The only scriptural reference for this week is Doctrine and Covenants 107:22-24.
The scriptural reference teaches that the First Presidency is equal in authority to the Quorum of the Twelve. Today we understand that to mean that if the Prophet dies, the first presidency dissolves and the Quorum of the Twelve takes over until the next prophet is appointed. Now when a prophet dies the pattern is established and within a few days we have the next prophet ordained--the president of the Quorum of the Twelve. It took the deaths of several prophets after the restoration for this pattern to become consistent. Joseph died in 1844. Brigham Young was not ordained until 1847. The title of the lesson--President Brigham Young leads the Saints--requires a little clarification. (Today we call members of the first presidency president--it could have also been President Sidney Rigdon.) Brigham was not instantly the next prophet. Many of the Saints choose to follow him before he was ordained a prophet, but he was the President of the Quorum of the Twelve and led the Saints in that capacity.
Though the church that Brigham Young led became the largest group of Smith's followers, there are hundreds of different groups that all claim origins with Joseph Smith. The newest issue of the John Whitmer Historical Association Journal addresses schism. This pseudo-subway map gives us a bit of an idea (you could order the very pricey journal volume here--Ben Park summarizes it here). As does Newell Bringhurst and John Hamer's book here (look at the close up of the cover). Love the graphics. Read Joseph Smith Papers editor Robin Jensen's thoughts on whether or not it was a succession crisis here.
Neither Brigham Young--as president of the quorum of the Twelve--or Sidney Rigdon--as member of the First Presidency--argued that they should replace Joseph. On 8 August 1844 the Saints met together to hear from Brigham Young and Sidney Rigdon. For many of the Saints the event proved a compelling spiritual experience that established Young as their leader. Read Lynne Jorgenson's collection of more than one hundred accounts of that meeting published in BYU Studies here. (If you're going to read one of these extras, read this one.) For some when Brigham spoke they heard Joseph's voice, for another his visage, for another the whistle when he spoke. The Saints experiences were highly individualized and specific to their own relationship with Joseph. They are amazing descriptions that became an import collective memory.
Sunday, August 25, 2013
Sunday, August 18, 2013
Lesson 32 - "To Seal the Testimony"
The reading for this week is Section 135 of the Doctrine and Covenants. The section is short and you've likely read it before.
My class will talk about the martyrdom, but we will likewise talk about Joseph's contributions and focus on his teachings in the last few months of his life. We will primarily emphasize the King Follett Discourse. There were 4 scribes taking notes. Read the amalgamated version here.
Section 135 is one of the section introductions which has changed in the new edition of the scriptures. It formerly said it was written by John Taylor. Historians have only recently discovered that it was likely Willard Richards, not John Taylor who wrote the section or at least the earliest drafts of the section--John Taylor was still in Carthage recovering from his injuries. John Taylor first publicly presented it. For more on the history that led to that change and the John Taylor history read this BYU Studies article by LaJean Carruth and Mark Staker here.
Joseph and Hyrum were killed by a group of Carthage Greys--local militia members (likely combined with other locals) while upstairs in a bedroom above the jail at Carthage, Illinois. If you are interested in some of the possible logistics of what happened at the jail read here. They had chosen to surrender after declaring the Nauvoo Expositor a public nuisance and destroying the press after the Expositor published an article exposing polygamy likely written by William Law, one of Joseph's counselors in the first presidency.
Heber C. Kimball and other members of the Twelve were in the east at the time of the martyrdom. On the 9th of July they read accounts of Joseph's death. He later wrote to Vilate, "the papers ware full of News of the death of our Prophet, I was not willen to believe it, fore it was to much to bare. . . . it struct me at the heart.” This was not the first time that papers had reported Joseph's death, the missionaries did not know if they should believe it. Vilate, Heber's wife, wrote him letters in the weeks preceding the martyrdom--describing the various scenes of confusion through which the Saints passed. Her letter reached him three days later and verified the news. Her letters offer a window into what the Saints in Nauvoo felt and experienced at the time it occurred, rather than an account shaped by time. Read her letters to Heber in Ron Esplin's article here.
In her last letter to to Heber she wrote, "Never before, did I take up my pen to address you under so trying circumstances as we are now placed...I shall not attempt to discribe the scene that we have passed through. God forbid that I should ever witness another like unto it. I saw the lifeless corpes of our beloved brethren when they were brought to their almost distracted families. Yea I witnessed their tears, and groans, which was enough to rend the heart of an adamant. Every brother and sister that witnessed the scene fe[lt] deeply to simpathyze with them. Yea, every heart is filled with sorrow, and the very streets of Nauvoo seam to morn. Whare it will end the Lord only knows."
"It seems that all nature mourns" wrote Sally Parker to friends in the East in the week after Joseph and Hyrum's martyrdom. Her letter likewise gives us a contemporary look into the lives of the Saints immediately following Joseph's death. Thanks to Steve Harper and Jordan Watkins we can read it here. Though many would prophesy of Mormonism's demise, it would not happen with the death of its first prophet of the Restoration.
There is plenty of possible additional reading. You can try here and here for some articles, but if you haven't read Richard Bushman's Rough Stone Rolling, it is about time. If you're like me, you won't want Joseph to die.
I could say a lot here. But, I'll end with a couple concluding thoughts. Elder Holland taught: [Joseph Smith’s] life asked and answered the question “Do you believe God speaks to man?” In all else that he accomplished in his brief 38 and a half years, Joseph left us the resolute legacy of divine revelation—not a single, isolated revelation without evidence or consequence, and not “a mild sort of inspiration seeping into the minds of all good people” everywhere, but specific, documented, ongoing directions from God.” JRH continued, “As a good friend and faithful LDS scholar [Richard L. Bushman] has succinctly put it, “At a time when the origins of Christianity were under assault by the forces of Enlightenment rationality, Joseph Smith [unequivocally and singlehandedly] returned modern Christianity to its origins in revelation.” [Jeffrey R. Holland, “Prophets, Seers, and Revelators,” Ensign, Nov. 2004, 6; see Richard L. Bushman’s essay “A Joseph Smith for the Twenty-First Century” in Believing History (2004). Read the whole JRH talk here.]
My class will talk about the martyrdom, but we will likewise talk about Joseph's contributions and focus on his teachings in the last few months of his life. We will primarily emphasize the King Follett Discourse. There were 4 scribes taking notes. Read the amalgamated version here.
Section 135 is one of the section introductions which has changed in the new edition of the scriptures. It formerly said it was written by John Taylor. Historians have only recently discovered that it was likely Willard Richards, not John Taylor who wrote the section or at least the earliest drafts of the section--John Taylor was still in Carthage recovering from his injuries. John Taylor first publicly presented it. For more on the history that led to that change and the John Taylor history read this BYU Studies article by LaJean Carruth and Mark Staker here.Joseph and Hyrum were killed by a group of Carthage Greys--local militia members (likely combined with other locals) while upstairs in a bedroom above the jail at Carthage, Illinois. If you are interested in some of the possible logistics of what happened at the jail read here. They had chosen to surrender after declaring the Nauvoo Expositor a public nuisance and destroying the press after the Expositor published an article exposing polygamy likely written by William Law, one of Joseph's counselors in the first presidency.
Heber C. Kimball and other members of the Twelve were in the east at the time of the martyrdom. On the 9th of July they read accounts of Joseph's death. He later wrote to Vilate, "the papers ware full of News of the death of our Prophet, I was not willen to believe it, fore it was to much to bare. . . . it struct me at the heart.” This was not the first time that papers had reported Joseph's death, the missionaries did not know if they should believe it. Vilate, Heber's wife, wrote him letters in the weeks preceding the martyrdom--describing the various scenes of confusion through which the Saints passed. Her letter reached him three days later and verified the news. Her letters offer a window into what the Saints in Nauvoo felt and experienced at the time it occurred, rather than an account shaped by time. Read her letters to Heber in Ron Esplin's article here.In her last letter to to Heber she wrote, "Never before, did I take up my pen to address you under so trying circumstances as we are now placed...I shall not attempt to discribe the scene that we have passed through. God forbid that I should ever witness another like unto it. I saw the lifeless corpes of our beloved brethren when they were brought to their almost distracted families. Yea I witnessed their tears, and groans, which was enough to rend the heart of an adamant. Every brother and sister that witnessed the scene fe[lt] deeply to simpathyze with them. Yea, every heart is filled with sorrow, and the very streets of Nauvoo seam to morn. Whare it will end the Lord only knows."
"It seems that all nature mourns" wrote Sally Parker to friends in the East in the week after Joseph and Hyrum's martyrdom. Her letter likewise gives us a contemporary look into the lives of the Saints immediately following Joseph's death. Thanks to Steve Harper and Jordan Watkins we can read it here. Though many would prophesy of Mormonism's demise, it would not happen with the death of its first prophet of the Restoration.
There is plenty of possible additional reading. You can try here and here for some articles, but if you haven't read Richard Bushman's Rough Stone Rolling, it is about time. If you're like me, you won't want Joseph to die.
I could say a lot here. But, I'll end with a couple concluding thoughts. Elder Holland taught: [Joseph Smith’s] life asked and answered the question “Do you believe God speaks to man?” In all else that he accomplished in his brief 38 and a half years, Joseph left us the resolute legacy of divine revelation—not a single, isolated revelation without evidence or consequence, and not “a mild sort of inspiration seeping into the minds of all good people” everywhere, but specific, documented, ongoing directions from God.” JRH continued, “As a good friend and faithful LDS scholar [Richard L. Bushman] has succinctly put it, “At a time when the origins of Christianity were under assault by the forces of Enlightenment rationality, Joseph Smith [unequivocally and singlehandedly] returned modern Christianity to its origins in revelation.” [Jeffrey R. Holland, “Prophets, Seers, and Revelators,” Ensign, Nov. 2004, 6; see Richard L. Bushman’s essay “A Joseph Smith for the Twenty-First Century” in Believing History (2004). Read the whole JRH talk here.]
Joseph Smith’s return of Christianity to
revelation changed everything. Joseph Smith is a lens for us. As
Latter-day Saints we see the gospel and we see the world through this lens. It is so ubiquitous sometimes sometimes we forget that it is there. This
lens helps us to focus and to see things more clearly, it elucidates everything
better. We all still see through a glass darkly--we still have a limited view
of eternity here in mortality, but our view is clearer and more expansive
because of Joseph. I understand my purpose here in mortality and my position standing before my God better because of Joseph. I will be eternally grateful for that.
Sunday, August 11, 2013
Lesson 31 - "Sealed...For Time and All Eternity"
Reading assignment: 131:1-4, 132, OD1 and the additional addresses there. In section 132 we will particularly focus on verses 1 through about 36.
Today we read section 132 and can see a clear break between verses 4-33 talking about eternal marriage and verses 34-66 talking about plural marriage. In the 19th century they did not see eternal marriage and plural marriage as two different things, they saw celestial marriage. As we look at 19th century sources it becomes difficult to tease out the difference we now understand between the two. Today we might believe in a straightforward concept of eternal marriage and the sealing ordinance. It was not that straightforward for the Saints in Nauvoo. History never fits into nice clean little boxes with bows, no matter how much we try.
The introduction for section 132 has changed. The additions to the new edition of the scriptures are highlighted here:
We'll start with the end--"Evidence indicates that some of the principles involved in this revelation were known by the Prophet as early as 1831."
Joseph revealed the concept of eternal marriage in degrees. I think it likely he was likewise learning in degrees. At the 1835 Kirtland marriage of Newel and Lydia Bailey Knight he taught those present about the Lord's doctrine of marriage. Lydia said Joseph's face shone as he taught. Though we do not know exactly what Joseph taught, Newel wrote about his teachings, “Long, long has the world been shrowded in gentile ignorance & superstition, but the shackles are beginning to be blown away lik[e] the Summer threshing floor & light & intelligence to be given the Children of the kingdom.” In 1840, Parley P. Pratt wrote, “It was from [Joseph] that I learned that the wife of my bosom might be secured to me for time and all eternity; and that the refined sympathies and affections which endeared us to each other emanated from the fountain of divine eternal love.” In 1842 Joseph signed a letter to Emma, “Yours in haste, your affectionate husband until death, through all eternity forever more.” Joseph began performing sealings in Nauvoo around that time.
Today we read section 132 and can see a clear break between verses 4-33 talking about eternal marriage and verses 34-66 talking about plural marriage. In the 19th century they did not see eternal marriage and plural marriage as two different things, they saw celestial marriage. As we look at 19th century sources it becomes difficult to tease out the difference we now understand between the two. Today we might believe in a straightforward concept of eternal marriage and the sealing ordinance. It was not that straightforward for the Saints in Nauvoo. History never fits into nice clean little boxes with bows, no matter how much we try.
The introduction for section 132 has changed. The additions to the new edition of the scriptures are highlighted here:
We'll start with the end--"Evidence indicates that some of the principles involved in this revelation were known by the Prophet as early as 1831."
Joseph revealed the concept of eternal marriage in degrees. I think it likely he was likewise learning in degrees. At the 1835 Kirtland marriage of Newel and Lydia Bailey Knight he taught those present about the Lord's doctrine of marriage. Lydia said Joseph's face shone as he taught. Though we do not know exactly what Joseph taught, Newel wrote about his teachings, “Long, long has the world been shrowded in gentile ignorance & superstition, but the shackles are beginning to be blown away lik[e] the Summer threshing floor & light & intelligence to be given the Children of the kingdom.” In 1840, Parley P. Pratt wrote, “It was from [Joseph] that I learned that the wife of my bosom might be secured to me for time and all eternity; and that the refined sympathies and affections which endeared us to each other emanated from the fountain of divine eternal love.” In 1842 Joseph signed a letter to Emma, “Yours in haste, your affectionate husband until death, through all eternity forever more.” Joseph began performing sealings in Nauvoo around that time.
Verses 18 &19 of 132 give us the requirements for eternal marriage:
2. Sealed and ratified by the Holy Spirit of Promise. The ordinance alone is not enough for it to last.
3. Ye shall come forth in the first resurrection (ye = plural)--a couple sealed up together, coming up together.
4. If ye abide my covenant. The big if.
Though baptisms for the dead began in Nauvoo, temple work by proxy, endowments and sealings, did not occur in Nauvoo--though Joseph likely taught the possibility. The Saints initially believed those ordinances needed to be performed in mortality. The Saints worked to connect themselves in networks of kinship. Sealings, adoptions of sons, and plural marriage all became part of this.
The rationale that plural marriage was instituted because of a proliferation of widowed women, simply does not work. Once again--it does not work. It would be very helpful for us, if a number of years ago when President Hinckley said that only 3% of the church ever practiced polygamy he would have qualified his response. In Manti, Utah, in the 1850s the percentage of polygamous households was upwards of 80%, Salt Lake City was clearly less--perhaps more like 50%, but more information would be necessary to verify that statement. 3% of what?
For many modern Saints sex makes this difficult for us to even begin to wrap our heads around it. I'll paraphrase Kathleen Flake--There are much easier ways to have a lot of sex than marrying multiple people. (Helen Whitney's The Mormons documentary) Accusations of Smith as a lascivious seducer is a simple classification that ignores the complexity of Joseph as a person and the complexity of history. (Later on, Sir Richard Burton, the famed English explorer, visited Utah and wrote that the salacious press in the eastern U.S. had polygamy all wrong, the Mormons were more Victorian than the Victorians.)
1. Marriages of convenience for economic or political reasons.
2. Based on sexual attraction.
3. Based on romantic love.
4. Based on promised companionship.
In 1843 Lorenzo Snow wrote that Joseph himself waged a battle “in overcoming the repugnance of his feelings.” If we accept their words at face value (rather than some conspiracy to put a respectable sheen on it), plural marriage was initially difficult for all of them. It was not something eagerly anticipated. These were a people with Victorian sensibilities, this went counter to how they understood marriage. The commandment wrenched at their very heart strings and compliance by the Twelve demonstrated their loyalty to Joseph.
“Some of these my brethren know what my feelings were at the time Joseph revealed the doctrine; I was not desirous of shrinking from any duty, nor of failing in the least to do as I was commanded, but it was the first time in my life that I had desired the grave, and I could hardly get over it for a long time. And when I saw a funeral, I felt to envy the corpse its situation, and to regret that I was not in the coffin.” -Brigham Young
“It made my flesh crawl.”
All of the 12 “seemed to put off as far as we could, what might be termed the evil day.” -John Taylor
To be precise with our terms:
POLYGAMY – Either a man or a woman has 2 or more marriage partners.
POLYGYNY – Man
POLYANDRY – Woman
Most of what we are talking about here is technically polygyny, though there are also examples of polyandry.
Joseph was sealed to about 30 women during his lifetime--hundreds more posthumously (Wilford Woodruff ended that in the 1890s). In Nauvoo, Joseph only taught his inner circle, principally the Twelve, expecting them to teach larger groups later. Plural marriage always operated under strict guidelines, it was to only be "by revelation and commandment." In the Book of Mormon, the prophet Jacob wrote of the the whoredoms of the Nephites that they justified "because of the things which were written concerning David, and Solomon his son." (Jacob 2:23) The Lord did not justify the behavior of David and Solomon, nor that of the Nephites. Verse 30 gives the only exception to this--"For if I will, saith the Lord of Hosts, raise up seed unto me, I will command my people; otherwise they shall hearken unto these things." Monogamy is the standard; polygamy is the exception. Polygamy is only justified if it is commanded by God.
Though many struggled to accept the possibility that God could command plural marriage, many came to ardently believe it was from God. They would fight to maintain their possibility to live their religion.
“The few humble Saints who heard the
principle from the Prophet’s lips knew that he was a true Prophet of God, for the Holy Spirit bore
witness to them that the principle was from Him, and they knew too that Joseph
Smith never would have had the courage to introduce such a doctrine, much less
to command men to enter into it whose traditions made it so obnoxious to their
natural feelings, if it had not been commanded by the Almighty…” -Helen Mar Whitney (A
Woman’s View, 133).
“We pondered upon [these prin-ciples] continually, and our prayers were
unceasing that the Lord would grant us some special manifestation concerning
this new and strange doctrine.”
[Later...] “And were convinced in our own minds
that God heard and approved our prayers and intercedings before Him. Our hearts were comforted.” -Elizabeth
Ann Whitney
“When the Prophet Joseph Smith first
mentioned the principle of plural marriage to me, I became very indignant and
told him emphatically that I did not wish him ever to mention it to me again,
as my feelings and education revolted against anything of such a nature. He
counseled me, however, to pray to the Lord for light and understanding. . . .
After I had poured out my heart’s contents before God, I at once became calm and composed; a feeling of
happiness took possession of me, and at the same time I received a powerful and
irresistible testimony of the truth of plural marriage, which testimony has
abided with me ever since.” –Lucy
Walker
Here Spencer Fluhman tackles one of the most difficult examples, Joseph's marriage to fourteen year old Helen Mar Kimball Whitney, daughter of Vilate and Heber C. Kimball. Read it. Fourteen then was not fourteen today, but it was still very young. After Joseph's death, Helen Mar married Horace Whitney, son of Elizabeth and Newel K. Whitney. Better understanding this specific example gives us a window into their understanding of plural marriage.
Helen Mar later wrote:
"What other motive than real faith and a firm conviction of the truth of this principle could have induced them to accept and practice a doctrine so opposite to their traditions and the rigid training received from their sectarian parents and ancestors? Who would wish to become objects of derision, to have their friends and associates turn the cold shoulder, and be subjected to the sneers and scoffs of persons prejudiced by the extravagant tales spread by certain ones who, while professing friendship and faith in the principle, were two-faced and treacherous to their brethren and sisters; the latter, though virtuous and modest in their demeanor, and their motives as noble and pure as were those of Ruth and Naomi, had to silently bear the title of lewd women." Woman’s Exponent 11 (1 August 1882):39.
I always want to know why (and I often find myself guessing the end from the beginning). Rarely does the Lord give a direct answer to the question why....though we try again and again to provide reasons why. In the 1850s church leaders came up with all sorts of reasons for the why of plural marriage--including arguing it stopped men from needing prostitutes (eh). In regard to the priesthood ban, Elder Dallin Oaks said, “... It’s not the pattern of the Lord to give reasons. We can put reasons to commandments. When we do we’re on our own. . . .Let’s [not] make the mistake that’s been made in the past, here and in other areas, trying to put reasons to revelation. The reasons turn out to be man-made to a great extent. The revelations are what we sustain as the will of the Lord and that’s where safety lies” (Interview to the Associated Press, in Daily Herald, Provo, Utah, June 5, 1988). I think this importantly applies here too.
The why that the Lord outlines in revelation is "where safety lies." We might come up with other reasons, but they are man-made and problematic to some degree. In the revelation recorded in section 132, the Lord sets up how the Saints are to understand plural marriage with the example of Abraham and Isaac. "Abraham was commanded to offer his son Isaac; nevertheless, it was written: Thou shalt not kill. Abraham, however, did not refuse, and it was accounted unto him for righteousness." (132:36) As it reinforces the concept of commandments and exceptions, it likewise offered a powerful structure to the Saints. This concept of an Abrahamic sacrifice is reinforced as the revelation continues in verses 49 through 51. An Abrahamic sacrifice is part of the proving of disciples. Plural marriage as part of her proving was devastatingly difficult for Emma. Helen Mar was particularly poignant as she referenced her Abrahamic sacrifice. Yet, there is the promise--"Go, therefore, and I make a way for your escape, as I accepted the offering of Abraham and his son Isaac." "The way for your escape" is the ram in the thicket. Perhaps the ram came with the 1890 Manifesto, perhaps it will come in eternity, but if we trust the revelation--the ram is certain.
For those who believed the plural marriage came from God, their belief became more and more entrenched over forty years as they fought to practice their religious belief. After severe strictures and penalties from the U.S. Government, LDS Church President Wilford Woodruff was faced with the possibility of losing the temples or continuing the practice of plural marriage. Read both the Manifesto--otherwise known as Official Declaration Number 1 (the two declarations have been voted on by common consent and as such have been canonized--in contrast to proclamations which are not canonized and not added to the scriptural text)--and the excerpts from three addresses by President Wilford Woodruff regarding the Manifesto pages 292 and 293 of the Doctrine and Covenants. Think about the process which led President Woodruff to the revelation and the decision.
Official Declaration did not have an introduction in the 1981 edition of the scriptures (and subsequent editions). This is only one of the additions in the new scriptures. (If you need a quick review see here.) "This led to the end of plural marriage" is key. Forty plus years of belief in plural marriage as a divine principle was not done away in an instant. Some believed that the Manifesto was only meant for the United States. Some continued in secret. A couple apostles resigned. In 1904 Joseph F. Smith gave a second manifesto to clarify that plural marriage would end for the Latter-day Saints as a whole. The Saints would have to find a new focus for their peculiarity.
Thursday, August 1, 2013
Lesson 29 & 30 - Building the Kingdom of God in Nauvoo, Illinois & "The Prisoners Shall Go Free"
Read Doctrine and Covenants 124 (the manual says focus on 1-21, 87-90, 97-110) & 126. Much of this material also applies to the following lesson 30: sections 2, 124:25-55, 127 and 128.
After the expulsion from Missouri many of the Saints settled in Quincy, Illinois. In contrast to the Missouri citizens, the people of Quincy welcomed the Saints. Despite the kindness, it was essentially a refugee camp and Saints would soon need to move on. Joseph chose Commerce, Illinois--a swampy marsh of a place on a bend in the Mississippi River and called it Nauvoo. The beginnings of Nauvoo were filled with illness, healing, and work. They worked to transform the swamp quickly into one of the largest cities in Illinois.
After a strenuous and long journey, impoverished British Saints almost doubled the population of Nauvoo. This letter edited by Josh Probert looks at the directions from the Twelve leading the immigration here.
The temple was the first priority in Nauvoo and it was central to the teaching in Nauvoo. 124:27 tells the Saints to "build a house to my name, for the most High to dwell therein." The temple was their primary concern. Look at Alex Smith's Revelations in Context article on Section 124 & 126 here. I briefly will focus on the introduction of baptism for the dead (more can be said about it the following week with a focus on proxy work for the dead), I will spend most of my time with the organization of the Female Relief Society of Nauvoo, and the introduction of the temple endowment.
Baptisms for the dead and the endowment were both introduced before the temple was completed. (The temple only reached the treetops at the time of Joseph's death.) Joseph introduced the doctrine of baptism for the dead at the funeral of Seymour Brunson in 1841. The saints eagerly initiated the practice almost immediately. See matt McBride's article from Revelations in Context to look at 127 & 128 here. The temple endowment was introduced to small groups by Joseph in the upper rooms of Joseph's Red Brick Store. I love Heber C. Kimball's letter to Parley Pratt: "We have received some pressious things through the Prophet on the preasthood that would cause your soul to rejoice. I can not give them to you on paper fore they are not to be riten. So you must come and get them for your Self." (Heber Kimball to Parley Pratt, June 17, 1842, Pratt Papers, LDS Church History Library.)
I think everyone should read and study the Nauvoo Female Relief Society Minutes here. Or if you want an easy read version buy this (Virgina Pearce's essay is amazing too). We talked about Joseph teaching in those early RS meetings about the power of the priesthood here. The church organization would not be complete without the temple and Joseph would continue to teach and introduce ordinances to small groups intending that they would continue to disseminate this teachings. Read Larry Porter and Milton Backman's classic article "The Doctrine and the Temple in Nauvoo" here. And Ron Esplin's "The Significance of Nauvoo" here.
Read President Hinckley's words on Nauvoo here. As President Hinckley reminds us Nauvoo was a difficult time for the Saints, the cute brick buildings there today remember the good parts of the Nauvoo experience, not the whole of the Nauvoo experience. Vilate and Heber Kimball's house is one of my favorites in Nauvoo. They only lived in it for a few months before being pushed out.
There is so much here. Some we will be able to continue as we talk about proxy temple work next week. Here are all the BYU Studies articles on Nauvoo.
After the expulsion from Missouri many of the Saints settled in Quincy, Illinois. In contrast to the Missouri citizens, the people of Quincy welcomed the Saints. Despite the kindness, it was essentially a refugee camp and Saints would soon need to move on. Joseph chose Commerce, Illinois--a swampy marsh of a place on a bend in the Mississippi River and called it Nauvoo. The beginnings of Nauvoo were filled with illness, healing, and work. They worked to transform the swamp quickly into one of the largest cities in Illinois.
After a strenuous and long journey, impoverished British Saints almost doubled the population of Nauvoo. This letter edited by Josh Probert looks at the directions from the Twelve leading the immigration here.
The temple was the first priority in Nauvoo and it was central to the teaching in Nauvoo. 124:27 tells the Saints to "build a house to my name, for the most High to dwell therein." The temple was their primary concern. Look at Alex Smith's Revelations in Context article on Section 124 & 126 here. I briefly will focus on the introduction of baptism for the dead (more can be said about it the following week with a focus on proxy work for the dead), I will spend most of my time with the organization of the Female Relief Society of Nauvoo, and the introduction of the temple endowment.
Baptisms for the dead and the endowment were both introduced before the temple was completed. (The temple only reached the treetops at the time of Joseph's death.) Joseph introduced the doctrine of baptism for the dead at the funeral of Seymour Brunson in 1841. The saints eagerly initiated the practice almost immediately. See matt McBride's article from Revelations in Context to look at 127 & 128 here. The temple endowment was introduced to small groups by Joseph in the upper rooms of Joseph's Red Brick Store. I love Heber C. Kimball's letter to Parley Pratt: "We have received some pressious things through the Prophet on the preasthood that would cause your soul to rejoice. I can not give them to you on paper fore they are not to be riten. So you must come and get them for your Self." (Heber Kimball to Parley Pratt, June 17, 1842, Pratt Papers, LDS Church History Library.)
I think everyone should read and study the Nauvoo Female Relief Society Minutes here. Or if you want an easy read version buy this (Virgina Pearce's essay is amazing too). We talked about Joseph teaching in those early RS meetings about the power of the priesthood here. The church organization would not be complete without the temple and Joseph would continue to teach and introduce ordinances to small groups intending that they would continue to disseminate this teachings. Read Larry Porter and Milton Backman's classic article "The Doctrine and the Temple in Nauvoo" here. And Ron Esplin's "The Significance of Nauvoo" here.
There is so much here. Some we will be able to continue as we talk about proxy temple work next week. Here are all the BYU Studies articles on Nauvoo.
Sunday, July 21, 2013
Lesson Skipped - Missouri - Otherwise known as the five years jumped over between lesson 27 & 28.
If you didn't notice we skipped over the whole of the Missouri period in one fell swoop--Jackson County expulsion 1833 to State of Missouri expulsion 1838. As if one might be able to talk about 5 years in two minutes flat. Alas.
But then neither can I do justice to the Saints' Missouri experience in a little post. Here are some places to start:
After the expulsion from Jackson County the Mormons moved to Clay county. Soon they were again asked to move from that county--though not violently. Missouri legislator Alexander Doniphan proposed creating a county specifically for the Mormons. Instead of one large county, two smaller northern Missouri counties--Daviess and Caldwell--were designated for the Mormons. Far West was by far the largest Mormon settlement, but Mormons were spread throughout those two counties and spilling over in to other counties as well. (See a bigger image here.) On the 1838 Fourth of July in Far West there were said to be five thousand people in town for the celebration.
On October 27, 1838 Missouri Governor Lilburn Boggs signed Executive Order 44--the Extermination Order: "The Mormons must be treated as enemies and must be exterminated or driven from the state, if necessary for the public good. Their outrages are beyond all description. If you can increase your force, you are authorized to do so, to any extent you may think necessary."
Here you can find all of BYU Studies's articles on Missouri. Of particular interest is Clark Johnson's classic reappraisal of the Missouri Redress Petitions here. Though the petitions were ineffectual in helping the Saints regain their losses, they importantly document those losses for us.
To also look at the experience of some individual Mormons, here are tidbits from Mormon women talking about the trauma of their Missouri experiences (and not talking about--rape was a significant element of those experiences only ever obliquely mentioned). Here is a letter from Melissa Morgan Dodge to her brother after her Missouri experience.
But then neither can I do justice to the Saints' Missouri experience in a little post. Here are some places to start:
After the expulsion from Jackson County the Mormons moved to Clay county. Soon they were again asked to move from that county--though not violently. Missouri legislator Alexander Doniphan proposed creating a county specifically for the Mormons. Instead of one large county, two smaller northern Missouri counties--Daviess and Caldwell--were designated for the Mormons. Far West was by far the largest Mormon settlement, but Mormons were spread throughout those two counties and spilling over in to other counties as well. (See a bigger image here.) On the 1838 Fourth of July in Far West there were said to be five thousand people in town for the celebration.
On October 27, 1838 Missouri Governor Lilburn Boggs signed Executive Order 44--the Extermination Order: "The Mormons must be treated as enemies and must be exterminated or driven from the state, if necessary for the public good. Their outrages are beyond all description. If you can increase your force, you are authorized to do so, to any extent you may think necessary."
To also look at the experience of some individual Mormons, here are tidbits from Mormon women talking about the trauma of their Missouri experiences (and not talking about--rape was a significant element of those experiences only ever obliquely mentioned). Here is a letter from Melissa Morgan Dodge to her brother after her Missouri experience.
Temperance Bond Mack to her daughter - Harriet Whittemore:
Knowing your anxiety for me I will endeavor to in form you of an item of the scenery that has past around us. Brother Joseph and Hyrum and Sidney Rigdon and a number of them are now in jail and have been in irons. They will have their trial in March if they don’t call a special court. They are prisoners of war. They are an offering from the church to save the lives of others. They suffer themselves. The church have agreed to leave here in the spring but where to go they know not.
We don’t know but we must flee from the haunts of men to the caves and dens in the rocks like that saints of old, but none of these things move me. Neither do I regret that I have left the eastern states for where the Lord says go. I must obey although my heart is with my children and they are near and dear to me, yet I am no better than the martyrs¾they had to suffer the loss of all things to be an incorruptible crown and so must I, and I do it cheerful knowing I shall reap in due time. if I faint now fearing the truth will yet reach there and will be published in the papers and you will do well to search them.
I wish you would show this letter to Sister Williams and daughters. and I would just say my mind is the same and if the scriptures are fulfilled the saints must suffer persecution and although we have suffered much and it looks dark ahead of us yet none of these things move me neither in my life dear if so be I can obtain a crown of glory. Far West, [Missouri] December 30, 1838
Almira Mack Covey to her sister - Harriet Mack Whittemore
We have been requested in several letters to give a history of the proceedings of the mob in Missouri but this is more than I can do. It is more than I can do to point to you our feelings when surrounded by a wicked mob. Not allowed even to go out of town to our friends without leave from that wicked crew. You can better judge what my feelings were when seeing my husband taken away to prison with about 50 others and for what? Nothing but our religion. He was kept there three weeks and then released as they could find nothing against him.
Mother bore her trials very well. She said she never wishes herself back to Michigan. And I can say for one that I never as yet repented of uniting myself to this persecuted people but feel willing to suffer for Christ’s sake. But Harriet, it is no small trial to see your houses surrounded by a wicked mob threatening your lives and even killing some, and we not knowing when we laid ourselves down at night but we should all be massacred before morning for this was the orders of the Governor of Missouri. 19 January 1840
Ann Marsh Abbott to her brother - Nathan Marsh
Dear brother many years have past away since I have wrote to you or you to me. . . .However, I will improve this opportunity and try to write something that you may know we are yet in the land of the living.
We are in pretty good health considering what we have had to encounter since we came to this country being driven by Mob from time to time which has caused infirmities to come to us, especially my Husband. His health is poor, two different times he has had his blood spilt by Missouri Mob. However, through the mercy of the Lord he is able to do a good deal of work though he is troubled very much with Rheumatism.
Now I can say that through all our trials and afflictions our faith is not lessened but strengthened in Mormonism. And I can safely say we have passed through all this for Christ’s sake. Neither do we expect that we have passed through all yet. We have got to be tried and proven in all things so that we may stand or fall.
Many have fallen out by the wayside already. Brother Thomas for one and his family. They live in Missouri, what county or place I cannot tell you. I have written to them but cannot get an answer. However, I hope he is not lost so but what he can be found again.
When I reflect a moment I see what a scattered sheep we are. I feel a great desire that we might, will be gathered even with the body of the Latter Day Saints. They are flocking from all parts of the earth to Zion. They’re almost continually coming from England by the hundreds. When I look at this great work I often think, “Is it possible all my relations are ignorant of what the Lord is doing in these last days?” Everyone can know for themselves the truth of this work. I understand there is a small branch of the church of Mormons in your neighborhood. If so it will be your privilege to know Mormonism. [1843]
Lesson 28 - "O God, Where Art Thou?"
The reading assignment for this week is 121:1-33, 122. Sections 121-123 are a part of a letter Joseph sent to Emma from Liberty Jail--a March 20, 1839 letter to “the
church of Latter-day saints at Quincy Illinois and scattered abroad and to
Bishop Partridge in particular.”
Read (or listen or watch) Elder Holland on "Lessons from Liberty Jail" here. Though you might feel like you missed out on the photos, I've included a couple so you don't feel left out (even with scary mannequins--if you watch you can see his choices). Here's why you need to read this: Tonight’s message is that when you have to, you can have sacred, revelatory, profoundly instructive experience with the Lord in any situation you are in. Indeed, let me say that even a little stronger: You can have sacred, revelatory, profoundly instructive experience with the Lord in the most miserable experiences of your life—in the worst settings, while enduring the most painful injustices, when facing the most insurmountable odds and opposition you have ever faced.
Joseph's experience in the "prison-temple" (h/t B.H. Roberts) of Liberty was pivotal for Joseph. Some of the truths taught therein are likewise pivotal for us. As is his example. Our darkest moments can become priceless. Through Christ's atonement, those dark moments are consecrated and made holy.
For essential historical context go to Justin Bray's new essay for Revelations in Context looking at the experience of those with Joseph here. Dean Jessee's classic "Walls, Grates, and Screeking Iron Doors" is here. Also Dean Jessee and Jack Welch's context for Joseph's letter from Liberty Jail here.
None of these articles really look at the experience of the wives as their husbands were in that nasty jail for six months (through a long winter). Newly married Mary Fielding Smith visited her husband, Hyrum, with their new son, Joseph (F. Smith - future Church President - born 13 days after Hyrum was taken). Mary, her sister Mercy, and the baby were shut in the jail with the men overnight. Mary did not like to talk about the experience, but described it to her brother as a "bitter cup" a few months later. She and Hyrum also had significant communication issues while he was in jail. (This shouldn't surprise us, should it?) Read her letter here. (Read the typescript, but look at the scan of the letter itself. She writes horizontally and vertically to use every last centimeter of space on that paper.) Her bio and another letter are here. While Joseph was in the jail, Emma left
their home and walked four clinging children across the frozen Mississippi with
Joseph’s papers and manuscripts tied around her waist.
If you didn't notice--we skipped over the whole of the Missouri period in one fell swoop--Jackson County expulsion 1833 to State of Missouri expulsion 1838. As if one might be able to talk about 5 years in two minutes flat. I've tried to compensate a bit in an additional post here.
For essential historical context go to Justin Bray's new essay for Revelations in Context looking at the experience of those with Joseph here. Dean Jessee's classic "Walls, Grates, and Screeking Iron Doors" is here. Also Dean Jessee and Jack Welch's context for Joseph's letter from Liberty Jail here.
Sunday, July 14, 2013
Lesson 27 - "They Must Needs Be Chastened and Tried, Even as Abraham"
The sections for this week include 101, 103, 105. We are talking about the 1833 expulsion of the Saints from Jackson County, Missouri and Zion's Camp. For a primer in the expulsion from Jackson County here are the basics from the chapter in the Institute Manual.
The title for the lesson comes from section 101 verse 3. The Saints in Jackson County were being pushed from their homes--sometimes violently. Joseph, at home in Kirtland, had only heard bits and pieces of what was occurring in Missouri. As section 101 makes clear, the citizens of Missouri (indefinitely called the mob) were at fault, but so were the Saints in Jackson County. Verses 6-8 tell us of some of the ways the Saints were at fault. Elder Maxwell taught of three sources of adversity: our own sins, the sins of others, and the state of a fallen world. Whatever the source of the adversity, we have a possibility to learn and grow from the situation. This situation would test them and try them and their reaction was all important. Joseph wrote this as a letter to the Saints, not to harp on their faults, but to give them peace. Though they had lost Zion, all was in the Lord's hands.
For me, this week is all about how we react to adversity and how we endure. What does it mean to be "chastened and tried, even as Abraham?" What is an Abrahamic sacrifice? What could be your Abrahamic sacrifice?
Section 103 verse 22 is the call for Zion's Camp. The Saints were to walk to Jackson County, Missouri (about 900 miles) to try and help their brothers and sisters. Several volunteered in the High Council as Joseph read the revelation, yet the Lord said they needed at least 100 (and no more than 500). Missionaries were sent out among the Saints to recruit more of the Saints to help.
Tom Alexander had written one of my favorite articles on Zion's camp here. Parley P. Pratt went to Richland, New York as he searched for more Saints to join Zion's Camp. There he met recent convert Wilford Woodruff who quickly decided to join Zion's Camp and how it changed his life quite completely. Alexander briefly compares the different trajectory of Wilford's brother Azmon (the Woodruffs have some crazy names), who chose not to go.
Zion's Camp was not just made up of men, here Andrea Radke Moss writes about the contributions and experiences of the women and children of Zion's Camp. Hyrum Smith and Lyman Wight went to Pontiac, Michigan to find volunteers. Craig Manscill writes about their journey here.
Joseph received the revelation in Section 105 on the banks of the Fishing River in Missouri. The Fishing River is a tributary of the Missouri River--the Missouri River is the northern border of Jackson County (eastern Kansas City and modern-day Independence). Zion's Camp had walked the 900 miles to get there and then in verse 13 the Lord says--Wait, don't fight. I'll fight your battles for you. Not fighting once they got there was perhaps as difficult as the decision to go in the first place.
Our end goals are not always the Lord's end goals. Sometimes He tells us to turn around and go home and trust that He will take care of things. Again, it is our reaction that matters.
The title for the lesson comes from section 101 verse 3. The Saints in Jackson County were being pushed from their homes--sometimes violently. Joseph, at home in Kirtland, had only heard bits and pieces of what was occurring in Missouri. As section 101 makes clear, the citizens of Missouri (indefinitely called the mob) were at fault, but so were the Saints in Jackson County. Verses 6-8 tell us of some of the ways the Saints were at fault. Elder Maxwell taught of three sources of adversity: our own sins, the sins of others, and the state of a fallen world. Whatever the source of the adversity, we have a possibility to learn and grow from the situation. This situation would test them and try them and their reaction was all important. Joseph wrote this as a letter to the Saints, not to harp on their faults, but to give them peace. Though they had lost Zion, all was in the Lord's hands.
For me, this week is all about how we react to adversity and how we endure. What does it mean to be "chastened and tried, even as Abraham?" What is an Abrahamic sacrifice? What could be your Abrahamic sacrifice?
Section 103 verse 22 is the call for Zion's Camp. The Saints were to walk to Jackson County, Missouri (about 900 miles) to try and help their brothers and sisters. Several volunteered in the High Council as Joseph read the revelation, yet the Lord said they needed at least 100 (and no more than 500). Missionaries were sent out among the Saints to recruit more of the Saints to help.
Tom Alexander had written one of my favorite articles on Zion's camp here. Parley P. Pratt went to Richland, New York as he searched for more Saints to join Zion's Camp. There he met recent convert Wilford Woodruff who quickly decided to join Zion's Camp and how it changed his life quite completely. Alexander briefly compares the different trajectory of Wilford's brother Azmon (the Woodruffs have some crazy names), who chose not to go.
Zion's Camp was not just made up of men, here Andrea Radke Moss writes about the contributions and experiences of the women and children of Zion's Camp. Hyrum Smith and Lyman Wight went to Pontiac, Michigan to find volunteers. Craig Manscill writes about their journey here.
Joseph received the revelation in Section 105 on the banks of the Fishing River in Missouri. The Fishing River is a tributary of the Missouri River--the Missouri River is the northern border of Jackson County (eastern Kansas City and modern-day Independence). Zion's Camp had walked the 900 miles to get there and then in verse 13 the Lord says--Wait, don't fight. I'll fight your battles for you. Not fighting once they got there was perhaps as difficult as the decision to go in the first place.
Our end goals are not always the Lord's end goals. Sometimes He tells us to turn around and go home and trust that He will take care of things. Again, it is our reaction that matters.
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