Doctrine and Covenants 85-87

<p>...[P]romptings are pure inspiration from heaven. When they confirm or testify to us, we need to recognize them for what they are and never let them slip past. So often, it is the Spirit inspiring us to reach out to someone in need, family and friends in particular. &ldquo;Thus &hellip; the still small voice, which whispereth through and pierceth all things&rdquo; (D&amp;C 85:6), points us to opportunities to teach the gospel, to bear testimony of the Restoration and Jesus Christ, to offer support and concern, and to rescue one of God&rsquo;s precious children.</p> <p>Think of it as being what is called a first responder. In most communities the first responders to a tragedy, disaster, or calamity are firefighters, police officers, paramedics. They arrive with lights flashing, and may I add, we are so incredibly grateful for them. The Lord&rsquo;s way is less obvious but requires just as immediate a response. The Lord knows the needs of all His children&mdash;and He knows who is prepared to help. If we let the Lord know in our morning prayers that we are ready, He will call on us to respond. If we respond, He will call on us time and time again and we will find ourselves on what President Monson calls &ldquo;the Lord&rsquo;s errand.&rdquo; We will become spiritual first responders bringing help from on high.</p>

<p>The Holy Ghost speaks with a voice that you feel more than you hear. It is described as a &ldquo;still small voice&rdquo; (D&amp;C 85:6). And while we speak of &ldquo;listening&rdquo; to the whisperings of the Spirit, most often one describes a spiritual prompting by saying, &ldquo;I had a feeling &hellip;&rdquo;</p> <p>The Prophet Joseph Smith explained: &ldquo;A person may profit by noticing the first intimation of the spirit of revelation; for instance, when you feel pure intelligence flowing into you, it may give you sudden strokes of ideas, so that by noticing it, you may find it fulfilled the same day or soon; &hellip; those things that were presented unto your minds by the Spirit of God, will come to pass; and thus by learning the Spirit of God and understanding it, you may grow into the principle of revelation, until you become perfect in Christ Jesus.&rdquo;</p>

<p>The Prophet Joseph Smith, in a letter to William W. Phelps, quoted Section eighty-five of the Doctrine and Covenants, and, commenting upon the mission of the one mighty and strong (D&amp;C 85:7) said: &ldquo;Now Brother William, if what I have said is true, how careful men ought to be what they do in the last days, lest they are cut short in their expectations and they that think they stand, should fall because they keep not the Lord&rsquo;s commandments.&rdquo;</p> <p>In The Deseret News of November 13, 1905, President Joseph F. Smith and his Counselors, commenting on this statement, said: &ldquo;Perhaps no other passage in the revelations of the Lord in this dispensation has given rise to so much speculation as this one . . . the Church of Christ and of the Saints is completely organized, and that when the man who shall be called upon to divide unto the Saints their inheritances comes, he will be designated by the inspiration of the Lord to the proper authorities of the Church, appointed and sustained according to the order provided for the government of the Church.</p> <p>So long as that Church remains in the earth&mdash;and we have assurance from the Lord that it will remain in the earth forever&mdash;the Saints need look for nothing of God&rsquo;s appointing that will be erratic or irregular, or that smacks of starting over afresh, or that would ignore or overthrow the established order of things. The Saints should remember that they are living in the dispensation of the fullness of times when the Church is established in the earth for the last days and for the last time and that God&rsquo;s Church is a Church of order or law, and that there is no place for anarchy in it.&rdquo;</p>

<p>These verses and the reference to &ldquo;one mighty and strong&rdquo; who will set in order the house of God have been the source of frequent speculation. Some splinter groups from the Church have used this passage to justify their attempts to reform the Church or start their own Church. The most authoritative commentary on this passage comes from a statement issued in 1905 by the First Presidency, consisting of Joseph F. Smith, John R. Winder, and Anthon H. Lund. In an official statement the First Presidency discussed the circumstances of this revelation and the identity of the &ldquo;one mighty and strong&rdquo;:</p> <blockquote> <p>It is to be observed first of all that the subject of this whole letter, as also the part of it subsequently accepted as a revelation, relates to the affairs of the Church in Missouri, the gathering of the Saints to that land and obtaining their inheritances under the law of consecration and stewardship; and the Prophet deals especially with the matter of what is to become of those who fail to receive their inheritances by order or deed from the bishop. . . .</p> <p>It was while these conditions of rebellion, jealousy, pride, unbelief and hardness of heart prevailed among the brethren in Zion&mdash;Jackson county, Missouri&mdash;in all of which Bishop Partridge participated, that the words of the revelation taken from the letter to William W. Phelps, of the 27th of November, 1832, were written. The &lsquo;man who was called and appointed of God&rsquo; to &lsquo;divide unto the Saints their inheritance&rsquo;&mdash;Edward Partridge&mdash;was at that time out of order, neglecting his own duty, and putting &lsquo;forth his hand to steady the ark&rsquo;; hence, he was warned of the judgment of God impending, and the prediction was made that another, &lsquo;one mighty and strong,&rsquo; would be sent of God to take his place, to have his bishopric&mdash;one having the spirit and power of that high office resting upon him, by which he would have power to &lsquo;set in order the house of God, and arrange by lot the inheritance of the Saints&rsquo;; in other words, one who would do the work that Bishop Edward Partridge had been appointed to do, but had failed to accomplish. . . .</p> <p>And inasmuch as through his repentance and sacrifices and suffering, Bishop Edward Partridge undoubtedly obtained a mitigation of the threatened judgment against him of falling &lsquo;by the shaft of death, like as a tree that is smitten by the vivid shaft of lightning,&rsquo; so the occasion for sending another to fill his station&mdash;&lsquo;one mighty and strong to set in order the house of God, and to arrange by lot the inheritances of the Saints&rsquo;&mdash;may also be considered as having passed away and the whole incident of the prophecy closed.<a id="_ftnref1" class="see-footnote" title="" href="#_ftn1">[1]</a></p> </blockquote> <div class="footnotes"> <p class="footnote"><a id="_ftn1" class="footnote-label" title="" href="#_ftnref1">[1]</a> James R. Clark, comp., <em>Messages of the First Presidency,</em> 4:112, 115, 117.</p> </div>

<p>On November 27, 1832, the Prophet Joseph Smith wrote a letter to W. W. Phelps to &ldquo;answer questions about those saints who had moved to Zion, but who had not received their inheritances&rdquo; (D&amp;C 85: Introduction). The Joseph Smith letter began&mdash;</p> <blockquote> <p>I say brother, because I feel so from the heart, and although it is not long since I wrote a letter unto you, yet I feel as though you would excuse me for writing this, as I have many things which I wish to communicate. ... While I dictate this letter, I fancy to myself that you are saying or thinking something similar to these words:&mdash;</p> <p>&ldquo;My God, great and mighty art Thou, therefore show unto Thy servant what shall become of those who are essaying to come up unto Zion, in order to keep the commandments of God, and yet receive not their inheritance by consecrations, by order of deed from the Bishop, the man that God has appointed in a legal way, agreeably to the law given to organize and regulate the Church, and all the affairs of the same.&rdquo;<a id="_ftnref1" class="see-footnote" title="" href="#_ftn1">[1]</a></p> </blockquote> <p>What follows in the letter is contained in D&amp;C 85. In this section, the Prophet Joseph expressed disappointment with Bishop Edward Partridge for the manner in which he conducted Church affairs in Jackson County and threatened to &ldquo;send one mighty and strong&rdquo; to replace him (D&amp;C 85:7).</p> <p>To clarify the phrase &ldquo;one mighty and strong,&rdquo; on November 11, 1905, the First Presidency issued the following proclamation:</p> <blockquote> <p>The &ldquo;man who was called and appointed of God&rdquo; to &ldquo;divide unto the Saints their inheritance&rdquo;&mdash;Edward Partridge&mdash;was at that time out of order, neglecting his own duty, and putting &ldquo;forth his hand to steady the ark&rdquo;; hence, he was warned of the judgment of God impending, and the prediction was made that another, &ldquo;one mighty and strong,&rdquo; would be sent of God to take his place, to have his bishopric&mdash;one having the spirit and power of that high office resting upon him. ...</p> <p>If, however, there are those who will still insist that the prophecy concerning the coming of &ldquo;one mighty and strong&rdquo; is still to be regarded as relating to the future, let the Latter-day Saints know that he will be a future bishop of the Church who will be with the Saints in Zion, Jackson county, Missouri, when the Lord shall establish them in that land; and he will be so blessed with the spirit and power of his calling that he will be able to set in order the house of God, pertaining to the department of the work under his jurisdiction; and in righteousness and justice will &ldquo;arrange by lot the inheritances of the Saints.&rdquo;<a id="_ftnref2" class="see-footnote" title="" href="#_ftn2">[2]</a></p> </blockquote> <p>Bishop Edward Partridge resolved the issue of inheritance among Church members in Jackson County. Therefore, the need to send &ldquo;one mighty and strong ... to set in order the house of God, and to arrange by lot the inheritances of the saints&rdquo; was not necessary (D&amp;C 85:7).</p> <div class="footnotes"> <p class="footnote"><a id="_ftn1" class="footnote-label" title="" href="#_ftnref1">[1]</a> Letter to William W. Phelps, 27 November 1832, 1. Joseph Smith Papers.</p> <p class="footnote"><a id="_ftn2" class="footnote-label" title="" href="#_ftnref2">[2]</a> First Presidency, &ldquo;One Mighty and Strong,&rdquo; <em>Deseret News</em>, November 11, 1905, 4.</p> </div>

<p>The phrase “to steady the ark” makes reference to an episode in the Old Testament in which David was bringing the Ark of the Covenant back to Jerusalem after the Philistines returned it. During the journey, the ark was shaken by the oxen pulling it and a man named Uzzah put forth his hand to steady the ark. The record reads, “Uzzah put forth his hand to the ark of God, and took hold of it; for the oxen shook it<em>.</em> And the anger of the Lord was kindled against Uzzah; and God smote him there for his error; and there he died by the ark of God” (2 Samuel 6:6–7). </p> <p>The record gives us no insight into Uzzah’s motives for reaching out to steady the ark. But the phrase “to steady the ark” has become shorthand for stepping outside of a person’s given stewardship to interfere in a matter in which he or she has no authority. We may be sincere in our concern or our desire to help, but we must also show faith and trust in those the Lord has placed in positions of leadership. As explained in this and other revelations, concerns need to go through the proper channels of authority. In this case, God warns Edward Partridge, the bishop in Zion, to follow the counsel of Church leaders. Bishop Partridge repented and remained a faithful steward in the Church and a wise leader among the Saints in Missouri. </p>