Doctrine and Covenants 118

Doctrine and Covenants 118

Historical Context

Doctrine and Covenants 118 was one of five revelations received on July 8, 1838 by the Prophet Joseph Smith.1 The revelation came in response to Joseph’s plea, “Show unto us thy will, O Lord, concerning the Twelve.”2 The revelation came at a time when many members of the Quorum of the Twelve were swept up in the dissension that overwhelmed the Church in Kirtland in 1837 and 1838. Two Apostles, Luke Johnson and John F. Boynton, renounced the Church and were subsequently excommunicated in December 1837. At a quarterly conference held in April 1838, David W. Patten reported that he could not recommend Apostles Lyman Johnson or William E. McLellin, who were also swept up in the dissension in Kirtland. Elder Patten also expressed some concerns about William Smith “from something which he had heard respecting his faith in the work.”3 Seeing such stalwart leaders falter or apostatize from the Church must have been painful for Joseph Smith and other Saints. Nevertheless, the work needed to move on, and Church leaders began to consider calling new Apostles to replace their losses.

Amid this turmoil with some members of the Twelve, there were encouraging developments with other members of the Quorum. Heber C. Kimball and Orson Hyde completed a successful mission to England from June 1837 to May 1838.4 Thomas B. Marsh accepted the call to repentance given to him in Doctrine and Covenants 112, and other Apostles such as Brigham Young and David Patten remained firm supporters of the work.

In a letter written a few days after Joseph received Doctrine and Covenants 118, Thomas B. Marsh explained more about its context, writing:

A few days since, Prest. Joseph Smith Jr. [and] others assembled together to attend to some church business, when it was thought proper to select those who were designed of the Lord to fill the place of those of the twelve who had fallen; named Wm. W. McLellin, Lyman W. Johnson, Luke Johnson, and John F. Boynton. The persons selected were John E. Page, John Taylor, Wilford Woodruff and Willard Richards. On the following day [July 9] five of the twelve met with President Rigdon and some others met and resolved that President Rigdon write to Br. Richards, who is now in England, and inform him of his appointment, and that P.P. Pratt write to Orson Pratt and inform him that the Lord has commanded that the 12 assemble in this place as soon as possible and that I should write to yourself.5

Doctrine and Covenants 118 began the process of rebuilding the Quorum of the Twelve after its losses in the Kirtland apostasy. It also set up one of the most important events in Church history, the 1840 mission of the Twelve to Great Britain, which was vital for the continued growth of the Church. Doctrine and Covenants 118 was first added to the Doctrine and Covenants in its 1876 edition, under the direction of Brigham Young.6

See “Historical Introduction,” Revelation, 8 July 1838–A [D&C 118].

Verse–by-Verse Commentary

D&C 118:1–6

1 Verily, thus saith the Lord: Let a conference be held immediately; let the Twelve be organized; and let men be appointed to supply the place of those who are fallen.

2 Let my servant Thomas remain for a season in the land of Zion, to publish my word.

3 Let the residue continue to preach from that hour, and if they will do this in all lowliness of heart, in meekness and humility, and long-suffering, I, the Lord, give unto them a promise that I will provide for their families; and an effectual door shall be opened for them, from henceforth.

4 And next spring let them depart to go over the great waters, and there promulgate my gospel, the fulness thereof, and bear record of my name.

5 Let them take leave of my saints in the city of Far West, on the twenty-sixth day of April next, on the building-spot of my house, saith the Lord.

6 Let my servant John Taylor, and also my servant John E. Page, and also my servant Wilford Woodruff, and also my servant Willard Richards, be appointed to fill the places of those who have fallen, and be officially notified of their appointment.

Doctrine and Covenants 118 was given following the return of Apostles Heber C. Kimball and Orson Hyde from a successful mission to England. Wilford Woodruff later noted that “[Doctrine and Covenants 118] is the only revelation that has been given since the organization of the Church, that I know anything about, that had [a] day and date given with it.”7 The revelation specified not only the exact day, April 26, 1839, that the revelation was to be fulfilled but also the precise place for “the building-spot of my house” (D&C 118:5) in Far West. President Woodruff later recalled that “when the revelation was given[,] all was peace and quietude, comparatively, in that land.”8 However, a year after, when the time came for the revelation to be fulfilled, conditions in Far West had radically changed.

In the year following the revelation, Thomas B. Marsh, the president of the Quorum of the Twelve, had apostatized. David W. Patten, the next in seniority, was killed at the Battle of Crooked River. Joseph Smith and other leaders of the Church languished in Liberty Jail, and Missouri governor Lilburn W. Boggs issued a literal extermination order against the Saints. President Woodruff noted, “the inhabitants of Missouri had sworn that if all the revelations of ‘old Joe Smith’ were fulfilled, that [D&C 118] should not be, because it had a day and date to it.”9

Recognizing the danger of returning to Far West, Brigham Young, now President of the Twelve, asked the other quorum members, “What shall we do with regard to the fulfillment of this revelation?”10 Several leaders present at the meeting, including Joseph Smith Sr., advised the Twelve to not endanger their lives, saying, “the Lord would take the will for the deed.” Wilford Woodruff recalled, “the Spirit of the Lord rested upon the Twelve, and they said—‘The Lord God has spoken, and we will fulfill that revelation and commandment.’”11

Early in the morning of April 26, 1839, Brigham Young, Heber C. Kimball, Orson Pratt, John Taylor, and others met on the temple site in Far West. They conducted a brief service in which they ordained Wilford Woodruff and George A. Smith as Apostles, quietly sang a hymn, and offered prayers. At the end of their prayers, the group rolled a stone into place at the southeast corner of the temple. Then they quietly departed. On their way out of town, Theodore Turley, a Latter-day Saint who had accompanied the Twelve to Far West, could not resist stopping at the home of Isaac Russell, an apostate who still resided in town, to tell him that the revelation had been fulfilled.12 A later history compiled under Joseph Smith’s direction records:

As the Saints were passing away from the meeting, Brother [Theodore] Turley said to [John E.] Page and [Wilford] Woodruff, “Stop a bit while I bid Isaac Russell goodbye.” And knocking at his door[,] called [for] brother Russell[,] his wife answered, “Come in[,] it is Brother Turley[.]” Russell replied, “It is not[,] he left here two weeks ago” and appeared quite alarmed. But on finding it was Turley, asked him to sit down, but he replied “I cannot; I shall lose my company[.]” “Who is your company? inquired Russel[,] “the Twelve[?]” “The Twelve[.]” “Yes[,] don’t you know that this is the twenty-sixth and the day the Twelve were to take leave of their friends on the foundation of the Lord’s House to go to the Islands of the Sea? The Revelation is now fulfilled, and I am going with them.” Russell was speechless and Turley bid him, “Farewell[!]”13

Footnotes

• 1. The other revelations received that day were Doctrine and Covenants 117, 119, 120, and an uncanonized revelation given to William W. Phelps and Frederick G. Williams. See Revelation, 8 July 1838–B, JSP.
• 2. Revelation, 8 July 1838–A [D&C 118], p. 105, JSP.
• 3. Minutes, 7–8 April 1838, p. 47, JSP.
• 4. See Letter from Heber C. Kimball and Orson Hyde, between 22 and 28 May 1838, JSP.
• 5. Quoted in Lyndon W. Cook, The Revelations of the Prophet Joseph Smith, 1985, 232.
• 6. Robert J. Woodford, Historical Development of the Doctrine and Covenants, 1974, 1543.
• 7. Wilford Woodruff, in Journal of Discourses, 13:59.
• 8. Wilford Woodruff, in Journal of Discourses, 18:123.
• 9. Wilford Woodruff, in Journal of Discourses, 18:123.
• 10. Wilford Woodruff, in Journal of Discourses, 18:123.
• 11. Wilford Woodruff, in Journal of Discourses, 18:123.
• 12. James B. Allen, Men with a Mission, 1837–1841: The Quorum of the Twelve Apostles in the British Isles, 1992, 56–57.
• 13. JS History, vol. C-1, p. 14 [Addenda], JSP.