9/20/2018 - Section 112:1-11

September 20, 2018

Section 112:1-11

Prayer Sincere and Loving, Times of Contention and Disunity and Apostasy, Humility Has Huge Rewards, Good Cheer, Love for All and to All, Pride Hurts Us,

I find it very interesting that before Joseph Smith received this revelation that he recorded in his journal that Kirtland was experience widespread disunity, contention, and apostasy. Because of financial speculation, the bank in Kirtland (Kirtland Safety Society) had failed. This revelation was directed to Thomas Marsh who was president of the 12 apostles. He was to teach the apostles in regard to their duties and responsibilities in proclaiming the gospel. It seems that some of the apostles (this according to the writings of President Joseph Fielding Smith) “had forsaken their responsibility and had turned their attention to schemes of speculation….The years preceding the year 183, were years of wild speculation throughout the United States and Elder Heber C Kimball pointed out how this boom had struck Kirtland and some of the brethren had borrowed great sums and had gone into business, at the expense of their ministry. Then with the bauble of false prosperity broke they were left financially stranded; then they began to blame the Prophet Joseph Smith. This revelation to Thomas B Marsh was a warning and a call to him to ring his brethren back into the line of their duty as apostles o Jesus Christ.”(Church History and Modern Revelation 2:71

V1 begins with what Thomas had been doing: “…thus saith the Lord unto you my servant Thomas: I have heard thy prayers; and thine alms have come up as a memorial before me, in behalf of those, they brethren, who were chosen to bear testimony of my name and to send it abroad among all nations, kindreds, tongues, and people, and ordained through the instrumentality of my servants,” What a lovely reminder to me. I pray for myself a lot, and I pray for my family, but I do not specifically pray for Bob all that much. As missionary—and as a wife—(for he is my companion in both of these roles). So in a time of unrest, of contention, of questionable actions, and of disunity. Thomas Marsh didn’t just pray for himself, but he prayed also for those causing unrest, contention, disunity, questionable practices. That is true love and concern.

In v 2-3, Christ makes sure Thomas is totally aware of what is going on. “Verily I say unto you, there have been some few things in thine heart and with thee with which I, the Lord was not well please.   Nevertheless, inasmuch as thou hast abased thyself thou shalt be exalted; therefore, all thy sins are forgiven thee.” Even though this is probably not the way I should be thinking of this, my first thoughts are that humility has its own, amazing rewards to ourselves!!!

Then comes Christ’s advice to Thomas: Let thy heart be of good cheer (v4) continually spread the gospel as is his calling (as that is the calling of an apostle), gird up thy loins for the work…thy path lieth among the mountains, and among many nations (7), teach the haughty people humility & teach the poor people of their worth, (8).

Then there is the beautiful verse that is now one of my favorite hymns: “Be thou humble, and they Lord thy God shall lead thee by the hand and give thee answer to they prayers.” Which to me, includes looking on every single person with love AND appreciation.

Thomas Marsh did not do everything the Lord said he would do. Smith and Sjodahl Commentary p 733 says: “President Thomas B Marsh’s pride led to his eventual apostasy. His excommunication is a poignant reminder that the Lord has counseled his Saints to be humble. Pride was [his] weakness….If he had been humble, he would not have fallen. He began by defying the righteous decisions of the High Council and the Fist Presidency, in a trivial case in which his wife was interested, and he ended by [opposing]the Church.” Thomas eventually repented and was re-baptized, but the life he led took a far different turn than the possibilities that the Lord had given him.

10/5/2021 – D&C 112:1-15

This revelation, received on the 23rd of July 1837 was directed to Thomas B Marsh, who at that time was president of the Quorum of the Twelve. The background here is that Joseph had made preparations to open a bank in Kirtland, but he was not able to get a bank charter from the State of Ohio. Because of that, the Church leaders reorganized the Kirtland Safety Society as a joint-stock company on Jan 2, 1837. Church members could, and did, become part owners in the Kirtland Safety Society by buying shares in the company.

The Joseph Smith Papers give us a better picture of what was going on at that time. The Kirtland Safety Society faced opposition pretty quickly after it opened. Local newspapers ran stories claiming the Safety Society’s banknotes were worthless and warned readers not to accept them. People in and around Kirtland “actively campaigned against the Kirtland Safety Society” by spreading rumors that the Safety Society had stopped doing business and would not allow customers to trade in their banknotes for regular currency (The Joseph Smith Papers, Documents, Volume 5: October 1835–January 1838, 287–88). Several lawsuits were also filed against the Safety Society’s leaders for performing bank-like operations without a bank charter. In addition, the Safety Society encountered problems with underfunding by its stockholders. (See The Joseph Smith Papers, Documents, Volume 5: October 1835–January 1838, 291–93.) These financial problems were not confined to Kirtland Ohio. There was a national economic crisis, later called the Panic of 1837. Problems began in the spring of 1837 that forced hundreds of banks to close throughout the United States (see The Joseph Smith Papers, Documents, Volume 5: October 1835–January 1838, 363).

Eliza R. Snow, who later served as the second General President of the Relief Society, noted that many Church members in Kirtland became prideful and lost the Spirit of the Lord. She wrote: “A great change had been going on in Kirtland, in the midst of the Saints. A spirit of speculation [a desire to become rich] had crept into the hearts of some of the Twelve, and nearly, if not every quorum was more or less infected” (Biography and Family Record of Lorenzo Snow [1884], 20). Throughout 1837, economic distress and opposition against the Church steadily increased. Several Church leaders and members spoke out publicly against the Prophet Joseph Smith, blaming him for the Kirtland Safety Society’s troubles and even calling him a fallen prophet. Only two members of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles in Kirtland—Brigham Young and Heber C. Kimball—continued to support the Prophet during this period. (See Ronald K. Esplin, “‘Exalt Not Yourselves’: The Revelations and Thomas B. Marsh, an Object Lesson for Our Day,” in Sperry Symposium Classics: The Doctrine and Covenants, ed. Craig K. Manscill [2004], 281.)

Thomas Marsh was in Missouri at this time and was quite troubled that 10 of the 12 apostles “had rebelled and also troubled that missionary work abroad was proceeding without him. Concerned about his own status and wondering if the Lord could still accept the Twelve, he went to Kirtland [that’s 900 miles] to discuss his concerns with Joseph Smith. In response, the Prophet received Section 112.

In the first 3 verses the Lord says to Thomas:  “…I have heard thy prayers; and thine alms have come up as a memorial before me, in behalf of those, thy brethren, who were chosen to bear testimony of my name and to send it abroad among all nations, kindreds, tongues, and people, and ordained through the instrumentality of my servants; Verily I say unto you, there have been some few things in thine heart and with thee with which I, the Lord, was not well pleased.” But then the Lord immediately explains: “Nevertheless, inasmuch as thou hast abased thyself thou shalt be exalted; therefore, all thy sins are forgiven thee.” Wow—humility has its own rewards!

We don’t know all of Thomas Marsh’s concerns, but some scholars think that Thomas may have been upset that he was not the first missionary sent abroad or that he was not the one who was directing that work. The Lord’s counsel to Thomas was to “be of good cheer” because he would have future opportunities to “send forth [His] word unto the ends of the earth” and to preach “among many nations”. (V’s 4 & 7)

Basically, the Lord told Thomas to work where he lived, and spend his time and efforts on those around him. The Lord tells him that in the future he would do much work “among the mountains and among many nations”. (v 7) But at the very same time, the Lord gave him instructions to “Be thou humble; and the Lord thy God shall lead thee by the hand and give thee answer to thy prayers.” (v10) And the Lord continued in v 11: “I know thy heart, and have heard thy prayers concerning thy brethren. Be not partial towards them in love above many other, but let thy love be for them as for thyself; and let thy love abound unto all men, and unto all who love my name.”

Thomas is to pray for those he has been called to work with. The Lord even promises Thomas that “…after their temptations and much tribulation, behold, I the Lord, will feel after them, and if they harden not their hearts, and stiffen not their necks against me, they shall be converted, and I will heal them.” Basically, the Lord is telling Thomas, and all of us, to stay strong through our tribulations.

V’s 11-13 can help any of us who are called to lead or teach or watch over others—and doesn’t that include parenthood?  1)We are to love those we are called to lead; 2) Pray for them; 3) Counsel, advise and warn them about sin and its consequences; 4) recognize that each person has agency and must choose for themselves whether to follow the Lord.

In verses 14 &15 the Lord tells all of the Twelve to “Arise and gird up your loins, take up your cross, follow me, and feed my sheep. Exalt not yourselves; rebel not against my servant Joseph; for verily I say unto you, I am with him…” We will find great help from the Lord as we follow Him in faith and in humility. He gives us the opportunity to work for His cause, and to help those around us. If we take up His challenges and do our best, we find that we grow stronger, and hopefully, meeker.