9/18/2018 - Section 111:1-11

September 18, 2018

Section 111:1-11

Follies of Man, Lord’s Watchful & Loving Care Over Individuals, Holy Ghost Peace and Power Flows Into Us, Riches are More Than Money,

This section is about Joseph, Sidney, Oliver and Hyrum’s trip to Salem Massachusetts. This is after the Kirtland Temple completion which left the church and the members basically impoverished. In addition to that the state of Missouri “had heavily taxed the spiritual and temporal resources of the Church, which was barely 6 weeks old.” At this time a brother by the name of Burgess came to sown and sated he had knowledge of a large amount of money in the cellar of a certain house in Salem that had belonged to a widow, now deceased, and he thought he was the only person who had knowledge of it, or of the location of the house. But when they got to Salem, Burgess said there had been so many changes in the town that he could not for a certainty point out the house, and Burgess soon left town. Joseph and the others rented a house in Salem, preached publically, and went house to house to teach. This revelation was received there in Salem, and one of the phrases the Lord uses is a phrase in v 1 that reinforces that the Lord watches over us and loves us: “I…am not displeased with your coming this journey, notwithstanding your follies.” They were on a wild goose chase to gather much needed monies, but they spent their time and energies-- while going and being in Salem, and returning home—trying to share the gospel with all who would listen. Then in v 7 the Lord tells them to “Tarry in this place” and then in v 8 he reminds them that it  “shall be signalized unto you by the peace and power of my Spirit that shall flow unto you.” I feel that so often here in the mission, and at unexpected times, and I always take note and realize the Lord is reinforcing that he IS with me and this IS where I should be. Those experiences remind me to do my calling here to the best of my physical and mental abilities, but also to it with love, and understanding, and compassion. It doesn’t take long to support this feeling: Alma 58:11 “Yea, and it came to pass that the Lord our God did visit us with assurances that he would deliver us; yea inasmuch that he did speak peace to our souls, and did grant unto us great faith and did cause us that we should hoe for our deliverance in him” And the well known D&C 6:22-23 “Verily, verily (truly, truly)I say unto you, if you desire a further witness, cast your mind upon the night that you cried unto me in your heat, that you might know concerning the truth of these things. Did I not speak peace to your mind concerning the matter? What greater witness can you have then from God? ” And D&C 8:2-3 “Yea, behold, I will tell you in your mind and in your heart by the Holy Ghost, which shall come upon you and which sale dewll in yur heart.  Now, behold, this is the spirit of revelation; behold, this is the spiit y which Moses brought the children of Israel through the Red Sea on dry ground. Therefore this is thy gift; apply unto it, and blessed art thou…”

In v 2 the Lord says “I have much treasure in this city for you, for the benefit of Zion and many people in this city, whom I will gather out in due time for the benefit of Zion, through your instrumentality” This revelation was given in August 1836. It was in July of 1841 that Erastus Snow wrote of his own later experiences in Salem. He wrote: “…President  Hyrum Smith and [William] Law who had been east as far as Salem, Massachusetts and just returned through Philadelphia on their way home again [counseled] that I should not return to Nauvoo in the fall but that I should go immediately with Brother Winchester to Salem Mass. And try to establish the kingdom in that city.” Later entries in Erastus Snow’s journal show that he baptized over one hundred people from the time he arrived in Salem until he returned to Nauvoo April 1943. And he also indicated that there were ninety members in the Sale Branch on 28 May 1942. We need to be very careful as we count our riches, being sure to include so much more than money.

V 11 gives a very fitting end to this section: “Therefore, be ye as wise as serpents and yet without sin, ad I will order all things for your good as fast as ye are able to receive them.” The Lord looks after us and blesses us according to our ability, our desires, and our efforts.

10/4/2021 – D&C 111

This section was given to Joseph Smith just three days after the amazing dedication of the Kirtland Temple. The saints in Kirtland and come together, and after much work and sacrifice, they had finished the Kirtland Temple. But the Church now was heavily in debt. The dept had accumulated, not just from the building of the Kirtland Temple, but also from their obeying the Lord’s commands to purchase lands in Ohio and Missouri…plus they had to use funds to support Zion’s Camp. And they had lost their an important line of income when Sidney Gilbert’s store and William Phelps’ printing business were both destroyed by mobs in Missouri.

 Joseph, and the other leaders of the Church, worried about these debts and considered ways to pay them. It was rumored that there was an abandoned house in Salem Massachusetts where some money had been hiden. Joseph, Sidney Rigdon, Hyrum Smith & Oliver Cowdery headed out to Salem. Their trip took them first to New York City and Boston, then to Salem. They took time to preach to people along their way. When they got to Salem, it was clear that there was no money to be had. That’s when the Lord stepped in: “I, the Lord your God, am not displeased with your coming this journey, notwithstanding your follies. I have much treasure in this city for you, for the benefit of Zion, and many people in this city, whom I will gather out in due time for the benefit of Zion, through your instrumentality.” (v’s 1-2) 

Dallin H. Oaks spoke follies, or mistakes, and the difference between that and sin: “Mistakes are inevitable in the process of growth in mortality. To avoid all possibility of error is to avoid all possibility of growth. In the parable of the talents, the Savior told of a servant who was so anxious to minimize the risk of loss through a mistaken investment that he hid up his talent and did nothing with it. That servant was condemned by his master (see Matt. 25:24–30). If we are willing to be corrected for our mistakes … innocent mistakes can be a source of growth and progress.” 

And that’s how it worked for Joseph and the other men at this time. The important thing is that the Lord taught them, and they listened, and responded. The things the Lord told them helped them to turn this journey into a truly fruitful endeavor. He told them there WAS treasure in this city, but that treasure included people whom He would “gather out in due time for the benefit of Zion”. The interesting fact to me is that even though the men stayed in Salem for three weeks, no one was moved by their preaching. But 5 years later, Elder Snow and Elder Winchester went to Salem as missionaries. Within four months they were able to baptize 53 people and within a year the Salem branch had 120 members. Many of these converts eventually moved to Nauvoo & continued on with the saints as they made the trek to Utah.  We need to remember that the Lord’s promises will always come to pass, but not always in the timeline, or in the way, that we would expect.

In v 3 the Lord promised them “that you shall be led, and as it shall be given you.” Our part of that plan is that we must act promptly on His directions—which means that we need to always stay close to the Lord, and ask for His help in being able to recognize His direction. For in v 8, the Lord tells us that we “shall be signalized unto you by the peace and power of my Spirit that shall flow unto you.” That is the feeling and the power that we need to learn to promptly recognize, AND follow!

He finishes this section by telling us “Therefore, be ye as wise as serpents and yet without sin, and I will order all things for your good as fast as ye are able to receive them.” (v 11) To me this means that the Lord looks after us and blesses us according to our abilities and our desires. To maintain this type of daily communication means we need to do our daily part in communicating with Him and learning from each wonderful prompting.

10/4/2021 – D&C 111

This section was given to Joseph Smith just three days after the amazing dedication of the Kirtland Temple. The saints in Kirtland and come together, and after much work and sacrifice, they had finished the Kirtland Temple. But the Church now was heavily in debt. The dept had accumulated, not just from the building of the Kirtland Temple, but also from their obeying the Lord’s commands to purchase lands in Ohio and Missouri…plus they had to use funds to support Zion’s Camp. And they had lost their an important line of income when Sidney Gilbert’s store and William Phelps’ printing business were both destroyed by mobs in Missouri.

 Joseph, and the other leaders of the Church, worried about these debts and considered ways to pay them. It was rumored that there was an abandoned house in Salem Massachusetts where some money had been hiden. Joseph, Sidney Rigdon, Hyrum Smith & Oliver Cowdery headed out to Salem. Their trip took them first to New York City and Boston, then to Salem. They took time to preach to people along their way. When they got to Salem, it was clear that there was no money to be had. That’s when the Lord stepped in: “I, the Lord your God, am not displeased with your coming this journey, notwithstanding your follies. I have much treasure in this city for you, for the benefit of Zion, and many people in this city, whom I will gather out in due time for the benefit of Zion, through your instrumentality.” (v’s 1-2) 

Dallin H. Oaks spoke follies, or mistakes, and the difference between that and sin: “Mistakes are inevitable in the process of growth in mortality. To avoid all possibility of error is to avoid all possibility of growth. In the parable of the talents, the Savior told of a servant who was so anxious to minimize the risk of loss through a mistaken investment that he hid up his talent and did nothing with it. That servant was condemned by his master (see Matt. 25:24–30). If we are willing to be corrected for our mistakes … innocent mistakes can be a source of growth and progress.” 

And that’s how it worked for Joseph and the other men at this time. The important thing is that the Lord taught them, and they listened, and responded. The things the Lord told them helped them to turn this journey into a truly fruitful endeavor. He told them there WAS treasure in this city, but that treasure included people whom He would “gather out in due time for the benefit of Zion”. The interesting fact to me is that even though the men stayed in Salem for three weeks, no one was moved by their preaching. But 5 years later, Elder Snow and Elder Winchester went to Salem as missionaries. Within four months they were able to baptize 53 people and within a year the Salem branch had 120 members. Many of these converts eventually moved to Nauvoo & continued on with the saints as they made the trek to Utah.  We need to remember that the Lord’s promises will always come to pass, but not always in the timeline, or in the way, that we would expect.

In v 3 the Lord promised them “that you shall be led, and as it shall be given you.” Our part of that plan is that we must act promptly on His directions—which means that we need to always stay close to the Lord, and ask for His help in being able to recognize His direction. For in v 8, the Lord tells us that we “shall be signalized unto you by the peace and power of my Spirit that shall flow unto you.” That is the feeling and the power that we need to learn to promptly recognize, AND follow!

He finishes this section by telling us “Therefore, be ye as wise as serpents and yet without sin, and I will order all things for your good as fast as ye are able to receive them.” (v 11) To me this means that the Lord looks after us and blesses us according to our abilities and our desires. To maintain this type of daily communication means we need to do our daily part in communicating with Him and learning from each wonderful prompting.