Doctrine & Covenants Lesson # 29
“Building
the Kingdom of God in Nauvoo, Illinois”
Introduction
After the somewhat harrying period we covered over the
past two weeks, we enter a time of comparative peace. The Saints had been
granted respite from the extermination order in Missouri and found refuge in
Illinois, initially in Quincy. They then bought land in Commerce which they
renamed Nauvoo. This time, they sought and were granted a charter on December
16, 1840:
“An Act to Incorporate the City of
Nauvoo.” This charter granted extensive legal powers to the citizens of Nauvoo,
including, among other powers, the ability to organize a legislative body of
their own to create laws within the city, the power to create the Nauvoo Legion
as a subset of the state militia, and the authority to establish a university
within the city.[1]
The reading for this week comprises sections 124 and 126,
two of the very few revelations recorded during Joseph’s time in Nauvoo. Section
124 seems to me to cover so much, from a declaration to all the rulers of the
earth from thence until He comes again, down to individual instruction to
members of Joseph’s congregation. All are equal in the eyes of the Lord!
Section 126 is a very personal instruction to Brigham.
1. The Saints sought refuge in Illinois.
Sarah touched on some of the hardships faced by the
Saints as they were forced to flee across the Mississippi in reaction to the
infamous Extermination Order (which, by the way, wasn’t repealed until 1976!)[2] But
now he is reunited with his family and, I am certain, optimistic about the
future with a city, militia, a bank, and the prospect of a university. More
importantly, the promised endowment talked about during Zion’s Camp would be
realized with the construction of a temple. The hardships of the past few years
might be receding into the background. And as you read this, I can see the
black cloud you all see on the horizon. However, in this blog at least, I will
focus on the good things, like the formation of the Relief Society! One quote,
first, from Elder Faust that leads into Section 124:
While Joseph sought perfection, he did
not claim perfection. . . . His complete candor in admitting human frailties
and in declaring the loving discipline of God offers powerful proof of his
honesty and probity. . . .He knew that such candor would and did make him an
object of hatred, ridicule, and social disapproval, but he spoke openly the
unvarnished truth. He was prepared for such vicissitudes of life early in his
ministry. He was told by the angel Moroni in 1823 . . . that his name would be
known for good and evil among all nations, kindreds, tongues, and peoples. (See JS—H 1:33.)
However, the intensity of the evil and persecution surprised even Joseph. . . .
But he met the challenges and overcame the strife and was stronger because of
them. There should be no exaggerated emphasis on the fallibility or mortal
failings of Joseph Smith. They were only things that are a part of any human
being. He and his work enjoyed the benediction of Deity. On a special occasion,
the Lord said to him, “Verily, thus saith the Lord unto you, my servant Joseph
Smith, I am well pleased with your offering and acknowledgments, which you have
made; for unto this end have I raised you up, that I might show forth my wisdom
through the weak things of the earth.” (D&C
124:1.)[3]
2. Missionaries sent from Nauvoo converted thousands of
people.
In the 80s and 90s, some the potteries in England started
creating models of famous homes and one of them was the John Benbow farmhouse
where the first members in England were baptized. I have one of those on my
bookcase. Here is Wilford Woodruff, a member of the Twelve who was sent from
Nauvoo in 1839 on the first mission to the British Isles.
“In the morning I went in secret
before the Lord, and asked Him what was His will concerning me. The answer I
received was that I should go to the south; for the Lord had a great work for
me to perform there, as many souls were waiting for His word.” For the next two
days he traveled south until he came to the farm of John Benbow in
Herefordshire. Mr. Benbow and his wife, Jane, received him gladly and said that
there was a company of over 600 men and women who had formed their own
congregation called the United Brethren. Elder Woodruff said:
“This body of United Brethren were
searching for light and truth, but had gone as far as they could, and were
calling upon the Lord continually to open the way before them and send them
light and knowledge, that they might know the true way to be saved. When I
heard these things I could clearly see why the Lord had commanded me, while in
the town of Hanley, to leave that place of labor and go to the south; for in
Herefordshire there was a great harvest-field for gathering many saints into
the Kingdom of God.”[4]
Here is another quote from Harold B. Lee which shows the
expansion of the missionary effort enabled from the comparative stability of
their sojourn in Illinois:
In one year, 1840 to 1841—one year and
fourteen days, to be exact—nine members of the twelve were called to labor in
the British Mission. If you remember the history [in Nauvoo], those years
marked the period of some of the severest persecution that the Church was to
undergo in this dispensation. In that one year and fourteen days the nine
members of the twelve, with their associates, established churches in every
noted town and city in the kingdom of Great Britain. They baptized between 7000
and 8000 converts. They printed 5000 copies of the Book of Mormon, 3000 hymnbooks,
and 50,000 tracts, … and [they] emigrated 1000 souls to America” (in Conference Report, Apr. 1960, 108).
Even though I didn’t join the Church in England, I had
certainly heard of it, and even met some missionaries while I was living in
England. They set the groundwork for my eventual acceptance of the Gospel and
set my life on a course from which I have never wanted to deviate.
3. The examples of the Nauvoo Saints show the importance
of enduring to the end in righteousness.
As I was reading through Section 124, I couldn’t help
thinking of those few in that revelation who received direct instruction from
the Lord through Joseph and yet fell into apostasy. There are no guarantees. I
wondered last week as I read some of the additional material and found out that
Sidney Rigdon had been in Liberty Jail, but was so ill that he successfully
petitioned to be released. Had he stuck it out, would he have remained
faithful? His suffering was great, and the work he did for the Church was
great, but seemingly he forgot whose Glory he was doing it for.
Some might think that Hyrum was in some sense eclipsed by
his brother, but Section 124 shows the Lord’s regard for him. Elder Ballard
says
Clearly, Hyrum Smith was one of the
firm pillars of the Restoration. But sadly, many Church members know little
about him except that he was martyred with his brother in Carthage Jail. That
is significant, but he did far more. Indeed, Joseph Smith himself once
suggested that his followers would do well to pattern their lives after Hyrum’s.
. . . “I, the Lord, love [Hyrum],” the Savior revealed in section 124 of the Doctrine
and Covenants, “because of the integrity of his heart, and because he loveth
that which is right before me.” Faithful Hyrum had a believing
heart; he did not have to see everything Joseph saw. For him, hearing the truth
from Joseph’s lips and feeling the spiritual promptings whispering that it was
true were enough. Faith to believe was the source of Hyrum’s spiritual strength
and is the source of the spiritual strength of faithful members of the Church
then and today.[5]
4. The Relief Society was organized in Nauvoo.
Recently, before they were released, the General
Presidency of the Relief Society expanded the stated purposes:
RELIEF SOCIETY
helps prepare women for the blessings
of eternal life as they:
· Increase faith in Heavenly Father and Jesus
Christ and His Atonement.
· Strengthen individuals, families, and
homes through ordinances and covenants.
· Work in unity to help those in need
·
In Daughters in My
Kingdom we read
As women participate in Relief
Society, they serve as valiant disciples of Jesus Christ in the work of
salvation. Like the women in the ancient Church, they work alongside men who
hold the priesthood to increase faith and personal righteousness, strengthen
families and homes, and seek out and help those in need. Sister Julie B.
Beck, the fifteenth Relief Society general president, taught: “Through Relief
Society we practice being disciples of Christ. We learn what He would have us
learn, we do what He would have us do, and we become what He would have us
become.[6]
I mentioned the temple, and next week we will see the
construction of the Nauvoo Temple and the glorious priesthood ordinances which were
restored to the world as a result. Truly a golden time in the history of the
Saints.
Additional resources for this lesson
·
“Organizing
the Church in Nauvoo”: This article gives context for the revelations now
found in Doctrine and Covenants 124 and 125.
·
Daughters
in My Kingdom, chapter 2: This chapter explains how the Relief
Society was founded in Nauvoo.
·
Nauvoo
Relief Society minute book: The original records of the Nauvoo Relief
Society are now available online.
·
“Take
Special Care of Your Family”: This article gives context for the revelation
now known as Doctrine and Covenants 126.
[2]
WHEREAS, on October 27, 1838, the Governor of the State of Missouri, Lilburn W.
Boggs, signed an order calling for the extermination or expulsion of Mormons
from the State of Missouri; and
WHEREAS, Governor Boggs' order clearly contravened the
rights to life, liberty, property and religious freedom as guaranteed by the
Constitution of the United States, as well as the Constitution of the State of
Missouri; and
WHEREAS, in this bicentennial year as we reflect on
our nation's heritage, the exercise of religious freedom is without question one
of the basic tenets of our free democratic republic;
Now, THEREFORE, I, CHRISTOPHER S. BOND, Governor of
the State of Missouri, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the
Constitution and the laws of the State of Missouri, do hereby order as follows:
Expressing on behalf of all Missourians our deep
regret for the injustice and undue suffering which was caused by the 1838
order, I hereby rescind Executive Order Number 44, dated October 27, 1838,
issued by Governor W. Boggs.
In witness I have hereunto set my hand and caused to
be affixed the great seal of the State of Missouri, in the city of Jefferson,
on this 25 day of June, 1976.
(Signed) Christopher S. Bond, Governor
[3]https://www.lds.org/general-conference/1981/10/the-expanding-inheritance-from-joseph-smith?lang=eng.
[4]Matthias F.
Cowley, ed., Wilford Woodruff: History of His Life and Labors (1909),
116–19.
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