Lesson 37 - "We Thank Thee, O God, for a Prophet"

As we move towards the end of the year the lessons become less scripturally based and some even less historically based. At least this lesson has scriptures--they are split up thematically: Doctrine and Covenants 1:38, 21:4-5, 43:2, 68:3-4; 20:21-16 and Mosiah 13:33; 21:1, 101:43-54 and Mosiah 8:13-18; 107:91-92.

I think it is important to review the context of these scriptures, particularly as the Saints and Joseph learned about what a prophet was and Joseph's specific role. This post is a good reminder for the historical context surrounding how we have come to think of prophets today and how not to be deceived. Mosiah 8 (perhaps with a little aid from the bible dictionary) helps us to better understand the difference between the callings of prophet, seer and revelator. (The seer wins.) There is a difference between receiving prophecy (which in a general sense is just following the Spirit) and revelation for yourself, your family, and your stewardship and those ordained to receive prophecy and the gift of seership for the whole Church. The Hiram Page and Prophetess Hubble incidents written about here offer good lessons in helping us understand the scope of a Prophet's call. This is not just a problem of the early church, perhaps we need those lessons all the more today to help us think more about the voices to which we listen.

I particularly like "Prophets in the Land Again" and "Prophets, Seers, and Revelators" from Elder Jeffrey Holland. Or you can try something from the long list of BYU Speeches on prophets here.

Seership brings an ability to see beyond mortal realities this side of the veil and on into eternity, but it is not omniscience. (Just as the additional gifts of discernment your bishop receives with his calling don't suddenly make him know everything.) We all see through a glass darkly and sometimes are limited in our view of mortality, but that doesn't mean we have no use for prophets.

As the young apostle John Taylor asked, "Whoever heard of true religion without communication with God? To me the thing is the most absurd that the human mind could conceive of. I do not wonder, [that] when the people generally reject the principle of present revelation, skepticism and infidelity prevail to such an alarming extent. I do not wonder, that so many men treat religion with contempt, and regard it as something not worth the attention of intelligent beings, for without revelation religion is a mockery and a farce....The principle of present revelation...is the very foundation of our religion." ("Discourse by John Taylor," Deseret News, 4 March 1874.)

This morning I'm thinking of a young woman I taught as a missionary. She exuded belief. Her Catholicism wasn't just something of Easter and Christmas mass--it brought conviction in God. She was very eager to learn about our faith and talk about God. As we reached the point where we began to talk about modern-day prophets and apostles, she stopped me--"But we don't have that." It has been a long time and I no longer remember exactly what her face looked like, but I can almost still see how her face radiated as she thought about the possibility. It still reminds me of my gratitude that there are "prophets in the land again." (Ether 9:28)

As I've been thinking about this week's lesson I've decided to add a little late week addendum:

In my class we will talk about scripture and Scripture. Scripture (with a capital S) is canonized scripture--what Mormons call the standard works. The other scripture (with a lower case s) is exemplified by 68:3-4: And whatsoever they shall speak when moved upon by the Holy Ghost shall be scripture. Both kinds of scripture can be binding upon us. Perhaps the example of the Anti-Nephi-Lehies in Alma 24 is instructive. Lamoni's people felt directed by the Spirit to lay down their swords. This wasn't something that would be binding on everyone (the Nephites would later fight to protect some of them), but binding on those who felt that inspiration to make that covenant. I think when we feel the Spirit instructing us, that can be binding on us. It is not binding upon the church as a whole. Canonized scripture is binding upon the church as a whole. A couple examples of this might include the difference between the Scripture section on lds.org and the placement of General Conference in the teachings section. The Proclamation on the Family and the Living Christ have not been canonized and as such are in a different position than the canonized official declarations. That doesn't mean that scripture (with a lower case s) isn't binding on us or isn't important, but it is different.

Last addition. Section 87 is one of the examples added to the "Additional Teaching Ideas" section of the lesson. The intro to Section 87 is one of the intros that has changed in the new English edition of the scriptures. The old intro looked like this:

The new intro better reflects the context of 1832 and looks like this:

Joseph's revelation here came when he considered these troubles that he saw in the United States at the time. The North and the South of the U.S. were already separated by slavery. In the 1832 Nullification Crisis South Carolina invalidated federal tariffs and argued that they could legitimately nullify any federal law with which they did not agree. This was significant in the states's rights versus federal power arguments which in part led to the U.S. Civil War.

Lesson 36 - "The Desert Shall Rejoice, and Blossom as a Rose."

The lesson manual uses Our Heritage and focuses on Utah settlement and colonization, temples and missionary work.

It is significant to remember that this was not empty land to which the Mormons entered. Native Americans had already lived there for thousands of years. Their lands and way of life was completely disrupted. Though the Mormon interpretations of the Indians as descendants of Book of Mormon peoples gave them rationale to treat the Indians better, this was not always the case. Brigham Young believed it was easier to feed the natives than kill them (many Americans opted for the latter option), but overall relations were far from harmonious. If you want a book--try Jared Farmer's On Zion's Mount.


Examine the building process of the Salt Lake Temple here. A number of faith promoting rumours have circulated concerning cutting granite, temple arches, elevators and the like. With the help of the Church Historic Sites team, this article helps dispel some of the silliness.


Read Richard Oman's examination of the exterior symbolism off the Salt Lake Temple here.



This is a photo of a streetcar full of children headed to the Salt Lake Temple dedication in 1893. For more information on the photo read this.

Lesson 35 - "A Mission of Saving"

Doctrine and Covenants 4:3-7; 18:101-6; 52:40; 81:5-6; 138:58 and 3 Nephi 18:31-32, Moroni 7:45-48.

The Martin and Willie Handcart Companies are the stuff of legend. The two (separate) handcart companies both left late in the season in 1856. An early winter made this disastrous. The two companies required rescue by their fellow Saints in Salt Lake City, as did the Hunt and Hodgetts wagon companies.

Brigham Young got up at the beginning of General Conference on Sunday 5 October 1856. After an attempt to make the Saints a little more quiet, he said: "I will now give this people the subject and the text for the Elders who may speak to-day and during the conference, it is this, on the 5th day of October, 1856, many of our brethren and sisters are on the plains with hand-carts, and probably many are now 700 miles from this place, and they must be brought here, we must send assistance to them. The text will be, 'to get them here.' I want the brethren who may speak to understand that their text is the people on the plains, and the subject matter for this community is to send for them and bring them in before the winter sets in.

That is my religion; that is the dictation of the Holy Ghost that I possess, it is to save the people. We must bring them in from the plains, and when we get them here we will try to keep the same spirit that we have had, and teach them the way of life and salvation; tell them how they can be saved, and how they can save their friends. This is the salvation I am now seeking for, to save our brethren that would be apt to perish, or suffer extremely, if we do not send them assistance.

I shall call upon the Bishops this day, I shall not wait until to-morrow, not until the next day..." He continued with specific pleas for men, equipment, blankets, and food. He continued, "I will tell you all that your faith, religion, and profession of religion, will never save one soul of you in the celestial kingdom of our God, unless you carry out just such principles as I am now teaching you. Go and bring in those people now on the plains, and attend strictly to those things which we call temporal, or temporal duties, otherwise your faith will have been in vain; the preaching you have heard will be in preaching you have heard will be in vain to you, and you will sink to hell, unless you attend to the things we tell you....The Gospel has already been preached to those brethren and sisters now on the Plains; they have believed and obeyed it, and are willing to do anything for salvation; they are doing all they can do, and the Lord has done all that is required of Him to do, and has given us power to bring them in from the Plains....First and foremost is to secure our own salvation and do right pertaining to ourselves, and then extend the hand of right to save others." Read the whole thing (including grouchy Brigham with all the noise) here. (Deseret News 15 October 1856) Or from the Journal of Discourses here.

There are a few elements of the story that many have heard again and again. The amount that a story is repeated unfortunately does not necessarily indicate accuracy. Many a well intentioned individual has repeated a historically problematic story, not knowing the problems with the story. One of the oft-repeated elements involving these ill-fated handcarts is the rescue at the Sweetwater River near what is today called Martin's Cove. As the narrative follows three young supermen carried the whole of the Martin Company across the frozen river and later gave their lives in the sacrifice. Brigham Young then declared that that single act would guarantee their exaltation (think about potential theological problems). Please read Chad Orton's article on the "Martin Handcart Company at the Sweetwater" here. Rather than a nearly fictional account of three supermen (which the manual regrettably continues to repeat), I think the real story is much more powerful. Instead of three supermen with whom I cannot compare, we have concentric circles of people helping their brothers and sisters (those in Salt Lake offering their clothing and blankets and food, those who headed out to bring the handcart company back, the members of the company who likewise served amidst their own distress). This becomes a much more accessible and historically accurate narrative of people helping with the means and skills that they possessed. I find the real story all the more inspiring.

The second historically problematic and overly simplified example often attached to handcart discussions is the story of a sunday school class discussion the disaster that was the Martin Handcart company, when an older brother stood up and interrupted saying something along the lines of--stop saying bad things, none of us apostatized, we learned to know God in our extremity. While I will not discount the last sentiment, in this second article Orton analyses the account and gives us more context to know Francis Webster--thought to be the old man--and his wife as people dedicated to the Restoration and serving their brothers and sisters.

The chosen scriptures all rotate around our responsibility to care for our sisters and brothers, both spiritually and temporally. While the oft-repeated bits of the Martin and Willie handcart stories can evoke emotion, the larger narratives are ultimately more powerful. As we become focused outside ourselves to temporally and spiritually aid our sisters and brothers, we begin to become "saviours on Mt. Zion" (Obadiah 1:21).

The Council of the Fifty Minutes and Surprises.

Along with the hoopla for the newest volume of the Joseph Smith Papers (and the first of the documents series) the Church History Department for the LDS Church just announced that the minutes from the Nauvoo Council of Fifty would not only be used in the forthcoming volumes of the Papers, but that the Minutes would be published in their entirely on their own.  Read the press release here. This is kind of miraculous and I think you should care. 

As Morgan at By Common Consent noted, the Council of the Fifty has been a "much whispered about source"--an almost notorious source--that has been closed to historians for many years. Rumours sprout and thrive when no one has access to dispute claims. It seemed too much to hope it might be included in the JSPP.  This decision helps to make the Papers a comprehensive effort to collect everything related to Joseph Smith. This is a significant step to fulfill that goal. It indicates confidence in the ability of church members to deal with complex history. It likewise demonstrates what Assistant Church Historian Rick Turley has often quipped and I thoroughly believe--the problem is not in reading church history, the problem is in not reading enough church history. With access comes an better ability to try and understand the past as a whole.

*J. Stapley (also at BCC) wrote a good specific analysis of what we now know about the Council of the Fifty and why it is a big deal here. 

Lesson 34: Faith in Every Footstep (...or my title: Pioneers Would Hate Pedestals)

Reading: Section 136. Brigham's only section. 

I am not a pioneer expert, by any means. I focus on the Joseph Smith era and then the last half of the nineteenth century in Utah. I consistently skip across the plains. In Utah, my least favorite Sunday of the year was consistently the Sunday (either before or after) the 24th of July. I once told a Sunday School class I didn't care about the pioneers. That isn't exactly true, but useful hyperbole. I am not a fan of putting the pioneers (or anyone for that matter) on pedestals. Pedestals are just made for admiring, not action; real individuals do not last on pedestals. 

In the introduction to the second edition of Mormon Sisters (UK link), Claudia Bushman writes this: "As I read the documents now, I find many fiesty and accomplished women, but I would no longer use words like heroism and sacrifice. I find many women doggedly doing their duty, much wishful thinking about home industry, much effort to rise above difficult situations, and much heavy rhetoric about gentility and refinement. I find women who are strong of necessity, who did as they had to do, rising to the opportunities and challenges that beset them, but women who are very much like their great-granddaughters today. This is not a master race of foremothers set apart by their nobility; these are our own sisters. In their place, we would have done so well." Though I would argue that normal life sometimes requires sacrifice and heroism, those qualities are not something that should divide us from our spiritual forbearers--they should connect us to them. They are our sisters and brothers through faith. Pioneer stories should not make them seem perfect and inaccessible, they struggled as we do. Reportedly, Elder Bruce R. McConkie argued that many of the Saints today would have a difficult time accepting the pioneers beacuse we expect something different. (the source here is a former bishop who heard Elder McConkie teaching this during a stake conference somewhere near Ohio State in the early 1980s. I'm sorry I can't pin it down any more than that and fully acknowledge that some liberties have possibly been taken with his original statement, but I believe the sentiment. I'd just say it myself, but that would be stealing.) I think for the most part we have a very sanitized version of the pioneers in our heads. 


Someone else can give you logistical specifics of mid-nineteenth century Mormon pioneer travel, not me. If you're really interested perhaps start with the Mormon Pioneer Overland Trail Database here. One tidbit of interest is the original list of suggestions to those Saints preparing to leave Nauvoo in 1845 .(See the image above--coffee & tea?!?!? cayenne pepper??) The image is from this 29 October 1845 issue of the Nauvoo Neighbor--page three. (Note all the pleas for peace and affidavits of the chaos in Nauvoo at the time.)

The Church History website is really producing some fantastic materials (which I desperately hope will continue to expand). Read the recently published lost sermon of Heber C. Kimball on the Trials of the Pioneers here. Note his focus on covenants. Read of Pioneers in Every Land here. Some really great stories: a futbol player in Argentina, a German POW finding refuge in a British ward, missionaries fleeing a Liberian civil war in 1989. Fantastic.