Twelve was organized, and there were functioning high councils in the stakes of the Church, there was no need for general Churchwide high councils. Nevertheless, Doctrine and Covenants 102 remained as a model of organization and procedure for all future stake high councils. Verses 30 through 32 were added to this revelation by Joseph Smith in the 1835 Doctrine and Covenants after the organization of the Quorum of the Twelve to distinguish the decisions of that quorum from those of the high councils in Kirtland and Missouri.^[3]H. Dean Garrett and Stephen E. Robinson, Doctrine and Covenants Commentary, volume 3, Deseret Book, 2004.

Important difficulties – D&C 102.2

While a primary purpose of high councils has always been disciplinary hearings, these are not the only matters nor even the majority of the matters a high council may deal with. “Under the direction of the stake presidency, the high council has important executive, legislative, and judicial powers (see D&C 102). Members of the stake high council serve as advisers to the stake presidency on any matter about which the presidency might seek counsel, and they carry out specific assignments. For example, a high councilor may have an assignment to represent the stake presidency, to assist in the training of a new ward bishopric, to attend ward priesthood executive committee meetings and ward council meetings, or to train and advise ward Melchizedek Priesthood quorum leaders.”^[4]Ludlow, ed., Encyclopedia of Mormonism, 2:586–87.

The other presidents have the power to preside – D&C 102.11

While this was true in the original high council of the Church as presided over by the First Presidency, it is not the case today in local high councils presided over by stake presidents. Unless otherwise directed by the First Presidency, the stake president himself must preside over stake high council disciplinary hearings.^[5]Garrett and Robinson, A Commentary on the Doctrine and Covenants, volume 3.

Difficult cases… drawing lots… the accuser and the accused – D&C 102.13-17

In a disciplinary council meeting, all of the council members are committed to seeing that truth and justice prevail. Toward this end, half of the councilors, those who have randomly drawn even numbers, are charged with defending the rights of the accused. The other half are charged with defending the rights of the Church, or with the aggrieved party or parties. The facts of the case are then presented by one, two, or three pairs of councilors—depending on the degree of difficulty. This is not an adversarial procedure, however. There is no prosecution and no defense. No one argues a case or tries to persuade the council. No one attempts to “win” a verdict. There is only one object, which is to arrive at the truth and to let fairness and justice prevail.^[6]Garrett and Robinson, volume 3.

Obtain the mind of the Lord – D&C 102.23

The decision of every disciplinary council should be sustained by the Spirit of revelation. It is customary in such councils for the presiding officers of the council to retire for prayer, in which they seek the confirmation of heaven on their decision.^[7]Revelations of the Restoration, p. 746.

Organize a council… settle difficulties – D&C 102.24-26

Where stakes of Zion have been established throughout the world, this instruction would be obsolete.^[8]Revelations of the Restoration, p. 746.

The importance of unity in decision making

There are texts that stress that the president has the final say on decisions made in councils. There are also texts that support the idea that decisions must be made in unity for God’s power to be with the decision. This issue certainly is nuanced.^[9]Boyd K. Packer: “And, always, if one of us cannot understand an issue or feels unsettled about it, it is held over for future discussion. “There is a rule we follow: A matter is not settled … Continue reading

D&C 103 February 24, 1834

The command to gather men for Zion’s Camp

Historical Background

Because of their collective failure to become a Zion people, the Latter-day Saints living in Jackson County, Missouri, had been driven from their homes^[10]Church leaders signed a memorandum promising that at least half of the Latter-day Saints would leave the county by January 1834 and that the other half would be gone by April 1834. With this … Continue reading and settlements during November and December 1833, and their properties and possessions had been pillaged and confiscated illegally by mobs. From adjoining counties in Missouri, primarily Clay County, the Saints had tried without success through their lawyers to seek relief through local courts.

Nonetheless, in November 1833, Governor Daniel Dunklin of Missouri led the Saints to believe that the state of Missouri would support them in returning to their homes if they could raise and arm a force sufficiently large to protect themselves from the mobs after their escort of state troops left.^[11]Smith, History of the Church, 1:444–45. See also letter by Robert W. Wells to attorneys Doniphan and Atchison dated November 21, 1833, photo of letter contained in this post. He would do this, he later stated, by temporarily making the Mormon volunteers a company of the state militia.^[12] Parkin, “Latter-day Saint Conflict in Clay County,” 244. The Mormons would have to defend themselves. Consequently, on 12 February 1834, Lyman Wight and Parley P. Pratt left Clay County, Missouri, for Kirtland to explain the situation to the Prophet. They arrived in Kirtland on 22 February and two days later met with Joseph and the high council there, on 24 February.

Two months earlier, on 16 December 1833, the Lord had already let the Prophet Joseph know that an armed force from the eastern churches, “the strength of mine house” (D&C 101:55), would be called upon to go to Zion and redeem the land. Sometime before the Kirtland high council met on 24 February, Joseph received the revelation now known as Doctrine and Covenants 103, which gave specific instructions and authorization for gathering that aforementioned force, which would come to be known as Zion’s Camp.^[13] Smith, History of the Church, 2:36–39; Kirtland Revelation Book, 108–11.

However, before this military campaign could begin, men were sent throughout the settled territories of the United States to places as far away as New England, Canada, Michigan, and the Southern states to collect volunteers, arms, money, and supplies both for Zion’s Camp and for the dispossessed Saints in Missouri. Also, this was no vigilante movement. It was Joseph’s clear intention to work within the law and in cooperation with the state of Missouri in returning the Jackson County Saints to their homes under guard and in protecting them once they were there. On 1 May 1834, the advanced guard of Zion’s Camp set out from Kirtland to await the main body at New Portage, Ohio, which had been designated as the rallying point for the Camp.^[14]An advance party of 20 left Kirtland on May 1, 1834, to prepare the first camp at New Portage, near present-day Akron, Ohio, and the main group of about 85 joined them on May 6. When Joseph and … Continue reading

The main body, led by Joseph Smith, left Kirtland on 5 May, and several other groups met up with the Camp at New Portage or along the course of the nine-hundred-mile march. By the time Zion’s Camp reached the Salt River in Missouri, it numbered more than two hundred persons.^[15]Ludlow, ed., Encyclopedia of Mormonism, 4:1627–29.

Historian Richard Bushman gives this account of the deliberations in early 1834:

Joseph’s confidence gradually returned in the winter of 1834. When two emissaries from the Saints in Clay County, Missouri, arrived in Kirtland in February, he took action. After hearing the report, Joseph declared that he was going to Zion to redeem the land and called for the council’s assent. The members agreed unanimously, nominating Joseph as “Commander in Chief of the Armies of Israel.”^[16]Kirtland High Council Minutes, Feb. 24, 1834. Provoked by the outrages in Missouri, another side of Joseph’s character surfaced. In place of the struggling Christian stood the militant leader of Israel’s armies.

The revelations did not explain how the Saints were to respond to violence. The Book of Mormon contained examples of extreme pacifism and equally vigorous militarism. Joseph’s early revelations had a pacifist side. The Saints were told to obtain Zion by purchase, not violence, for “if by blood, as you are forbidden to shed blood, lo, your enemies are upon you.” The first rumor of anti-Mormon action in Missouri in the summer of 1833 had brought a revelation telling them to “renounce war and proclaim peace.” But the same revelation explained that the Saints were expected to forbear only so long. If smitten once, twice, or thrice by their enemies, they were to “bear it patiently and revile not against them, neither seek revenge.” After that, resistance was justified. If their enemies repeatedly injured them, armed defense was justifiable.'^[17]Book of Commandments, 64.30-32 (D&C 63.29-31); D&C (1835) 85.7 (D&C 98.47-48). For a helpful discussion of the issue, see Walker, “Dilemmas of War,” 43-56. On Mormon pacifism, see … Continue reading

One historian sees in the revelation on submitting to three attacks the basis for an independent, militant kingdom under the umbrella of the United States government, with power to make war on its own authority.^[18]D. Michael Quinn, Origins of Power, p. 80-86; Quinn, “National Culture, Personality, and Theocracy in the Early Mormon Culture of Violence,” The John Whitmer Historical Association … Continue reading

Joseph’s designation by the Kirtland High Council as “Commander in Chief of the Armies of Israel” strengthens the impression of a military operation. But this peculiar elaboration of Church organization only reflected the position in which the Jackson County expulsion had placed the Mormons. The mob had treated them like an enemy nation. The citizens did not prosecute the Saints in court; they attacked them like Indians and drove them out as if they were wartime foes. What could the Mormons do but defend themselves like a nation, organizing an army and preparing for war? The only alternative seemed to be slaughter or expulsion.^[19]Kirtland High Council Minutes, Feb. 24, 1834.

A revelation at the time of the February 1834 council meeting told the Saints that “the redemption of Zion must needs come by power,” and the Lord would “raise up unto my people a man, who shall lead them like as Moses led the children of Israel.” That sounded like a call to action, but the comparison was to Moses leading Israel out of bondage and not Joshua invading Canaan. The comparison left some question about the nature of the “power” by which Zion was to be redeemed. Was it the power of arms conquering an enemy, or the power of God opening the sea? The Saints were promised they would possess “the goodly land,” a clear reference to Canaan, and told to assemble as many as five hundred men. But how these men were to engage the enemy is not explained. If attacked in Zion, were they to fight? The revelation said to “avenge me of mine enemies,” but nothing about fighting. The Saints were to “curse them,” not shoot them. When the little band finally reached Missouri, it was disbanded before a shot was fired.^[20]D&C (1844), 101.3,5. (D&C 103.15-16,20,24-25); Hill, Quest for Refuge, 45. Joseph’s military flourishes usually stopped short of battle…

The initial company of what became known as “Zion’s Camp” or the “Old Camp” set out from Kirtland on May 1. Joined by Joseph in New Portage on May 6, the company totaled about a hundred men, the number eventually doubling as other parties of Mormons trickled in from Midwest branches. Hyrum Smith and Lyman Wight recruited a company that joined with Joseph’s group north of St. Louis…^[21]A later account said the number had grown to 130 before they left New Portage. ManH A-1, 478. Milton Backman’s compilation lists 207 men, 11 women, and 11 children. Backman, Zion’s Camp, 93-95. … Continue reading

It is hard to know what the camp experience meant to Joseph as he traveled the nearly thousand miles from Ohio to Missouri during May and June of 1834. His journal for those months, kept by camp historian Frederick G. Williams, was lost. A brief account prepared during Joseph’s lifetime was not printed until after his death. The expanded account in the official History of the Church was the work of clerks who borrowed from the notes of participants such as Heber C. Kimball, George A. Smith, and the conscientious diarist Wilford Woodruff. In the expanded version, clerks combined all the available sources of information into entries that sounded as if Joseph himself wrote them. Where he was in this welter of sources is hard to know.^[22]On the whole episode, see Crawley and Anderson, “The Political and Social Realites of Zion’s Camp,” BYU Studies Quarterly, Volume 14, issue 4, 1974, p. 406-420.

Much of the Zion’s Camp story in the later accounts came from George A. Smith, Joseph’s admiring younger cousin who went on to become a leader in the Church hierarchy. “George A.” was nearly seventeen when the camp left Kirtland in May 1834, a plain country boy with weak eyes, wearing a crushed straw hat and striped ticking pantaloons, too short for his long body. Joseph sent him out when the camp passed through towns to answer questions the townspeople might direct to a simple boy rather than a more forbidding adult. Joseph invited George A. to sleep in his tent and assigned him to carry water for their irascible cook, Zebedee Coltrin.^[23]G. Smith, Memoirs, 9, 14-15, 26, 33.

George A. made note of food and sore feet. Forced on one hot day to drink slough water, he learned to “strain Wiglers” with his teeth. He was grateful to Joseph for lending him a pair of his own boots to ease his painful feet. He watched the Prophet bear up under hardships along with everyone else. When Joseph was given sweet bread rather than sour like the others, he asked for the sour. He walked all day rather than riding because the wagons were overloaded with supplies. Joseph “had a full proportion of blistered, bloody and sore feet, which was the natural result of walking from 25 to 40 miles a day in a hot season of the year.”^[24]George A. Smith, Memoirs, 9, 14, 17-19, 21, 37-38. G. Smith Statement, Oct. 10, 1864, Zion’s Camp Festival Papers.

George A. picked up the camp lore and especially the feeling of divine protection. Though apparently on their own as they trudged along the famed National Road to the West, the camp members believed heaven watched over them. A revelation had said an angel would go before them like Israel in the wilderness, and one camp member, Heber C. Kimball, said angels were seen.^[25]Hancock, Diary, 81. Reuben McBride said Joseph told them he had seen angels. McBride, Reminiscence, 3. When a man turned over a spadeful of earth and found water, some exclaimed that “it was as much of a miracle as when Moses smote the rock and water came out.” Happenings like this led Levi Hancock to say, “Truly we had seen the hand of God in our favor all the way.”^[26]Rough Stone Rolling, p. 235-239. See also: Water Miraculously Provided for Zion’s Camp 1834

Commentary on D&C 103

Why the Lord allowed the Saints to be persecuted in the winter of 1833-34 – D&C 103.1-4

We learn by revelation that the Lord allows atrocities on the part of wicked people that they might merit the judgment he has in store for them. When the wicked inhabitants of Ammonihah destroyed faithful women and children by fire, Amulek asked Alma whether they should exercise power to save them. “The Spirit constraineth me that I must not stretch forth mine hand;” answered Alma, “for behold the Lord receiveth them up unto himself, in glory; and he doth suffer that they may do this thing, or that the people may do this thing unto them, according to the hardness of their hearts, that the judgments which he shall exercise upon them in his wrath may be just; and the blood of the innocent shall stand as a witness against them, yea, and cry mightily against them at the last day” (Alma 14:11). The wicked determine the severity of their own suffering. The Lord has declared that “the things which they are willing to bring upon others, and love to have others suffer” will come upon them “to the very uttermost” (D&C 121:13).^[27]Revelations of the Restoration, p. 749-750.

The Redemption of Zion – D&C 103.11-20

Joseph Fielding Smith wrote: “In this instruction the Lord gave them [the Saints driven out of Jackson County] the opportunity to obtain the redemption of Zion and for the exiles to be reinstated in their possessions. Had they remained faithful he would have fulfilled his promise to them. They understood the warnings and that through their continued unfaithfulness the redemption would have to be postponed and they themselves would be thrown down. There have been some who have criticized this, and other revelations, claiming that the word of the Lord failed, for he promised them that if they would gather their forces and go to Zion, he would fight their battles and they would be reinstated and the redemption would immediately come. This promise is not found in any of these revelations. To the contrary, the promise is made that they would have to be obedient in all things and keep inviolate their covenants, or these blessings would be indefinitely postponed. The fact that the Lord declared here once again that the redemption was not to come until after much tribulation indicates that he was fully aware that the time for Zion’s redemption had not come, although it could have come if the commandments were fulfilled.”^[28]Joseph Fielding Smith, Church History and Modern Revelation, 1:483.

The redemption of Zion will come only when the Saints are worthy of the Lord’s divine power. On 21 January 1836, after attending to the ordinance of anointing in the upper west school room of the Kirtland Temple, the Prophet Joseph Smith recorded that he the redemption of Zion. . . . My scribe also received his anointing with us, and saw, in a vision, the armies of heaven protecting the Saints in their return to Zion, and many things which I saw” (Smith, History of the Church, 2:381). It is also important to note that throughout all of the revelations concerning inheritances in Zion the Lord indicated that the Saints were to obtain them by purchase (D&C 42:35; 45:65-66; 48:4-5; 57:4-6; 58:49-52; 63:27-30; 101:70-71; 103:23; 105:28-30).^[29]Revelations of the Restoration, p. 750-751.

In time ye shall possess the land – D&C 103.20

Joseph Fielding Smith said, “It appears from this declaration that the redemption of Zion was not to come immediately but was to be postponed to some future day. Moreover, that day would not come until the members of the Church were willing to keep their covenants and walk unitedly, for until the members of the Church learn to walk in full accord and in obedience with all of the commandments, this day cannot come. It may be necessary in order to bring this to pass for the Lord to use drastic measures and cleanse the Church from everything that offends. This he has promised to do when he is ready to redeem Zion.”^[30]Church History and Modern Revelation, 1:484.

Mine enemies… ye shall curse them… ye shall avenge me – D&C 103.24-26

The artillery of heaven^[31]This comes from Nathan Baldwin, a participant in Zion’s Camp. Nathan B. Baldwin recorded: “The Lord had previously said He would fight the battles of His Saints; and it seemed as though the … Continue reading

McConkie and Ostler^[32]Revelations of the Restoration, p. 752-754. provide the following: While the members of Zion’s Camp marched nearer to Jackson County, Missouri, the mob element there met to propose means of stopping them from entering the district. The Prophet Joseph Smith recorded several instances in which the power of the Lord was manifest. “The Jackson mob to the number of about fifteen, with Samuel C. Owens and James Campbell at their head, started for Independence, Jackson County, to raise an army sufficient to meet me, before I could get into Clay county. Campbell swore, as he adjusted his pistols in his holsters, ‘The eagles and turkey buzzards shall eat my flesh if I do not fix Joe Smith and his army so that their skins will not hold shucks, before two days are passed.’ They went to the ferry and undertook to cross the Missouri river after dusk, and the angel of God saw fit to sink the boat about the middle of the river, and seven out of twelve that attempted to cross, were drowned. Thus, suddenly and justly, went they to their own place. Campbell was among the missing. He floated down the river some four or five miles, and lodged upon a pile of drift wood, where the eagles, buzzards, ravens, crows, and wild animals ate his flesh from his bones, to fulfill his own words, and left him a horrible example of God’s vengeance. He was discovered about three weeks after by one Mr. Purtle. Owens saved his life only, after floating four miles down the stream, where he lodged upon an island, ‘swam off naked about day light, borrowed a mantle to hide his shame, and slipped home rather shy of the vengeance of God.'”^[33]Smith, History of the Church, 2:99-100.

Two days after the recording of the previous incident, the Prophet wrote further: “During this day, the Jackson county mob, to the number of about two hundred, made arrangements to cross the Missouri river, above the mouth of Fishing river, at Williams’ ferry, into Clay county, and be ready to meet the Richmond mob near Fishing river ford, for our utter destruction; but after the first scow load of about forty had been set over the river, the scow in returning was met by a squall, and had great difficulty in reaching the Jackson side by dark.

“When these five men were in our camp, swearing vengeance, the wind, thunder, and rising cloud indicated an approaching storm, and in a short time after they left the rain and hail began to fall. The storm was tremendous; wind and rain, hail and thunder met them in great wrath, and soon softened their direful courage, and frustrated all their designs to ‘kill Joe Smith and his army.’ Instead of continuing a cannonading which they commenced when the sun was about one hour high, they crawled under wagons, into hollow trees, and filled one old shanty, till the storm was over, when their ammunition was soaked, and the forty in Clay county were extremely anxious in the morning to return to Jackson, having experienced the pitiless pelting of the storm all night; and as soon as arrangements could be made, this ‘forlorn hope’ took the ‘back track’ for Independence, to join the main body of the mob, fully satisfied, as were those survivors of the company who were drowned, that when Jehovah fights they would rather be absent. The gratification is too terrible.

“Very little hail fell in our camp, but from half a mile to a mile around, the stones or lumps of ice cut down the crops of corn and vegetation generally, even cutting limbs from trees, while the trees, themselves were twisted into withes by the wind. The lightning flashed incessantly, which caused it to be so light in our camp through the night, that we could discern the most minute objects; and the roaring of the thunder was tremendous. The earth trembled and quaked, the rain fell in torrents, and, united, it seemed as if the mandate of vengeance had gone forth from the God of battles, to protect His servants from the destruction of their enemies, for the hail fell on them and not on us, and we suffered no harm, except the blowing down of some of our tents, and getting wet; while our enemies had holes made in their hats, and otherwise received damage, even the breaking of their rifle stocks, and the fleeing of their horses through fear and pain.

“Many of my little band sheltered in an old meetinghouse through this night, and in the morning the water in Big Fishing river was about forty feet deep, where, the previous evening, it was no more than to our ankles, and our enemies swore that the water rose thirty feet in thirty minutes in the Little Fishing river. They reported that one of their men was killed by lightning, and that another had his hand torn off by his horse drawing his hand between the logs of a corn crib while he was holding him on the inside. They declared that if that was the way God fought for the Mormons, they might as well go about their business.”^[34]Smith, History of the Church, 2:103-5.

Zion’s Camp a Failure?

After this incident, when the small number of Saints reached the Fishing River, the Lord revealed to Joseph that the elders were to “wait for a little season” for the redemption of Zion (D&C 105.1-9). This cause frustration among many of the participants of Zion’s Camp. Historian Richard Bushman^[35]Bushman, Rough Stone Rolling, p. 247. offers the following insight:

The expedition to Missouri in 1834 has been called Joseph Smith’s first major failure. Nothing that Joseph aimed to accomplish came about. Several hundred men spent three months walking two thousand miles; fourteen of them never came home. Nothing the camp did improved the situation in Jackson County. The Saints were still refugees, living in Clay County as barely tolerated aliens. Hoping to pacify the Clay people, the Mormons agreed among themselves to abstain from voting and not to hold public meetings, all to no effect. Four years later, Missourians combined to drive the Mormons across the Mississippi into Illinois.

Was Zion’s Camp a catastrophe? Perhaps, but it was not the unmitigated disaster that it appears to be. Most camp members felt more loyal to Joseph than ever, bonded by their hardships. The future leadership of the Church came from this group. Nine of the Church’s original Twelve Apostles, all seven presidents of the Seventy, and sixty-three other members of the Seventy marched in Zion’s Camp. Joseph’s own devotion to Zion and the gathering grew more intense. When the Jackson County committee gave the Saints an opportunity to sell out, cut their losses, and start again elsewhere, he refused. A revelation had designated Independence as the place for a temple, and no other would do. After experiencing Jackson County anger and backing off, Joseph still predicted a return within two years.^[36]See: Bushman, Rough Stone Rolling, p. 247. Joseph Smith to Lyman Wight and others, August 16, 1834, JSC. For an evaluation of Zion’s Camp, see Esplin, “Emergence of Brigham Young,” p. … Continue reading

D&C 104 The United Firm

Historical Background

Destruction of the Saints’ property in Jackson County, Missouri, by lawless mobs contributed to a financial crisis for the Church. Earlier the Lord had given responsibility for the Church’s properties to leaders within an organization known as the United Firm. Members of the United Firm were called by revelation and included prominent Saints in both Ohio and Missouri.

From the beginning of the Church’s Restoration, the Lord gave Joseph Smith tasks that required temporal means to accomplish. For example, with Martin Harris’s financial help, the young prophet published the Book of Mormon. As the Church grew in numbers, the scope of its revealed mission grew as well. Building Zion communities required land and resources. Proclaiming the revealed gospel to the world required access to a printing press. The United Firm was established to coordinate and fund these ambitious efforts.^[37]Matthew C. Godfrey, “Newel K. Whitney and the United Firm,” Revelations in Context.

At a meeting of the United Firm on 30 April 1832 in Independence, Missouri, it was “resolved that the firm [secure a] loan [of] fifteen thousand dollars for five years or longer at six per cent annually or semi- annually . . . , and that N. K. Whitney & Co. be appointed to negotiate the same.”^[38]Cannon and Cook, Far West Record, 48. In late October 1832 the Prophet Joseph Smith and Newel K. Whitney traveled together to New York City. Brother Whitney purchased goods on credit for the mercantile businesses of the United Firm. These goods were used to stock the Newel K. Whitney store in Kirtland, Ohio, and, most probably, the A. Sidney Gilbert store in Independence, Missouri (D&C 57:8; 63:42-43; 64:26). In addition, the United Firm incurred debt for the purchase of the Peter French farm in Kirtland, Ohio (D&C 96), and possibly for land in Jackson County, Missouri. Profits from Church- owned businesses and consecrated funds from the Saints were to pay off these debts. This plan met with difficulties in the fall of 1833 when the Saints in Missouri, specifically members of the United Firm, were unable to contribute financially to the Church because mobs had driven them from their farms and businesses in Jackson County.^[39]Revelations of the Restoration, p. 756.

In addition, in Kirtland, Ohio, an apostate named Philastus Hurlburt brought a lawsuit against Hyrum Smith to obtain property owned by the United Firm. As a result, funds of the United Firm were further drained to pay court costs and lawyer fees, as well as travel expenses. The Prophet Joseph Smith felt that he could not journey to Missouri at the head of Zion’s Camp until the problems concerning the United Firm’s debts were resolved. But he realized that “if I do not go [to Missouri], it will be impossible to get my brethren in Kirtland, any of them, to go” (Smith, History of the Church, 2:48). Thus, the success of Zion’s Camp in restoring the Saints’ property in Jackson County, Missouri, was connected to the needs of the United Firm.

Donations were sought from members of the Church, but it soon became evident that sufficient funds would not be raised to pay the notes that were due.^[40]On January 11, 1834, six members of the firm, including Whitney, prayed that the Lord “would provide, in the order of his Providence, the bishop of this Church with means sufficient to discharge … Continue reading Members of the Firm in Kirtland had been meeting for months, counseling with one another and petitioning the Lord to show the way whereby they might free themselves from debt. On 7 April the Prophet wrote, “Bishop Whitney, Elder Frederick G. Williams, Oliver Cowdery, Heber C. Kimball, and myself, met in the council room, and bowed down before the Lord, and prayed that He would furnish the means to deliver the Firm from debt, that they might be set at liberty; also, that I might prevail against that wicked man, Hurlburt, and that he might be put to shame.”^[41]Smith, History of the Church, 2:47-48. Three days later the Prophet recorded that “it was agreed that the Order should be dissolved, and each one have his stewardship set off to him.”^[42]Smith, History of the Church, 2:49. By such a plan the property of the Church managed by the United Firm could be protected. The creditors would have claim on property held by the United Firm, not on property owned by individuals. This move was not made to escape responsibility for paying debts but rather to give the Church more time to gather needed funds and to allow the Prophet to travel with Zion’s Camp to Missouri.

The actual division of the property was postponed for two weeks in the hope that such a course might not be necessary. When the council met again on 23 April, the Lord confirmed by revelation that he approved their decision to assign properties to individuals,^[43]On April 23, 1834, the Lord gave Joseph Smith a revelation—now Doctrine and Covenants 104—that assigned these stewardships to the different members of the firm. The stewardships were … Continue reading but rather than allow the council to dissolve the United Firm, the Lord commanded that they reorganize into two separate orders in Ohio and Missouri. He also gave instructions regarding the Church’s assets and the obligation of members of the United Firm to pay their debts.^[44]Revelations of the Restoration, p. 756-757.

Newel K. Whitney’s role in the United Firm

In April 1834, Newel K. Whitney, the bishop of the Church in Kirtland, Ohio, and a prominent businessman, forgave over $3,600 in debts owed to him by several individuals, including Joseph Smith, Sidney Rigdon, and Oliver Cowdery. The debts had accumulated over two years (1832-1834) as these men worked together, in an administrative body called the United Firm, to direct and finance the temporal operations of the Church. Now, after two tumultuous years, the United Firm was to be dissolved. “Joseph said it was the will of the Lord” that the accounts be balanced “in full without any value rec[eived],” Whitney declared. Whitney then said that he would do what Joseph asked.^[45]See: Godfrey, Newel K. Whitney and the United Firm. See also: “Balance of Account, 23 April 1834,” josephsmithpapers.org.

Newel K. Whitney’s participation in the United Firm left him with increased indebtedness, but he never showed any bitterness towards Joseph Smith or the Lord because of this. Whitney did not record his feelings about forgiving the large sum^[46]Max Parkin puts the amount at $3,655.35. See: Parkin, Joseph Smith and the United Firm: The Growth and Decline of the Church’s First Master Plan of Business and Finance, Ohio and Missouri, … Continue reading of $3,600, but his forgiveness of the debts showed his willingness to follow the Prophet even in temporal matters. His role in the firm gave him an opportunity to work closely with Joseph Smith and other Church leaders in providing the Church with means to carry out its mission. The United Firm played a vital role in the administration of the Church from 1832 to 1834—just as Whitney played a vital role in the firm itself.^[47]Godfrey, Newel K. Whitney and the United Firm.

Commentary on D&C 104

Some of my servants have not kept the commandment – D&C 104.4

Sometimes I get questions from students as to who these individuals are that the Lord is calling out in D&C 104.4. Those who “through covetousness, with feigned words” the Lord will curse, these are strong words by the Lord in this revelation disbanding the United Firm. Max Parkin explained this verse as follows:

The April 1834 revelation speaks of jarring problems among the members of the United Firm. The “transgressor” among them “cannot escape my wrath,” the revelation stated.^[48]D&C 104.4-10. Dissonance among them had roots early in the firm’s organization and continued during the two years of its existence. In fact, problems between the leaders in Ohio and Missouri arose as early as July 1831 at the time Zion was dedicated. That summer, Bishop Partridge had reservations about the Prophet’s conjectured size of the branch that awaited their arrival in Jackson County. According to Ezra Booth, one of the elders traveling to Missouri that summer, the Prophet expected a large branch of the Church resulting from Oliver Cowdery’s missionary work there the previous spring, but when they arrived there were only a few members. What Booth believed was Joseph’s errant prediction and his other shortcomings soon contributed to his own apostasy, and he attempted to take others with him. In a lengthy letter to Edward Partridge reviewing his complaints, Booth remonstrated with the bishop to join him and leave the faith, but his appeal bore no fruit.^[49]Ezra Booth, “Letter VII,” Ohio Star, November 24, 1831, 1; Howe, Mormonism Unvailed, 200–210. See D&C 58:14–18; History of the Church, 1:215–17; for a consideration of the relationship … Continue reading Nevertheless, Sidney Rigdon kept alive his own complaint against Partridge for his doubts and possibly for other concerns until the two men met at Independence in April 1832. There the disagreements were “settled” and “the hearts of all run together in love,” wrote John Whitmer.^[50]Cannon and Cook, Far West Record, 41, 45; History of the Church, 1:267. Then, in a climate of peace, they organized the United Firm.

As the United Firm was established, its leaders made a covenant of solidarity. Sometimes, however, they had trouble fulfilling their ideal. Distance, differing views on administrative policy, misunderstandings, and perhaps personality variances sometimes got in their way. In November 1832, a problem between the leaders in Kirtland and in Independence prompted a chastising revelation directed at Bishop Partridge that threatened to replace him as bishop in Zion if he did not repent. He is the “man, who was called of God and appointed, that putteth forth his hand to steady the ark of God,”^[51]D&C 85:8. Sometimes problems arose over Bishop Newel K. Whitney at Kirtland. See Kirtland Council Minutes, 25. it said. But after an accompanying rebuke, the crisis passed and a successor was never named.^[52] “One Mighty and Strong,” Messages of the First Presidency, comp. James R. Clark, 6 vols. (Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1965), 4:113, 117, November 13, 1905. In January 1833, when another problem between the two groups arose, the Prophet sent Phelps a copy of a revelation that Joseph termed the “olive leaf” to uplift the Saints in Missouri, but he sent it with a letter containing a grim message: “If Zion will not purify herself, . . . [God] will seek another people.”^[53]D&C 88; Kirtland Letter Book, 19; History of the Church, 1:316. Also in an accompanying letter, two representatives of a council of high priests at Kirtland censured Partridge, Gilbert, and Phelps individually for hasty words; the representatives then added a caution from Joseph Smith, that if Zion did not improve “the Lord will seek another place.” In their letter, the two spokesmen, Hyrum Smith and Orson Hyde, excoriated the three men. “We feel more like weeping over Zion,” they wrote, “than we do like rejoicing over her.”^[54]Kirtland Letter Book, 21; History of the Church, 1:319–20.

Joseph’s sympathy and love for these brethren in Missouri

Parkin continues^[55]Max Parkin, Joseph Smith and the United Firm, p. 36.:

After the Saints were driven from Jackson County, however, the leaders in Ohio expressed sympathy and love for their exiled brethren. On December 10, 1833, the Prophet wrote to Partridge, Phelps, and others in Missouri: “Brethren, when we learn [of] your sufferings it awakens ev[e]ry sympathy of our hearts; it weighs us down; we cannot refrain from tears.”^[56]Kirtland Letter Book, 72; Jessee, Personal Writings of Joseph Smith, 330. Nevertheless, problems continued. From Clay County, Phelps wrote “sharp, piercing, & cutting reproofs” against the Kirtland leaders, as Joseph quoted him in a letter dated March 30, 1834. The Prophet answered Phelps, Partridge, and “others of the firm”: “O, how wounding, & how poignant must it be to receive chastisement & reproofs, for things that we are not guilty of from a source we least expect them, arising from a distrustful, a fearful, & jealous spirit.”^[57]Cowdery, Letter Book, 31; Jessee, Personal Writings of Prophet Joseph Smith, 334–35; History of the Church, 1:317–21. Perhaps to soften his reprimand, however, Joseph Smith added that he would “forgive, and . . . forebear, with all long suffering and patience.^[58]Cowdery, Letter Book, 34; Jessee, Personal Writings of Joseph Smith, 337. The Prophet’s letter was dated March 30, 1834.

The buffetings of Satan – D&C 104.9

An individual who receives extensive spiritual knowledge, enters into sacred covenants, and then turns away from those promises to the Lord may be left to the buffetings of Satan until complete repentance has occurred. This sin differs in nature and category from one committed in ignorance. Paul alluded to such in 1 Corinthians 5:1-5,but a clearer understanding of the doctrine is found in latter-day revelation.

To the Prophet Joseph Smith the Lord revealed the situation of some who had broken the covenants by which they had entered the United Order. That revelation reads, “The soul that sins against this covenant, and hardeneth his heart against it, shall be dealt with according to the laws of my church, and shall be delivered over to the buffetings of Satan until the day of redemption” (D&C 82:20-21; cf. 78:12; 104:9-10). The same principle applies to persons whose temple marriage is sealed by the Holy Spirit of promise, and who later transgress and break their covenants. The revelation states that they “shall be delivered unto the buffetings of Satan unto the day of redemption, saith the Lord God” (D&C 132:26).

Elder Bruce R. McConkie, a latter-day apostle, explained that to be “turned over to the buffetings of Satan is to be given into [Satan’s] hands; it is to be turned over to him with all the protective power of the priesthood, of righteousness, and of godliness removed, so that Lucifer is free to torment, persecute, and afflict such a person without let or hindrance. When the bars are down, the cuffs and curses of Satan, both in this world and in the world to come, bring indescribable anguish typified by burning fire and brimstone. The damned in hell so suffer.”^[59]McConkie, Mormon Doctrine, “Buffetings of Satan”; see also McConkie, Doctrinal New Testament Commentary, Vol. 2, p. 335.

The term “buffetings of Satan” used in latter-day revelation is associated with punishment for the violation of covenants and is distinct from the “buffet” or “buffeted” used occasionally in the New Testament, which refers to the suffering, maltreatment, and persecution to which the Savior, Paul, and other church members were often subjected by people (Matt. 26:67; 1 Cor. 4:11; 2 Cor. 12:7).^[60]Dennis D. Flake, Buffetings of Satan, Encyclopedia of Mormonism.

Appoint every man his stewardship – D&C 104.11

The corporate holdings of the order were to be divided up into individual parcels of private property. In most cases, these allotments reflected the informal division of property already in existence between the brethren at the time this revelation was received. Until 1981 public versions of Doctrine and Covenants 104 contained coded names in place of (or along with) the names of the stewards and the properties listed here. This was originally necessary to protect these individuals from enemies seeking to attach their assets by lawsuits.^[61]Garrett and Robinson, volume 3.

The Earth is full… I the Lord, built the earth, my very handiwork …Enough and to spare – D&C 104.14-17

There is an increasing sentiment among some seminary students that the world is overpopulated, running out of resources and that the future looks bleak.  Many students have expressed to me thoughts such as, “What’s the use?  The world is going to end anyways.  Why get married and have children?  Will there even be a world for me to live in anyway?”

To me, this is the relevant portion of D&C 104. Knowing the history of the United Firm is important, but most people really want to know and feel the sentiment discussed in D&C 104.14-17. For more on this topic, see “Enough and to spare.”

The Dissolution of the United Firm… no longer bound… you shall do business in your own name – D&C 104.47-43

“The Lord . . . commanded that there should be a separation of the United Order in Zion from the Order in Kirtland,” explained Joseph Fielding Smith. “Each was to act henceforth independently of the other. Distance was too great between these places for unity of purpose in all things. Each order was to be organized in the names of the brethren residing in each place, and to do business in their own names. This separation and dissolving of the former order came about also because of transgression and covetousness on the part of some.”^[62]Joseph Fielding Smith, Church History and Modern Revelation, 1:489.

Pay all your debts – D&C 104.78

Latter-day Saints are to be honest in all their dealings. Those who contract financial obligations should make every effort to meet their obligations. The debts specifically referred to in this revelation were incurred by loans secured in behalf of the Church. The name of the Church must not be held in disrepute because those stewards responsible for Church finances secure loans that go unpaid. Regardless of who contracted debt as an agent of the Lord, all his agents are responsible to pay the debt incurred.^[63]Revelations of the Restoration, p. 766.

President Kimball said:

All my life from childhood I have heard the Brethren saying, “Get out of debt and stay out of debt.”^[64]in Conference Report, Apr. 1975, 166.

Those who were later called to positions of trust similar to that of members of the United Firm assumed the debts and obligations entered into by their predecessors. Brigham Young accepted responsibility for the Prophet Joseph Smith’s debts.^[65]It must be remembered that in April 1834, Bishop Newel K. Whitney forgave over $3,600 in debts owed to him by several individuals, including Joseph Smith, Sidney Rigdon, and Oliver Cowdery. See: … Continue reading “Joseph was doing business in Kirtland,” Brigham explained, “and it seemed as though all creation was upon him, to hamper him in every way, and they drove him from his business, and it left him so that some of his debts had to be settled afterwards; and I am thankful to say that they were settled up; still further, we have sent East to New York, to Ohio, and to every place where I had any idea that Joseph had ever done business, and inquired if there was a man left to whom Joseph Smith, Jun., the Prophet, owed a dollar, or a sixpence. If there was we would pay it. But I have not been able to find one. I have advertised this through every neighborhood and place where he formerly lived, consequently I have a right to conclude that all his debts were settled.”^[66]Journal of Discourses, 18:242.

D&C 105 – Revelation concerning the disbanding of Zion’s Camp, June 22, 1834

Historical Background

The Promise from Governor Dunklin its reversal

From Saints, volume 1,^[67]Saints, The Standard of Truth, 1815-1846, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 2018, pages 194-206. we read the following:

Joseph had high hopes for his small band, which he called the Camp of Israel. Although they were armed and willing to fight, as the ancient Israelites had been when they battled for the land of Canaan, Joseph wanted to resolve the conflict peacefully. Government officials in Missouri had told church leaders there that Governor Dunklin was willing to send the state militia to accompany the Saints back to their lost lands.^[68]See Missouri attorney general R.W. Wells’ letter to attorneys Atchison and Doniphan, legal counsel to the Church, dated Nov. 21, 1833. He could not, however, promise to keep mobs from driving them out again.^[69]William W. Phelps to Joseph Smith, Dec. 15, 1833, in JSP, D3:382–86; Robert W. Wells to Alexander Doniphan and David R. Atchison, Nov. 21, 1833, copy, William W. … Continue reading Joseph planned to request the governor’s aid once the Camp of Israel arrived in Missouri, then work with the militia to return the Saints to Jackson County. The camp would remain in Zion for a year to keep the Saints safe from their enemies.^[70]It Becomes Our Duty to Address You on the Subject of Immediately Preparing [Kirtland, OH: May 10, 1834], copy at Church History Library; Sidney Rigdon and Oliver Cowdery to “Dear … Continue reading

Garrett and Robinson give this helpful background information:

On their overland march of nine hundred miles or more from Kirtland to western Missouri, Zion’s Camp suffered from some internal grumbling and dissension. In consequence, Joseph prophesied in early June that the Lord would scourge the camp.^[71]History of the Church, 2:80, 114-120. It was no surprise, then, to Heber C. Kimball and others when, on June 24, at the end of their march, on Rush Creek east of Liberty in Clay County, Missouri, cholera struck the camp, eventually sickening sixty-eight persons and killing thirteen.^[72]Backman, Heavens Resound, 187–88. Perhaps an even greater blow to the faith of some in Zion’s Camp had occurred on 15 June when Orson Hyde and Parley P. Pratt returned from Governor Dunklin in Jefferson City, where they had been sent by Joseph Smith “to ascertain if he was ready to fulfill the proposition which he had previously made to the brethren to reinstate them on their lands in Jackson county, and leave them there to defend themselves.”^[73]Smith, History of the Church, 2:88–89. In short, the governor was no longer ready to do so. While he freely admitted that the rights of the Saints were being violated, Governor Dunklin declared that the use of force to secure those rights was impractical, and he feared it would lead to civil war. On 22 June 1834, while still at Fishing River, east of Liberty, Missouri, Joseph Smith received Doctrine and Covenants 105. This revelation explained the reasons behind the successes and failures of Zion’s Camp and gave directions to the Prophet for the future of Zion.^[74]Smith, History of the Church, 2:108–11.

Because it had never been Joseph’s intention to go to war contrary to the laws of the state and of the nation, the governor’s change of policy effectively changed the mission of Zion’s Camp. Joseph used the donated funds and supplies to aid the Missouri Saints in Clay County. He reorganized the leadership of the Missouri Saints and disbanded the volunteers of Zion’s Camp. Many of them chose to stay in Missouri, but most of them returned to their homes in Ohio and the East.^[75]Garrett and Robinson, Commentary, volume 3.

Wait for a little season – D&C 105.9 (see also 105.23-26)

The little season was to be two years. As the Missouri saints were told to “not talk of judgments, neither boast of faith or mighty works” (D&C 105.24), they were given an opportunity to regain their lands.

McConkie and Ostler point out:

In addition to the personal purification required of the Saints, they were to make friends of the nonmembers in Clay County and surrounding regions. If they did so, the Lord promised them success in being reinstated to their inheritances in Zion. The endowment of power required before the Saints would be fully prepared to redeem Zion was administered in the Kirtland Temple in early 1836. The Prophet wrote to the Church leaders in Missouri that they should be ready to move into Jackson County on 11 September 1836, “which is the appointed time for the redemption of Zion. If—verily I say unto you— if the Church with one united effort perform their duties; if they do this, the work shall be complete— if they do not this in all humility, making preparation from this time forth, like Joseph in Egypt, laying up store against the time of famine, every man having his tent, his horses, his chariots, his armory, his cattle, his family, and his whole substance in readiness against the time when it shall be said: To your tents, O Israel! Let not this be noised abroad; let every heart beat in silence, and every mouth be shut.

“Now, my beloved brethren, you will learn by this we have a great work to do, and but little time to do it in; and if we do not exert ourselves to the utmost in gathering up the strength of the Lord’s house that this thing may be accomplished, behold there remaineth a scourge for the Church, even that they shall be driven from city to city, and but few shall remain to receive an inheritance; if those things are not kept, there remaineth a scourge also; therefore, be wise this once, O ye children of Zion! and give heed to my counsel, saith the Lord.”^[76]Smith, History of the Church, 2:145-46.

The Prophet Joseph Smith, writing from Kirtland, Ohio, continued to send instructions and counsel to the Saints in Missouri. Referring to these verses, he and other presiding high priests of the Church wrote to Hezekiah Peck: “It is wisdom that the church should make but little or no stir in that region, and cause as little excitement as possible and endure their afflictions patiently until the time appointed—and the Governor of Mo. fulfills his promise in settling the church over upon their own lands. . . .

“Let them remember the commandment which says, ‘talk not of Judgment,’ we are commanded not to give the children’s bread unto the dogs; neither cast our pearls before swine, least they trample them under their feet, and turn again and rend you. Therefore let us be wise in all things, and keep all the commandments of God, that our salvation may be sure; having our armour ready and prepared against the time appointed, and having on the whole armor of righteousness, we may be able to stand in that trying day. We say also that if there are any doors open for the Elders to preach the first principles of the gospel, let them not keep silence; rail not against the sects, neither talk against their tenets. But preach Christ and him crucified, love to God and love to man, observing always to make mention of our republican principles, thereby if possible, we may allay the prejudice of the people, be meek and lowly of heart, and the Lord God of our fathers shall be with you for evermore Amen.”^[77]Jessee, Personal Writings of Joseph Smith, 347-48.

When the appointed time arrived, the Saints in Clay County, Missouri, had not heeded the commands of God. Without regard to the feelings of their neighbors, the Saints had gathered in great numbers to Clay County. “As the gathering heightened,” explained Max Parkin, “some Saints did not follow counsel and were viewed as speaking with inordinate zeal for their home in exile. Friendly Joseph Thorpe lamented over what he saw as boasts of some of the Saints. ‘[The Latter- day Saints] with all their experience in Jackson, began to tell the citizens of Clay the same old tale; that this country was theirs by gift of the Lord, and it was folly for them to improve their lands, they would not enjoy the fruits of their labor; that it would finally fall into the hands of the saints.’ After reviewing a conversation with a zealous Latter-day Saint, Thorpe unsympathetically reflected: ‘This kind of talk, with their insolence and impudent behavior, so enraged the citizens that they began to consult about the best course to take to rid themselves of a set of religious fanatics.’ Thus, lingering dissatisfaction by some old settlers of Clay County erupted into animosity against the Latter-day Saints.

“Adverse sentiment heightened by late spring 1836. On 29 June, friendly leading citizens at Liberty held a public meeting to help prevent violence by issuing suggestions and where they felt needful to file complaints against the Latter- day Saints. ‘Their rapid emigration,’ the committee report said of the Saints, ‘their large land purchases,’ and their claims that Clay County was ‘destined by heaven to be theirs’ were some of the objections they noted.”^[78]Max Parkin, Latter-day Saint Conflict in Clay County,” In Missouri. Edited by Arnold K. Garr and Clark V. Johnson. Regional Studies in Latter-day Saint Church History series. Provo, Utah: … Continue reading The citizens of Clay County requested that the Saints move from the region and settle in Wisconsin. Instead, the Saints moved to relatively uninhabited lands north of Ray County, Missouri, at the advice of the Prophet Joseph Smith, who counseled them that “if [they] could stop short [of Wisconsin], in peace, [they] had better do so.”^[79]History of the Church, 2:455. The land they settled was later incorporated into Caldwell County, Missouri.^[80]Revelations of the Restoration, p. 777-778.

The kingdoms of this world … acknowledge that the kingdom of Zion is in very deed the kingdom of God and his Christ – D&C 105.32

At a future day—most probably the Millennium—the kingdoms of this world will come to acknowledge the greatness of Zion, its people, and her laws and will seek to unite with the Saints of God. “The worthiness of the Lord’s people, their sanctified state, their purity and uprightness before him— these are the things that will enable them to build the New Jerusalem, for Zion is the City of Holiness,” said Elder Bruce R. McConkie. “When it is built, as it was in Enoch’s day, its grandeur and glory and power must be such that those in all nations, from one end of the earth to the other, standing in awe, will feel inclined to be subject to such a mighty city, whence comes such a perfect law” (New Witness, 618-19). At that time Isaiah’s words will find yet another fulfillment, for “many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths” (Isaiah 2:3).^[81]Revelations of the Restoration, p. 779.

They shall have power after many days to accomplish all things pertaining to Zion – D&C 105.37

Originally, the Saints were promised that they could reenter Jackson County 11 September 1836 (D&C 57:4; 105:23-26). Failure to prepare themselves for this blessing resulted in its being taken from them.^[82]Revelations of the Restoration, p. 780.

President Spencer W. Kimball^[83]“Becoming the Pure in Heart,” Ensign, May 1978. put it this way:

The length of time required “to accomplish all things pertaining to Zion” is strictly up to us and how we live, for creating Zion “commences in the heart of each person.”^[84]Journal of Discourses, 9:283. That it would take some time to learn our lessons was seen by the prophets. In 1863 Brigham Young stated:

“If the people neglect their duty, turn away from the holy commandments which God has given us, seek their own individual wealth, and neglect the interests of the kingdom of God, we may expect to be here quite a time-perhaps a period that will be far longer than we anticipate.”^[85]Journal of Discourses, 11:102.

This state of affairs stands in marked contrast to the Zion the Lord seeks to establish through his covenant people. Zion can be built up only among those who are the pure in heart, not a people torn by covetousness or greed, but a pure and selfless people. Not a people who are pure in appearance, rather a people who are pure in heart. Zion is to be in the world and not of the world, not dulled by a sense of carnal security, nor paralyzed by materialism. No, Zion is not things of the lower, but of the higher order, things that exalt the mind and sanctify the heart.

Zion is “every man seeking the interest of his neighbor, and doing all things with an eye single to the glory of God.” (D&C 82:19.) As I understand these matters, Zion can be established only by those who are pure in heart, and who labor for Zion, for “the laborer in Zion shall labor for Zion; for if they labor for money they shall perish.” (2 Ne. 26:31.)

As important as it is to have this vision in mind, defining and describing Zion will not bring it about. That can only be done through consistent and concerted daily effort by every single member of the Church. No matter what the cost in toil or sacrifice, we must “do it.” That is one of my favorite phrases: “Do It.”

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