Speaking to Church members collectively, the Lord declares that they are not yet ready to redeem Zion. The revelation directly states that “Zion cannot be built up unless it is by the principles of the law of the celestial kingdom” (D&C 105:4). As evidence of their inability to build Zion, the Lord cited that the Saints had failed to impart of their substance to the poor and afflicted among them (D&C 105:3). This was not a condemnation of all the Saints, especially the men and women who sacrificed to travel with Zion’s Camp, but many members of the Church were not living the principles of Zion, and therefore was not ready to build Zion.

While we do not condemn the Saints of the time for their failings, it is clear that in several ways they fell short. First, while the Lord had originally called for as many as five hundred men to assist in Zion’s Camp, Joseph Smith set out with barely one hundred men, gathering a final total of around two hundred. There were contentions and problems along the way to Missouri, and eventually a scourge of cholera came upon the camp.¹

Some of the Saints in Missouri also failed to impart of their substance to the members of Zion’s Camp. Heber C. Kimball relates an experience that occurred when the members of the camp were suffering from an outbreak of cholera:

While we were here [Clay County, Missouri], the brethren being in want of some refreshment, Brother Luke Johnson went to Brother Burgett to get a fowl, asking him for one to make a broth for Elder Wilcox and others; but Brother Burgett denied him it, saying “in a few days we expect to return back into Jackson County, and I shall want them when I get there.” When Brother Johnson returned he was so angry at Burgett for refusing him, he said, “I have a great mind to take my rifle and go back and shoot his horse.” I told Luke to never mind, that such actions never fail to bring their reward. 

Judge how we felt, after having left the society of our beloved families, taking our lives in our hands and traveling about one thousand miles through scenes of suffering and sorrow, for the benefit of our brethren, and after all to be denied of a small fowl to make a little soup for brethren in the agonies of death. Such things never fail to bring their reward, and it would do well for the saints never to turn away a brother who is penniless and in want, or a stranger, lest they may one day or other want a friend themselves.²

1. See Matthew C. Godfrey, “The Acceptable Offering of Zion’s Camp,” in Revelations in Context, 2016, 213–17.

2. Orson F. Whitney, Life of Heber C. Kimball, 1973, 62–63.

It is possible that the “little season” (D&C 105:13) at question here may have been only two years, or until the time the Kirtland Temple was dedicated in March 1836. The endowment of power referred to in verse 11 consisted of the washings and anointings given to the elders of the Church when the Kirtland temple was dedicated. Later, the Lord gave the fulness of the endowment to Joseph Smith before the Nauvoo temple was built, and then the endowment ceremony was offered to the larger membership of the the Church. In addition, a Pentecostal outpouring at the time of the Kirtland Temple’s dedication strengthened the Saints.

If the Saints had managed to build on the blessings given during the dedication of the Kirtland temple and its accompanying version of the endowment, it is possible that the redemption of Zion may have come much sooner. However, soon after the Kirtland Temple was dedicated, contention and strife disrupted the Church in Kirtland. Many Kirtland members fell into apostasy, and the Saints in Ohio who remained faithful to the Church were forced to flee to Missouri for sanctuary.

The Lord’s declaration that He would “fight the battles of Zion” (D&C 105:14) was met with mixed emotions among the members of the camp. William Cahoon recalls, “Many in the camp murmured because we were not permitted at this time to restore our Brethren & Sisters to their Homes and defend them there at all hazards.”³ George A. Smith, a future apostle, remarked that “several of the brethren apostatized because they were not going to have the privilege of fighting.”⁴ Nathan Tanner, another camp member, recalls that some declared “they had rather die than to return without a fight” and then “gave vent to their wrath on a patch of pawpaw brush” some distance from the camp, mowing it “down like grass.”⁵ But to Nathan this revelation “was the most acceptable to [him] of anything [he] had ever heard before, the gospel being the exception.”⁶

The prophecy about the “destroyer” who is sent forth to lay waste to the enemies of the Church (D&C 105:15) was partially fulfilled during the Civil War. Church Historian B. H. Roberts cites a history of the Civil War in Missouri by a local clergyman, W. M. Leftwich, who writes, “The warfare at home [Missouri] presented scenes of outrage and horror unsurpassed by anything in the annals of civilized warfare, if, indeed, there can be such a thing as civilized warfare, for everything about it is intensely savage . . . Between the ‘jayhawkers’ of Kansas and the ‘bushwackers’ of Missouri some whole counties were plundered, some were desolated by fire and sword, and some were almost depopulated.”⁷ Although Missouri never seceded from the Union during the Civil War, two significant battles took place in Independence, Missouri.⁸ Some of the bloodiest fighting in the second battle of Independence took place on the temple lot itself.⁹

3. William F. Cahoon Autobiography, 1878, Church History Library, cited in “Historical Introduction,” Revelation, 22 June 1834 [D&C 105], JSP.

4. George A. Smith, Autobiography, 38, box 1, fd. 2, Church History Library, cited in “Historical Introduction,” Revelation, 22 June 1834 [D&C 105], JSP. 

5. Nathan Tanner, Address, no date, Church History Library, cited in “Historical Introduction,” Revelation, 22 June 1834 [D&C 105], JSP.

6. See Matthew C. Godfrey, “The Acceptable Offering of Zion’s Camp,” in Revelations in Context, 2016, 213–17.

7. B. H. Roberts, Comprehensive History of the Church, 1965, 1:547.

8. “Civil War on the Western Border: The Missouri-Kansas Conflict,1855-1865,” Kansas City Public Library, accessed May 8, 2021, https://civilwaronthewesternborder.org/timeline/first-battle-independence.

9. Kyle S. Sinisi, The Last Hurrah: Sterling Price’s Missouri Expedition of 1864, 2020, 209–10.

The Lord counsels the Saints to be cautious in their dealings with the local settlers. He instructs the members of Zion’s Camp to “talk not of judgment, neither boast of faith, nor of mighty works,” to “carefully gather together,” and to act “consistently with the feelings of the people” (D&C 105:24). Shortly after this revelation was given, the Lord meted out His punishment upon Zion’s Camp because of their disobedience. Joseph Smith later writes:

While we were refreshing ourselves and teams, about the middle of the day, I got up on a wagon wheel, called the people together, and said that I would deliver a prophecy. After giving the brethren much good advice, exhorting them to faithfulness and humility; I said the Lord had revealed to me that there would a scourge come upon the camp in consequence of the fractious and unruly spirits that appeared among them, and they should die like sheep with the rot: still, if they would repent and humble themselves before the Lord, the scourge, in a great measure, might be turned away; but, as the Lord lives, this camp will-suffer for giving way to their unruly temper.¹⁰

Just a few days after Doctrine and Covenants 105 was given, the scourge appeared in the form of a cholera epidemic that swept through the camp. For Heber C. Kimball, this was the most harrowing part of the march of Zion’s Camp. “The destroyer came upon us as we had been warned by the servant of God,” he later recalls. “About 12 o’clock at night we began to hear the cries of those who were seized with the cholera, and they fell before the destroyer. Even those on guard fell with their guns in their hands to the ground, and we had to exert ourselves considerably to attend to the sick, for they fell on every hand.” Kimball later remembers:

At this scene my feelings were beyond expression. Those only who witnessed it, can realize any thing of the nature of our sufferings, and I felt to weep and pray to the Lord, that he would spare my life that I might behold my dear family again. I felt to covenant with my brethren, and I felt in my heart never to commit another sin while I lived. We felt to sit and weep over our brethren, and so great was our sorrow that we could have washed them with our tears, to realize that they had travelled 1000 miles through so much fatigue to lay down their lives for our brethren.¹¹

By the time the epidemic subsided, thirteen members of the camp died, as well as two other members of the Church who were living in Missouri.¹² Among those who died were Jesse J. Smith, a young cousin of the Prophet; Phebe Murdock, the daughter of John Murdock (see D&C 99); and Algernon Sidney Gilbert, one of the key leaders of the Church in Missouri (see D&C 53).¹³

10. JS History, vol. A-1, p. 5 [addenda], JSP.

11. Orson F. Whitney, The Life of Heber C. Kimball, 1973, 59–61.

12. Matthew W. Godfrey, “‘We Believe the Hand of the Lord Is in It’: Memories of Divine Intervention in the Zion’s Camp Expedition,” BYU Studies Quarterly 56, no. 4 (2017), 117.

13. Revelation, 22 June 1834 [D&C 105], fn. 16, JSP.

Even after the Saints were driven out of Jackson County through violent means, the Lord stands firm in His instructions that the lands of Zion should be obtained through the peaceful means of legal purchases. He also mentions that the land would be obtained through following the “laws of consecration” (D&C 105:29), or the principles of cooperation and sacrifice given throughout the revelations . The Lord intended for the armies of Israel to be guiltless in obtaining the land. They were not to resort to the same kind of violence that their enemies had used against them.

For modern Saints, the question of the recovery of Zion is about more than just recapturing the lands belonging to our forebears—it is a question of the soul. Elder Orson F. Whitney teaches, “The redemption of Zion is more than the purchase or recovery of lands, the building of cities, or even the founding of nations. It is the conquest of the heart, the subjugation of the soul, the sanctifying of the flesh, the purifying and ennobling of the passions.”¹⁴

14. Orson F. Whitney, The Life of Heber C. Kimball, 1973, 65.

The day after Doctrine and Covenants 105 was given, Joseph Smith sought to fulfill the commandment of the Lord to give the elders the endowment. He records in his history, “A council of High Priests assembled in fulfillment of the revelation given the day previous, and the following individuals were called and chosen as they were made manifest unto me by the voice of the Spirit, and Revelation, to receive their endowment.”¹⁵ The men chosen were Edward Partridge, William W. Phelps, Isaac Morley, John Corrill, John Whitmer, David Whitmer, A. Sidney Gilbert, Peter Whitmer Jr., Simeon Carter, Newel Knight, Parley P. Pratt, Christian Whitmer, Solomon Hancock, Thomas B. Marsh, and Lyman Wight.¹⁶

15. JS History, vol. A-1, p. 503–4, JSP.

16. JS History, vol. A-1, p. 503–4, JSP.

The march of Zion’s Camp was indeed a day of calling. As noted, some who went on the journey fell into apostasy, and others saw the journey as a great time of learning. Future leaders of the Church had the opportunity to see the hand of God in their lives and learn directly from the Prophet Joseph Smith. In an 1853 discourse, Brigham Young declares:

When I returned from that mission [Zion’s Camp] to Kirtland, a brother said to me, “Brother Brigham, what have you gained by this journey?” I replied, “Just what we went for; but I would not exchange the knowledge I have received this season for the whole of Geauga County; for property and mines of wealth are not to be compared to the worth of knowledge.” Ask those brethren and sisters who have passed through scenes of affliction and suffering for years in this Church, what they would take in exchange for their experience, and be placed back where they were, were it possible. I presume they would tell you, that all the wealth, honors, and riches of the world could not buy the knowledge they had obtained, could they barter it away. Let the brethren be contented, and if you have trials, and must see hard times, learn to acknowledge the hand of the Lord in it all.¹⁷

Another future president of the Church, Wilford Woodruff, echoed Brigham’s feelings. In an 1869 discourse, he said:

When the members of Zion’s Camp were called, many of us had never beheld each other’s faces; we were strangers to each other and many had never seen the prophet. We had been scattered abroad, like corn sifted in a sieve, throughout the nation. We were young men, and were called upon in that early day to go up and redeem Zion, and what we had to do we had to do by faith. We assembled together from the various States at Kirtland and went up to redeem Zion, in fulfillment of the commandment of God unto us. God accepted our works as He did the works of Abraham. We accomplished a great deal, though apostates and unbelievers many times asked the question, “What have you done?” We gained an experience that we never could have gained in any other way. We had the privilege of beholding the face of the prophet, and we had the privilege of traveling a thousand miles with him, and seeing the workings of the Spirit of God with him, and the revelations of Jesus Christ unto him and the fulfillment of those revelations. Had I not gone up with Zion’s Camp I should not have been here today.¹⁸

Though Zion’s Camp ultimately failed in its aim to reinstate the members of the Church in homes in Jackson County, it was an important proving ground for the future leadership of the Church.

17. Brigham Young, in Journal of Discourses, 2:10.

18. Wilford Woodruff, in Journal of Discourses, 13:158.

When the outbreak of cholera occurred among the members of Zion’s Camp, Joseph Smith was affected also. He later writes:

At the commencement [of the cholera outbreak] I attempted to lay on hands for their recovery, but I quickly learned by painful experience that when the Great Jehovah decrees destruction upon any people, and makes known his determination, man must not attempt to stay his hand. The moment I attempted to rebuke the disease, I was attacked, it seized upon me like the talons of a hawk, and I said to the brethren if I had my work done, you have had to tumble me into the ground without a coffin and had I not desisted. I must have saved the life of my brother by the sacrifice of my own.¹⁹

Joseph’s brush with mortality during the journey with Zion’s Camp may have caused him to begin thinking about who would continue God’s work if his life was taken. The winter after he arrived back in Kirtland, he called together the priesthood holders of the Church, many of whom had been members of Zion’s Camp. Joseph Young, one of the men present, recalls the following words of Joseph Smith: “Brethren, some of you are angry with me, because you did not fight in Missouri; but let me tell you, God did not want you to fight. He could not organize his kingdom with twelve men to open the gospel door to the nations of the earth, and with seventy men under their direction to follow in their tracks, unless he took them from a body of men who had offered their lives, and who had made as great a sacrifice as did Abraham.”²⁰

Nine of the original Apostles in the first Quorum of the Twelve Apostles were members of Zion’s Camp. All seven presidents of the Quorum of the Seventy, and sixty-three other members of that Quorum, marched with Zion’s Camp. Joseph Young remembered Joseph Smith declaring, “Now, the Lord has got his Twelve and his Seventy, and there will be other quorums of Seventies called, who will make the sacrifice, and those who have not made their sacrifices and their offerings now, will make them hereafter.”²¹

19. JS History, vol. A-1, p. 505, JSP.

20. Quoted in Joseph Young Sr., History of the Organization of the Seventies, 1878, 14.

21. Young, History of the Organization of the Seventies, 14.