Warren Cowdery, Oliver’s older brother, lodged and fed Joseph and his companions when they were recruiting for the Camp of Israel in the spring of 1834. Warren was sympathetic to the Saints’ suffering in Missouri, and that summer he joined the Church. There were a few dozen other converts in the area, all converted by missionaries who passed through. Warren wrote to Oliver that they could really use a permanent preacher.1 He wrote again a few weeks later saying he “had thoughts of requesting you to enquire what is the will of the Lord concerning me.”2 Joseph asked, and the Lord answered with section 106.
The revelation says the Lord wants Warren to devote all of his time to the high and holy calling of presiding over the Saints in and around Freedom, New York, and preaching the gospel in that area. In verse 3 the Lord promises Warren a living if he obeys the revelation and in verses 4–5 explains that he should serve in order to prepare himself and his neighbors for the Lord’s coming.
Beginning in verse 6, the Lord reveals the joy he experienced when Warren joined the Church and blesses him for it. The language of this verse suggests that what pleased the Lord was Warren’s willing submission to his divine authority, his kingly scepter. The Lord exposes Warren’s vanity and promises to preserve him at the Second Coming on the condition that Warren will choose to be humble. The last verse, too, is a conditional promise, a covenant between the Lord and Warren in which the Lord promises him his own kingly crown in heavenly mansions “if he continue to be a faithful witness and a light unto the church” (D&C 106:8).
Warren presided over his fellow Saints in New York until he and his family moved to Kirtland early in 1836. There he served the Church as a scribe and recorder, but by 1838 he became one of many in that era who did not “continue” to be “a faithful witness and a light unto the church” (D&C 106:8).3
1. Warren Cowdery, Freedom, NY, to Oliver Cowdery, Kirtland, OH, September 1, 1834, in The Evening and the Morning Star, September 1834, 189.
2. Warren Cowdery, Freedom, NY, to Oliver Cowdery, [Kirtland, OH], October 28, 1834, in LDS Messenger and Advocate, November 1834, 1:22.
3. Elders’ Journal, August 1838, 59.
From Doctrine and Covenants Minute
In the spring of 1834, Joseph Smith traveled to Freedom, New York, to help recruit men for the march of Zion’s Camp. At that time, Joseph stayed in the home of Warren Cowdery, the older brother of Oliver Cowdery. Joseph wrote in his journal that during his stay with Warren, his group had received the “full enjoyment of all the blessings[,] both temporal and spiritual.”1 Sometime after Joseph’s visit, between May and September 1834, a small branch of the Church was set up in Freedom, and Warren Cowdery was baptized. After his baptism, Warren wrote to Oliver, requesting “a preacher of our order” to “do us good, by strengthening and building us up in the most holy faith.”2
In October 1834 Warren wrote to Oliver. Warren shared his hope of being “useful in the vineyard of the Lord” and told his brother that he “had thoughts of requesting you to enquire what is the will of the Lord concerning me.”3 Section 106 was given in response to Warren’s request.
In Joseph Smith’s official history, the Prophet noted how busy he was during this time, writing, “No month ever found me more busily engaged than November; but as, my life consisted of activity and unyielding exertion, I made this my rule, when the Lord commands, do it . . . I continued my labors daily, preparing for the school, &c and received the following: [D&C 106].”
See “Historical Introduction,” Revelation, 25 November 1834 [D&C 106].
1. JS Journal, 1832–1834, p. 60, JSP.
2. “Warren Cowdery, Freedom, NY, to Oliver Cowdery, Kirtland, OH, 1 Sept. 1834,” The Evening and the Morning Star, Sept. 1834, 189.
3. “Warren Cowdery, Freedom, NY, to Oliver Cowdery, [Kirtland, OH], 28 Oct. 1834,” LDS Messenger and Advocate, Nov. 1834, 1:22.
COPYRIGHT 2024 BOOK OF MORMON CENTRAL: A NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATION. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. REGISTERED 501(C)(3). EIN: 20-5294264
