5/22/2018 - Section 99:1-8

May 22, 2018

Section 99: 1-8

Missionary Promises, Missionary Service, Callings Timing Of, Convert Promises,

I love this section. It was given specifically to John Murdock—a regular guy who had embraced the gospel when Sidney Rigdon and his group passed through the Kirtland area on that first western journey to the Lamanites. It’s also a good lesson to me to realize that Sidney Rigdon and his companions used their travel time to proclaim the gospel to those they met. 

John Murdock’s directions are simple: (v1) go east, go from house to house, from village to village, from city to city proclaiming the gospel. He is also given a ‘head’s up’ that he will “proclaim mine everlasting gospel…in the midst of persecution and wickedness.” Just as it is today, being a missionary is not all roses. But John is also given a promise: (2)“…and you shall have power to declare my word in the demonstration of my Holy Spirit.”, and then he is reminded of the effect his work will have and the boon it will be for those who become converted: (3) “ And who receiveth you as a little child, receiveth my kingdom; and blessed are they, for they shall obtain mercy.”

Further instruction from the Lord: (V 6 )…”…it is not expedient that you should go until your children are provided for, and sent up kindly unto the bishop of Zion.”  [student manual: the word kindly in the nineteenth century meant more than just to perform an act with kindness. It mean “in the way suitable or appropriate…properly, fittingly—to do something with natural affection or in a way that is pleasant or agreeable to the recipient or object (oxford English Dictionary) ”Several things here. Callings don’t always come when we think they should. John Murdock lost his wife when she gave birth to twins a year and 3 months before. That happened on the day before Emma Smith had also borne twins and had lost them both. John, unable to care for his newborn twins, and knowing of Emma’s heartache, brought the twins to Emma. But John had older children who remained with him. The Lord knew of this, and instructed John to delay his departure until he had insured the care of those children. I’d better think twice next time I’m given a calling that I think comes at a very poor time in my life.

9/8/2021 – D&C 99

This is a short revelation [it’s out of sequence by a year…it was actually given in August 1832] that is directed to John Murdock. He was one of Kirtland residents who listened to, and accepted the gospel from Oliver Cowdery and his companions as they made their first western journey to teach the Lamanites. He is also the one whose wife died shortly after having delivered twins. He gave the twins to Emma and Joseph to raise.

This revelation was given a little over a year after losing his wife. He is told to go east, going “from house to house, from village to village, and from city to city, to proclaim mine everlasting gospel…” (v 1)

His promise is in v 2: “And who receiveth you receiveth me; and you shall have power to declare my word in the demonstration of my Holy Spirit.” 

The Lord’s promise to those John Murdoc taught is in v 3: “And who receiveth you as a little child, receiveth my kingdom; and blessed are they, for they shall obtain mercy.” That is a beautiful promise to all missionaries, and to all converts. I’m so thankful my mother listened to Elder Emery and Elder Strong, and that she accepted their challenge to read in the Book of Mormon, and that she pleaded with the Lord to help her in this decision—a decision that my father did not want her to make. She was comforted, and she was directed, and she went forward—changing her life and the lives of my sister and myself forever. She was our guiding light, and we both feel blessed from her testimony and her strength.

The Lord tells Elder Murdock that he is not to go until his children are provided for. (v 6) And then is the amazing counsel from the Lord when speaking about a calling in the Church: “And after a few years, if thou desirest of me, thou mayest go up also unto the goodly land, to possess thine inheritance; Otherwise thou shall continue proclaiming my gospel until thou be taken.”  

I wanted to know more about this man, and this is what I found: “John Murdock was born in Kortright, New York, in 1792. He married Julia Clapp in 1823. In November 1830, Murdock was baptized into The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Kirtland, Ohio, and ordained an elder. In 1831, his wife died after giving birth to twins, who were subsequently adopted by Joseph and Emma Smith. Early revelations called Murdock to serve missions (Doctrine and Covenants 52:8; 99:1). He served various missions, including in Missouri, Ohio, Virginia, and the eastern United States between 1831 and 1833; Vermont and New York in 1835 and 1836; Indiana from 1844 to 1845; and Australia between 1851 and 1853. In 1834 Murdock marched from Ohio to Missouri as part of the Camp of Israel. He was appointed president of the Zion high council in 1836. Murdock married Amoranda Turner that year, but she died the following year. He subsequently married Electra Allen. In 1839, he moved to Illinois, and he was bishop of the Nauvoo, Illinois, Fifth Ward from 1842 to 1844. His third wife died in 1845, and he married Sarah Zufelt in 1846. In 1847 he migrated to Utah Territory, where he was a high councilman, bishop of the Salt Lake City Fourteenth Ward, and patriarch, before ultimately settling in Beaver County.” Found in Doctrine and. Covenants Historical Resources.

And I found this in BYU Library – Special Collections “John Murdock; born July 15, 1792, Kortright, New York; first mission president for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Australia; baptized November 1830 while living in Geauga County, Ohio; mission to Pontiac, Michigan with Hyrum Smith; Joseph Smith, Jr. and Emma Smith adopted Murdock's newborn twins, Joseph and Julia after his first wife Julia Clapp Murdock died; member of Zion's Camp; high council in Far West and Salt Lake City, Utah; bishop in Nauvoo and Salt Lake City; died in Beaver, Utah on December 23, 1871)” And I found that before he met Oliver Cowdrey, he had been in the Campbellite congregation. He lived almost 80 years. He accepted each calling he was given. I can’t imagine the number of people he helped through his sharing his teaching, his direction, his concern, his time, his love and attention. He really did as v 8 had prompted him: to “continue proclaiming my gospel until thou be taken.”

And this is what Emily Belle Freeman said about John Murdock: “Sometimes healing comes through the process of a journey, through giving our heart to something else for a time. It was true for John Murdock, and the same will be true for each of us. If you are in the midst of difficulty or heartache, allow the Lord to take you on a journey—from village to village. Invest your heart in the work. Healing will come.”  The Lord certainly helped John Murdock through His callings, and through his loss of so many loved ones; and John Murdock certainly helped so many others as he quietly accepted each new responsibility. And I would think that he was the stimulus for so many others to draw closer to Heavenly Father. That is service. That is love. And John Murdock is an amazing example of the Lord’s view of the time and effort that we should give to our stewardships.