One of the issues highlighted by Doctrine and Covenants 111 is the growing financial crisis in the Church. The Lord explains to Joseph and the other Church leaders that He is “not displeased” with the journey (D&C 111:1). The folly mentioned by the Lord probably came less from the trip to Salem to find treasure and more from a lack of faith in the Lord’s power to help the Church overcome its temporal concerns. In Doctrine and Covenants 104 the Lord counseled Joseph and other Church leaders that they would be able to pay their debts if they would “humble yourselves before me, and obtain this blessing by your diligence and humility and the prayer of faith” (see D&C 104:79–86). The leaders of the Church may have seen the rumors of treasure in Salem as a quick answer to their prayers and sincerely desired a quick end to their troubles. However, the path to overcoming difficulty often requires extended effort and sacrifice over a long period of time. Quick fixes for our problems are rare—problems are normally overcome with sustained effort and the assistance of the Lord.

The Lord’s assurance that “they shall not discover your secret parts” refers to a Hebrew idiom for being publicly humiliated (Isaiah 3:17). The brethren may have been worried about embarrassment linked to the failure of their plan to find treasure in Salem. In context, the journey to Salem demonstrates the sincere desire of Joseph and the other leaders to follow the Lord’s command to pay their debts (D&C 104:78) and deal justly with their creditors.

Following the Lord’s command to “inquire diligently concerning the more ancient inhabitants and founders of this city” (D&C 111:9), Joseph and the other Church leaders spent roughly three weeks in the area, learning about the local culture. In a letter to his brother, Oliver Cowdery shared what he had learned about the history of the Puritans in Salem, including the famous witch trials. The men also learned more about the history of the American Revolution and reflected on its meaning to them. After they visited Bunker Hill, the site of one of the early battles of the Revolution, Oliver reflected, “From this we went to Bunker hill, viewed the ground which, on the 17th of June, 1775, was drenched with blood for the liberty I enjoy. . . . The history of this battle is so familiar in the minds of the readers of the Messenger, that it would be occupying space unnecessarily, to give even a detail; but judge of the feelings of my heart, when I viewed, from the top of the monument, the entire theater on which was fought one of the most important battles ever recorded in history.”¹

When the men toured the ruins of the recently destroyed Catholic Ursuline Convent, the experience made a powerful impression on Joseph Smith’s mind. The compound included a school, a chapel, and other worship spaces. Fired by anti-Catholic sentiment, a Protestant mob had burned the convent to the ground on August 11, 1834, just two years before Joseph and his companions arrived in Salem. The covenant was completely destroyed, despite the fact that most of the students who attended the school came from Protestant families. The scene of the wreckage was deeply moving to the men, themselves the victims of religious persecution. Oliver reflected, “It was a religious persecution—a disgraceful, shameful religious persecution—one, or more, religious societies rising up against another. Is this religion? The good people here, being very tenacious of right, as well as the tradition of their ancestors, thought it doing God service to burn a Catholic convent, because the Catholic religion was different from their own . . . I confess I retired from this scene of mobbery with a heavier heart than from the far-famed Bunker Hill.”²

The scene of the ruined convent also caused Joseph to lament over the hatred among members of different Christian churches. Looking back on the experience, he later wrote,

Well did the Savior say concerning such “by their fruits you shall know them,” and if the wicked mob who destroyed the Charleston Convent, and the cool calculating, religious, lookers on, who inspired their hearts with deeds of infamy do not arise, and redress the wrong, and restore the injured four fold, they in turn will receive of the measure they have meted out, till the just indignation of a righteous God is satisfied. When will man cease to war with man, and wrest from him his sacred right, of worshipping his God according as his conscience dictates? Holy Father, hasten the day.³

While Joseph and his companions gained a greater understanding and appreciation for their heritage and religious tolerance, they were unsuccessful in preaching the gospel in Salem. The Lord had promised not just treasure but also “many people in this city, whom I will gather out in due time for the benefit of Zion” (D&C 111:2). However, this promise was not fulfilled until September 1841, when Elders Erastus Snow and Benjamin Winchester were called to preach the gospel in Salem. Just under a year later, the elders had succeeded in baptizing ninety people into the Church. The local newspaper noted with alarm that “Mormonism is advancing with a perfect rush in the city.”⁴

1. Oliver Cowdery, “Prospectus,” Latter Day Saints’ Messenger and Advocate, October 1836, 388.

2. Cowdery, “Prospectus,” 392.

3. JS History, vol. B-1, p. 749, JSP, emphasis in original. See also Craig J. Ostler, “Treasures, Witches, and Ancient Inhabitants (D&C 111),” in You Shall Have My Word: Exploring the Text of the Doctrine and Covenants, ed. Scott C. Esplin, Richard O. Cowan, and Rachel Cope, 2012.

4. Donald Q. Cannon, “Joseph Smith in Salem,” in Studies in Scripture: The Doctrine and Covenants, ed. Robert L. Millet and Kent P. Jackson, 1989, 436.