Doctrine and Covenants 111

Doctrine and Covenants 111

Historical Context

Late in summer 1836, Joseph Smith, Hyrum Smith, Oliver Cowdery, and Sidney Rigdon traveled to the eastern United States, visiting New York City, Boston, and Salem, Massachusetts before they returned home to Kirtland in September. Joseph Smith received Doctrine and Covenants 111 on August 6, 1836, as the group stayed in Salem. Other than a letter Oliver wrote to his brother Warren and a letter Joseph wrote to his wife, Emma, there are no contemporary documents that state the reason for the trip to Salem. However, it is likely the trip was at least partially motivated by concerns about the finances of the Church. The cost of finishing the house of the Lord in Kirtland, combined with the persecutions suffered by Church members in Missouri, led to an increasing financial burden for the Church. The Lord directly addresses the anxiety felt by these Church leaders in the revelation (D&C 111:5–6).1

Two individuals who were not directly involved in the journey declared that the trip was connected to a search for lost treasure. An 1843 pamphlet, written by James C. Brewster, briefly spoke of a “house that was rented in the city of Boston, with the expectation of finding a large sum of money buried in or near the cellar.”2 Brewster was disfellowshipped from the Church in 1837 when he was just sixteen years old, and he later wrote the pamphlet accusing Church leaders of treasure seeking. In 1889, fifty-three years after the Prophet’s trip, Ebenezer Robinson wrote a more detailed account of the journey. Robinson worked closely with Joseph Smith while the Prophet was living in Kirtland, but he left the Church after Joseph Smith’s death. Robinson wrote his account as the editor of the Return, a publication associated with David Whitmer’s Church of Christ.3

According to Robinson’s account, “A brother in the Church by the name of Burgess, had come to Kirtland and stated that a large amount of money had been secreted in the cellar of a certain house in Salem, Massachusetts, which had belonged to a widow, and he thought he was the only person now living who had knowledge of it, or to the location of the house. We saw the brother Burgess, but Don Carlos Smith told us with regard to the hidden treasure. His statement was credited by the brethren, and steps were taken to try and secure the treasure.”4 Robinson’s story fits with some documents from the time. A promissory note to Jonathan Burgess dated August 17, 1836, was published as part of the Joseph Smith Papers,5 and Joseph Smith mentioned “very luckily and providentially” finding the house of a “Brother Burjece” in a letter he wrote to Emma from Salem.6

Parts of Robinson’s account are questionable and should be read with care. For instance, Robinson stated that Joseph rented the house in question and failed to find any treasure. But in Joseph Smith’s letter to Emma Smith, Joseph indicates that he was unable to rent or even gain access to the house. The letter was written two weeks after the group arrived in Salem, and they left shortly after the letter was sent, indicating that the group never gained access to the house, as Robinson asserted.7 It should be noted that Robinson’s account was written many years after the events took place and that Robinson eventually left the Church in part over temporal concerns.8

In the revelation, the Lord assures the elders that “there are more treasures than one for you in this city” (D&C 111:10) and counsels them to “inquire diligently concerning the more ancient inhabitants and founders of this city” (D&C 111:9). If seeking treasure was what motivated Joseph Smith and his associates to visit Salem, they never followed up on the concern, though Joseph wrote to Emma that he believed they could access the house in a few months.9 Whatever their motivation for the journey, the Prophet and his companions returned to Kirtland soon after, facing a growing financial and spiritual crisis in the Church in Kirtland.

See “Historical Introduction,” Revelation, 6 August 1836 [D&C 111].

Verse-by-Verse Commentary

D&C 111:1–5

1 I, the Lord your God, am not displeased with your coming this journey, notwithstanding your follies.

2 I have much treasure in this city for you, for the benefit of Zion, and many people in this city, whom I will gather out in due time for the benefit of Zion, through your instrumentality.

3 Therefore, it is expedient that you should form acquaintance with men in this city, as you shall be led, and as it shall be given you.

4 And it shall come to pass in due time that I will give this city into your hands, that you shall have power over it, insomuch that they shall not discover your secret parts; and its wealth pertaining to gold and silver shall be yours.

5 Concern not yourselves about your debts, for I will give you power to pay them.

One of the issues highlighted by Doctrine and Covenants 111 is the growing financial crisis in the Church. The Lord explains to Joseph and the other Church leaders that He is “not displeased” with the journey (D&C 111:1). The folly mentioned by the Lord probably came less from the trip to Salem to find treasure and more from a lack of faith in the Lord’s power to help the Church overcome its temporal concerns. In Doctrine and Covenants 104 the Lord counseled Joseph and other Church leaders that they would be able to pay their debts if they would “humble yourselves before me, and obtain this blessing by your diligence and humility and the prayer of faith” (see D&C 104:79–86). The leaders of the Church may have seen the rumors of treasure in Salem as a quick answer to their prayers and sincerely desired a quick end to their troubles. However, the path to overcoming difficulty often requires extended effort and sacrifice over a long period of time. Quick fixes for our problems are rare—problems are normally overcome with sustained effort and the assistance of the Lord.

The Lord’s assurance that “they shall not discover your secret parts” refers to a Hebrew idiom for being publicly humiliated (Isaiah 3:17). The brethren may have been worried about embarrassment linked to the failure of their plan to find treasure in Salem. In context, the journey to Salem demonstrates the sincere desire of Joseph and the other leaders to follow the Lord’s command to pay their debts (D&C 104:78) and deal justly with their creditors.

D&C 111:6–11

6 Concern not yourselves about Zion, for I will deal mercifully with her.

7 Tarry in this place, and in the regions round about;

8 And the place where it is my will that you should tarry, for the main, shall be signalized unto you by the peace and power of my Spirit, that shall flow unto you.

9 This place you may obtain by hire. And inquire diligently concerning the more ancient inhabitants and founders of this city;

10 For there are more treasures than one for you in this city.

11 Therefore, be ye as wise as serpents and yet without sin; and I will order all things for your good, as fast as ye are able to receive them. Amen.

Following the Lord’s command to “inquire diligently concerning the more ancient inhabitants and founders of this city” (D&C 111:9), Joseph and the other Church leaders spent roughly three weeks in the area, learning about the local culture. In a letter to his brother, Oliver Cowdery shared what he had learned about the history of the Puritans in Salem, including the famous witch trials. The men also learned more about the history of the American Revolution and reflected on its meaning to them. After they visited Bunker Hill, the site of one of the early battles of the Revolution, Oliver reflected, “From this we went to Bunker hill, viewed the ground which, on the 17th of June, 1775, was drenched with blood for the liberty I enjoy. . . . The history of this battle is so familiar in the minds of the readers of the Messenger, that it would be occupying space unnecessarily, to give even a detail; but judge of the feelings of my heart, when I viewed, from the top of the monument, the entire theater on which was fought one of the most important battles ever recorded in history.”10

When the men toured the ruins of the recently destroyed Catholic Ursuline Convent, the experience made a powerful impression on Joseph Smith’s mind. The compound included a school, a chapel, and other worship spaces. Fired by anti-Catholic sentiment, a Protestant mob had burned the convent to the ground on August 11, 1834, just two years before Joseph and his companions arrived in Salem. The covenant was completely destroyed, despite the fact that most of the students who attended the school came from Protestant families. The scene of the wreckage was deeply moving to the men, themselves the victims of religious persecution. Oliver reflected, “It was a religious persecution—a disgraceful, shameful religious persecution—one, or more, religious societies rising up against another. Is this religion? The good people here, being very tenacious of right, as well as the tradition of their ancestors, thought it doing God service to burn a Catholic convent, because the Catholic religion was different from their own . . . I confess I retired from this scene of mobbery with a heavier heart than from the far-famed Bunker Hill.”11

The scene of the ruined convent also caused Joseph to lament over the hatred among members of different Christian churches. Looking back on the experience, he later wrote,

Well did the Savior say concerning such “by their fruits you shall know them,” and if the wicked mob who destroyed the Charleston Convent, and the cool calculating, religious, lookers on, who inspired their hearts with deeds of infamy do not arise, and redress the wrong, and restore the injured four fold, they in turn will receive of the measure they have meted out, till the just indignation of a righteous God is satisfied. When will man cease to war with man, and wrest from him his sacred right, of worshipping his God according as his conscience dictates? Holy Father, hasten the day.12

While Joseph and his companions gained a greater understanding and appreciation for their heritage and religious tolerance, they were unsuccessful in preaching the gospel in Salem. The Lord had promised not just treasure but also “many people in this city, whom I will gather out in due time for the benefit of Zion” (D&C 111:2). However, this promise was not fulfilled until September 1841, when Elders Erastus Snow and Benjamin Winchester were called to preach the gospel in Salem. Just under a year later, the elders had succeeded in baptizing ninety people into the Church. The local newspaper noted with alarm that “Mormonism is advancing with a perfect rush in the city.”13

Footnotes

• 1. “Historical Introduction,” Revelation, 6 August 1836 [D&C 111], JSP.
• 2. Revelation, 6 August 1836 [D&C 111], fn. 7, JSP.
• 3. See Revelation, 6 August 1836 [D&C 111], fn. 8, JSP.
• 4. Donald Q. Cannon, “Joseph Smith in Salem: D&C 111,” in Studies in Scripture Volume 1: The Doctrine and Covenants, ed. Robert L. Millet and Kent P. Jackson, 1989, 435.
• 5. See Promissory Note to Jonathan Burgess, 17 August 1836, JSP.
• 6. Letter to Emma Smith, 19 August 1836, JSP.
• 7. Letter to Emma Smith, 19 August 1836, JSP.
• 8. See Craig J. Ostler, “Treasures, Witches, and Ancient Inhabitants (D&C 111),” in You Shall Have My Word: Exploring the Text of the Doctrine and Covenants, ed. Scott C. Esplin, Richard O. Cowan, and Rachel Cope, 2012.
• 9. Letter to Emma Smith, 19 August 1836, JSP.
• 10. Oliver Cowdery, “Prospectus,” Latter Day Saints’ Messenger and Advocate, October 1836, 388.
• 11. Cowdery, “Prospectus,” 392.
• 12. JS History, vol. B-1, p. 749, JSP; emphasis in original. See also Craig J. Ostler, “Treasures, Witches, and Ancient Inhabitants (D&C 111),” in You Shall Have My Word.
• 13. Donald Q. Cannon, “Joseph Smith in Salem,” in Studies in Scripture: The Doctrine and Covenants, ed. Robert L. Millet and Kent P. Jackson, 1989, 436.