Doctrine and Covenants 111-114
“I Will Order All Things for Your Good”
October 6 - October 12
scripture
quote
Peace Came to My Soul
<p>I remember a critical time in my life and how grateful I was when a still, small voice gave me direction to make an important decision. I had been with a retail firm for a number of years. We had enjoyed extraordinary success. We wanted to expand the business but needed a great deal of capital. In an attempt to raise the money, we contacted the best financial advisers we could find. They encouraged us to merge with a larger firm. The merger was successfully completed, and I was asked to sign a five-year contract to give continuity to management. Within a matter of months I found myself in a very difficult situation. The new owners wanted me to violate a trust that I felt I just could not do. After long discussions, they continued to insist and I continued to refuse. Seeing there was no way to break the deadlock, I agreed to leave the company. The timing for me was devastating. I had a wife who was seriously ill and required a lot of medical attention, a daughter away to college, and a son on a mission. I spent the next year just getting enough consulting work to pay my expenses.</p> <p>After struggling for about one year, a company called me from California and invited me to come out and talk to them about working for them. I went out and negotiated a very good contract; I was delighted with the opportunity. I told them that I had to return home and discuss it with my family before I could give an answer. I returned home and after a careful discussion, I convinced my family that it was the right thing to do. In the process of calling the firm to accept the offer, a voice just as strong and powerful as I have ever heard came to me and said, “Say no to the offer.” I could not ignore the voice, so I turned the offer down, but I was distressed. I could not comprehend why I had been told to do such a thing. I went upstairs to my bedroom, sat on the bed, opened the scriptures, and they fell open to the Doctrine and Covenants, section 111. This was the only section given in the state of Massachusetts, where my home was at that particular time. These words literally jumped out of the page and met my eye: “Concern not yourselves about your debts, … I will give you power to pay them. …Tarry in this place, and in the regions round about” (D&C 111:5, 7).</p> <p>A great peace came to my soul. Within just a few days I was offered a fine position in Boston. A few months later I had the great privilege of hosting a conference in which President Harold B. Lee, then First Counselor in the First Presidency, was the featured speaker. The conference was a glorious success as we feasted on the words of President Lee. The following July, President Joseph Fielding Smith passed away and President Lee became the prophet. Three months later I was asked to come to Salt Lake, where I received a call to leave my profession and join the General Authorities.</p>
L. Tom Perry, “That Spirit Which Leadeth to Do Good”, April 1997 General Conference
commentaries
D&C 111: Historical Context
<p>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).<a id="_ftnref1" class="see-footnote" title="" href="#_ftn1">[1]</a></p> <p>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.”<a id="_ftnref2" class="see-footnote" title="" href="#_ftn2">[2]</a> 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 <em>Return</em>, a publication associated with David Whitmer’s Church of Christ.<a id="_ftnref3" class="see-footnote" title="" href="#_ftn3">[3]</a></p> <p>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.”<a id="_ftnref4" class="see-footnote" title="" href="#_ftn4">[4]</a> 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,<a id="_ftnref5" class="see-footnote" title="" href="#_ftn5">[5]</a> and Joseph Smith mentioned “very luckily and providentially” finding the house of a “Brother Burjece” in a letter he wrote to Emma from Salem.<a id="_ftnref6" class="see-footnote" title="" href="#_ftn6">[6]</a></p> <p>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.<a id="_ftnref7" class="see-footnote" title="" href="#_ftn7">[7]</a> 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.<a id="_ftnref8" class="see-footnote" title="" href="#_ftn8">[8]</a></p> <p>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.<a id="_ftnref9" class="see-footnote" title="" href="#_ftn9">[9]</a> 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.</p> <p>See “Historical Introduction,” Revelation, 6 August 1836 [D&C 111].</p> <div class="footnotes"> <p class="footnote"><a id="_ftn1" class="footnote-label" title="" href="#_ftnref1">[1]</a> “Historical Introduction,” Revelation, 6 August 1836 [D&C 111], JSP.</p> <p class="footnote"><a id="_ftn2" class="footnote-label" title="" href="#_ftnref2">[2]</a> Revelation, 6 August 1836 [D&C 111], fn. 7, JSP.</p> <p class="footnote"><a id="_ftn3" class="footnote-label" title="" href="#_ftnref3">[3]</a> See Revelation, 6 August 1836 [D&C 111], fn. 8, JSP.</p> <p class="footnote"><a id="_ftn4" class="footnote-label" title="" href="#_ftnref4">[4]</a> Donald Q. Cannon, “Joseph Smith in Salem: D&C 111,” in <em>Studies in Scripture Volume 1: The Doctrine and Covenants</em>, ed. Robert L. Millet and Kent P. Jackson, 1989, 435.</p> <p class="footnote"><a id="_ftn5" class="footnote-label" title="" href="#_ftnref5">[5]</a> See Promissory Note to Jonathan Burgess, 17 August 1836, JSP.</p> <p class="footnote"><a id="_ftn6" class="footnote-label" title="" href="#_ftnref6">[6]</a> Letter to Emma Smith, 19 August 1836, JSP.</p> <p class="footnote"><a id="_ftn7" class="footnote-label" title="" href="#_ftnref7">[7]</a> Letter to Emma Smith, 19 August 1836, JSP.</p> <p class="footnote"><a id="_ftn8" class="footnote-label" title="" href="#_ftnref8">[8]</a> See Craig J. Ostler, “Treasures, Witches, and Ancient Inhabitants (D&C 111),” in <em>You Shall Have My Word: Exploring the Text of the Doctrine and Covenants</em>,ed. Scott C. Esplin, <a href="https://rsc.byu.edu/node/333">Richard O. Cowan</a>, and <a href="https://rsc.byu.edu/node/508">Rachel Cope</a>,2012.</p> <p class="footnote"><a id="_ftn9" class="footnote-label" title="" href="#_ftnref9">[9]</a> Letter to Emma Smith, 19 August 1836, JSP.</p> </div>
Doctrine and Covenants Minute by Casey Paul Griffiths
Commentary on D&C 111:6–11
<p>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.”<a id="_ftnref1" class="see-footnote" title="" href="#_ftn1">[1]</a></p> <p>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 convent 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.”<a id="_ftnref2" class="see-footnote" title="" href="#_ftn2">[2]</a></p> <p>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,</p> <blockquote> <p>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.<a id="_ftnref3" class="see-footnote" title="" href="#_ftn3">[3]</a></p> </blockquote> <p>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.”<a id="_ftnref4" class="see-footnote" title="" href="#_ftn4">[4]</a></p> <div class="footnotes"> <p class="footnote"><a id="_ftn1" class="footnote-label" title="" href="#_ftnref1">[1]</a> Oliver Cowdery, “Prospectus,” <em>Latter Day Saints’ Messenger and Advocate</em>, October 1836, 388.</p> <p class="footnote"><a id="_ftn2" class="footnote-label" title="" href="#_ftnref2">[2]</a> Cowdery, “Prospectus,” 392.</p> <p class="footnote"><a id="_ftn3" class="footnote-label" title="" href="#_ftnref3">[3]</a> 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 <em>You Shall Have My Word</em>.</p> <p class="footnote"><a id="_ftn4" class="footnote-label" title="" href="#_ftnref4">[4]</a> Donald Q. Cannon, “Joseph Smith in Salem,” in <em>Studies in Scripture: The Doctrine and Covenants</em>,ed. Robert L. Millet and Kent P. Jackson, 1989, 436.</p> </div>
Doctrine and Covenants Minute by Casey Paul Griffiths
