1. First Mission to the Lamanites.--At the conference held in
Fayette, New York, September, 1830, the first mission to the Lamanites
was appointed. In the revelation[40] which corrected the evils
introduced by Hiram Page's "seer stone," Oliver Cowdery was appointed
to a mission to the Lamanites; and before the conference was adjourned
another revelation as given appointing Parley P. Pratt, Peter Whitmer,
Jun., and Ziba Peterson to accompany him. Great promises are contained
in the Book of Mormon concerning the Lamanites, and the elders at that
conference hoped that the time had come for their fulfillment. [See
note 1, end of section].
2. _En route_ for their field of labor--the western part of
the State of Missouri--the elders of the Lamanite mission stopped at
Kirtland, in the north-eastern part of Ohio. Here they found a society
of reformed Baptists, sometimes called Campbellites, after Alexander
Campbell, the chief founder of the new sect. Their pastor was Sidney
Rigdon. Elder Parley P. Pratt had formerly been a member of this sect,
and he presented to his former co-religionists the Book of Mormon, and
with his associates preached the fullness of the gospel to them, which,
finally Mr. Rigdon and nearly all his congregation accepted.
3. The Lamanite mission continued its journey westward, and in
mid-winter reached the city of Independence, in the western borders of
Missouri. Crossing the frontier, several meetings were held with the
Delaware Indians, which had the effect of arousing the jealousy of the
sectarian missionaries {316} among them. Such was their influence with
the Indian agents that they succeeded in getting the elders banished
from the territory. Returning to Independence, they sent one of their
number, Parley P. Pratt, to report their labors to the prophet.
4. The First Commandment to Gather.--In December, 1830, the
Lord gave a revelation[41] to the church in New York, requiring the
Saints in that state to move into Ohio by the time Oliver Cowdery
returned from his mission to the Lamanites. This is the first direct
commandment to the church to gather. During the winter of 1830-31, the
Saints obeyed this commandment, the most of them settling in Kirtland.
The Prophet Joseph and his family arrived there about the first of
February, 1831. Before the coming of the New York Saints there was a
church at Kirtland of about one hundred members, most of whom had been
drawn from the Campbellite sect.
5. The First Bishops of the Church.--On the 4th of February,
1831, the Lord by revelation[42] commanded that Edward Partridge should
be "appointed by the voice of the church, and ordained a bishop."
Edward Partridge was a merchant in Kirtland, of whom the prophet said:
"He was a pattern of piety, and one of the Lord's great men, known by
his steadfastness and patient endurance to the end;" and of whom the
Lord said, in the revelation appointing him bishop--"His heart is pure
before me, for he is like unto Nathaniel of old, in whom there is no
guile." He was required to give up his business of merchant, and devote
all his time in the labors of the church. He was not to be the only
bishop in the church, however, as in the November following (1831), the
Lord said: "There remaineth * * * other bishops to be set apart unto
the church, to minister even according to the first." [43] In December
of that year, Newel K. Whitney was appointed a bishop over the church
in Kirtland and vicinity {317} [see note 2, end of section]; while
Edward Partridge was bishop in Zion and the regions round about.
6. The Bishopric.--Although nothing is said in the revelation
which appointed Edward Partridge bishop about the rights and powers of
his office in the church, yet here, doubtless, will be the most proper
place to speak of bishops in respect to their rights and authority.
_I._ The bishopric is the presidency of the Aaronic Priesthood;[44] and
since that Priesthood has most to do with administering the "outward
ordinances, the _letter_ of the gospel," [45] the bishops will find
their chief employment in the temporal affairs of the church. Indeed
the Lord plainly says: "The office of a bishop is in administering
all temporal things." [46] By ministering in temporal things we mean
attending to the tithing, caring for the poor, and when the law of
consecration shall be observed by the church, the bishops will receive
the consecrations, settle people on their possessions, divide their
inheritances unto them,[47] keep the Lord's store-house, etc. [See note
3, end of section].
_II._ The bishops are also to be judges among the people, to sit
in judgment on trangressors, to hear testimony and give decisions
according to the laws of the kingdom which are given by the prophets of
God.[48] The bishop's court is the first court of record in the church;
that is, a record is kept of the trial and preserved; whereas in any
investigation of difficulties that may be had before the teachers or
others, no record is kept. An appeal lies from the bishop's courts to
the high council having jurisdiction. For want of a better expression
we may say there are several kinds of bishops; first, the general
presiding bishop of the church; second, traveling Bishops; third, local
or ward bishops.[49]
{318} _III. Presiding Bishop of the Church_:--This bishop is the
president of the Aaronic Priesthood throughout the church; he has a
jurisdiction over all other bishops, priests, teachers and deacons;
and a general supervision of the temporal affairs of the church,
subject, of course, to the counsel of the presidency of the Melchisedek
Priesthood. Of right this bishop should be the first-born among the
sons of Aaron; "For the first-born holds the right of the presidency
over this [the Aaronic] priesthood, and the keys or authority of the
same. No man has a legal right to this office, to hold the keys of
this priesthood, except he be a literal descendant and the first-born
of Aaron." [50] But before the first-born among the literal descendants
of Aaron can legally officiate in this calling, he must first be
designated by the first presidency of the Melchisedek priesthood;
second, he must be found worthy of the position, and that includes his
capacity to fill the office with ability, honor and dignity; third,
he must be ordained under the hands of the first presidency of the
Melchisedek Priesthood.[51] But by virtue of the decree concerning
the right of the priesthood descending from father to son, the
first-born of the sons of Aaron may claim their anointing, if at any
time they can prove their lineage or do ascertain it by revelation
from the Lord under the hands of the First Presidency.[52] A literal
descendant of Aaron when appointed as above described may act without
counselors, except in a case where a president of the High priesthood
after the order of Melchisedek is tried. In that event he is to be
assisted by "twelve counselors of the High priesthood." [53] But when
no literal descendant of Aaron {319} can be found, as a high priest
of the Melchisedek priesthood has authority to officiate in all the
lesser offices, he may officiate in the office of bishop; provided he
is called, set apart and ordained unto that power under the hands of
the first presidency of the Melchisedek priesthood, and is assisted
by two other high priests as counselors.[54] This bishop, whether a
descendant of Aaron or a high priest appointed to officiate in that
calling, cannot be tried or condemned for any crime save before the
first presidency of the church. If he be found guilty on testimony that
cannot be impeached, he is to be condemned.[55] These are the powers,
prerogatives and privileges of the presiding bishop of the church.
_IV. Traveling Bishops_:--These are bishops appointed to preside as
such over large districts of country in which there are a number of
branches of the church, and among which they would be expected to
travel, to set in order temporal affairs and preside over those holding
the Aaronic priesthood. Newel K. Whitney when called to preside over
the church at Kirtland and the regions round about was a traveling
bishop, and best illustrates this order of bishops. Some eight or ten
months after his ordination he was called upon by the Lord to travel
among all the churches of the east, searching after the poor, to
administer to their wants by humbling the rich and the proud.[56] He
was also sent to the cities of New York, Albany and Boston, to warn the
inhabitants thereof of judgments to come and to preach the gospel.
_V. Local or Ward Bishops_:--By local bishops we mean those ordained
and set apart to preside over a single ward or branch of the church;
and whose jurisdiction is strictly limited {320} to that ward or
branch. Both traveling and local bishops must either be high priests
or literal descendants of Aaron. If the latter, then from among the
first-born of the sons of Aaron.[57] In the event of their being
descendants of Aaron, they would possess the same privileges in their
sphere as the presiding bishop does in his; that is, they could act
without counselors but must be found worthy men designated and ordained
by the first presidency of the church, or by their direction. If
high priests appointed to act in these bishoprics, then they must be
designated and set apart by the same authority as literal descendants
of Aaron, and assisted by two counselors who are also high priests.
They would form the presidency over the Aaronic priesthood in the
districts over which they preside, have an oversight of all the
temporal concerns thereof, and in addition to that act as the common
judge in that ward or district assigned to them.
7. Zion.--The Book of Mormon prophecies predict the founding of a
glorious city upon the American continent to be called New Jerusalem,
or Zion. [See note 4, end of section.][58] It was but natural,
therefore, that the first elders of the church should be anxious to
learn where it was to be built and seek to find it. The Book of Mormon,
while clearly predicting that the city will be established, fails to
give its location. In March, 1831, however, the Saints were commanded
to gather {321} up their riches that they might purchase an inheritance
that the Lord promised to point out to them some time in the future,
the New Jerusalem--"a city of refuge, a place of safety for the Saints
of the Most High" [59]--Zion. In June, 1831, a conference convened at
Kirtland, and the Lord called twenty-eight elders to go through the
Western States by different routes, two by two, preaching by the way,
baptizing by water and the laying on of hands by the water side.[60]
They were to meet in western Missouri to hold a conference, and if
faithful the Lord promised to reveal to them the place of the city of
Zion.
8. About the middle of July the Prophet Joseph and a number of
these brethren arrived at Independence, meeting with Oliver Cowdery and
his associates--the mission to the Lamanites. A few days afterwards a
revelation was received[61] declaring Missouri to be the land which God
had appointed for the gathering of the Saints, the land of promise, the
place of the city of Zion, Independence being the "center place." The
site of the temple which the Lord has decreed shall be built in this
generation, upon which his glory shall rest, and in which the sons of
Moses and of Aaron shall offer an acceptable offering to the Lord--was
declared to be a short distance west of the court house. On the morning
of the 3rd of August, 1831, the Prophet Joseph with the other elders
that had arrived at Independence, met at the temple site and dedicated
it as the place for the building of a temple. [See notes 5 and 6, end
of section].
Meantime a company of Saints known as the Colesville Branch--from their
having lived at Colesville, Broome County, New York--had arrived in
Missouri, and having received instructions to purchase the lands in the
regions round about Zion, they secured a tract of land in a fertile
prairie some ten or twelve miles west of Independence, in Kaw township,
not {322} far from the present location of Kansas City. On the 2nd
of August--the day preceding the dedication of the temple site--in
the settlement of the Colesville Saints, the first log was laid for
a house, as the foundation of Zion. The log was carried by twelve
men in honor of the Twelve Tribes of Israel; and Elder Sidney Rigdon
consecrated and dedicated the land of Zion for the gathering of the
Saints. [See note 7, end of section].
9. The Law of Consecration.--It is said of the early Christian
saints that they "were of one heart and of one soul; neither said any
of them that aught of the things which he possessed was his own; but
they had all things common." [62] It was doubtless a desire to imitate
this condition of affairs which led the followers of Sidney Rigdon, at
Kirtland, to establish the "common stock" plan of living. That is, the
whole community attempted to live together as one family, having all
things in common. Nearly all the "family" joined the church; and when
the Prophet settled in Kirtland, about the 1st of February, 1831, he
persuaded them to abandon that plan of living, for the more perfect law
of the Lord. [63] The more perfect law was the law of consecration.
10. The preparations for the introduction of this law was first
made by the appointment of a bishop, who should have authority to
administer in temporal things. The bishop was called by revelation on
the 4th of February, 1831.[64] On the 9th of the same month the Lord
in a revelation gave the first {323} instructions about the law of
consecration.[65] From that and subsequent revelations we summarize the
following in relation to that law:
I. The person desiring to make the consecration brings his possessions
to the bishop and delivers them unto him--consecrates them unto the
Lord, giving them up absolutely, with a deed and a covenant that cannot
be broken.[66]
II. The person so consecrating his possessions, whether they be much
or little, if it be a full consecration, has claim upon the bishop
for stewardship out of the consecrated properties of the church, an
inheritance for himself and his family,[67] from the management of
which, by industry and economy--for this law contemplates industry
and economy on the part of those who embrace it[68]--they may obtain
a livelihood. But the possessions consecrated are the Lord's, or else
the consecrations are vain, and the whole proceedings farcical.[69] The
inheritance given to the individual is given to him as his stewardship,
of which he must render an account unto the bishop.[70] The steward
is responsible for his stewardship in time and in eternity unto the
Lord.[71] The stewardships are to be secured to those to whom they
are given by a written deed, that they may not be deprived of their
inheritance.[72]
III. After men have received their stewardships the income from
them, over and above that which is needful for the support {324} of
themselves and their families, is also to be consecrated unto the
Lord and taken to the Lord's store house to be distributed to the
poor to supply stewardships to those who have not yet received them,
to purchase lands for the public benefit, to build houses of worship,
temples, etc., etc.[73]
IV. In the event of any steward needing means to improve his
stewardship, or for any other righteous purpose, he has a claim upon
the Lord's store-house, and so long as he is in full fellowship with
the church, and is a wise and faithful steward, on application to the
treasurer of the general fund, he is to be supplied with that which he
needs; the treasurer, of course, being accountable to the church for
his management of the general fund, and subject to removal in the event
of incompetency or transgression.[74]
V. Each steward is independent in the management of his stewardship.
He must pay for that which he buys; he can insist on payment for that
which he sells. He has no claim upon the stewardship of his neighbor;
his neighbor has no claim upon his stewardship; but both have claim,
as also have their children--when they shall become of age and start
in life for themselves[75]--upon the surplus in the Lord's store-house
to aid them in the event of their needing assistance.[76] The various
churches, or branches of the church, are each to be independent in
the management of their respective store-houses,[77] subject of {325}
course to a general supervision of the presiding bishop of the church
and of the first presidency thereof.
11. Reflections.--Such is the law of consecration and stewardship
given to the church as early as the first and second year of its
existence in this last dispensation; under which law, and under no
other, the Saints are to build up the Zion of God, the New Jerusalem
upon this continent.[78] The law is designated to humble the rich
and the proud and raise the poor and the lowly,[79] that men might
be equal in temporal possessions according to their families, their
circumstances, their wants and their needs.[80] There is enough in
the earth and more than enough[81] to supply the necessities and
the reasonable luxuries desired by man if the wealth created by his
industry was but more equally distributed. The plan which the Lord has
revealed to accomplish this, however, does not aim at the destruction
of the individuality of men. It makes no attempt to control men in the
detail management of their stewardships, or the disposal of their time,
or to set taskmasters over them, but only to control and dispose of the
surplus arising from their labors in the management of their respective
stewardships.
12. In consequence of the unsettled state of the church arising
from the persecutions and drivings inflicted upon the Saints during the
time they were settling in Missouri, coupled with their inexperience,
their pride, covetousness, greed and disobedience, they failed to live
up to the requirements of the law of consecration, and in 1838 the
lesser law of tithing was given, and has obtained in the Church unto
this day. This law of tithing requires that the Saints pay first their
surplus property to the bishop, and after that those who have been so
tithed shall pay one-tenth of their income annually. This is the law of
tithing now binding on the church.[82]
{326}
NOTES.
1. Promises to the Lamanites.--Then shall the remnant of our
seed know concerning us, how that we came out from Jerusalem, and that
they are descendants of the Jews. And the gospel of Jesus Christ shall
be declared among them; wherefore they shall be restored unto the
knowledge of their fathers, and also to the knowledge of Jesus Christ,
which was had among their fathers. And then shall they rejoice; for
they shall know that it is a blessing unto them from the hand of God;
and their scales of darkness shall begin to fall from their eyes; and
many generations shall not pass away among them, save they shall be a
white and delightsome people.--Prophecy of Nephi, Nephi II, ch. xxx.
2. Newel K. Whitney's Appointment to be Bishop.--Though in
natural gifts few men were better qualified for such a position, he
nevertheless distrusted his ability, and deemed himself incapable of
discharging the high and holy trust. In his perplexity he appealed to
the prophet: "I cannot see a bishop in myself, Brother Joseph; but if
you say it's the Lord's will, I'll try." "You need not take my word
alone," answered the prophet, kindly, "go and ask Father for yourself."
Newel felt the force of this mild rebuke, but determined to do as he
was advised and seek to obtain the knowledge for himself. His humble,
heartfelt prayer was answered. In the silence of night and the solitude
of his own chamber, he heard a voice from heaven: "Thy strength is
in me." The words were few and simple, but for him they had a world
of meaning. His doubts were dispelled like the dew before the dawn.
He straightway sought the prophet, told him he was satisfied and was
willing to accept the office to which he had been called.
3. The Sphere of the Aaronic Priesthood.--The lesser priesthood
is a part of or an appendage to the greater, or the Melchisedek
priesthood, and has power in administering outward ordinances. The
lesser or Aaronic priesthood can make appointments for the greater,
in preaching, can baptize, administer the sacrament, attend to the
tithing, buy lands, settle people on possessions, divide inheritances,
look after the poor, take care of the properties of the church, attend
generally to temporal affairs, act as common judges in Israel and
assist in ordinances of the temple, under the direction of the greater
or Melchisedek priesthood. They hold the keys of the administering of
angels and administer in outward ordinances, the letter of the gospel
and the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins.--Items on
Priesthood. John Taylor.
4. Zion.--The word Zion is variously employed: "This is Zion, the
pure in heart." (Doc. and Cov.) In this instance the word refers to
a people who are declared to be the pure in heart. In the south part
{327} of Jerusalem is a hill frequently spoken of in Jewish scripture
as Zion, or Mount Zion. Then Enoch the seventh from Adam gathered the
righteous and built a city, "that was called the city of Holiness, even
Zion." The Lord in speaking to Enoch about the great events to take
place in the last days, in which he would come to the earth in his
glory, said He would with righteousness and truth sweep the earth as
with a flood to gather His elect to "an holy city * * * and it shall be
called Zion, a new Jerusalem." The Nephite prophet, Moroni, tells us
that Ether in vision saw the days of the coming of the Son of Man and
that "he spake concerning a new Jerusalem upon this land" (America),
that was to be built up unto the remnant of the seed of Joseph (Ether
xiii). Jesus also after his resurrection, when he visited the Nephites
on the American continent, told them that he would establish them upon
this land, and if the Gentiles would not harden their hearts, but would
repent of their sins, they should be included in the covenant, and
should assist in building up the city of Zion, or New Jerusalem (III
Nephi: xx). The word Zion, then, is applied to a people; it is the name
of a hill in the south part of Jerusalem; it is the name of a city
built by Enoch and his people; it is to be the name of a city built
in the last days by the Saints of the Most High upon the continent of
America.--Missouri Persecutions.
5. Western Missouri (1831).--It was a country whose richness and
fertility of soil far surpassed anything which they [the Saints] had
ever before seen. It was a country abounding with springs and rivulets
of the purest kind of water, whose crystal streams flowed in luxuriant
abundance in almost every grove and prairie. A great variety of the
most excellent timber bordered upon the rivers and water-courses.
These shady and delightful groves were from one to three miles in
width, extending many miles in length, while the rich rolling prairies,
covered with a gorgeous profusion of wild flowers of every varied
hue, lay spread around among the intervening groves. Their grassy
surfaces extending for miles, presented the delightful appearance of a
sea of meadows. It was a new country; but few inhabitants had as yet
formed settlements within its borders. These consisted principally of
emigrants from the Southern States.--Orson Pratt.
6. The Temple Site.--Taking the road running west from the court
house for a scant half mile, you come to the summit of a crowning
hill, the slope of which to the south and west is quite abrupt and
very gradual toward the north and east. * * * This is the temple site.
It was upon this spot on the third day of August, 1831, that Joseph
Smith, Sidney Rigdon, Edward Partridge, W. W. Phelps, Oliver Cowdery,
Martin Harris and Joseph Coe and another person whose name I cannot
learn, for there were eight in all--men in whom the Lord was well
pleased, assembled to dedicate this place as the {328} temple site in
Zion. The eighty-seventh Psalm was read. Joseph [the prophet] then
dedicated the spot where is to be built a temple on which the glory of
God shall rest. Yea the great God hath so decreed it, saying "Verily,
this generation shall not all pass away until an house shall be built
unto the Lord, and a cloud shall rest upon it, which cloud shall be
even the glory of the Lord, which shall fill the house. * * * And the
sons of Moses, and also the sons of Aaron shall offer an acceptable
offering and sacrifice in the house of the Lord, which house shall
be built unto the Lord in this generation upon the consecrated spot
as I have appointed." (Doc. and Cov., sec. lxxxiv: 5, 31.)--Missouri
Persecutions--Roberts.
7. The Founding of Zion.--Thus the work of building up Zion
commenced, and though the commencement was humble in the extreme, the
final result shall be the erection of a city that shall be the crowning
glory of the whole earth; a city from which shall go forth the law of
the Lord unto all nations, for is it not written: "Out of Zion shall
go forth the law" (Isaiah ii)? It shall be a city of refuge, for the
Lord has said: "Every man who will not take up his sword against his
neighbor, must needs flee to Zion for safety." The wicked will consider
her inhabitants terrible, while the righteous out of every nation will
come into it with songs of everlasting joy in their hearts. (Doc. and
Cov., sec. xlv.)--Missouri Persecutions--Roberts.
REVIEW.
1. When and under what circumstances was the first mission appointed to
the Lamanites?
2. What important circumstance occurred in the experience of the
Lamanite mission en route for the west?
3. What success attended the mission to the Lamanites?
4. When was the first commandment given to the Church to gather?
5. To what place did the church first gather?
6. Who was the first Bishop in the church?
7. What was his character?
8. State what you can of the sphere of labor belonging to the bishopric.
9. What can you say of bishops as judges in Israel?
10. How many kinds of bishops are there?
11. Tell what you can of the authority, rights and powers of the
presiding bishop of the church.
12. What difference exists in respect to a bishop who is a literal
{329} descendant of Aaron and one who holds the office by virtue of
holding the high priesthood?
13. Is being a descendant of the first-born among the sons of Aaron all
sufficient to qualify a man to be a bishop?
14. What is the exception to the rule that a bishop who is a literal
descendant of Aaron can act without counselors?
15. Describe traveling Bishops.
16. Give an example of such a bishop in the Church.
17. What is meant by local bishops?
18. Describe their power and jurisdiction.
19. How did the first elders of the church learn that Zion was to be
built in America?
20. What various significations are attached to the word Zion? (Note 4).
21. What circumstances led a number of the elders to western Missouri?
22. What was revealed to them there?
23. Where is Zion located?
24. Describe the land of Zion. (Note 5).
25. What promises are made respecting a temple in that land? (Note 6).
26. What caused the people in Kirtland before they heard the gospel to
have all things in common?
27. What course did Joseph Smith take relative to this subject? (Note).
28. In what way were the people prepared for the introduction of the
law of consecration?
29. Describe the law of consecration.
30. What purposes are designed to be accomplished in the law of
consecration?
31. What circumstances prevented the successful operation of this law
in Missouri?
{330}