Doctrine and Covenants 54

Doctrine and Covenants 54

Historical Context

When Joseph Smith had first arrived in Kirtland in February 1831, one of the most welcoming of the new converts had been Leman Copley. Copley had offered for Joseph and Sidney Rigdon to live with him in Thompson, Ohio, and had even offered them housing and provisions. Joseph and Sidney found other living arrangements, but, encouraged by Copley’s generosity, Joseph made plans for the emigrating members of the Colesville Branch to settle on Copley’s property.

While the Colesville Saints were traveling to Kirtland, Leman Copley was called to accompany Sidney Rigdon and Parley P. Pratt on a mission to members of his former faith, the Shakers. Unfortunately, the mission to the Shakers failed to convert anyone, and Copley’s faith was shaken. He soon returned to the Shaker community and reconciled with them. Afterward, he returned to his home with Shaker leader Ashbel Kitchell, apparently with the intent to evict any Church members on his property. When Kitchell arrived on Copley’s farm, members of the Colesville Branch were already there. Kitchell became involved in a discussion with Newel Knight, the leader of the Colesville Branch, that elevated into a shouting match with Joseph Knight Sr.1

Following the altercation, the members of the Colesville Branch were forced to leave Copley’s land. Joseph Knight Jr. later recalled bitterly, “We had to leave his [Copley’s] farm and pay sixty dollars damage . . . for fitting up his houses and planting his ground.”2 With no place to go, the evicted Saints approached Joseph Smith for direction and guidance. Newel K. Whitney later recalled, “We commenced work in all good faith, thinking to obtain a living by the sweat of the brow. We had not lingered long before the above-named Copley broke the engagement which he made with us. At this time, I went to Kirtland to see Brother Joseph.”3

See “Historical Introduction,” Revelation, 10 June 1831 [D&C 54].

Verse-by-Verse Commentary

D&C 54:1–6

1 Behold, thus saith the Lord, even Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, even he who was crucified for the sins of the world—

2 Behold, verily, verily, I say unto you, my servant Newel Knight, you shall stand fast in the office whereunto I have appointed you.

3 And if your brethren desire to escape their enemies, let them repent of all their sins, and become truly humble before me and contrite.

4 And as the covenant which they made unto me has been broken, even so it has become void and of none effect.

5 And wo to him by whom this offense cometh, for it had been better for him that he had been drowned in the depth of the sea.

6 But blessed are they who have kept the covenant and observed the commandment, for they shall obtain mercy.

Leman Copley’s actions did not destroy the work of consecration in Kirtland but did demonstrate one of its vulnerabilities. Consecration depended on the voluntary contribution of resources from those who participated. The Lord had urged the Saints to enter into “a covenant and a deed which cannot be broken” (D&C 42:30), but at the same time Church leaders respected the principle of agency. The Lord laments the selfish and incorrect decision made by Copley in withdrawing the assistance he had offered to the Church members arriving in the area. However, Church leaders continued to work with him and bring him to repentance. Fellowship with Copley was withdrawn in the summer of 1831 but was extended again to him by October 1832. Until the Saints left the Kirtland area entirely, and Copley refused to follow, he continued to be involved in the Church.4

In the same revelation, Newel Knight is told to “stand fast” in his office (D&C 54:2). As the leader of the Colesville Branch, Newel may have felt that their misfortune occurred because of his actions. It can be difficult, but those called to lead in the Church must also accept the agency of the people they serve. It can be gut-wrenching to see some make the wrong decision, but it is worse when, as in the case of Leman Copley, a poor decision affects many other people in a negative way. Nevertheless, the agency of an individual and their power to make good and bad choices must always be respected.

D&C 54:7–10

7 Wherefore, go to now and flee the land, lest your enemies come upon you; and take your journey, and appoint whom you will to be your leader, and to pay moneys for you.

8 And thus you shall take your journey into the regions westward, unto the land of Missouri, unto the borders of the Lamanites.

9 And after you have done journeying, behold, I say unto you, seek ye a living like unto men, until I prepare a place for you.

10 And again, be patient in tribulation until I come; and, behold, I come quickly, and my reward is with me, and they who have sought me early shall find rest to their souls. Even so. Amen.

Because of Leman Copley’s refusal to help, the members of the Colesville Branch were commanded to continue on their journey to the land of Missouri. They had already traveled more than 350 miles to arrive in Kirtland, and now a journey of eight hundred more miles lay before them. Newel Knight worried over the health of his mother, Polly, wondering if she could even survive such a journey. “My mother’s health was very poor and had been for a considerable length of time,” he later wrote. “Yet she would not consent to stop traveling. Her only, or her greatest desire, was to set her feet upon the land of Zion, and to have her body interred in that land.” Newel went so far as to purchase lumber before their departure, in case his mother died along the way and he need to make a coffin for her.5

Nevertheless, the Knight family and the rest of the Colesville Branch began preparations to start the next portion of their journey. “We now understood that [Ohio] was not the land of our inheritance—the land of promise,” Newel Knight recorded. “For it was made known in a revelation that Missouri was the place chosen for the gathering of the church, and several were called to lead the way to that state.”6 The Colesville Saints chose to have Newel continue to preside over them. He was released from his previous calling as a missionary (D&C 52:32) and given leave to look after his family during their journey (D&C 56:6–7). Newel later reflected, “This was the first branch of the Church which had emigrated to the land of Zion. I had found it required all of the wisdom I had to lead this company through so long a journey in the midst of enemies; yet so great were the mercies and blessings of God to us that not one of us were harmed, and we made our journey in safety.”7

Footnotes

• 1. Lawrence R. Flake, “A Shaker View of a Mormon Mission, BYU Studies, 20, no. 1, 1979, 4.
• 2. Joseph Knight Jr. Autobiographical Sketch, 2–3.
• 3. Rise of the Latter-day Saints, 33–34.
• 4. Black, Who’s Who, 68–69.
• 5. Rise of the Latter-day Saints, 36.
• 6. Joseph F. Darowski, “Journey of the Colesville Branch,” Revelations in Context, 42–43.
• 7. Rise of the Latter-day Saints, 36.