Doctrine and Covenants 77-80

<p>I will conclude by describing another subtle form of deception&mdash;the idea that it is enough to hear and believe without acting on that belief. Many prophets have taught against that deception. The Apostle James wrote, &ldquo;Be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves&rdquo; (James 1:22). King Benjamin taught, &ldquo;And now, if you believe all these things see that ye do them&rdquo; (Mosiah 4:10). And in modern revelation the Lord declares, &ldquo;If you will that I give unto you a place in the celestial world, you must prepare yourselves by doing the things which I have commanded you and required of you&rdquo; (D&amp;C 78:7).</p> <p>It is not enough to know that God lives, that Jesus Christ is our Savior, and that the gospel is true. We must take the high road by acting upon that knowledge. It is not enough to know that President Gordon B. Hinckley is God&rsquo;s prophet. We must put his teachings to work in our lives. It is not enough to have a calling. We must fulfill our responsibilities. The things taught in this conference are not just to fill our minds. They are to motivate and guide our actions.</p>

<p>&ldquo;Every day, every hour, every minute of your span of mortal years must sometime be accounted for. And it is in this life that you walk by faith and prove yourself able to choose good over evil, right over wrong, enduring happiness over mere amusement. And your eternal reward will be according to your choosing. A prophet of God has said: &lsquo;Men are that they might have joy&rsquo;&mdash;a joy that includes a fullness of life, a life dedicated to service, to love and harmony in the home, and the fruits of honest toil&mdash;an acceptance of the Gospel of Jesus Christ&mdash;of its requirements and commandments. Only in these will you find true happiness, the happiness which doesn&rsquo;t fade with the lights and the music and the crowds.&rdquo;</p>

<p>Joseph purposely veiled the meaning of section 78. The issue it addresses is intentionally vague in the present form of the revelation. That is because it deals with Church finances and assets. It addresses the problem of paying for the things the Lord has commanded, namely the building of Zion and publishing the Book of Commandments. Joseph—whose job in the Literary Firm was to oversee expensive publication of the Book of Commandments (see section 70)—sat in counsel with Bishop Whitney, whose job it was to meet the Church’s needs from the storehouse, which was literally his store.</p> <p>Where today’s verse 3 vaguely speaks about “an organization of my people,” the manuscript versions more specifically refer to “an organization of the literary and mercantile establishments of my church.”<a href="#_ftn1" id="_ftnref1" title="" class="see-footnote">[1]</a> Joseph kept the issues behind section 78 as confidential as possible to avoid giving the Church’s enemies information they could use to cripple it financially and thus undermine Zion. Essentially, the revelation tells how the Church could use its profitable mercantile assets (like Bishop Whitney’s store) to finance its revealed priorities (buying land in Missouri and publishing the scriptures).</p> <p>Joseph and the other members of the Literary Firm had covenanted to publish the Book of Commandments, but they lacked funding for the expensive project. The Lord commanded Bishop Partridge to buy land, lots of it, on which to build Zion in Missouri. Bishop Whitney had a profitable store and other businesses in Ohio. Based on the law of consecration’s principle of using the surplus of some to meet the needs of others, section 78 provides a solution to these problems. </p> <p>In obedience to the revelation, Joseph, Bishop Whitney, and Sidney Rigdon traveled to Missouri to counsel with Bishop Partridge and the Literary Firm, members who were there printing the Book of Commandments. Together they created the United Firm, which is often called the United Order, which is <em>not</em> the law of consecration. The United Firm (Order) was a corporation designed to support the Church according to the law of consecration. Technically, it was the joining of the Literary Firm with Newel Whitney’s Kirtland, Ohio, store and the Independence, Missouri, store operated by Whitney’s partner, Sidney Gilbert. Uniting these firms was meant to streamline the building of Zion. It did not ultimately work as intended. That is not God’s fault; it is the fault of free agents (see section 104). It worked great when Saints chose to keep their covenants and were not overwhelmed by their enemies.</p> <div class="footnotes"> <p class="footnote"><a href="#_ftnref1" id="_ftn1" title="" class="footnote-label">[1]</a> “<a href="https://www.josephsmithpapers.org/paper-summary/revelation-1-march-1832-dc-78/1" target="_blank">Revelation, 1 March 1832 [D&C 78]</a>,” p. [1], The Joseph Smith Papers, accessed October 7, 2020; “<a href="https://www.josephsmithpapers.org/paper-summary/revelation-book-1/133" target="_blank">Revelation Book 1</a>,” p. 145, The Joseph Smith Papers, accessed October 7, 2020. </p> </div>

<p>The introduction to Doctrine and Covenants 78 states, &ldquo;It was not always desirable that the identity of the individuals whom the Lord addressed in the revelations should be known by the world; hence, in the publication of this and some subsequent revelations the brethren were referred to by other than their own names.&rdquo;</p> <p>Elder Orson Pratt said,</p> <blockquote> <p>The names that were incorporated when [the Doctrine and Covenants] was printed, did not exist there when the manuscript revelations were given, for I saw them myself. Some of them I copied. And when the Lord was about to have the Book of Covenants given to the world it was through wisdom, in consequence of the persecutions of our enemies in Kirtland and some of the regions around, that some of the names should be changed.<a id="_ftnref1" class="footnote-label" title="" href="#_ftn1">[1]</a></p> </blockquote> <p>These &ldquo;code&rdquo; names and titles appeared in sections 78, 82, 92, 96, 103, 104, and 105. &ldquo;When the necessity had passed for keeping the names of the individuals unknown, their real names were thereafter given in brackets&rdquo; (D&amp;C 78: Introduction). The following is an alphabetical listing of the names and titles used to identify individuals and places in early editions of the Doctrine and Covenants:</p> <div class="table-responsive"> <table class="table table-striped"> <tbody> <tr> <td> <p><em>Code Name</em></p> </td> <td> <p><em>Real Name</em></p> </td> <td> <p><em>Scripture Reference</em></p> </td> </tr> <tr> <td> <p>Ahashdah</p> </td> <td> <p>Newel K. Whitney</p> </td> <td> <p>D&amp;C 78:9; 82:11; 96:2; 104:39&ndash;41</p> </td> </tr> <tr> <td> <p>Alam</p> </td> <td> <p>Newel K. Whitney</p> </td> <td> <p>D&amp;C 82:11</p> </td> </tr> <tr> <td> <p>Baneemy</p> </td> <td> <p>mine elders</p> </td> <td> <p>D&amp;C 105:27</p> </td> </tr> <tr> <td> <p>Baurak Ale</p> </td> <td> <p>Joseph Smith Jr.</p> </td> <td> <p>D&amp;C 103:21&ndash;22, 35; 105:16, 27</p> </td> </tr> <tr> <td> <p>Cainhannoch</p> </td> <td> <p>New York</p> </td> <td> <p>D&amp;C 104:81</p> </td> </tr> <tr> <td> <p>Enoch</p> </td> <td> <p>Joseph Smith Jr.</p> </td> <td> <p>D&amp;C 78:1, 4</p> </td> </tr> <tr> <td> <p>Gazelam</p> </td> <td> <p>Joseph Smith Jr.</p> </td> <td> <p>D&amp;C 78:9; 82:11; 104:26, 43, 45&ndash;46</p> </td> </tr> <tr> <td> <p>Horah</p> </td> <td> <p>Oliver Cowdery</p> </td> <td> <p>D&amp;C 82:11</p> </td> </tr> <tr> <td> <p>Laneshine house</p> </td> <td> <p>printing office</p> </td> <td> <p>D&amp;C 104:28, 29</p> </td> </tr> <tr> <td> <p>Mahalaleel</p> </td> <td> <p>Sidney Rigdon</p> </td> <td> <p>D&amp;C 82:11</p> </td> </tr> <tr> <td> <p>Mahemson</p> </td> <td> <p>Martin Harris</p> </td> <td> <p>D&amp;C 82:11; 104:24, 26</p> </td> </tr> <tr> <td> <p>Olihah</p> </td> <td> <p>Oliver Cowdery</p> </td> <td> <p>D&amp;C 82:11; 104:28, 29, 34</p> </td> </tr> <tr> <td> <p>Ozondah</p> </td> <td> <p>mercantile establishment</p> </td> <td> <p>D&amp;C 104:39&ndash;41</p> </td> </tr> <tr> <td> <p>Pelagoram</p> </td> <td> <p>Sidney Rigdon</p> </td> <td> <p>D&amp;C 78:9; 82:11; 104:20, 22</p> </td> </tr> <tr> <td> <p>Seth</p> </td> <td> <p>Joseph of Egypt</p> </td> <td> <p>D&amp;C 96:7</p> </td> </tr> <tr> <td> <p>Shalemanasseh</p> </td> <td> <p>Martin Harris</p> </td> <td> <p>D&amp;C 82:11</p> </td> </tr> <tr> <td> <p>Shederlaomach</p> </td> <td> <p>Frederick G. Williams</p> </td> <td> <p>D&amp;C 92:1&ndash;2; 104:27, 29</p> </td> </tr> <tr> <td> <p>Shinehah</p> </td> <td> <p>Kirtland</p> </td> <td> <p>D&amp;C 82:12&ndash;13; 104:58</p> </td> </tr> <tr> <td> <p>Shinelane</p> </td> <td> <p>printing</p> </td> <td> <p>D&amp;C 104:63</p> </td> </tr> <tr> <td> <p>Shule</p> </td> <td> <p>ashery</p> </td> <td> <p>D&amp;C 104:39</p> </td> </tr> <tr> <td> <p>Tahhanes</p> </td> <td> <p>tannery</p> </td> <td> <p>D&amp;C 104:20</p> </td> </tr> <tr> <td> <p>Talents</p> </td> <td> <p>dollars</p> </td> <td> <p>D&amp;C 104:69, 73</p> </td> </tr> <tr> <td> <p>Zombre</p> </td> <td> <p>John Johnson</p> </td> <td> <p>D&amp;C 96:6; 104:24, 34</p> </td> </tr> </tbody> </table> </div> <p>&ldquo;Since there exists no vital need today to continue the code names, the real names only are now used therein, as given in the original manuscripts&rdquo; (D&amp;C 78: Introduction). In the 1981 Doctrine and Covenants, the unusual names and titles were eliminated.</p> <div class="footnotes"> <div id="ftn1"> <p class="footnote"><a id="_ftn1" class="footnote-label" title="" href="#_ftnref1">[1]</a> Orson Pratt, &ldquo;The Manifestations of God&rsquo;s Power,&rdquo; <em>Journal of Discourses</em>, 16:156.</p> </div> </div>

<p>The immediate context of this revelation is important in understanding how the revelation has developed. In the earliest version, the phrase “in regulating and establishing the affairs of the storehouse for the poor of my people” was not present. Instead, the revelation read that “it must needs be that there be an organization of the Literary and Mercantile establishments of my church.”<a href="#_ftn1" id="_ftnref1" title="" class="see-footnote">[1]</a> The revelation referred to a group of Church leaders, known as the United Firm, who had consecrated their property to ensure the printing of the scriptures and other Church publications (D&C 70:1–5). The firm was also known as United Order and the Order of Enoch.<a href="#_ftn2" id="_ftnref2" title="" class="see-footnote">[2]</a> This group covenanted to live an iteration of the law of consecration in which they gave of their resources to help ensure the printing of the scriptures. In exchange, their families were provided for from funds raised from the sale of the scriptures, and the surplus funds were used to operate the Church and to purchase land for the Saints in Ohio and Missouri.</p> <p>By the time the Doctrine and Covenants was published in 1835, the United Firm had been reorganized as instructed in another revelation (D&C 104) that provided individual members with specific stewardships. However, the principles found in the revelation were still valuable to guide the Church in its attempts to live the law of consecration, so the revelation was revised with new phrasing that better fit the general needs of the Church. The word <em>firm</em>, which appeared in the revelation, was also replaced with <em>order</em> (D&C 78:8). The United Order referred only to this group, but in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries it became common for Church leaders to refer to the United Order and the law of consecration as the same thing.</p> <div class="footnotes"> <p class="footnote"><a href="#_ftnref1" id="_ftn1" title="" class="footnote-label">[1]</a> Revelation, 1 March 1832 [D&C 78], JSP. </p> <p class="footnote"><a href="#_ftnref2" id="_ftn2" title="" class="footnote-label">[2]</a> Cook, <em>The Revelations of the Prophet Joseph Smith, </em>1985, 167.</p> </div>

<p>In this revelation, the Lord says that the establishment of the law of consecration is necessary “for the salvation of man” (D&amp;C 78:4). That may seem like an overly dramatic statement, but these verses explain why consecration was and remains such an important law for the members of the Church. Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf has taught that “like two sides of a coin, the temporal and spiritual are inseparable. . . . Unfortunately, there are those who overlook the temporal because they consider it less important. They treasure the spiritual while minimizing the temporal. While it is important to have our thoughts inclined toward heaven, we miss the essence of our religion if our hands are not also inclined toward our fellowman.”<a href="#_ftn1" id="_ftnref1" title="" class="see-footnote">[1]</a></p> <p>The Lord teaches a similar principle in these verses. To be equal in heavenly things, we must strive to be united in earthly things. Those who cling too tightly to their temporal goods will have difficulty in living the laws of the gospel and gaining exaltation. Consecration was and is a sacred covenant for Church members, especially for those who have made temple covenants. The Lord warns that those who abuse or violate the law of consecration will lose their office and standing and be turned over to the buffetings of Satan. In particular, those who misuse the sacred funds of the Church or take advantage of the trust of Church members for financial gain are subject to severe penalties. </p> <div class="footnotes"> <p class="footnote"><a href="#_ftnref1" id="_ftn1" title="" class="footnote-label">[1]</a> Dieter F. Uchtdorf, “Providing in the Lord’s Way,” October 2011 General Conference. </p> </div>