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Church History Matters
148 - D&C 94-96 CFM - The Start of Latter-Day Temples - E36 September 1-7
00:57:26
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- [00:00]
A
Nephi doesn't get the plates exactly the way he planned. Like, they have several notable failures and an angel showing up and rebuking them before they hit on the plan that works. I would say the same thing happened to the early saints. They do get it done, just not precisely in the way that they thought it was going to happen.
- [00:18]
B
But the Lord is trying to help them prepare, as he said really clearly in section 95, like, for some pretty serious spiritual blessings.
- [00:25]
A
How much can he invest in you? How much trust can he show in you? You've got to kind of work to that level.
- [00:31]
B
I've done too many things. I've made too many mistakes. How could God possibly love me? Like, that's not what the Lord's saying here in section 95. Regardless of your weaknesses, your shortcomings, God loves you 100%. He loved us so much that in our sinful state, he sent his son to die for us. Therefore, Casey, I see no controversies in this. It's so straightforward.
- [00:50]
A
Hello, Scott.
- [00:51]
B
Hello, Casey.
- [00:52]
A
We're back once again, and we're going through the context, the content, the controversies, the consequences. I gotta credit you for coming up with that model. That is really, really brilliant way of framing the Doctrine and Covenants.
- [01:07]
B
Well, thank you. I mean, it's. It works for my simple mind if they all start with the same letter, and it helps us hit everything that you'd want to hit if you were studying it or teaching it. Boom. Done. Right? Four things, and that'll get you there. I think, most of the way. I haven't thought of anything else as we've been doing this that I'd want to cover if I was teaching this in a class.
- [01:25]
A
Yeah. And it's so simple, the four Cs.
- [01:27]
B
And.
- [01:28]
A
Man, you'd be a good CEO or a motivational speaker than you, Casey.
- [01:31]
B
That's very nice. That's very nice. Because I can do acronyms or. Or four things that start with the same letter.
- [01:37]
A
Okay. I could see you, like, up on a company stage, like, with a huge screen, like the four Cs. Boom, boom, boom, boom. And, like, really exciting music playing behind you and everything like that. So thank you.
- [01:49]
B
That's very nice. Well, this week we've got four sections of the Doctrine and Covenants to cover. And I think what we're going to do, Casey, we discussed this off air, is we're going to do part one, sections 94 through 96, and then part two in another episode. We'll do section 97 all on its own because there's a Lot of meat there. And we're being introduced in section 97 to something we're going to be talking about for a couple weeks, which is the persecutions in Missouri.
- [02:16]
A
And these revelations do kind of highlight an important thing you need to understand about this period in church history, which is there are two church centers. They're 800 miles apart. Joseph Smith in Kirtland. David Whitmer is in Missouri. Kirtland. Kirtland has its own set of challenges. Missouri probably has the more severe set of challenges, but Missouri is probably also considered the more important center by them. They consider Kirtland to be sort of a temporary resting place, gathering place. Missouri is the end game. That's where they're going to build the City of ZION. So sections 94 to 96 cover issues dealing with the church in Kirtland, specifically instructions on building the Kirtland Temple and other structures. And then section 97 is dealing with concerns of the Church of Missouri, particularly the rising storm of persecution that's growing in the summer of 1833.
- [03:05]
B
Yeah, great way to divine it up. So 94 through 96, Kirtland issues. 97, some Missouri issues. Now, one thing that's kind of interesting about these first sections is that section 94 is actually out of chronological order. It was actually received on August 2 after Section 96, rather than on May 6, as it had been previously incorrectly dated. And in fact, that. That dating, that erroneous dating, persisted from an 1876 printing of the Doctrine and Covenants all the way till 2013. So it was only recently corrected in 2013. And by that time, Casey, it's too late to move the sections around. And so it still comes across to section 94, but it should actually be after section 96. And I think in the flow of the history, that's the better way to read it. So that's what we're going to do today, is we're going to do section 95, 96, then 94, because it comes after section 96. So hopefully that's not too complicated, but we're going to head in that direction, if that's all right.
- [04:04]
A
Yeah. And this doesn't really impact your salvation, but it's just nice to know that in 2013, because of the great work done by the good scholars on the Joseph Smith Papers Project, they corrected a lot of dates in the Doctrine and Covenants. So the Doctrine and Covenants, strictly speaking, isn't always in chronological order. I mean, the early saints did the best that they could. But the truth is that until 2013. When we gathered all the documents together and we pinned down the dates, a lot of them were out of order. But the leaders of the church decided at this point it might really mess everybody up if they made section 94, section 96, and so on and so forth. So they kept the section order that's been there since 1876, but they did correct the dates, and you should just be aware of the order, and they come. So I think it's a smart move to go through these in order.
- [04:52]
B
So, as a quick flyby, section 95 contains a loving rebuke, further instructions relative to building the Kirtland temple. Then section 96 answers the question, who should oversee the over 100 acres of recently acquired land in Kirtland? And then section 94 gives instruction relative to Kirtland City Planning and two new building initiatives in addition to the temple. That's a quick little flyby. Now, let's. Let's dive into Section 95 again, since it comes first chronologically. So with that, Casey, you want to drop us into the first C, the context.
- [05:31]
A
So you'll recall that at the end of December, 1832, Doctrine and Covenants 88 is received. And in Doctrine and Covenants 88, the Lord commands church leaders to build a House of God in Kirtland as a place to hold a solemn assembly and to house the school of the prophets, meaning a school where church officers could learn and prepare to fulfill their commission from Christ to go out and warn the nations. So on May 4, which is four months after this, a conference is held in which it was unanimously voted that a committee should be formed to raise funds to build the House of God, which is going to eventually become the Kirtland Temple. And this committee consists of Hyrum Smith, Jared Carter, and Reynolds Cahoon. Now, about one month after that appointment, however, these three men had done pretty much nothing to fundraise, nor had any other church leaders done anything to take any steps toward building the Kirtland Temple. And it seems like their inaction relative to this really important commandment draws out this revelation from the Lord, which consists of kind of a loving rebuke and then additional teaching regarding the temple. So they maybe just didn't quite see the urgency behind building the House of the Lord in Kirtland. So the Lord kind of gives them a gentle push, a kick in the pants, you know, whatever they need to actually get going. So there's the context. Take us into the content.
- [06:59]
B
Okay. The content of section 95 starts out with that loving rebuke. Verse one, the Lord begins, verily, thus saith the Lord unto you whom I love and whom I love. I also chasten that their sins may be forgiven. For with the chastisement I prepare a way for their deliverance in all things, out of temptation and I have loved you so. Here it comes. Wherefore he says, ye must needs be chastened and stand rebuked before my face. Then stating their failure really specifically, he says, for ye have sinned against me, a very grievous sin, in that ye have not considered the great commandment that I have given unto you concerning the building of mine house. So point blank, you're neglecting the Kirtland temple. Guys, please. Then beginning in verse 4, he gives them a vision for why their successful completion of this house really matters. And I think this is valuable, right? Because in their mind they don't. They don't know all the stuff that's going to come from this house, but the Lord does. And so there's a little incongruity between what he sees and what they see. And so here he tries to paint the vision. He says that in this house, quote, I design to prepare mine apostles to prune my vineyard for the last time that I may bring to pass my strange act. Which is a cool phrase from Isaiah 28:21, which in the latter day context is perhaps an appropriate description of how God's going to use weak and simple servants, like he said in section one of the doctor Covenants to accomplish this mighty work of restoring Israel, which is a strange approach indeed. And the house of God in Kirtland, he's saying, is crucial to this great work and will be a means quote that I may pour out my spirit upon all flesh. That's a close paraphrase of the prophecy in the Old Testament of Joel, chapter two, verse 28, which you'll recall Moroni quoted to Joseph Smith in his bedroom when he was 17. He said that prophecy is about to be fulfilled. And now fast forward to this moment and the Lord is saying, and the Kirtland temple is key to fulfilling that prophecy. So I know you guys don't understand, maybe that's why you've been a little slow in getting your act together to get this going. But let me give you some perspective here. Like, really big prophecy hangs on the building of this house.
- [09:09]
A
And it's understandable that they may not have fully grasped how significant this was going to be, what a game changer it was. And many of the people in Kirtland are nowhere near ready to assist him in this important work. Because he goes on to say, say many who have been ordained among you have sinned a very grievous sin, and that they are walking in darkness at noonday. So they haven't quite caught the vision of what this structure, this temple is going to mean. And so to help these servants, who aren't really well prepared right now, sanctify themselves and get ready, he says this I gave unto you a commandment he's referring back to section 88 here, that you should call your solemn assembly, that your fastings and your mourning might come up to the ears of the Lord. Yea, verily I say unto you, I gave unto you a commandment that you should build a house, in which house I design to endow those whom I have chosen with power from on high. For this is the promise of the Father unto you. He continues, therefore I command you to tarry here in Kirtland, even as mine apostles at Jerusalem, a reference to Jesus instructions to the 12 at Jerusalem, that's written down in Luke 24, to tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem until ye be endued with power from on high in verse 49. So this promised gift or investment of power, because that's what an endowment means in this particular context, is a gift that's going to be given to you. This endowment that he promises to the ancient apostles comes in Acts chapter two, on the day of Pentecost, as the Spirit was poured out upon all of them. And this is the way Acts 2.4 describes it, they were all filled with the Holy Ghost on that occasion. Peter the apostle, even draws a parallel with what they were then experiencing and the spiritual outpouring prophesied of in Joel 2:28, the very verse that the Lord just cites at the end of verse four.
- [11:02]
B
So the Lord's drawing a parallel between the Kirtland Temple and the New Testament. This like Pentecost.
- [11:08]
A
Yeah, it seems like the Pentecost, which. I don't know why we don't emphasize Pentecost more in the church. Honestly. Lately we've begun emphasizing Easter, like Holy Week a little bit more. I'm making a call right now to say we ought to do Pentecost too. It's important.
- [11:23]
B
It's not just significant. In the ancient times, we have a cool parallel with the Kirtland Temple, which the Lord is, like, sowing the first little seeds of that connection here. But when we talk about the Kirtland endowment, oh, man. Like, it is a Pentecost indeed. They'll call it that Right.
- [11:37]
A
That's how all the early saints describe it. Yeah.
- [11:39]
B
So the Lord seems to be saying here that just as his apostles waited in Jerusalem until the Lord's spirit was poured out upon them in sort of a Joel 2 like fashion, and then they went out and preached in power with great success. That's going to happen again. The Lord's servants are now again to wait for an outpouring, but this time they wait in Kirtland and they're supposed to build a temple there so that they too can be filled with the Holy Ghost, as in the day of Pentecost, or in this Joel 2 like way, so that they can then go out afterwards and preach in power with great success. It's like that, that whole New Testament post resurrection apostles going out and preaching to the Gentiles. It's like that 2.0, like that's to happen again. And what stands at the very heart of it is the Kirtland house that he's commanded them to build. So that's why the Lord reiterates here in the next verse. He says, it is my will that you should build house. That's why. Okay, this is the vision of why that house matters. You need an endowment of spiritual power, he's saying. And then finally he explains the conditions of success and failure in the next verses. He says, if you keep my commandments, you shall have power to build it. But if you keep not my commandments, the love of the Father shall not continue with you. Therefore you shall walk in darkness. Wow.
- [12:54]
A
So that may be the end of the original revelation, because it appears pretty likely the verses 13:17 were received separately as the second part of this revelation. Later that same day or sometime soon after, as a result of the conference of high priests, inquiring as to what the dimension or the size of the house should be. The minutes of the meeting that we're talking about here actually say that they discussed this question. Then they received a revelation on the size of the house, which is probably verses 13 through 17. So here the Lord instructs them that this house be built not after the manner of the world, but he says, let it be built after the banner which I shall show unto three of you whom ye shall appoint, and ordain unto this power and the size thereof. And he's giving like Precise dimensions here, 50 and 5ft in width, and let it be 65ft in length in the inner court thereof. And let the lower part of the inner court, meaning the ground level, first floor, be dedicated unto me for your sacrament offering and for your preaching and for your fasting and your praying and the offering up of your most holy desires unto me, saith the Lord, and let the higher part of the inner court, meaning the upstairs assembly hall, be dedicated unto me. For the school of mine apostles, saith Son, amen. Or in other words, alphas, or in other words, omegas, even Jesus Christ, your Lord, Amen. So these instructions are followed if you go to the Kirtland Temple today, which Scott, you and I had the opportunity to both visit this summer. The lower floor was commonly called by the Saints the House of worship, because that's where they would primarily hold sacrament meetings. That's the place where later on in section 110, the saints Moses, Elias and Elijah are going to appear. And then the second floor was the House of Learning. This was where a school was held. In fact, one thing you'll notice when you go into the Kirtland Temple today, if you get the chance to go, there's pews on both floors, but only the pews on the first floor are original. Second floor originally had no pews. It was chairs. So that could be arranged in kind of different classroom configurations, maybe even had tables. Like, imagine an open space in a church house where we hold classes. That's more malleable, kind of like the. The House of Learning was like the Relief Society room in most chapels, where you can make different arrangements of chairs. And the house of worship down on the first floor was more like the chapel where there's set pews. And it's arranged because we know exactly what we're going to be doing there. But in the House of Learning, we might be doing different things to focus on learning from week to week.
- [15:27]
B
And you kind of just need to go to the Kirtland Temple. It's just kind of a thing you need to do. And the tours there now are lights out. Awesome. Or if there's a way, like on a business trip or something, that you can just swing by and just experience, you got to do it at least once.
- [15:43]
A
If you can't do that, let's say you live in Australia or something like that, because I had some people from Australia go through the Kirtland Temple with me a few weeks ago, Scripture Central has posted a run through, that's what we call it, where we ran through the entire Kirtland Temple and just showed everything. And in the weeks coming as we get closer to section 109 and 110, which deal with the dedication of the Kirtland Temple, we'll post some More content that will give you a feel for what this original temple looks like.
- [16:09]
B
Perfect. So if you can't go in person, we've got the next best thing coming at you.
- [16:13]
A
We've covered the content fairly quickly. Let's talk about controversies in section 95. Scott, do you have any controversial topics from this?
- [16:27]
B
This one's pretty straightforward as a section, but there is, I think, in verse 12, something that could cause a reader pause. Let me read verse 12 again. It says, if you keep not my commandments, the love of the Father shall not continue with you, therefore you shall walk in darkness. Is God's love unconditional or conditional? Right. I've. I think we get mixed messages about this all the time. I think the predominant message is that God's love is unconditional. I think most people believe that. Right. Regardless of your weaknesses, your shortcomings, God loves you 100%. Right. And just saying that out loud, it's like, yeah, I believe that. I actually believe. I believe God loves you and your weaknesses. He loves you and your shortcomings. He loved us so much that in our sinful state, he sent his son to die for us. So it's not like our sins cause God to not love us. So verse 12. I think that's. That's why it's like, mmm, what's he saying here? If you keep not my commandments, the love of the Father shall not continue with you. That's a controversy here. Casey, what do you want to add to that?
- [17:28]
A
This came up in a religion class I had once. It was a bunch of seminary teachers with Joseph Fielding McConkie. And I've got to say, there's two levels to discuss it here. One is, he would say, does God love us unconditionally? And we would say, of course he does. And then brother McConkie would be like, well, what if you don't exist? That's a condition, isn't it? And that was more of like a gotcha kind of thing where. Okay, okay. Existing is a condition to God loving us, I guess. So he would always push that idea of careful with the words they use. And, yeah, that's important. But on a practical level, God's love is unconditional. I mean, yes, it's a condition that we have to exist. Yes, it's a condition that we have to be his children. But those two things are. Those two conditions are met. They're not going to change. And so divorcing that whole. What does the word unconditional mean? Yeah, I think God does love us. Unconditionally. And yet we have passages like this and other passages like in the Book of Mormon, where the Lord says things like he hates the iniquity of people and things like that, which do make it sound a little bit spicier than just, well, God loves you no matter what you do. The other thing I'll say is sometimes people take the word unconditional so far that they basically have imagined a God in their head that has zero expectations for them, that is a totally permissive, paternal figure that will let them do whatever they want to and no problems. And that's warned against in the Scriptures. Right. The idea that God will beat us with a few stripes and then lift us up at the last day is dealt with in the Book of Mormon a lot of other places.
- [19:05]
B
Yeah. So last week we quoted from section 93 that that verse that says, truth is things as they were, as they are, or as they are to come, and anything more or less than the truth is of the evil one. And so you can even take divine love to an extreme. Like you're saying you could say, well, God just loves us so much that we could basically do whatever we want. This is Alma chapter one, right. This is Nihor's doctrine. Like, because God loves us, he's going to save everybody. So you're fine. Like, you know, just run along, kids, have a good time, salvation is free. And on the other hand, right, I guess what's. What's less than the truth is like, well, God doesn't love you, or he loves you very conditionally. So I think that's what verse 12 might lead people to think. And so one insight that I've just shared with this, and I'm not going to pretend to fully understand what's going on in verse 12, but I think a talk that President Nelson gave in 2003 is helpful here. It's a talk called Divine Love. And let me just quote a little bit from President Nelson's talk. He said, while divine love can be called perfect, infinite, enduring, and universal, it cannot correctly be characterized as unconditional. That word does not appear in the Scriptures. On the other hand, many verses affirm that the higher levels of love, the Father and the Son feel for each of us, and certain divine blessings stemming from that love are conditional. Interesting how he's phrasing that, right? Higher levels of love and certain divine blessings stemming from that love, which I think perfectly fits section 95. Here he's saying, I have an endowment for you. I have an outpouring of the. Of like Joel, two level proportions of the spirit ready for you. And so if you don't do what I'm asking you to, you're not going to get that higher level of love, those higher blessings. I think that's a perfect fit here. And then President Nelson goes on to cite several examples of conditional promises in Scripture. And I, I recommend this to everybody to go check it out. Divine Love, February 2003. But let me just read. Near the end of the talk, he says this. Does this mean the Lord does not love the sinner? Of course not. Divine love is infinite and universal. By the way, I just had to pause here and say, like, that's where our natural man wants to go, right? That's where our insecurities will start to kick up. Right? Like, I've done too many things, I've made too many mistakes. How could God possibly love me? Like, that's not what the Lord's saying here in section 95. And President Nelson's trying to say, no.
- [21:24]
A
That'S airing in the opposite direction right now. You can't ever measure up to God's expectations.
- [21:29]
B
Yeah, exactly. So sin is not going to alienate you from God's love. Right? I'm thinking of Romans 8, where Paul says, can anything separate us from the love of God? And then he goes to this list of, like, the worst possible things that can happen to you. And he says, no, nothing can separate us from the love of God. So both things are true here. Right? President Nelson continues, he says, the Savior loves both saints and sinners. Sinners. The Apostle John affirmed, we love him because he first loved us. And Nephi, upon seeing in vision the Lord's mortal ministry declared the world because of their iniquity, shall judge him to be a thing of not. Wherefore they'll scourge him, and he suffers it. They'll smite him, and he suffers it. They spit on him, and he suffers it because of his loving kindness and his long suffering towards the children of men. So President Nelson concludes, we know the expansiveness of the Redeemer's love because he died, that all who die might live again. So. So I think he's trying to thread a really important needle here. And I think verse 12 might be a good jumping off point. If you've got a family discussion or a classroom discussion, it's ready for this kind of needle threading is to talk about what President Nelson refers to as higher levels of love, which is this outpouring of the endowment, this power, this spirit, this Joel two level spirit outpouring versus, like, the love that he constantly has for sinners to try to. To coax them toward him and to invite them to repent and to change. So go read the talk, see what you think. 2003 Divine Love. I think that's relevant here.
- [22:55]
A
Yeah. And it seems like the central point President Nelson is trying to make is that the word unconditional isn't really scriptural, and the way that we use it today is sometimes abused so that people can get away with whatever they want. We've got to find the happy medium between seeing God as absolutely permissive because he loves us unconditionally, but also. And maybe this is a bigger problem in the church, there's people that just feel like they can't earn God's love. They'll never be good enough. And that's not the message either. The message is in the middle here. In fact, as you were talking, I was thinking maybe the word trust. I love all my kids. I have older children that I would trust to carry out an errand or watch the other kids for a couple hours and younger children who I don't trust to do that. They're too little. Their brain isn't developed enough. And it could be the same thing. If I had two adult children, there might be one that I trust more with a responsibility and one that I don't trust with it. But I love him. There's no question. God loves you. You shouldn't doubt that. But at the same time, too, how much can he invest in you? How much trust can he show in you? You've got to kind of work to that level.
- [24:08]
B
So if you don't build the Kirtland temple and get serious about this, there's a certain level of God's love that he's not going to be able to. To show here. I like how you're saying that. Trust. You cannot be entrusted with the endowment of power he's promised. Yeah. And President Nelson makes that connection in this talk about parental love. He likens divine love to that. And the whole thing's good. Go read Divine Love. I don't think it's a conference talk. I think it's one of those that just got printed. Maybe it's a talk he gave elsewhere, but it's been printed in the 2003 February insight. So let's talk about the fourth C. Consequences. Casey, what flows out of section 90?
- [24:47]
A
Okay, let's look at the aftermath of section 95. Several important things happen. First, a conference of high priests met and discussed this revelation. And they begin Drafting construction plans. So it does kick off construction of the Kirtland Temple. And at this conference, Joseph Smith, Sidney Rigdon, Frederick G. Williams, the First Presidency were appointed to serve as the planning committee responsible for obtaining a draft or construction of the inner court of the house. That is, they were appointed as the three people that the Lord spoke of in verse 14, to whom he should show the manner the temple should be built. And as for exactly how the showing occurred, Frederick G. Williams later, according to one recollection, said that this is the way he phrases it. Joseph received the word of the Lord for him to take his two counselors and come before the Lord and he would show them the plan or the model of the house to be built. We went upon our knees, called upon the Lord and the building. Building, meaning the Kirtland Temple appeared within viewing distance. I being the first to discover it. Then all of us viewed it together. After we had taken a good look at the exterior, the building seemed to come right over us. And I saw there the details to a minutiae is the way he says it. Now you can look online and you can find a fragment of an early draft begun at this time on what the inner court of the temple was supposed to look like. And you could also see there a sketch of the three tiered pulpits side of the room which becomes sort of. Well, it's one of the most unique and distinctive features of the Kirtland temple. And also three weeks after Section 95 was received, the First Presidency sent a letter to church leaders in Missouri, which included architectural plans for another house of the Lord to be built in Independence, Missouri. And in the sketch they sent them, we can see that the temple to be built in Missouri, or at least the 1833 conception of it was, would pretty closely resemble the Kirtland Temple with its double three tiered pulpits, a center assembly area. Although the dimensions of the Missouri Temple were to be slightly larger than those in Kirtland.
- [26:54]
B
Yeah, it's interesting that in that same letter the First Presidency also sent Missouri leaders a sketch of the city plat for an expansive city of Zion to be built up there in Independence, they said, and you can see in that plot that it actually represents a 1 mile square city city with the temple and other church administrative buildings located directly at the center of Zion. And of both of these documents, Frederick G. Williams wrote to Missouri leaders and said that quote, the plot for the city and the size, form and dimensions of the house were given us of the Lord. So in Frederick G. Williams mind, like verse 14 was fulfilled in miraculous fashion, Right? The Lord actually gave them a vision to see it. And then also he's suggesting his here gave them the dimensions of the Missouri house that would be built there as well, and the city plat and all of that Frederick G. Williams is saying, was given us of the Lord.
- [27:49]
A
Meanwhile, on the same day Section 95 was received, the fundraising committee, remember, that's Hyrum Smith and Jared Carter and Reynolds Cahoon, prepared a letter that was circulated widely among the branches of the church to solicit donations and pledges to donate for a temple building fund. And in the letter they urged. This is from the letter. The whole church is a body that they make every possible exertion to aid temporally and spiritually, warning them their words. Unless we fulfill this command to establish a house and prepare all things necessary whereby the elders may gather into a school called the School of the Prophets and receive that instruction that the Lord designs that they should receive, we may all despair of obtaining the great blessing that God has promised to the faithful of the Church of Christ. They call for those who pledge money to send it to Kirtland by the 1st of September, 1833. So things start moving, which is what the Lord, I think, intended with this revelation. They start doing stuff.
- [28:48]
B
Section 95 could be considered a spur. This spurred them and they responded to the Lord's nudging here and got to work, which is great. Now, finally on. On June 6th, five days after this revelation was received, a conference voted that the committee of Hiram, Jared and Reynolds proceed immediately to commence building the house or obtaining material such as stone, brick and lumber. And on that very day, the conference minutes report, construction began on the house. So five days after this revelation, and we've got shovels in the dirt and supplies being ordered and we're off to the races, Casey.
- [29:27]
A
Yeah, so that's the major consequence of section 95 is it gets them going. It's like a little gentle shove, kick in the pants, whatever you want to call it, get going. And they do respond and they do get going. They start to make efforts towards building the temple.
- [29:41]
B
Okay, let's go into section 96, the first. See the context there. What's going on with section 96, Casey?
- [29:53]
A
Section 96 is received only three days after section 95. And it should be noted the land on which the temple would eventually be built, then known as the Peter French Farm, had just that April been purchased by the church. So this land consists of 103 acres, which in addition to providing a location to Build the temple was to have additional uses as well. In fact, one of the most attractive features of French's land was a brickyard where church leaders anticipated would be key in helping to expand the number of church buildings in Kirtland. So on April 2, church leaders had appointed Frederick G. Williams, who you'll remember is both a member of the First Presidency and he's recently been added to the United Firm to oversee the French farm. Specifically, he's appointed to oversee the operation of the brickyard and leasing out portions of the land. And Frederick G. Williams was probably the logical choices overseer, since his own 144 acre farm, which was recently consecrated to the church, was directly adjacent to the Peter French farm on the south side. And as soon becomes clear, both of these lands together were critical to the future development of the church community in Kirtland. And now Frederick's appointment. His appointment to oversee the French farm, however, was short lived for reasons that aren't totally clear to us now from the historical record. All we know is that on the 4th of June, 1833, a conference of high priests met in the translating room on the second story of the Newell K. Whitney store to discuss this matter of overseeing the French farm. And according to Frederick G. Williams himself, who's acting as clerk at the conference, church leaders, this is the way he phrases it, could not agree who should take charge of the farm, but all agreed to inquire of the local Lord. So we received a revelation. So there's more of an urgent question here, like we got to get going. Who's going to take the lead on this? And nobody's stepping up. So their way of solving the impasse is let's ask the Lord. And that's where section 96 comes from.
- [31:50]
B
Very good. Well, here's what the lord says. Verse 1. Behold, I say unto you, here is wisdom whereby you may know how to act concerning this matter. For it is expedient in me that this stake that I have set for the strength of Zion, Zion should be made strong, referring to the Kirtland stake. Therefore, to that end, let my servant, Newell K. Whitney, take charge of the place which is named among you, meaning the French farm upon which I designed to build mine holy house. The Lord announces importantly here, so new. Okay, Whitney is the choice and he makes a lot of sense because he's both an original member of the United Firm and he's the bishop of the church in Kirtland. And so he's one who already manages a lot of the Church's temporal affairs. There and so it's rather, I'd say, unsupported, surprising that the responsibility of taking charge of the French farm should fall to him. And again, the Lord continues, let it be divided into lots according to wisdom, for the benefit of those who seek inheritances, as it shall be determined in council among you. You guys get to figure out the details of that. The Lord then underscores the importance of managing the land in a way that will, quote, benefit my order, which is, remember a pseudonym for the United Firm. For the purpose of bringing forth my word unto the children. Children of men. What does he mean there? But remember that one of the important responsibilities of the United Firm was to print Scripture. So Bishop Whitney should wisely sell off portions of the French farm in order to obtain funds for the printing of Scripture. That's what the Lord is getting at here, right? He goes on, for behold, verily I say unto you, this is the most expedient in me, that my word should go forth unto the children of men for the purpose of subduing the hearts of the children to men for your good. Even so. Amen.
- [33:28]
A
So about two weeks later, in obedience to this revelation, Newell K. Whitney legally takes charge of the French farm, acquiring it through his business entity, N.K. whitney & Co. On June 17. And in verses six through nine, the Lord then shifts the topic and instructs these church leaders to allow my servant, John Johnson to become a member of the United Firm. You remember, John Johnson was that prosperous farmer convert Burt, from Hiram, Ohio, who allowed Joseph and Emma and their family to stay in his home for several months in 1831. 1832. That's where section 76 is received. That's where the mob attack happens. And now he's going to be admitted into the firm that he may, in the words of the Revelation, assist in bringing forth my word unto the children of men. Therefore, ye shall ordain him unto this blessing, and he shall seek diligently to take away encumbrances that are upon the house named among you, that he may dwell there.
- [34:22]
B
Therein.
- [34:23]
A
Even so. Amen. That's the content of the Revelation. Just these practical matters of who's going to take charge of the French farm, ratting John Johnson to the United Firm. Pretty straightforward stuff.
- [34:33]
B
Therefore, Casey, I see no controversies in this. It's so straightforward. I don't. I don't know that section 96 has any real controversies that people might get stuck into. You can you think of any?
- [34:43]
A
I can't think of any that we haven't already dealt with with regards to the United Firm and the Church purchasing property and stuff like that. 60 seems like we're all good, so let's move on to the consequences. Scott, what are some of the consequences of section 96?
- [35:02]
B
So as a result of this revelation, immediately following this meeting where it was received, John Johnson was right there ordained, a member of the United Firm, becoming only the second person to be added to the firm since its formation over a year earlier in April of 1832. But in terms of assisting and bringing forth God's word, which is Revelation's emphasizing, John was authorized to work with Newell K. Whitney to sell off lots to the saints from the French farm to help build up a sacred fund for the purposes of bringing forth my word to the children of men, as the Lord had said. Now, shortly after his appointment to the firm, John actually moves from Hiram, Ohio to Kirtland. And he moved into the house that's mentioned in verse nine, which was actually a hotel and a tavern on the French farm property that had been owned and operated by Peter Franklin French prior to the sale of the land. So John was here instructed to, quote, seek diligently to take away any encumbrances or liens on the property so that he could dwell there. And this he does. And this property will become known as the John Johnson Inn, which he both lived in and operated with his family while he's there in Kirtland. And by the way, that that building is still there, you can still see it in Kirtland, the John Johnson Inn right there by the Newell K. Whitney house.
- [36:14]
A
Yeah, it's been rebuilt. It's a reconstruction, but it is right there and it forms kind of the historic core of the historic Kirtland site, which was our main site until the Kirtland Temple was purchased just a short while ago.
- [36:26]
B
So that's section 96. And now we're going to move forward to section 94. Remember, section 94 was received a couple months after section 96. Right. There was just a mix up in the dating. And so Casey, tell us what's going on in Section 94.
- [36:40]
A
Yeah, you're right. Section 94 comes after Section 95 and Section 96. It includes additional instructions about building up Kirtland as a church center, generally including two more building initiatives is probably the best way to say it. Remember, section 94 is actually received August 2, 1833. That's two months after section 96. So by the time this revelation was received, the following elements were already in play. One, the French farm had been purchased and the Frederick G. Williams farm had been consecrated. So church leaders had all the land resources in place they needed to begin the strategic city building in Kirtland that could turn it into the strong Stake of Zion that the Lord had envisioned for it become. In addition to this, fundraising was underway for the building of the temple. And work had already begun on the building of the temple, which was occurring on the southeast corner of the French farm. So these are at the top of everybody's mind when the revelation is given. So it's unclear from the historical record that we have right now what precise questions or circumstances, if any, drew out this revelation from the Lord. We know this was given in the context of the Lord's desire to build up Kirtland so that it should be made strong. Those are his words, as he said in section 96. So that's the backstory, everything starting in motion. They're building up Kirtland and what it's meant to be, what its ultimate purpose is going to be. And then the Lord gives additional instructions here in section 94.
- [38:14]
B
Okay, so the content of this revelation. The Lord begins by addressing Kirtland church leaders specifically, as my friends, very endearing here. And then he gives them, quote, a commandment to commence a work of laying out and preparing a beginning and foundation of the city of the Stake of Zion here in the land of Kirtland, beginning at my house. And behold, it must be done according to the pattern which I have given unto to you. So let's unpack that for a second. So this work of laying out the city of Kirtland he's talking about here is this meticulous work of drawing up an official city plat like that which they had done a couple months earlier for the city of Zion in Independence, Missouri. In fact, the Independence plat, which, you know, if you have a moment to go onto Google and just google 1833 independence Zion plat, you'll be able to see this picture. It's on the Joseph Smith Papers as well. That pattern, it's like, remember, it's a. It's a square mile mile with all these houses built out and then the farms on the outside. And at the very center is the. The temple and the church administrative buildings. So he says, that's the pattern which I have given unto you. He says that Kirtland is to be laid out in that same way. And it was to be done, quote, beginning at my house, which, again means that the city of Kirtland was to be built around the temple at the center block, just as was the pattern with the city of Zion in Independence. And this is going to become a pattern for a lot of the major cities out west. Once the saints come at here, they'll call it the Zion pattern, where they'll put a temple, like in Salt Lake City at the very middle of the city planning. And then from out from there, it goes, you know, first south, second south, you know, the east. And it just. The grid system and that the very center is that church piece. Right. It's. It's either in some cities it's going to be like a tabernacle. Some cities it's a church building, and others it's a temple structure. So this becomes known as the Zion pattern of city building. And the Lord is asking them to implement that right here in Kirtland. And so they'll go on to create the city plat of Kirtland, which resulted from this revelation, which, like its twin in Missouri, is that one square mile with lots of subdivided lands of inheritance for the saints. When you look at the Kirtland plat, which, again, you can find on the Joseph Smith papers, you'll notice at the very center, it's. It doesn't just have the Kirtland temple, It actually has two additional structures that look just like the Kirtland temple, which were actually commanded to be built in the remainder of this revelation. That's what the Lord goes on to talk about. So that's pretty interesting. Let's continue and we'll. We'll see what that's all about.
- [40:42]
A
Yeah, I think the plot of the City of Zion is starting to get wide circulation in the church. But most people would be surprised to know there's also a design for the city of Kirtland. The most surprising thing about the City of Zion is that there's 24 temples at the heart of it. The most surprising thing about Kirtland is that there's three identical structures, like you can see them in the design right next to each other. So this is where this. This comes into its own. So Lord explains in verse three that the first lot on the south, that is the first lot just south of the temple, should be consecrated unto me for the building of a house, for the presidency, for the work of the presidency, he says, in obtaining revelations, and for the work of the ministry of the presidency in all things pertaining to the church and kingdom. So kind of a headquarters or like an office building for the first presidency, kind of a church administration.
- [41:32]
B
Administration building, which, if we need some sort of visual think about Salt Lake. Right? You got A temple there. But then you've got the church administration building. So that pattern that we have in Salt Lake is this. This is the first seeds of it right here in Kirtland. Very cool.
- [41:43]
A
Yeah. And he's even specific enough to say the dimension should be 55 by 65ft and instructs that there shall be a lower court and a higher court according to the pattern which will be given unto you hereafter.
- [41:55]
B
Wait a minute. That kind of sounds familiar. Didn't we just see those dimensions in the last revelation?
- [41:58]
A
Yeah. So these dimensions are practically identical to the dimensions and layout of the Kirtland temple. This building is going to look a lot like the Kirtland temple. Be the same size of the Kirtland temple. The Lord goes on to say it should be wholly dedicated unto the Lord for the work of the presidency and that no unclean thing should be allowed to come into it. So that my glory and my presence shall be there. Otherwise my glory and my presence shall not come into it. Then further, he instructs that the second lot on the south, that is the second lot south of the temple, temple shall be dedicated unto me for the building of a house, unto me for the work of printing of the translation of my scriptures, Probably a reference to Joseph Smith's Bible translation. And all things whatsoever, I shall command you. And then he describes the dimensions as being Kyreti, 55 by 65ft with a lower and a higher court, again almost identical to the Kirtland temple, and says, and it too shall be wholly dedicated, dedicated unto the Lord for the work of the printing. In all things whatsoever, I shall command you. So you're going to have these three nearly identical buildings in the center of Kirtland that were to be used for worship in a school of the prophets, first presidency office building and a sacred print shop to print the translation of the Bible and probably other items too.
- [43:18]
B
So if this had come to pass, I'm foreshadowing here that it did not come to pass. If this had come to pass, we'd have three, three Kirtland temple looking buildings right in a row.
- [43:27]
A
It doesn't happen. But that's an interesting glimpse into what may have been if the saints had been able to fulfill these commandments specifically. Maybe we saved this for the controversy section, but we're going to talk about did they fulfill these commandments?
- [43:41]
B
And the Lord wraps this revelation up by designating a couple lots on the south and the north of the center block for Hyrum Smith to live and another place for his servants, Run Cahoon and Jared Carter. Remember, those three are the temple building committee. He wants them close to the temple, and he wants to give them lots. He says, quote, for their inheritances that they may do the work which I have appointed unto them to be a committee to build mine houses according to the commandment which I, the Lord, have given unto you. So not just build my house, but build my houses here. Now he's got three that he's designated. However, he says these two houses, meaning the First Presidency office and the print shop, in addition to the Kirtland Temple, are not to be built until I give unto you a commandment concerning them. And now I give unto you no more at this time. Amen. Interesting. So keep these two at bay, wait for my signal, and we'll build these two additional houses to the Kirtland Temple. So that's it. That's the revelation of Section 94.
- [44:40]
A
Well, let's talk controversies with Section 94.
- [44:48]
B
The Lord commanded these two additional houses to be built, and, Casey, they never were. Let me give you a little history here. So. So four days after this revelation was received, they send a copy of it together with copies of freshly received sections 97 and 98 in a letter from the First Presidency to church leaders in Missouri. And in this letter, the first presidency told Missouri leaders that DNC 94, quote, is also binding on you at Zion. So this ups the ante a little bit to Section 94, meaning that they, too, were, quote, to build two houses in addition to the one of which we have sent the pattern. In other words, in addition to building a temple in Independence, Missouri, they were to also build both an office building for the Missouri Presidency and a print shop nearby, quote, as soon as means can be obtained. So to. To do. Close quote. So that basically doubles the building projects that are commanded by section 94. But the controversy, I guess we would say, is that these plans for two additional houses would never materialize in either Missouri or Kirtland. So if you add up, let's add the buildings the Lord's commanded so far. So a Missouri Temple, a Kirtland Temple, and now two buildings in Kirtland and two additional buildings in Missouri. That's six buildings the Lord has commanded. Commanded. And of those six building projects, Casey, we know that only one of them actually gets built, right? And that one is the Kirtland Temple. The other five buildings never get built, still have not been built to this day. And the Kirtland Temple is going to take two years more after this revelation is given. I guess the controversy is, why don't they build those houses if the Lord commanded it? You know, maybe in the spirit of First Nephi 3, 7. If the Lord gave the commandments command, why did he not prepare a way for the saints to accomplish the thing which he commanded them? Why is only one out of six built?
- [46:41]
A
Cayce, really, really good question. And again, you know, as you were bringing that up, my mind was going to do we still need to build them? Like, should we, now that we own the Kirtland Temple, take the land and build two additional temples that are identical to carry out the printing of the Scriptures and as a house for the presidency? Probably not. Reason one. All right. Why they don't build them? Okay. Events had already started to unfold in Missouri in late July that would seriously disrupt the saint's ability to obey this instruction. And it would turn out also his command to build the temple in Missouri, period at all. Opponents of the church had already destroyed the church's Independence printing office, threatened local leaders, and forced them to sign an agreement that they and their fellow saints would leave Jackson County. And amid the escalating tension, violent encounters. Eventually, the Saints were driven from the county in November 1833. So that's what happens in Missouri. So there's also kind of a domino effect in Kirtland in that. That fall, they halted building construction as church leaders deal with this emergency in Missouri and are seeking to find ways to provide relief to the fellow church members that had been displaced from their Missouri homes. So, I mean, the practical reason. Reason is everything goes haywire in Missouri and they have to readjust, reframe and reshape their plans so that they're taking care of the practical human needs of the Saints in Missouri. That's one thing.
- [48:11]
B
So answer number one is the Missouri mob persecution is going to really disrupt their ability to carry on these building projects, like just full stop.
- [48:21]
A
There's a classic Brigham Young quote where he says, we never begin to build a temple, but that the bells of hell begin to ring. And then, as awesome as Brigham Young was, next thing he said was, I want to hear those bells ring again. This is in reference to the Salt Lake Temple, but this is the first example of the bells of hell starting to ring with regards to a temple being built. Plans are laid for a temple in Kirtland and in Missouri, and all heck breaks loose, as still happens pretty regularly when we try to build temples. Those out there that have been involved in securing the rights, the land, the construction of materials will note there's still A lot of opposition and still sometimes contention when the church decides to build a new temple. This is just the earliest example of that. And if you're tying this into section 124, where the Lord says, when I give you a commandment and you go with all your might to fulfill it, I release you from the commandment. He says that with regards to the Missouri Temple. But I think it can be all these as well. And by the way, given the resources that they have, it's extremely extraordinary that they built the Kirtland Temple. I mean, I think I've read somewhere, I need to look up the source on this, that if we're adjusting for inflation, it's probably the most expensive building the church has ever built. And it's built at a time when the church is really small and doesn't have a ton of resources, but they go and they do. Credit to them for doing so.
- [49:39]
B
Okay, so that's answer number one. Did you say you have another thought, another angle on that?
- [49:44]
A
The other angle on that is that they do sort of fulfill this commandment, just not exactly the way the Lord asks them to. They build the Kirtland Temple exactly according to the specifications the Lord gives, but they also build a house for printing. This house is built directly behind the Kirtland Temple. In fact, before the temple sale, there was a little sign there the Community of Christ had put up to just note that that was where the printing house was. So they do build a printing house, not according to the exact specifications, but that's where the Doctrine and Covenant Covenants is printed. And that's a really, really big deal. In 1835, after everything goes haywire in Missouri, they moved the printing operation to Kirtland. And that's where we get the 1835 Doctrine and Covenants, which is a huge step forward. Unfortunately, they don't get to publish the Joseph Smith translation of the Bible, but they never really do that in Joseph Smith's lifetime. There's just too much going on. The second thing is, when it comes to a house for the presidency, if you go to Kirtland today, you'll note that that not very far away from the temple. In fact, there's the temple and then the Kirtland Cemetery, and then the next lot is Joseph Smith's house. That house was purchased by the church from Community of Christ way back In, I think, 2012, if I remember correctly. You know, it was just barely dedicated and open to the public in 2024. So they spent over a decade studying the structure of the house because when I first went there, Scott, like, we just purchased it from Community of Christ. Christ. And they were using Joseph Smith's house as, like, housing for their docents, for people that worked on the Kirtland historic side.
- [51:20]
B
It was all modern, right?
- [51:21]
A
Yeah, yeah. There was, like, Formica countertops and a microwave. And we were all like, is this Joseph Smith's Formica, or is this original 1830s Formica and stuff like that. So it took them over a decade to study that house and kind of figure out what did it look like in the 1830s and what parts were added and what parts were taken away. Like, they took off pretty much the top floor of the house. But one of the things that they discovered was that there was a large room in the back of the house that was probably a place where council meetings were held. Because later on we're going to find out that Section 102, which is a meeting of the first high council, probably held at Joseph Smith's house. And so it's likely that Joseph Smith's home fills this role of a house for the presidency, at least temporarily. Now that house again, is sold when they leave. Curtis, Portland. The printing house that we talked about is destroyed in a fire probably set by Lyman Sherman. We'll talk about that when we get to section108. But apostates were going to use the printing press to print anti church material. So Lyman Sherman set it on fire. Almost burned the temple down, too. Thank goodness he didn't. But he had, I guess, noble intentions when he set that fire. So I would say, in a sense, they were fulfilled. Now, in a larger sense, have we built a house for the work of the presidency? Yeah, it's the church administration building in Salt Lake. Have we built a house for the printing of the Scriptures? Yeah, I mean, the church office building, the church printing operations in Salt Lake, like, we did retain this idea of a sacred house for worship and a house for the administration of the church and a house for the printing of the Scriptures. That's just where the headquarters of the church is today. So I think it's super unlikely that we'd ever go back to Kirtland especially, and rebuild these structures, because we just adjusted and moved on. We built them somewhere else. And today they're up and running and carrying out the exact work that the Lord intended to, if not following the precise instructions given in this particular revelation.
- [53:18]
B
I hear you saying that they did the best they could with what they had to fulfill the purposes of the revelation, even though they were not able in Kirtland or in Missouri to build to the exact specifications these houses for the first presidency or the printing.
- [53:35]
A
So you cited that first Nephi 3, 7. I will go and do I know that the Lord prepares a way. Just going back to that example, Nephi doesn't get the plates exactly the way he planned. Like they have several notable failures and a beating and an angel showing up and rebuking them before they hit on the plan that works. I would say the same thing happened to the early saints where the central idea was we need these structures to carry out this work and they do get it done, just not precisely in the way that they thought it was going to happen.
- [54:06]
B
Good thought. Really good thought.
- [54:08]
A
So, Scott, let's talk about consequences of section 94.
- [54:17]
B
I think you highlighted pretty well in our controversy section that as for like important church printing projects like printing scripture, with the Missouri press destroyed, all church print printing was moved out of Missouri and brought to Kirtland. And so instead of building separate printing houses, as this revelation instructed, church leaders improvised the best they could with what means they had. It might be interesting to note in connection to the previous revelation we looked at is that the first printing operations in Kirtland were actually done at John Johnson's Inn. Then they built that small little multipurpose building just west of the temple that you referred to to that was then used as a print shop and an office for the First Presidency and a school. So they'll meet in Joseph Smith's home, but they'll also meet in that little building that's also a print shop, kind of using that multi purposefully. And so we do see them doing the best they could under the circumstances to fulfill at least the purposes, if not building to the dimensions of those buildings that the Lord had commanded Here. It might be helpful just to back out and look at all three of these revelations, Section 95, 96 and 94, and think about them kind of interconnectedly. Each of these revelations is centered primarily on the work of building up Kirtland, as you mentioned, as a strong stake of Zion and really to prepare it to be a temple city, right? Patterned after the city of Zion in Missouri, like they wanted to build up Missouri. And all of that was so that God's servants could prepare and sanctify themselves for a spiritual outpouring. What happened he called an endowment of power, right? After which the vision was that these servants of God would go out with God's printed word in hand and go bless the world, right? God's empowered servants with God's printed word in tandem out to the world to bring the blessings of the restored Gospel to mankind. So there's kind of a lot of, like, practical stuff, some building project stuff. But the Lord is trying to help them prepare, as he said really clearly in section 95. 5, like for some pretty serious spiritual blessings. We've mentioned this multiple times, Casey. It's hard to separate and sometimes impossible, the temporal from the spiritual when it comes to the work of the latter days. Like, the Lord just doesn't seem to draw any strong lines of distinction between those two.
- [56:32]
A
Yeah. So important practical steps. And it also underlines the Lord's urgency, like, get going on this. And that's going to play directly into some of the things that happen in Messiah, Missouri, where the saints show less of a sense of urgency when it comes to building the temple.
- [56:49]
B
Yeah. 100 so that wraps up part one of this week's come follow me, sections 94 to 96. Join us in our next episode when we dive into part two. It's just section 97, things dealing with Missouri. So we'll see you then.
- [57:05]
A
All right, see you then.
- [57:10]
B
Ra.