Doctrine and Covenants 24
Historical Context
Doctrine and Covenants 24 was received during a time of intense persecution. At the time, the Church was organized around three locations, the Smith family in Palmyra, the Whitmer family in Fayette, and the Knight family in Colesville. During this time, persecution was intensifying around Colesville and near the childhood home of the prophet’s wife, Emma Smith. In the latter part of June 1830, meetings were held in Colesville, where a number of people, including Emma Smith, were received through baptism into the Church. Opponents of the Church in the area attempted to thwart the prophet’s aims by tearing down a small dam constructed in a local stream to facilitate the baptisms. Before Joseph was able to confirm the new members of the Church, he was approached by a constable who “arrested by him on a warrant, on charge of being a disorderly person; of setting the country in an uproar by preaching the Book of Mormon.”
Joseph later recorded, “The constable informed me, soon after I had been arrested, that the plan of those who had got out the warrant was to get me into the hands of the mob, who were now lying in ambush for me; but that he was determined to save me from them, as he had found me to be a different sort of person from what I had been represented to him.” On their way to the Knight home, the wagon was surrounded by a mob. The crowd hesitated upon seeing the constable with Joseph, and the constable was able to drive the wagon away from the mob. Traveling at high speed, one of the wheels fell off the wagon, though Joseph and the constable managed to put the wheel back on the wagon and again narrowly escape from the mob. The constable drove on to South Bainbridge, where he and Joseph stayed for the night. According to Joseph, the constable “slept during the night with his feet against the door, and a loaded musket by his side, whilst I occupied a bed which was in the room, he having declared that if we were interrupted unlawfully, that he would fight for me, and defend me as far as in his power.”
In the meantime, Joseph Knight began gathering witnesses to speak on Joseph’s behalf at the trial. Josiah Stowell, Joseph’s former employer; Stowell’s daughters; and several citizens from Colesville spoke on Joseph’s behalf. Joseph later wrote that Josiah Stowell’s daughters, “both bore such testimony in my favor, as left my enemies without a pretext on their account.” Acquitted and on the cusp of being freed, Joseph was suddenly served with a different warrant sworn out by enemies in nearby Broom County. Joseph was taken into custody by a second constable, this one much more hostile toward the Saints and their cause.
Joseph later wrote that the constable, “took me to a tavern, and gathered in a number of men, who used every means to abuse, ridicule, and insult me. They spit upon me, pointed their fingers at me, saying prophesy, prophesy, and thus did they imitate those who crucified the Savior of mankind, not knowing what they did.” The constable refused to let Joseph spend the night at home and refused to give him any more than just a few crusts of bread and water to eat. When it came time to sleep, the constable “made [Joseph] lie next [to] the wall; He then laid himself down by me, and put his arm around me; and upon my moving in the least, would clench me fast, fearing that I intended to escape from him: And in this disagreeable manner did we pass the night.”
The next day Joseph was brought to trial before the magistrate in Broom County. Several of Joseph’s friends stood before the court to testify on his behalf, including Newell Knight, from whom Joseph had recently cast out the devil through use of the priesthood. Joseph later wrote that those who testified on his behalf “spoke like men inspired of God, whilst those who were arrayed against me, trembled under the sound of their voices, and quailed before them like criminals before a bar of justice.” Joseph was acquitted, and afterward the constable who had abused him the night before apologized for his behavior and asked for forgiveness.
In the company of Oliver Cowdery, Joseph returned to Colesville to perform the confirmations of those who had been baptized. Soon rumors began to circulate that another mob was gathering to capture Joseph and Oliver. Joseph and Oliver departed just in time to escape the mob. “Our enemies pursued us, and it was oftentimes as much as we could do to elude them; however we managed to get home, after having travelled all night, except a short time,” Joseph later recorded, “during which we were forced to rest ourselves under a large tree by the way side, sleeping and watching alternately. And thus were we persecuted on account of our religious faith—in a country, the constitution of which, guarantees to every man the indefeasible right, to worship God according to the dictates of his own conscience; and by men too, who were professors.”
A few days after their escape, Joseph and Oliver reflected on this sudden storm of persecution. Joseph recorded that though they “were forced to seek safety from our enemies by flight, yet did we feel confidence that eventually we should come off victorious, if we only continued faithful to Him who had called us forth from darkness, into the marvelous light of the Everlasting Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
See Historical Introduction, “Revelation, July 1830–A [D&C 24],” p. 32, The Joseph Smith Papers, accessed November 5, 2020, https://www.josephsmithpapers.org/paper-summary/revelation-july-1830-a-dc-24/1
Verse-by-Verse Commentary
Doctrine and Covenants 24:1–9
1 Behold, thou wast called and chosen to write the Book of Mormon, and to my ministry; and I have lifted thee up out of thine afflictions, and have counseled thee, that thou hast been delivered from all thine enemies, and thou hast been delivered from the powers of Satan and from darkness!
2 Nevertheless, thou art not excusable in thy transgressions; nevertheless, go thy way and sin no more.
3 Magnify thine office; and after thou hast sowed thy fields and secured them, go speedily unto the church which is in Colesville, Fayette, and Manchester, and they shall support thee; and I will bless them both spiritually and temporally;
4 But if they receive thee not, I will send upon them a cursing instead of a blessing.
5 And thou shalt continue in calling upon God in my name, and writing the things which shall be given thee by the Comforter, and expounding all scriptures unto the church.
6 And it shall be given thee in the very moment what thou shalt speak and write, and they shall hear it, or I will send unto them a cursing instead of a blessing.
7 For thou shalt devote all thy service in Zion; and in this thou shalt have strength.
8 Be patient in afflictions, for thou shalt have many; but endure them, for, lo, I am with thee, even unto the end of thy days.
9 And in temporal labors thou shalt not have strength, for this is not thy calling. Attend to thy calling and thou shalt have wherewith to magnify thine office, and to expound all scriptures, and continue in laying on of the hands and confirming the churches.
Joseph is told in the revelation that his first responsibility is to the Church. The Lord instructs him to seek support from among the members of the Church. The rising persecution at the time may have also caused anxiety for Joseph about being able to support his family. The Lord reminds him that his first calling is to minister in spiritual things, and that “in temporal labors thou shalt not have strength” (v. 9).
Joseph sought throughout his life to open successful businesses, but to the end of his days he struggled to make ends meet. Brigham later noted, with some tone of exasperation, why Joseph wrestled with his desire for temporal success and his calling as a prophet:
“Joseph goes to New York and buys 20,000 dollars’ worth of goods, comes into Kirtland and commences to trade. In comes one of the brethren, ‘Brother Joseph, let me have a frock pattern for my wife.’ What if Joseph says, ‘No, I cannot without the money.’ The consequences would be, ‘He is no Prophet,’ says James. Pretty soon Thomas walks in. ‘Brother Joseph, will you trust me for a pair of boots?’ ‘No, I cannot let them go without the money.’ “Well,” says Thomas, ‘Brother Joseph is no Prophet; I have found that out, and I am glad of it.’
Brigham continued, “After awhile, in comes Bill and sister Susan. Says Bill, ‘Brother Joseph, I want a shawl, I have not got the money, but I wish you to trust me a week or a fortnight.’ Well, Brother Joseph thinks the others have gone and apostatized, and he don’t know but these goods will make the whole Church do the same, so he lets Bill have a shawl. Bill walks off with it and meets a brother. ‘Well,’ says he, ‘what do you think of brother Joseph?’ ‘O he is a first-rate man, and I fully believe he is a Prophet. See here, he has trusted me this shawl.’ Richard says, ‘I think I will go down and see if he won’t trust me some.’ In walks Richard. ‘Brother Joseph, I want to trade about 20 dollars.’ ‘Well,’ says Joseph, ‘these goods will make the people apostatize, so over they go, they are of less value than the people.’ Richard gets his goods. Another comes in the same way to make a trade of 25 dollars, and so it goes.”
“Joseph was a first-rate fellow with them all the time, provided he never would ask them to pay him. In this way it is easy for us to trade away a first-rate store of goods, and be in debt for them. . . . I have known persons that would have cursed brother Joseph to the lowest hell hundreds of times, because he would not trust out everything he had on the face of the earth, and let the people squander it to the four winds. When he had let many of the brethren and sisters have goods on trust, he could not meet his liabilities, and then they would turn round and say, ‘What is the matter brother Joseph, why don’t you pay your debts?’ ‘It is quite a curiosity that you don’t pay your debts; you must be a bad financier; you don’t know how to handle the things of this world.’ At the same time the coats, pants, dresses, boots and shoes that they and their families were wearing came out of Joseph’s store, and were not paid for when they were cursing him for not paying his debts.”
Doctrine and Covenants 24:10–14
10 And thy brother Oliver shall continue in bearing my name before the world, and also to the church. And he shall not suppose that he can say enough in my cause; and lo, I am with him to the end.
11 In me he shall have glory, and not of himself, whether in weakness or in strength, whether in bonds or free;
12 And at all times, and in all places, he shall open his mouth and declare my gospel as with the voice of a trump, both day and night. And I will give unto him strength such as is not known among men.
13 Require not miracles, except I shall command you, except casting out devils, healing the sick, and against poisonous serpents, and against deadly poisons;
14 And these things ye shall not do, except it be required of you by them who desire it, that the scriptures might be fulfilled; for ye shall do according to that which is written.
The second half of the revelation is addressed to Oliver Cowdery. It informs the two elders of the power they have to perform miracles, though it implies that the power should be used sparingly. The Savior may have spoken of the power of miracles because around this time the first miracle in the Church was performed. Newell Knight, the son of Joseph Knight Sr., had difficulty praying publicly in Church meetings. He went to a nearby wood and made several attempts to pray when he began to feel mentally and physically unwell. When he returned home, Newell’s wife was alarmed at his appearance, and called Joseph for help.
Joseph later recorded, “I went and found him suffering very much in his mind, and his body acted upon in a very strange manner. His visage and limbs distorted and twisted in every shape and appearance possible to imagine; and finally he was caught up off the floor of the apartment and tossed about most fearfully. . . . After he had thus suffered for a time, I succeeded in getting hold of him by the hand, when almost immediately he spoke to me, and with great earnestness requested of me, that I should cast the Devil out of him, saying that he knew he was in him, and that he also knew that I could cast him out. I replied, ‘If you know that I can, it shall be done,’ and then almost unconsciously I rebuked the devil, and commanded him in the name of Jesus Christ to depart from him; when immediately Newell spoke out and said that he saw the devil leave him and vanish from his sight.”
Joseph later noted, “This was the first miracle which was done in this Church, or by any member of it, and it was done, not by man nor by the power of man, but it was done by God, and by the power of Godliness: Therefore let the honor and the praise, the dominion and the glory be ascribed to the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit for ever and ever Amen.” During Joseph Smith’s trial, Newell later testified in court on Joseph’s behalf. When he was asked by one of the attorneys if Joseph had cast the devil out of him, Newell replied, “No Sir; it was done by the power of God, and Joseph Smith was the instrument in the hands of God on this occasion. He commanded him out of me in the name of Jesus Christ.”
Doctrine and Covenants 24:15–19
15 And in whatsoever place ye shall enter, and they receive you not in my name, ye shall leave a cursing instead of a blessing, by casting off the dust of your feet against them as a testimony, and cleansing your feet by the wayside.
16 And it shall come to pass that whosoever shall lay their hands upon you by violence, ye shall command to be smitten in my name; and, behold, I will smite them according to your words, in mine own due time.
17 And whosoever shall go to law with thee shall be cursed by the law.
18 And thou shalt take no purse nor scrip, neither staves, neither two coats, for the church shall give unto thee in the very hour what thou needest for food and for raiment, and for shoes and for money, and for scrip.
19 For thou art called to prune my vineyard with a mighty pruning, yea, even for the last time; yea, and also all those whom thou hast ordained, and they shall do even according to this pattern. Amen.
There is much folklore in the Church surrounding the practice of “casting off the dust of your feet against them as a testimony” (v. 15). Elder James E. Talmage later offered clarification on this practice, explaining, “To ceremonially shake the dust from one's feet as a testimony against another was understood by the Jews to symbolize a cessation of fellowship and a renunciation of all responsibility for consequences that might follow. It became an ordinance of accusation and testimony by the Lord's instructions to His apostles as cited in the text. In the current dispensation, the Lord has similarly directed His authorized servants to so testify against those who willfully and maliciously oppose the truth when authoritatively presented (D&C 24:15; 60:15; 75:20; 84:92; 99:4). The responsibility of testifying before the Lord by this accusing symbol is so great that the means may be employed only under unusual and extreme conditions, as the Spirit of the Lord may direct.
An instance of the washing of feet is found in the History of the Church, occurring during Samuel H. Smith’s first mission. Joseph Smith’s later history records,
On the 30th of June following the organization of the Church, [Samuel] took some Books of Mormon and started out on his mission, to which he had been set apart by his brother Joseph, and on travelling twenty-five miles, which was his first day’s journey, he stopped at a number of places in order to sell his books but was turned out of doors as soon as he declared his principles. When evening came on, he was faint and almost discouraged, but coming to an inn, which was surrounded with every appearance of plenty, he called to see if the Landlord would buy one of his books. On going in, Samuel inquired of him, if he did not wish to purchase a history of the origin of the Indians.
‘I do not know,’ replied the host, ‘how did you get hold of it?’
‘It was translated,’ rejoined Samuel, ‘by my brother from some gold plates that he found buried in the earth.’
‘You damned liar!’ cried the landlord, ‘get out of my house— you shan’t stay one minute with your books’
Samuel was sick at heart, for this was the fifth time he had been turned out of doors that day. He left the house, and travelled a short distance, and washed his feet in a small brook, as a testimony against the man. He then proceeded five miles further on his journey and seeing an apple tree a short distance from the road, he concluded to pass the night under it; and here he lay all night upon the cold, damp ground.
A few weeks later, Samuel was traveling with his father and mother near the tavern where he was rejected. “Just before they came to the house, a sign of smallpox intercepted them. They turned aside, and meeting a citizen of the place, they inquired of him to what extent this disease prevailed. He answered, that the tavernkeeper and two of his family had died with it not long since, but he did not know that anyone else had caught the distemper, and that it was brought into the neighborhood by a traveler who stopped at the tavern overnight.”
Footnotes
