Doctrine and Covenants 77-80

<p>I have talked with many individuals who question the strength of their personal testimony and underestimate their spiritual capacity because they do not receive frequent, miraculous, or strong impressions. Perhaps as we consider the experiences of Joseph in the Sacred Grove, of Saul on the road to Damascus, and of Alma the Younger, we come to believe something is wrong with or lacking in us if we fall short in our lives of these well-known and spiritually striking examples. If you have had similar thoughts or doubts, please know that you are quite normal. Just keep pressing forward obediently and with faith in the Savior. As you do so, you &ldquo;cannot go amiss&rdquo; (D&amp;C 80:3).</p> <p>President Joseph F. Smith counseled: &ldquo;Show me Latter-day Saints who have to feed upon miracles, signs and visions in order to keep them steadfast in the Church, and I will show you members &hellip; who are not in good standing before God, and who are walking in slippery paths. It is not by marvelous manifestations unto us that we shall be established in the truth, but it is by humility and faithful obedience to the commandments and laws of God&rdquo; (in Conference Report, Apr. 1900, 40).</p>

<p>&ldquo;Section 80 of the Doctrine and Covenants is a record of a mission call to Stephen Burnett extended by the Prophet Joseph Smith in 1832. Studying this call to Brother Burnett can help us to (1) understand more clearly the distinction between being &lsquo;called to the work&rsquo; as a missionary and &lsquo;assigned to labor&rsquo; in a particular place and (2) appreciate more completely our individual and divinely appointed responsibility to proclaim the gospel. <br />Verse 1 of this section is a call to serve: &lsquo;Verily, thus saith the Lord unto you my servant Stephen Burnett: Go ye, go ye into the world and preach the gospel to every creature that cometh under the sound of your voice.&rsquo; Interestingly, verse 2 informs Brother Burnett about his assigned missionary companion: &lsquo;And inasmuch as you desire a companion, I will give unto you my servant Eden Smith.&rsquo; Verse 3 indicates where these two missionaries are to labor: &lsquo;Wherefore, go ye and preach my gospel, whether to the north or to the south, to the east or to the west, it mattereth not, for ye cannot go amiss.&rsquo;<br />I do not believe that the phrase &lsquo;it mattereth not&rsquo; as used by the Lord in this scripture suggests that He does not care where His servants labor. In fact, He cares deeply. But because the work of preaching the gospel is the Lord&rsquo;s work, He inspires, guides, and directs His authorized servants. As missionaries strive to be ever more worthy and capable instruments in His hands and do their best to fulfill faithfully their duties, then with His help they &lsquo;cannot go amiss&rsquo;&mdash;wherever they serve. Perhaps one of the lessons the Savior is teaching us in this revelation is that an assignment to labor in a specific place is essential and important but secondary to a call to the work.&rdquo;</p>

<p>One of the most remarkable facts about Joseph Smith as a revelator is that many intelligent, faithful people went to great lengths to seek, receive, and obey his revelations. Jared Carter embraced Joseph’s revelations and went on a mission because of them. After he returned, he went to the home where Joseph was living to ask “the seer to inquire the will of the Lord concerning my ministry the ensuing season. And the word of the Lord came forth.”<a href="#_ftn1" id="_ftnref1" title="" class="footnote-label">[1]</a></p> <p>Jared noted that April 25, 1832, marked “the commencement of a mission by Jared Carter, a servant of the Lord.” He followed section 79 specifically, going from town to town in the power of his ordination, “which was to the high privilege of administering in the name of Jesus Christ.” Jared went northeast along Lake Erie and continued on to Benson, Vermont, his birthplace, proclaiming the everlasting gospel in each location. He battled opposition and bouts of depression. He kept careful track of his obedience to the revelation and the fulfillment of the promised blessings. His records testify that, as promised, the Lord sent him the Comforter, the Holy Ghost, to teach him the truth and where he should go. Since Jared was faithful to section 79, the Lord crowned him again with a bountiful harvest. Jared summarized his service after returning in October: “I have been gone six months and two days. The Lord has permitted me to administer the Gospel to 79 souls and many others by my instrumentality have been convinced of this most glorious work.” He rejoiced on the completion of his difficult yet successful mission. “God has blessed me according to the prophecy of Brother Joseph before I went from Ohio,” Jared wrote.<a href="#_ftn2" id="_ftnref2" title="" class="footnote-label">[2]</a> </p> <div class="footnotes"> <p class="footnote"><a href="#_ftnref1" id="_ftn1" title="" class="footnote-label">[1]</a> Jared Carter, Autobiography, typescript, p. 9, Church History Library; “<a href="https://www.josephsmithpapers.org/paper-summary/revelation-12-march-1832-dc-79/1" target="_blank">Revelation, 12 March 1832 [D&amp;C 79]</a>,” p. 12, The Joseph Smith Papers, accessed July 7, 2020. </p> <p class="footnote"><a href="#_ftnref2" id="_ftn2" title="" class="footnote-label">[2]</a> Jared Carter, Autobiography, p. 7. Here Jared confused his first mission with his second. In both instances the Lord crowned him with sheaves as prophesied for his second mission in section 79. </p> </div>

<p>Steven Burnett started fast. He converted at age 16 and was ordained a teacher, then an elder, and then a high priest before he turned 18. He was filled with the Holy Ghost and a desire to take the gospel to his relatives. He led his parents into the Church and was called to preach in January 1832 (D&amp;C 75:35) and again in March by section 80.</p> <p>Stephen and Eden Smith started their mission on July 15 and spent a few days together declaring the gospel in villages south of Kirtland, Ohio.<a id="_ftnref1" class="footnote-label" title="" href="#_ftn1">[1]</a> Stephen also went east with success. He &ldquo;was the first one that sounded the glad tidings of the everlasting gospel&rdquo; in Dalton, New Hampshire.<a id="_ftnref2" class="footnote-label" title="" href="#_ftn2">[2]</a> By 1838, Stephen felt completely disillusioned. He tried but failed to regain the Spirit. Finally, he &ldquo;proclaimed all revelation lies&rdquo; and left the Church. He said that the foundation of his faith failed and the entire structure fell in &ldquo;a heap of ruins.&rdquo;<a id="_ftnref3" class="footnote-label" title="" href="#_ftn3">[3]</a> Joseph thought there was more to it. He thought that Stephen&rsquo;s unwillingness to consecrate his life to the kingdom of God contributed to his unconversion.<a id="_ftnref4" class="footnote-label" title="" href="#_ftn4">[4]</a></p> <div class="footnotes"> <p class="footnote"><a id="_ftn1" class="footnote-label" title="" href="#_ftnref1">[1]</a> Eden Smith, Journal, Church History Library, Salt Lake City. Stephen Burnett had earlier preached with Eden Smith's father John. See Lyndon Cook, <em>The Revelations of the Prophet Joseph Smith</em> (Provo, Utah: Seventy's Mission Bookstore, 1981), 170, 314.</p> <p class="footnote"><a id="_ftn2" class="footnote-label" title="" href="#_ftnref2">[2]</a> Levi B. Wilder to the editor, February 15, 1835, in <em>Messenger and Advocate</em> 1:5 (February 1835): 75.</p> <p class="footnote"><a id="_ftn3" class="footnote-label" title="" href="#_ftnref3">[3]</a> &ldquo;<a href="https://www.josephsmithpapers.org/paper-summary/letterbook-2/69" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Letterbook 2</a>,&rdquo; p. 64, The Joseph Smith Papers, accessed July 7, 2020.</p> <p class="footnote"><a id="_ftn4" class="footnote-label" title="" href="#_ftnref4">[4]</a> &ldquo;<a href="https://www.josephsmithpapers.org/paper-summary/elders-journal-august-1838/9" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Elders&rsquo; Journal, August 1838</a>,&rdquo; p. 57, The Joseph Smith Papers, accessed July 7, 2020.</p> </div>

<p>Stephen Burnett was just seventeen years old when he was ordained to the high priesthood at a conference held in Kirtland, Ohio, in October 1831.<a id="_ftnref1" class="see-footnote" title="" href="#_ftn1">[1]</a> A few months later, in January 1832, a revelation given at a conference in Amherst, Ohio, directed Stephen to preach the gospel with Ruggles Eames (D&amp;C 75:35). It doesn&rsquo;t appear that Ruggles Eames or Stephen Burnett ever served the mission to which they were called in that revelation. A few weeks later, Stephen visited Joseph Smith, who received this revelation. The revelation instructed Stephen to begin a new mission with Eden Smith, a twenty-seven-year-old convert from Indiana.<a id="_ftnref2" class="see-footnote" title="" href="#_ftn2">[2]</a></p> <p>See &ldquo;Historical Introduction,&rdquo; Revelation, 7 March 1832 [D&amp;C 80]</p> <div class="footnotes"> <p class="footnote"><a id="_ftn1" class="footnote-label" title="" href="#_ftnref1">[1]</a> Minutes, 25&ndash;26 October 1831, p. 14, JSP.</p> <p class="footnote"><a id="_ftn2" class="footnote-label" title="" href="#_ftnref2">[2]</a> &ldquo;Eden Smith,&rdquo; Biography, JSP.</p> </div>

<p>Eden Smith and Stephen Burnett did not get the immediate chance to preach together. Instead, two weeks after this revelation was given Stephen departed on a mission in the company of John Smith, Eden’s father. The two traveled to southern Ohio to preach to John Smith’s relatives. Stephen and Eden Smith were able to preach together in August 1832, after Eden’s health had recovered.<a href="#_ftn1" id="_ftnref1" title="" class="see-footnote">[1]</a></p> <p>At this point in time, the Lord entrusted Stephen Burnett with the power to choose where he served, stating that it didn’t matter where he went “for ye cannot go amiss” (D&C 80:3). This statement is another illustration of the Lord’s admonition that “it is not meet that I should command in all things” (D&C 58:26). Even something as significant as the place where a missionary labors can be left up to the wisdom and good judgment of the receiver in special cases. On other occasions, the Lord involves Himself deeply in the call of missionaries. Elder Ronald A. Rasband shared the experience of assigning mission calls in company with President Henry B. Eyring: </p> <blockquote> <p>First, we knelt together in prayer. I remember Elder Eyring using very sincere words, asking the Lord to bless him to know “perfectly” where the missionaries should be assigned. The word “perfectly” said much about the faith that Elder Eyring exhibited that day.</p> <p>As we were nearing the completion of that assignment meeting, a picture of a certain missionary appeared on the screen. I had the strongest prompting, the strongest of the morning, that the missionary we had before us was to be assigned to Japan. I did not know that Elder Eyring was going to ask me on this one, but amazingly he did. I rather tentatively and humbly said to him, “Japan?” Elder Eyring responded immediately, “Yes, let’s go there.” And up on the computer screen the missions of Japan appeared. I instantly knew that the missionary was to go to the Japan Sapporo Mission. Elder Eyring did not ask me the exact name of the mission, but he did assign that missionary to the Japan Sapporo Mission.</p> <p>Privately in my heart I was deeply touched and sincerely grateful to the Lord for allowing me to experience the prompting to know where that missionary should go. At the end of the meeting Elder Eyring bore his witness to me of the love of the Savior, which He has for each missionary assigned to go out into the world and preach the restored gospel. He said that it is by the great love of the Savior that His servants know where these wonderful young men and women, senior missionaries, and senior couple missionaries are to serve. I had a further witness that morning that every missionary called in this Church, and assigned or reassigned to a particular mission, is called by revelation from the Lord God Almighty through one of these, His servants.<a href="#_ftn2" id="_ftnref2" title="" class="see-footnote">[2]</a></p> </blockquote> <div class="footnotes"> <p class="footnote"><a href="#_ftnref1" id="_ftn1" title="" class="footnote-label">[1]</a> Historical Introduction, Revelation, 7 March 1832 [D&C 80], Cook, <em>The Revelations of the Prophet Joseph Smith, </em>170. </p> <p class="footnote"><a href="#_ftnref2" id="_ftn2" title="" class="footnote-label">[2]</a> Ronald A. Rasband, “The Divine Call of a Missionary,” April 2010 General Conference. </p> </div>