Casey Griffiths: This is the first revelation received by Joseph Smith in Missouri and announces at last the location of the city of Zion.

Scott Woodward: Is this not the first major climax of the early Restoration? I mean, ever since the First Vision and the organization of the Church, everything has been headed toward this moment. Here it is, the big announcement.

Casey Griffiths: This one’s a big deal.

Scott Woodward: Casey, we’re back. Part two.

Casey Griffiths: Yeah. Sections 55 to 57 of the Doctrine and Covenants. This is where we finish the road to Zion. Also, we meet some interesting characters kind of along the way, including the focal point of Section 55, one of the more colorful figures in the history of the Church, William Wines Phelps, W. W. Phelps.

Scott Woodward: Producer of many hymns that Church members around the world enjoy to sing today.

Casey Griffiths: The Spirit of God, Redeemer of Israel. If You Could Hie to Kolob, Praise to the Man. Beautiful poet and writer. Let’s dive into Section 55. William Wines Phelps is the editor of a newspaper, the Ontario Phoenix. When he begins to hear stories about a new book of scripture brought forth by a prophet in the nearby community of Palmyra. Phelps is acquainted with several early members of the Church. That includes Martin Harris and Thomas B. Marsh. A lot of our early converts live near Phelps’ homes in Canandaigua, New York, including Brigham Young and Ezra Thayre. In April 1830, Phelps purchases several copies of the Book of Mormon and stays up the entire night comparing the new book with the Bible. Soon, he and his wife, Sally, became convinced that the Book of Mormon was the word of God. At the same time, he hesitates to join the Church, though he later wrote, “My heart was there from the time I became acquainted with the Book of Mormon, and my hope steadfast like an anchor, and my faith increased like grass after a refreshing shower.” Now, he still holds off on joining the Church, partially because he experiences persecution, because he’s promoting the Book of Mormon.

Casey Griffiths: In the spring of 1831, he goes to Palmyra because he wants to research the beginnings of this new religious movement Two men from his hometown of Canandaigua bring charges against him and arrest him for indebtedness. Now, newspapermen like Phelps often operated on credit, but apparently, it wasn’t the debt that caused the arrest. When Phelps arrived in jail, he was informed that the action was taken to keep him from joining the Mormons. He’s jailed for 30 days, and he’s so mad about this that he writes a letter of outrage to the local newspapers. Part of the letter reads, “Is this religion? Is it liberty to jail someone who is investigating to find the truth? Is this humanity?” While he’s in jail, he resigns his position as editor of the Ontario Phoenix, and he starts getting ready to leave with his family together with the Church in Kirtland, Ohio. In fact, he writes a final as the editor of this newspaper to his readers, and he writes, “We live in an eventful day. According to the Psalmist, truth springs out of the earth and righteousness looks down from heaven. And as twin angels, they will sweep through the world like a mighty torrent, till mankind, untrammeled by secret bondage, sings as the sons of glory, We are one, peace on earth, virtue endures forever.”

Casey Griffiths: So he packs up and him and Sally leave Canandaigua on June 9th. They travel to Kirtland via the Erie Canal over Lake Erie. When they finally get to Kirtland on June 14, 1831, he immediately goes to see Joseph Smith, who was then residing northeast of Kirtland on the Morley farm. And when William arrives, he told Joseph Smith he was willing to do the will of the Lord and asked Joseph to seek a revelation on his behalf. Joseph agreed, and the result is Section 55. He’s an incredibly gifted writer and newspaperman. He also is not baptized at this point. He believes in the Book of Mormon, but he hasn’t been baptized, and that’s part of the the context of the revelation when we’re coming here.

Scott Woodward: The Lord opens this revelation by saying, “Behold, thus saith the Lord unto you, my servant William, yea, even the Lord of the whole earth, thou art called and chosen; and after thou hast been baptized by water, which if you do with an eye single to my glory, you shall have a remission of your sins and a reception of the Holy Spirit by the laying on of the hands; and then you’ll be ordained an elder by Joseph Smith to preach repentance remission of sins by way of baptism. And on whomsoever you shall lay your hands, if they’re contrite before me, you shall have power to give the Holy Spirit.” As a result of this revelation, Phelps is going to get baptized right away, which he was ready anyway. But the Lord says, Let’s finish that piece. Then let’s ordain him an elder. Let’s get him going. Then in verse 4, he says, “And again, you shall be ordained to assist my servant Oliver Cowdery to do the work of printing and of selecting and writing books for schools in this church, that little children also may receive instruction before me as is pleasing unto me.” There you go.

Scott Woodward: So he has the skill set of being a printer, and the Lord says, We can use that skill in the kingdom. We actually need good printers. And Oliver Cowdery has a commission to do that. Why don’t you join up with him? Let’s put you two together. Now, Oliver Cowdery, remember, he is out in Missouri right now. And so it just so happens that Joseph and Sidney are about to leave for Missouri. They’ve got who else with them? Sidney Gilbert and maybe a couple of others. Edward Partridge. So watch what the Lord does here in verse 5. He says, “Again, verily I say unto you for this cause, you shall take your journey with my servants, Joseph Smith, Jr. and Sidney Rigdon, that you may be planted in the land of your inheritance to do this work.” So right away, Phelps is getting put to work with the skillset that he already has developed to be planted in the land of his inheritance in Zion, to become a Church printer. And become a Church printer, he will. He is going to be prolific. He’s going to write a ton. Sometimes he’s going to get the Church in trouble because of some of the stuff he writes in Missouri.

Scott Woodward: More to come on that. But his heart is good. He’s wonderful. He is an incredible, incredible poet. And as we mentioned, he’s written some of the hymns that our Church loves to sing. Phelps has a strong testimony of the Book of Mormon, refined by some of his trials before he even joins the Church. But he’ll later write of the importance of the Book of Mormon in helping him join the Church when he said, quote, “Whenever I have meditated upon the Book of Mormon and looked ahead at the glory which will be brought to pass by that and the servants of God, I have been filled with hope, filled with light, filled with joy, and filled with satisfaction. What a wonderful volume. What a glorious treasure. By that book, I learned the right way to God. By that book, I received the fullness of the everlasting gospel. By that book, I found the new covenant.” You just feel the zeal and conviction of this man. So that’s the content of Section 55. Okay, Casey, so any controversies with W. W. Phelps?

Casey Griffiths: No real controversies with Section 55, but maybe we should pause for a second and talk about W. W. Phelps. He is a highly controversial figure in the early Church, leaves the Church during the troubles in Missouri, swears out an affidavit against Joseph Smith. There’s a really touching story where after all the dust settles from the confrontations that happened in Missouri, Phelps asked to come back to the Church. Joseph Smith writes and basically tells him, We’ve suffered because of what you did. But then as this nice little couplet at the end where he says, Come on, dear brother, since the long war has passed and friends at first are friends again at last. That is part of the context Phelps rejoins the Church, renews his friendship with Joseph Smith. They write a poetic version of the vision of Section 76 together. Then most famously, Phelps composes the poem, Praise to the Man, that becomes that beloved hymn that’s in the hymnbook today. He is controversial himself, but the idea that he’s going to go to Zion and that he’s going to print isn’t controversial at all. In fact, it’s part of the work that we continue on in the Church today.

Scott Woodward: He is inadvertently the spark that leads to the first expulsion of the Saints from Jackson County, Missouri. It’s some of the stuff he writes. We’ll talk more about it. But his life is an incredible sermon on repentance and forgiveness. He’ll come back into the Church. He’ll be forgiven by the Church. He’ll go with the Church west to Utah. He’ll die there. He’s buried in the Salt Lake Cemetery. I like to visit Phelps’s grave. On his grave, on his tombstone, are some of the verses to his hymn, If You Could Hie to Kolob, which is really, really cool. Anyway, Phelps is great. We can talk about him all day. But, consequences of this section?

Casey Griffiths: First consequence is he goes to Missouri. He becomes the printer there. As you mentioned, that’s at the center of some of the controversies, some of the stuff that Phelps writes. Phelps is an abolitionist. He wants to end slavery, and that gets the Church in trouble in Missouri. More to come on that. Give Phelps some credit. This revelation is received, according to several sources, on June 14th and on June 19th. He’s on the road to Missouri. Another major thing in this section that we might have just brushed past is that it says, he’s commanded to “assist in the work of printing, selecting and writing books for the schools in this church that little children may receive instruction before me as is pleasing me.” This is one of the earliest commandments that have to do with education in the Church, which is a big deal. One of the things I love about the Church is its focus and emphasis on education. This is the first hint at schools that that teaching not just gospel truths, but also teaching spiritual and secular truths is going to be part of it. Parley P. Pratt and others wind up being part of the school in Zion.

Casey Griffiths: It’s mentioned in Section 97. In later revelations, the Lord not only directs the creation of schools for children, but educational programs for adults. In Section 88, the School of the Prophets is set up, an adult education program. The revelatory command for W. W. Phelps to serve as educator in Zion is a precursor to the Church’s emphasis on education today. I love this quote by Dieter F. Uchtdorf, where he said, “For members of the Church, education is not merely a good idea, it is a commandment.” This is the first hint at that. Later sections are just going to flat out say, Yes, learn all that you can of the Earth, its complexity. He even commands them to learn history, which as a history professor, makes me happy.

Scott Woodward: Yeah, awesome. On to Section 56.

Casey Griffiths: So Section 56 is tied to Section 52, in that those 14 pairs of missionaries that are called to go to Zion don’t exist without some trouble. This has to do with a pair of missionaries, specifically Thomas B. Marsh, who we’ve introduced earlier, and Ezra Thayre, who were both called by revelation to travel to Missouri in verse 22 of Section 52. This revelation was received just days before the elders called in Section 52 had planned to depart from Kirtland to go to Missouri. Complications arose when Ezra Thayre says he’s going to have to delay his departure for his mission. We don’t know the exact reason why Thayre had to delay his mission, but it’s likely the situation is linked to his investment in a piece of real estate. Doctrine and Covenants 56 refers to a former commandment given to Thayre concerning the place upon which he lives. That’s in verse 8. That revelation does exist. But interestingly, Scott, this revelation was not placed in the Doctrine and Covenants. You can find it in Revelation Book 1, which is on the Joseph Smith Papers site, but it’s not in our current Doctrine and Covenants. Missing revelation, kind of interesting. The revelation is very short, and we’re going to talk about what it says, but I want to do it in context with Section 56.

Casey Griffiths: So, Ezra appears to have been concerned over his duties on the Frederick G. Williams farm, where Joseph Smith’s family was staying at the time. The property was being shared by at least three different parties, and Ezra apparently wanted payment on his portion of the land secured before he left on his mission. That’s mentioned in verse 9. So, Thomas B. Marsh records his perspective on the controversy. Later on, he says, “In June 1831, I received an appointment to go to Missouri with Ezra Thayre and preach by the way. In consequence of Ezra Thayre delaying for so long, I went to Joseph, who received the word of the Lord, appointing Selah J. Griffin, with whom I journeyed to Missouri, preaching by the way. And John Whitmer, the Church historian, just records, “Thomas B. Marsh was desirous to know what he should do as the Lord had commanded him and Ezra Thayre to take their journey to the land of Missouri. But Thayre could not get ready as soon as Thomas wanted that he should.” Again, a little hiccup and maybe some business dealings that this revelation is going to address.

Scott Woodward: But the immediate question is coming from Thomas B. Marsh. What am I supposed to do? My appointed companion is not ready to go. What should I do? The Lord begins this revelation with a little bit of a tense tone. He says, “Hearken, O ye people who profess my name, saith the Lord your God, for behold, mine anger is kindled against the rebellious, and they shall know mine arm and mine indignation in the day of visitation and of wrath upon the nations. And he that will not take up his cross and follow me and keep my commandments, the same shall not be saved. Behold, I, the Lord, command, and he that will not obey shall be cut off in my own due time after I have commanded, and the commandment is broken.” Okay, given the context here, the Lord does not seem pleased with Ezra Thayre’s delay, is what I’m taken from these three verses. Then the Lord says about his mission call. He says, “Wherefore I, the Lord, command and revoke, as it seemeth me good, and all this to be answered upon the heads of the rebellious, saith the Lord.” Like you said, we don’t know the exact details surrounding the actions of Ezra Thayre, but it’s clear from the revelation that the Lord is displeased and concerned over more than just a financial transaction gone wrong.

Scott Woodward: Something’s up, right? The actions taken by Ezra Thayre, whatever they were, combined with the complications rising from Leman Copley evicting the Colesville Saints we just talked about in Section 54, that threatened the call of several missionaries going to Missouri. And it’s in that context, right? It’s in response to these events that the Lord, A, expresses his displeasure, and then B, is going to adjust the earlier commandments given to the elders, revoking a portion of them. Like he said, “I command and I revoke.” I can call people on missions, and I can cancel their mission call.

Casey Griffiths: Yeah, and this is all consistent with the idea that the Lord respects our agency and adjusts his expectations and blessings based on good or bad decisions that we make. The example that this kind of reminds me of is in the Bible. Remember, anciently, the children of Israel receive a command that they’re supposed to possess the land of Canaan, but they send spies in. When the spies come back and tell them that there’s walled cities and that there’s giants and all kinds of stuff, the children of Israel start to murmur against Moses and Aaron and make plans to even go back to Egypt. This is in Numbers 14. In consequence of this behavior, the Lord commands that instead the people are going to wander in the wilderness until the rebellious generation is passed away. He then reinstituted the commandment for the righteous posterity to occupy Canaan. This is a similar situation where the rebellious actions of a small number of Saints in Kirtland caused the Lord to adjust his earlier commands. You can see that adjustment right in verse 5, “I revoke the commandment which was given under my servants, Thomas B. Marsh and Ezra Thayre, and give a new commandment under my servant, Thomas, that he shall take up his journey speedily to the land of Missouri, and my servant Selah J. Griffin shall also go with him.”

Scott Woodward: You see this kind of thing. I mean, it happens still, like a missionary goes home early. Health concern happens or a worthiness issue that wasn’t resolved, or they just say, I’m done. This kind of thing has happened. Now the mission president needs to make some adjustments, and we see the same kind of thing. Let’s shuffle around mission companions, and we’ll make it work. And the agency of some missionaries who are deciding to not join in the work of the Lord anymore. That’s going to affect others, but the Lord can work with that. And that doesn’t mean Thomas B. Marsh’s mission is ruined. He just gets a new companion, and now he’s off speedily to the land of Missouri. The Lord’s honoring agency here, and he always does, always will. No individual can frustrate his work, but that doesn’t mean it’s not frustrating to the Lord, as you can hear his tone in the first three verses, when people do this stuff. Verse 8, “Verily I say unto you that my servant, Ezra Thayre must repent of his pride and of his selfishness, and obey the former commandment which I’ve given him concerning the place upon which he lives.” Clearly, the Lord’s like, I’m not done with you.

Scott Woodward: You’re released from this calling, but I want to work with you. I want you to be able to come back around. Verse 6, “For behold, I revoked the commandment which was given unto my servants, Selah Griffin and Newel Knight, in consequence of the stiff-neckedness of my people which are in Thompson, and their rebellions.” Remember, so Newel Knight was commanded to go on the mission to with Selah Griffin, but because Newel Knight was then nominated as the new leader of the Colesville Saints group to lead them to Missouri since Leman Copely had broken his covenant, the Lord is doing some shifting here, and he’s just calling it what it was. It was stiff-neckedness. It was rebellion. And I don’t like it. I will continue to work with sinners, of course. I don’t like it. I will make adjustments, and the work of the Lord will not be frustrated.

Casey Griffiths: The Lord is being pretty direct here to Ezra, right? And the Lord’s basically telling him he needs to repent of pride. He also, like we mentioned, refers to that former commandment, this unpublished revelation, which you can find on the Joseph Smith Papers site. And the revelation, just to summarize really quickly, we’re not going to read the whole thing, talks about the ownership and disposition of this farm. In fact, the revelation that isn’t here that the Lord’s referring back to also addresses Ezra Thayre. Let me just read an excerpt. It says, “Let my servant Ezra humble himself, and at the conference meeting, he shall be ordained under power from on high and shall go from hence if he be obedient unto the commandments.” In that earlier revelation, the Lord is telling Ezra he needs to humble himself. But it seems like Ezra is so caught up in the monetary arrangements of what’s happening with everybody that he can’t see the bigger picture of what’s happening. In fact, in a revelation given the same day, but not directed specifically to Ezra Thayre, the Lord gave this general counsel on financial matters.

Casey Griffiths: What shall the brethren do with their money? You shall go forth and seek diligently among the brethren and obtain lands and save the money that it may be consecrated to purchase lands in the West for an everlasting inheritance.” So Ezra still hasn’t quite got the picture of consecration. It seems like that’s what the Lord is concerned with because he’s concerned over the ownership of this farm.

Scott Woodward: This is pretty like, proximate to the 1831 time period. Members of the Church today might look at this as kind of just a historically interesting episode with not a lot of application for us. But I want to just point out one thought here that I’ve noticed the word “not” a couple of times here. I think everything that follows the word not in this section, pretty much, is something that will break Zion. We talk about building Zion, and we talk about breaking Zion. Here’s some Zion-breaking type of attitudes or actions that are not conducive to building Zion, helping people become one heart, one mind, and dwell in righteousness, and eliminating poverty. The following attitudes are not good. Notice the word not. For instance, verse 2, “He that will not take up his cross and follow me and keep my commandments the same shall not be saved.” Verse 3, “Behold, I the Lord command, and he that will not obey shall be caught off in my own due time.” Fast forward to verse 8. He doesn’t say the word not here, but you see the the attributes of Zion breaking. He rebuked Ezra Thayre for pride, for selfishness, and for not obeying the commandment that he had given him formerly.

Scott Woodward: If you skip over to verse 14 and 15, you see the word not again here. “Behold thus, saith the Lord unto my people, you have many things to do and to repent of, for behold, your sins have come up to me and are not pardoned.” Oh, shoot, because they’re not repenting. Verse 15, “And your hearts are not satisfied, and you obey not the truth, but have pleasure in unrighteousness.” That’s an attitude the Lord does not love. You have pleasure in unrighteousness. That’ll break Zion because they dwell in righteousness together. It’s one of the four cornerstones of Zion. Look in verse 17, “Wo unto you poor men whose hearts are not broken, whose spirits are not contrite, whose bellies are not satisfied, whose hands are not stayed from laying hold upon other men’s goods, whose eyes are full of greediness, and who will not labor with your own hands.” All these nots, the Lord is dropping these nots, nots, nots. Flip all of those around and you’ve got the kind of people that can build Zion. But without that, this breaks Zion. How are you supposed to build a community, a covenant community, who is dwelling in righteousness together?

Scott Woodward: One heart, one mind, unity, right? Trying to eliminate poverty together when you’ve got this kind of thing happening, right? Unbroken hearts, not contrite spirits, pleasure and unrighteous, craving, laying their hands on other men’s goods. These are the exact opposite attributes than Zion builders.

Casey Griffiths: Money really isn’t good or evil. When it comes down to it, it can keep a person from entering the Kingdom of God, or it can be a means of building the Kingdom of God. You remember the story in the New Testament about the rich young ruler who comes and approaches the Savior and says, I keep all the commandments, and Christ says, Okay, you lack just one thing, sell everything that thou hast, distribute it to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven. That’s too much for the guy. When Joseph Smith translated that passage about the rich young ruler, which is found in Luke 18, The original passage reads as follows. It says, “It is easier for a camel to go through a needle’s eye than for a rich man to enter into the Kingdom of God.” Joseph Smith changed it to read, “He said unto them, It is impossible for those who trust in riches to enter into the Kingdom of God. But he who forsaketh the things which are of this world, it is possible with God that he should enter in.” It’s interesting here that the Lord rebukes rich men that won’t share.

Casey Griffiths: Then poor people that are greedy and seek substance as well. It seems like what he’s saying is, it’s not the money that makes a person good or bad, it’s what they choose to do with it and how they accept it. These warnings, which come really close on the heels of the implementation of the law of consecration, seem to demonstrate that the Lord sees weakness in both the rich and the poor that can be offset by sacrifice and unselfish service in the Kingdom of God. So, Ezra Thayre is being kept back from some of his blessings because he’s really concerned with temporal things, with financial things, with money.

Scott Woodward: That’s a great insight. Yeah, it’s not the money itself, but it’s a relationship to money. Rich, poor, you can have a good relationship to money, or you can have an unhealthy relationship to money. And that needs to be solved in order for Zion to be built up in the hearts of those who are going to build it. So great thought, Casey. Thank you. Any controversies with Section 56? I guess it is a controversy itself, but anything we need to talk about with this?

Casey Griffiths: Maybe one controversy would be it makes reference to an uncanonized revelation in the Doctrine and Covenants. This revelation you can find on the Joseph Smith Papers website. It’s just labeled simply Revelation 15th May 1831. It’s given before the June conference where everybody’s ordained. It makes reference to him being ordained. It warns Ezra that his pride is kind of leading him down a tough road and sort of exhorts him to consecrate. It’s not in the Doctrine and Covenants. We should point out there are several uncanonized revelations that we have in the Manuscript Revelation books that didn’t get placed into the Doctrine and Covenants. Now, what’s the reason? To be honest with you, we don’t know. Joseph Smith, Oliver Cowdery, most of the important early leaders of the Church were part of the committee that put together the manuscript for the Book of Commandments, which later becomes the Doctrine and Covenants. We don’t know in particular why some revelations were left in and left out. But that is just an interesting thing to know that it has never been canonized, but you can go read it and take a look at it for yourself. I think this is maybe our first big example of an uncanonized revelation being placed in here.

Casey Griffiths: But I would say it’s no big loss because the substance of that revelation is essentially found in Section 56. Maybe that was their reasoning. I’m not saying it was, but it’s possible that they looked at it and said, Well, Section 56 says the same thing. So let’s just include that and not worry about the other one.

Scott Woodward: In terms of consequences of this section, do we know what happens with Ezra Thayre?

Casey Griffiths: Ezra eventually leaves the Church. We talked about him a couple of weeks ago when we went through and talked about the earlier revelation that was given to him. But unfortunately, he’s one of the earliest apostates to the Church.

Scott Woodward: We do know that Ezra does repent, and that’s good news. And on January 25th, 1832, the next year, he was again called to be the missionary companion of Thomas B. Marsh. That’s in Section 75, verse 31. He’ll fulfill this mission assignment, and one year later, acting on behalf of the Church, he will help negotiate the purchase price of 103 acres of the Peter French farm. Whether you have heard of that or not, you have heard about what this becomes a significant portion of this land is going to be the area on which the Kirtland temple will be built. He had a tendency toward financial things and financial concerns and interests. We see him here starting to consecrate that and use it for good to get land for the building of the temple. He’s going to do really well for the next couple of years. He’ll be part of Zion’s Camp. He’s going to be part of the Saints in Missouri when they’re expelled from the state in 1838. He’ll go to Quincy, Illinois, for a while. Then we find that he leaves and he goes back to New York, and he never rejoins the Saints.

Scott Woodward: After Joseph Smith’s death, he does not go with Brigham Young’s leadership. With the 12, he does not go West with them. We find in 1860 that he is in Michigan as a high priest in the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter=day Saints. That’s kind of the last we hear of Ezra Thayre. The good news is he does repent. He heeds the council given by Section 56, ends up doing some good things.

Casey Griffiths: Just doesn’t make the first trip to Zion, unfortunately. Let’s keep going, and we’re getting to the revelation we’ve kind of been leading up to, which is Section 57. This is the first revelation received by Joseph Smith in Missouri and announces at last the location of the city of Zion. The heading for this section in the earliest manuscript simply says, Revelation given in Zion, July 1831.

Scott Woodward: Is this not the first major climax of the early Restoration? I mean, ever since the First Vision and I don’t know, maybe the organization of the Church, everything has been headed toward this moment. All these hints, all these kind of teasings of the Lord. I will tell you, I will tell you. If you’re faithful, I will tell you. I will tell you the land. He’s been talking about the West. Oliver Cowdery has been out there, and now here it is. Here it is. The big announcement. There’s a sense of momentum and crescendo with Section 57, like a first climax.

Casey Griffiths: This one’s a big deal. Let’s get the context here. Joseph Smith and other elders were called to travel from Kirtland to Missouri, and for the most part, they leave on June 19, 1831. In fact, Joseph Smith writes, “On the 19th of June, in company with Sidney Rigdon, Martin Harris, Edward Partridge, William W. Phelps, Joseph Coe, Sidney Gilbert, and his wife, I started from Kirtland, Ohio, for the land of Missouri, agreeable to the commandment that we had before received, wherein it was promised that if we were faithful, the land of our inheritance, even the place for the city of the New Jerusalem should be revealed.” They’re traveling. It’s a long journey. They get to Independence on July 14th. What is that? Two or three weeks? And upon their arrival, Joseph Smith is greeted by Oliver Cowdery, reunited with his old friend, a number of other members from the Lamanite Mission, and even a small group of converts that that they’ve gathered there. Joseph Smith wrote, “The meeting of our brethren who had long-awaited our arrival was a glorious one and moistened with many tears. It seemed good and pleasant for the brethren to meet together in unity.”

Scott Woodward: This is the first time Joseph and Oliver have seen each other for quite a while, isn’t it?

Casey Griffiths: Yeah. Oliver leaves on his mission in the fall of 1830, and now it’s the summer of 1831. We’re talking like they’ve been separated for three quarters of a year. Joseph Smith also has his eye on bigger things. He writes, “Our reflections were great, coming as we had from a highly cultivated state of society in the East, and standing now upon the Western limits of the United States, and looking into the vast wilderness of those that sat in darkness.” Now, he’s probably making a reference here to the Native Americans and the desire that he has to share the Book of Mormon with them. He sees them as part of the house of Israel. He writes movingly about their current condition, which he says, “Without the benefit of civilization, refinement, or religion, these reflections,” he writes, “led him to exclaim in the language of the prophets, When will the wilderness blossom as the rose? When will Zion be built up in her glory? And where will thy temple stand unto which all nations shall come in the last days?” He then said, “Our anxiety was soon relieved by receiving the following.” So they’re there at last. They’re going to find out the land of their inheritance.

Casey Griffiths: They’re going to be asking where the temple is going to be built. It seems like temple is part of their consciousness here. And this is the answer to all those questions. Section 57.

Scott Woodward: Okay. The Lord speaks, verse one, “Hearken, O ye elders of my church, saith the Lord your God, who have assembled yourselves together according to my commandments in this land, which is the land of Missouri, which is the land which I have appointed and consecrated for the gathering of the saints. Wherefore, this is the land of promise, and the place for the city of Zion.” Here it finally is, the long-anticipated disclosure of the location of the promised land and city of Zion. The Lord now goes on to divulge additional details. He says, verse three, “Thus saith the Lord your God, if you will receive wisdom, here is wisdom. Behold, the place which is now called Independence is the center place; and a spot for the temple is lying westward upon a lot which is not far from the courthouse.” Now the courthouse being referred to here was built five years earlier and was a prominent landmark in the then=small town of Independence. Joseph and other Church leaders drafted a plat for the city of Zion, where we can actually see the temple, or rather, it’s a 24-building complex of temples and administrative buildings that were to be built on this very lot the Lord is talking about in verse three, at the very center of the Zion community, which would be built then around that.

Scott Woodward: So that’s the spot for the temple he’s talking about here, which is a big deal. The Lord continues in verse four, “Wherefore, it is wisdom that the land should be purchased by the saints, and also every tract lying westward, even unto the line running directly between Jew and Gentile.” This line between Jew and Gentile is referring to the US border line between Native Americans and the citizens of the United States. The Native Americans are referred to here as Jews because of the Saints’ understanding that they are descendants of Lehi, who had originated from Jerusalem. The US citizens are referred to here by the Lord as Gentiles, simply because they’re not Jewish. The Lord is telling them to purchase as much land as possible all the way from Independence to the US border, 12 miles away, approximately. That’s a lot of land to purchase. But the Lord says, Let’s do it. That’s all going to be part of this project. He then says, verse 5, “And also purchase every tract bordering by the prairies, inasmuch as my disciples are enabled to buy lands, behold, this is wisdom, that they may obtain it for an everlasting inheritance.”

Scott Woodward: This task of purchasing lands would require some practical execution and oversight. So in verse 6, the Lord put Sidney Gilbert to work. Remember, Sidney Gilbert had been called in Section 53 to be the bishop’s agent to manage these purchased lands. And so the Lord said he was, quote, “To receive moneys, to be an agent unto the Church, to buy land in all the regions roundabout, inasmuch as can be done in righteousness, and as wisdom shall direct.” So the Lord gets right down to business. He says, This is the place, and now we need to start buying land.

Casey Griffiths: Verse 7, he starts addressing Bishop Partridge. So, “Let my servant Edward Partridge stand in the office which I’ve appointed him to divide under the saints their inheritance, even as I have commanded, and also those whom he has appointed to assist him.” Edward Partridge is going to be given no small task, which is to be the bishop in Zion. This is quite a project to undertake. The European settlers who are already in Missouri were sort of concerning to the Saints who were gathering there. For instance, when Newel Knight and the members of the Colesville branch, remember, they have to travel there, too, arrive, they’re taken aback. They’re concerned by the roughness of the local settlers. He later writes, “We could not but feel deeply the contrast as we now stood upon the Western limits of the USA and were obliged to mingle and associate with those who had known nothing but a frontier life until they were but a little above the native in the point of education and refinement.” Newel goes on to say, The settlers were, quote, “full of bigotry, superstition, and prejudice, the natural result of ignorance.” So there’s already some concerns, like here?

Casey Griffiths: Are you sure? Looking at the settlers. But despite the roughness of the people in the land, the Saints are being asked to be peacemakers here. A later commandment given to Joseph Smith instructed the Saints to gather carefully together as much in one region as could be consistent with the feelings of the people. It’s a rough bunch, and they’re being asked to take a big leap of faith. Sidney Gilbert, for instance, is told to plan himself here, to establish a store to sell goods. He has to obtain a license from the United States Indian agent so that he can send goods into the Native Americans.

Scott Woodward: That’s a smooth little move right there in verse 9, that Sidney Gilbert is to obtain a license from the US Indian agent so he can send goods to the Native Americans by means of clerks employed in his service, it says. I think the idea here is to create way for the Saints to legally cross the border and start to interact with the natives. You remember at the beginning of the Lamanite Mission, when they actually get out there? It wasn’t too long until US agents are going to kick them out of the Native American territory. Their ability to preach to the natives was not good. But here’s a nice little loophole. What if he can get a license to send goods to the Native Americans? Now we’ve got a legal way to access them. It seems like, let me just think big picture here for a second. It looks like the Lord is laying out here the practical means and basic infrastructure, both to provide for the Saints, like he says in verse 10, and to establish a city from which “my gospel may be preached unto those who sit in darkness, he says, and in the region and shadow of death,” referring to the Native Americans.

Scott Woodward: So this kind of suggests that positioning the center place of Zion in Independence with the Gentiles, the non-Jews, to the east, and then Lehi’s seed, the Lamanites or the Jews to the west, is strategically calculated to facilitate the bringing of the gospel blessings to Lehi’s seed, like the Book of Mormon prophesied would occur, which would in turn then cause this Israelite remnant to, quote, “flourish in the wilderness.” It would cause these Lamanites to blossom as the rose, as the Lord had recently prophesied in Doctrine and Covenants 49, and all of that is to occur before his Second Coming. Now you got both converted Gentile converts and Jewish remnant converts who could to work together to build up the New Jerusalem in preparation for the Lord’s return as prophesied. That seems to be the original vision that’s being contemplated here. That’s why that location made all the sense in the world.

Casey Griffiths: Yeah. I mean, other infrastructure. In verse 11, W. W. Phelps, who’s recently been called as the Church printer, is going to also “be planted in this place to be established as a printer unto the church. And lo, if the world,” that is, those who are not of the Church in this area, “receive his writings in his newspaper, let him obtain whatsoever he can obtain in righteousness for the good of the Saints in terms of money and influence.” They’re going to establish a printing press. Oliver Cowdery is called to assist him. It seems like their vision really is that this is going to be Church headquarters moving forward. Not Kirtland necessarily, but Missouri is going to be the place where they set up their operations and they start to do the things that they need to do.

Scott Woodward: Yeah, that’s right. Then the Lord focuses on the group that’s coming, the Colesville Saints who are coming to Missouri. He says, “And regarding those of whom I have spoken,” referring to these Colesville Saints who have been recently evicted from Copley’s farm and commanded to come to Missouri, he says, “They are to be planted in the land of Zion as speedily as can be with their families to do those things even as I have spoken. And so concerning the gathering” of the Saints to Missouri, the Lord said, “Let the bishop,” Edward Partridge, “and the agent,” Sidney Gilbert, “make preparations for those families which have been to come to this land as soon as possible and plant them in their inheritance. As for the residue of both elders and members” that are gathering to Missouri, he said, “further direction shall be given hereafter. Even so. Amen.” Right to business, Joseph asked the question. The Lord gives the answer. Here’s where the temple is going to be. Here’s the area. We’re going to need to build this place up. Here’s the people I need positioned. Get ready for the Colesville Saints to come. That’s the content of Section 57.

Casey Griffiths: Let’s talk controversies here for a minute. I guess number one controversy, and you and I have sparred on this one before, Scott, but is Jackson County the place for the city of Zion? And what does Zion mean for the Church today? Let me point out one thing. While we were recording this podcast, I got an email from a listener. I’m not going to name her. This nice young lady wrote in and said this, “I have one thought about your episode on Doctrine and Covenants 45. Zion and the New Jerusalem are two separate things,” she wrote. “The New Jerusalem will be part of Zion, but only a small geographical part. I know that you know that, but that will make the thought of Independence being the literal place of the New Jerusalem so much easier.” Then she said, “Years ago in his BYU talk, Four Lessons from One Life, President Nelson said, Jesus Christ will come to Jackson County, Missouri, to be sustained as king of kings, and to Israel to be held as lord of lords, ushering his millennial reign.” But then she said, “It sounded like you weren’t positive if this is meant to be taken literally.”

Casey Griffiths: So that’s my question to pose to both of us is, do we believe that Jackson County is literally the place where Jesus is going to return and he’s going to, where the city of Zion will be built? You go and then I’ll go.

Scott Woodward: Okay, here we go. Once the Saints get evicted from Jackson County in 1833 and then from Missouri as a state in 1838, ’39, that creates some pretty significant psychological wounds on the Saints, including Joseph Smith. The loss of Missouri, the loss of Zion, just nagged at him, it ate at him. That’s one of the questions he had in his mind in asking the Lord about building a temple in Nauvoo. Section 124 of the Doctrine and Covenants talks about that. In that revelation, this concern of Joseph’s about losing Missouri and losing the temple and losing Zion there is addressed by the Lord. What the Lord says, picking it up in verse 49, I won’t quote all the verses, but the Lord says that, “When I give a commandment to any of the sons of men to do a work unto my name, and those sons of men go with all their might, with all they have to perform that work, and cease not their diligence, and their enemies come upon them” (this is what happens in Missouri), “and hinder them from performing that work, behold, it behooveth me to require that work no more at the hands of those sons of men, but to accept of their offerings.”

Scott Woodward: He says, “I will visit upon the heads of those who hindered my work wrath and indignation.” With that context in mind, he says in verse 51, “Therefore, for this cause, have I accepted the offerings of those whom I commanded to build up a city and a house unto my name in Jackson County, Missouri, and were hindered by their enemies, saith the Lord your God.” The latest word of the Lord on whether or not Zion will be built up in Jackson County, Missouri, is this in Section 124. He says, explicitly, I don’t require that at your hands anymore. I think the controversy is, was he talking just about that generation or is he talking about ever? I tend to lean, Casey, and you know this, toward the idea that it’s not going to be required ever. Now, I’m not a prophet. I don’t know. And part of the reasoning here is what we were just talking about with Section 57, talking about this line between the Gentiles and the Jews or the Native Americans and the US people. That was perfect. In 1831, that was excellent. If we built the city right there, that bridge there between the Native Americans and the Europeans is perfect for the fulfillment of the prophecies of building the New Jerusalem in the Book of Mormon.

Scott Woodward: At that time, that made perfect sense. Today, all that is gone. There’s not the Native American population right there with the Europeans. I’m open to the idea that the Lord is going to do it a different way. In Nauvoo, they’re going to start calling Nauvoo Zion. When they go out to Utah, they’re going to start calling Utah Zion. There’s still lingering hopes from people that they’re going to eventually go back to Jackson County. That could totally happen. I don’t know, but what I know is the latest official word of the Lord is Section 124, where he says, I don’t require that anymore at your hands. That is my case. What would you like to say in rebuttal?

Casey Griffiths: Okay, in rebuttal. I’m with you in the sense that I’m open to all possibilities here. But I think the easiest way to look at Section 124 in harmony with other passages in the Doctrine and Covenants, because you’re right, Section 124 is the latest word on the command to build Zion in Jackson County. But you got to harmonize it with other passages like Section 101, verse 17. I quote, “Zion shall not be moved out of her place. Notwithstanding her children are scattered, they that remain and are pure in heart shall return and come to their inheritance as they and their children with songs of everlasting joy to build up the waste places of Zion.” Then in verse 20, he says, “There is none other place appointed than that which I have appointed, neither shall there be any other place appointed than that which I have appointed for the work of the gathering of my saints.” I’m open to the possibility, but it seems like if you’re trying to harmonize Section 101, where he says there’s no other place appointed and there’s not going to be another place appointed, and Section 124, what the Lord was saying to them in Section 124 was not never, just not now.

Casey Griffiths: You’re going to eventually build Zion, and you’re going to build it in Jackson County, but I’m not asking you to do it right now. That’s when the Saints start to use the word Zion a little bit more loosely. But I do believe, and I don’t think this is an article of faith that all Church members are required to believe, that God will build the city of Zion in Jackson County. I still believe Section 57 applies, that the temple lot that’s pointed out there is the place where the temples, and I don’t know what the temples will look like. I don’t know if it’ll be 24 temples or whatever, will be built. This might be because just in my career, I’ve spent I don’t know how many trips going to Missouri. Scott, you and I just went there. I’m going to go there at the end of this month I’m going to go three more times before the year is over. I just think that, yeah, there’s a prophecy there. I haven’t received any special witness of myself, but I believe in the Doctrine and Covenants, and that’s how I read it. But I accept you as my brother in Christ, even if we disagree on this particular point.

Scott Woodward: Well, it’s interesting because he says, “There’s no other place that I will appoint as the place of gathering.” Nauvoo was then appointed as the new place of gathering. Then Utah was appointed as the new place of gathering. Then the stakes of Zion, stay in your country. That’s the current word, right? Is like, stay in your country. The stakes are the places of gathering. The places of gathering, it’s hard to argue that the place of gathering has not moved since Section 101.

Casey Griffiths: He does in that same passage say, I’m going to appoint other gathering places, but he’s not ever pulling back on his promise that Zion is going to be built in that place that he appoints in Section 57. It just seems like Section 124 is easier to read if we’re harmonizing Section 57 and Section 101 and Section 124 to say we’re eventually going to build a city there, but Zion is going to be all over. In fact, I noticed this helpful quote that I think you put into our outline where when Brigham Young was asked about Zion, he said, “Zion will extend eventually all over the Earth. There will be no nook or corner upon the Earth, but what will be in Zion, it will all be Zion.” It seems like, let’s harmonize the two things. Yes, there’s a city, but Zion is going to spread around the Earth, too. That’s what we’re engaged in, but eventually we’re going to get to the build-the-city part of the Restoration.

Scott Woodward: Maybe we can think of Zion not so much as one city, but as a network of temple cities that collectively are the city of Zion or the New Jerusalem. Certainly in the early understanding of the Latter-day Saints, this seemed to be really clearly, literally one city, but the way it’s playing out seems to be like maybe it’s different than we thought. Maybe it’s like what Brigham Young is saying here that Zion is going to be everywhere. It’s not a single city. This is fun. Thanks, Casey. I respect and appreciate your perspective.

Casey Griffiths: As do I yours. All right, let’s talk consequences. The missionaries, some of them, at least, are commanded to plant themselves, meaning W. W. Phelps, Sidney Gilbert, Edward Partridge, you’re staying. You’re not coming back from this mission. This is your new home. The Colesville branch, which travels 1,100 miles, if we’re counting the journey they make from New York to Ohio, and then Ohio to Zion, at last finds their home. Edward Partridge is going to be their bishop. Sidney Gilbert is going to be the agent of the Church, and they’re going to start to build a home near the Big Blue River, near Independence. The first Sunday after the elders arrive, they hold a worship service. Later on, there’s this classic quote from Church historian, B. H. Roberts, where he says, “Such a congregation was present as was only possible in an American frontier district.” The group at this worship service has American Indians. It has enslaved African Americans and “all classes and conditions of people from the surrounding counties.” Again, this is B. H. Roberts, “Universalists, atheists, deists, Presbyterians, Methodists, Baptists, both priests and a people, a motley crowd truly,” he says. “After the service, two people who had already been meeting with the missionaries came forth and were baptized.”

Casey Griffiths: Scott, this little service is going to resonate throughout the history of the Church. A diverse group of people are meeting together. They’re listening to sermons about a shining new city that’s going to be built in this backwards frontier location. At the same time, there’s ominous signs on the horizon. B. H. Roberts noted that “other than a small handful of converts, the Church was made up wholly of Northern people, and therefore constituted an entirely different class of settlers from the old inhabitants of Independence who came chiefly from the South.” The stage is set for conflict because the members of the Church are coming from the North, where there’s huge cultural differences, chiefly that they don’t practice slavery and the original settlers who come from the South and do own slaves and have a number of radically different ideas.

Scott Woodward: Yeah. So the millennial hopes of the Saints are going to soon collide with the culture of the frontier. But for now, let’s keep it positive, D&C 57 fans the flames of anticipation and excitement in the hearts of the Saints for the sublime millennial future. And second, it also began focusing their minds on the very mundane but important duties that would be required to gather and build a functioning Zion infrastructure and community in preparation for that future. Sidney Gilbert, Edward Partridge, W. W. Phelps, Oliver Cowdery, are positioned by Section 57 to help make that happen. And while it’s true that the millennial hopes of the Saints are soon going to collide with the prejudices, the fears, and the hatred of the original settlers of Independence, for now at least, on this July of 1831, Joseph and the Saints can rejoice that at last the location of the New Jerusalem was known.

Casey Griffiths: Wow, big things. We’re laying the foundation for some huge events that are going to happen as the history of the Church progresses in the Doctrine and Covenants. So, Scott, this was a fun journey to Zion. I look forward to discussing and figuring out in the future exactly how this story needs to be told.

Scott Woodward: Yeah, we could say that this week was the journey to Zion. Next week are some revelations in Zion, and then the week after that, we’ll go on the return journey from Zion back home. So lots of important things yet to come, and we’ll look forward to seeing you next week, Casey. Thanks so much, man. This is fun.

Casey Griffiths: All right. See you next week.