Doctrine and Covenants 111-114

<p>&ldquo;What if we could be humble before we walk through [the] &lsquo;valley of humility&rsquo;? Alma taught: &lsquo;Blessed are they who humble themselves without being compelled to be humble. Yea, [they are] much more blessed than they who are compelled to be humble.&rsquo; I am grateful for prophets, like Alma, who have taught us the worth of this great attribute. Spencer W. Kimball, the 12th President of the Church, said: &lsquo;How does one get humble? To me, one must constantly be reminded of his dependence. On whom dependent? On the Lord. How remind one&rsquo;s self? By real, constant, worshipful, grateful prayer.&rsquo; It should come as no surprise that President Kimball&rsquo;s favorite hymn was &lsquo;I Need Thee Every Hour.&rsquo; Elder Dallin H. Oaks reported that this was the most oft-sung opening hymn by the Brethren in the temple during his early years in the Quorum of the Twelve. He said, &lsquo;Picture the spiritual impact of a handful of the Lord&rsquo;s servants singing that song before praying for his guidance in fulfilling their mighty responsibilities.&rsquo;&rdquo;</p>

<p>Do you know someone who only hears the parts of a conversation that validate their thoughts or actions? Are you that person? </p> <p>Apostasy swept through the Saints in Ohio in 1837, including the apostles. Thomas Marsh, president of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, tried to reconcile the struggling members of his quorum and prepare them for a mission to Great Britain under his leadership. Thomas had scheduled a July 24, 1837, meeting of the apostles in Kirtland. When he arrived, he discovered that Joseph had already called and sent apostles Heber Kimball and Orson Hyde to England.<a href="#_ftn1" id="_ftnref1" title="" class="see-footnote">[1]</a> After consulting with quorum member Brigham Young, Thomas went to Joseph for counsel and reconciliation.<a href="#_ftn2" id="_ftnref2" title="" class="see-footnote">[2]</a> In that meeting, Thomas wrote section 112 as Joseph dictated.</p> <p>Aspiring and full of potential, Thomas and some of the apostles found themselves divided, unfulfilled, and undervalued. The revelation acknowledges the apostles’ receipt of priesthood keys and the greatness of their calling, but it also implies pride, even blasphemy and apostasy among some, and the need for Thomas and his quorum to repent and then to preach repentance and baptism (D&amp;C 112:23–26).</p> <p>Though he wrote the Lord’s words as Joseph spoke them, Thomas Marsh heard section 112 selectively. He took the revelation to Heber Kimball’s wife, Vilate, and told her that Joseph had assured him that her husband’s missionary work in England would not be effective until Thomas said so.<a href="#_ftn3" id="_ftnref3" title="" class="see-footnote">[3]</a> Meanwhile, Heber and his companions sent letters reporting their successful labors back across the Atlantic. As Heber put it, “It was all right to prepare the way for brother Marsh.”<a href="#_ftn4" id="_ftnref4" title="" class="see-footnote">[4]</a> </p> <p>Thomas Marsh had an arrogance problem. He heard and self-servingly interpreted the passages of the revelation that reminded him of his high position, the greatness of his calling, his possession of powerful priesthood keys, and his impressive role in spreading the gospel to the nations. He did not hear the revelation’s command to be humble (D&C 112:10), to “exalt not yourselves,” or “rebel not against my servant Joseph” (v. 15). </p> <p>Thomas returned to his home in Missouri as commanded in verse 5 and continued to serve as the Church’s publisher there. In the autumn of 1838, he exalted himself and rebelled against Joseph. He famously repudiated the decisions of Church councils to defend his wife in a domestic dispute with another sister.<a href="#_ftn5" id="_ftnref5" title="" class="see-footnote">[5]</a> Then he signed an affidavit charging Joseph Smith with treason, leading to his incarceration. Thomas was subsequently excommunicated in March 1839 and remained estranged from the Church for nearly two decades. </p> <p>In May 1857 he wrote a humble letter to, of all people, Heber Kimball, then serving in the First Presidency. “I deserve no place among you in the church as the lowest member,” Thomas confessed, “but I cannot live without a reconciliation with the 12 and the Church whom I have injured.” In the same letter Marsh referred back to his apostolic commission affirmed in section 112. “A mission was laid upon me &amp; I have never filled it and now I fear it is too late but it is filled by another I see, the Lord could get along very well without me and He has lost nothing by my falling out of the ranks; But O what have I lost?”<a href="#_ftn6" id="_ftnref6" title="" class="see-footnote">[6]</a></p> <p>Don’t be that person. Be humble, don’t exalt yourself, and don’t rebel against the Lord’s servants, and the Lord will lead you by the hand and answer your prayers (D&C 112:10).</p> <div class="footnotes"> <p class="footnote"><a href="#_ftnref1" id="_ftn1" title="" class="footnote-label">[1]</a> Ronald K. Esplin, “The Emergence of Brigham Young,” 287–92. </p> <p class="footnote"><a href="#_ftnref2" id="_ftn2" title="" class="footnote-label">[2]</a> Wilford Woodruff, Journal, June 25, 1857, Church History Library. </p> <p class="footnote"><a href="#_ftnref3" id="_ftn3" title="" class="footnote-label">[3]</a> Vilate Kimball to Heber C. Kimball, September 6, 1837, photocopy of original in private possession, Church History Library. </p> <p class="footnote"><a href="#_ftnref4" id="_ftn4" title="" class="footnote-label">[4]</a> Heber C. Kimball to Vilate Kimball, November 12, 1837, Church History Library. </p> <p class="footnote"><a href="#_ftnref5" id="_ftn5" title="" class="footnote-label">[5]</a> <em>Journal of Discourses</em>, 3:283–84.</p> <p class="footnote"><a href="#_ftnref6" id="_ftn6" title="" class="footnote-label">[6]</a> Thomas B. Marsh to Heber C. Kimball, May 5, 1857, Church History Library. </p> </div>

<p>Doctrine and Covenants 112 is a revelation given to Thomas B. Marsh, the original president of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles in this dispensation. It was given at a time of growing dissent over Joseph Smith&rsquo;s leadership in Kirtland, Ohio. Marsh, along with David W. Patten and William Smith, journeyed from Far West, Missouri, to Kirtland to address concerns among members of the Twelve. When Marsh and his party arrived in Kirtland, they found that Joseph Smith and the First Presidency had sent Heber C. Kimball and Orson Hyde, two other members of the Twelve, to cross the Atlantic and open Great Britain to the preaching of the gospel. Marsh believed it was his responsibility to direct the Twelve in taking the gospel to other nations and may have been frustrated over the decision to send missionaries to England without first consulting him.<a id="_ftnref1" class="see-footnote" title="" href="#_ftn1">[1]</a></p> <p>Contrary to Marsh&rsquo;s expectations, a month earlier Joseph Smith had felt inspired to call Heber C. Kimball on a mission to England. Kimball later wrote, &ldquo;On Sunday, the 4^th day of June, 1837, the Prophet Joseph Smith came to me, while I was seated in the front of the stand, above the sacrament table, on the Melchizedek side of the Temple, in Kirtland, and whispering to me, said, &lsquo;Brother Heber, the Spirit of the Lord has whispered to me: &lsquo;Let my servant Heber go to England and proclaim my Gospel, and open the door of salvation to that nation.&rsquo;&rdquo;<a id="_ftnref2" class="see-footnote" title="" href="#_ftn2">[2]</a> Part of the revelation in Doctrine and Covenants 112 addresses the relationship of the Twelve and the First Presidency in their work in the Church.</p> <p>The revelation also speaks of the growing dissension in the Church in Kirtland. In late 1836 the Prophet and other Church leaders launched the Kirtland Safety Society, a Church-owned financial institution that they hoped would alleviate some of the financial anxieties of the Saints. Instead, a perfect storm of organized opposition, inexperience, mismanagement, and a nationwide financial panic led to the failure of the Safety Society in just a few months. Financial losses and other concerns led to discord among the members of the Twelve; John F. Boynton, Luke and Lyman Johnson, and even Parley P. Pratt spoke out against Joseph Smith. Vilate Kimball recognized the validity of some of the concerns of the dissenters but questioned their methods. She wrote to her husband, Heber, &ldquo;Now after all that I have said about this dissenting party, there is some of them, that I love, and have great feeling, and pity for them; I know they have been tried to the very quick; and what greaves me the most of all is, that many things which they tell, I have no doubt but what are too true. Still I do not think they are justifiable in the course they have taken.&rdquo;<a id="_ftnref3" class="see-footnote" title="" href="#_ftn3">[3]</a></p> <p>During these difficult circumstances, Doctrine and Covenants 112 was received. It was originally written down by Thomas B. Marsh himself, though this copy has been lost. The revelation was considered so important that it was hand copied by several members of the Twelve, including Brigham Young and Wilford Woodruff. It was first included in the 1844 edition of the Doctrine and Covenants.<a id="_ftnref4" class="see-footnote" title="" href="#_ftn4">[4]</a></p> <p>See &ldquo;Historical Introduction,&rdquo; Revelation, 23 July 1837 [D&amp;C 112].</p> <div class="footnotes"> <p class="footnote"><a id="_ftn1" class="footnote-label" title="" href="#_ftnref1">[1]</a> See Letter, Thomas B. Marsh and David W. Patten to Parley P. Pratt, 10 May 1837, Letterbook 2, p. 62, JSP.</p> <p class="footnote"><a id="_ftn2" class="footnote-label" title="" href="#_ftnref2">[2]</a> Orson F. Whitney, <em>Life of Heber C. Kimball</em>,1945, 103&ndash;104.</p> <p class="footnote"><a id="_ftn3" class="footnote-label" title="" href="#_ftnref3">[3]</a> See &ldquo;Historical Introduction,&rdquo; Revelation, 23 July 1837 [D&amp;C 112], fn. 9, JSP.</p> <p class="footnote"><a id="_ftn4" class="footnote-label" title="" href="#_ftnref4">[4]</a> See &ldquo;Historical Introduction,&rdquo; Revelation, 23 July 1837 [D&amp;C 112], fn. 9, JSP.</p> </div>

<p>Thomas B. Marsh was the original president of the Quorum of the Twelve in this dispensation. If he had remained in this position, it is likely that he would have succeeded Joseph Smith as the President of Church. Had this happened, his name would likely be as well known among the Saints as Brigham Young’s is today. However, Elder Marsh’s gradual slide into apostasy is best captured in the Lord’s plea to him: “Be thou humble” (D&C 112:10). The Lord had earlier counseled him to “be patient in afflictions, revile not against those that revile” (D&C 31:9). After Joseph received Doctrine and Covenants 112, Marsh took his instructions from the Lord seriously. Heber C. Kimball later remembered that Marsh read the revelation to him and Brigham Young, remembering, “In it God told him what to do, and that was to sustain brother Joseph and to believe that what Brother Joseph said was true.”<a href="#_ftn1" id="_ftnref1" title="" class="see-footnote">[1]</a></p> <p>In the months following, Marsh did make a genuine effort to increase unity in his quorum and support the Prophet. However, a series of events eventually led to his estrangement from the Church. Among the most well-known stories linked to his apostasy was the “cream strippings” incident, which took place in August or September 1838 in Far West, Missouri. According to the story, Marsh’s wife, Elizabeth, became embroiled in a controversy with Lucinda Harris, the wife of George W. Harris. The two women had an agreement to share milk from their cows for making cheese. Lucinda accused Elizabeth Marsh of keeping the cream strippings, considered the best part of the milk, for herself. The argument was mediated by a series of Church officials, with Marsh even appealing to the First Presidency, who sustained earlier rulings that Elizabeth was in the wrong. Thomas Marsh was so infuriated that he was said to have stated “that he would sustain the character of his wife, even if he had to go to hell for it.”<a href="#_ftn2" id="_ftnref2" title="" class="see-footnote">[2]</a> Though Marsh’s apostasy is more complicated than the result of this one situation, his pride is evident in the statements connected to this well-known story.</p> <p>Shortly after this incident, Marsh left Far West with his family and began speaking out publicly against the Church. At the time the Saints were in the midst of a rising series of conflicts with other settlers in northern Missouri. Marsh swore out an affidavit against the Church leaders, in which he accused them of instigating violence, saying that “all the Mormons who refused to take up arms, if necessary in difficulties with the citizens, should be shot or otherwise put to death,” and charging that “no Mormon dissenter should leave Caldwell [County] alive.”<a href="#_ftn3" id="_ftnref3" title="" class="see-footnote">[3]</a> The accusations made by Thomas Marsh contributed to the horrific persecutions suffered by the Church in Missouri in 1838–39, including the incarceration of Joseph Smith and other Church leaders in Liberty Jail. After making these accusations, Marsh became estranged from the Church for nearly twenty years. </p> <div class="footnotes"> <p class="footnote"><a href="#_ftnref1" id="_ftn1" title="" class="footnote-label">[1]</a> Heber C. Kimball, in <em>Journal of Discourses</em>,5:28. </p> <p class="footnote"><a href="#_ftnref2" id="_ftn2" title="" class="footnote-label">[2]</a> Kay Darowski, “The Faith and Fall of Thomas Marsh,” <em>Revelations in Context</em>,2016. </p> <p class="footnote"><a href="#_ftnref3" id="_ftn3" title="" class="footnote-label">[3]</a> Darowski, “The Faith and Fall of Thomas Marsh.”</p> </div>