Be Patient in Tribulation
Historical Background and Reflections on Doctrine and Covenants 54
The Saints from Colesville had begun to live the law of consecration and stewardship on Leman Copley’s land in Thompson, Ohio, but Copley apostatized and persecuted the Saints. During this time, Newel Knight approached Joseph Smith seeking advice, and the Prophet received a revelation that is now Doctrine and Covenants 54. (See J. Christopher Conkling, A Joseph Smith Chronology, p. 24)
Who was Newel Knight? (see also here, here, here, and here)
(1800–47) Newel Knight was born in Marlborough, Vermont. He married Sarah Coburn in 1825. The following year, Knight’s father hired Joseph Smith as a day laborer. In May 1830, Knight was baptized into The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Seneca County, New York. He was the president of the branch of the Church in Colesville, New York, and between April and July of 1831, he led the branch in relocating from Broome County, New York, to Jackson County, Missouri (see Doctrine and Covenants 52:32; 56:6–7). He was the recipient of an early revelation (Doctrine and Covenants 54). In November 1833, he and other Latter-day Saints were expelled from Jackson County and resettled in Clay County, Missouri. In July 1834, he was appointed to the Zion high council there. After the death of his first wife in September 1834, he married Lydia Goldthwaite Bailey in November 1835. During 1837 and 1838, he served on the Zion high council in Far West, Missouri. In 1839 he moved to Commerce, Illinois, which was later renamed Nauvoo, where he served on the high council until 1845. He left Nauvoo in 1846 and died the following year in Nebraska.
References in the Doctrine and Covenants
The rebellion of Leman Copley confused the whole Church, and in the midst of the confusion the Lord instructed Newel Knight to lead the Colesville Saints to Missouri, unto the borders of the Lamanites. Knight complied with the revelation, sold his beautiful farm in New York, and moved to a wilderness in Thompson, Ohio. In their book Joseph Smith and the Doctrine and Covenants, Milton V. Backman, Jr. and Richard O. Cowan record Newel Knight’s exclamation upon reaching the land of Missouri:
Our feelings can be better imagined than described, when we, found ourselves upon the Western frontiers. The country itself presented a pleasant aspect with its rich forests bordering its beautiful streams, and its deep rolling prairies spreading far and wide, inviting the hand of industry to establish for itself homes upon its broad bosom. And this was the place, where the Lord had promised to reveal unto us where … the New Jerusalem (pp. 59-60)
In his chapter “The Journey of the Colesville Branch” in Revelations in Context, Joseph F. Darowski describes the same situation in the following terms:
In June 1831, their future clouded and their lives in disarray, the Knights and other members of the Colesville Branch sought counsel and guidance from Joseph Smith as to what they should do next.
Instruction came in the form of a revelation now known as Doctrine and Covenants 54: “Take your Journeys into the regions westward unto Missorie [sic] unto the borders of the Lamanites & after you have done Journeying Behold I say unto you seek ye a living like unto men untill I prepare a place for you & again be patient in tribulation.”7 Newel Knight later described the situation: “We now understood that [Ohio] was not the land of our inheritance—the land of promise, for it was made known in a revelation that Missouri was the place chosen for the gathering of the church, and several were called to lead the way to that state.”8 Banding together once again, the Colesville members prepared for their journey. They selected Newel Knight to continue to preside over them despite his previous call, by revelation, to serve a proselytizing mission (see Doctrine and Covenants 52). In a revelation now canonized as Doctrine and Covenants 56, Knight was authorized to set aside his mission call and instead travel to Missouri as the head of the Colesville Branch. (pp. 42-43)
Also in Revelations in Context, in her chapter “A Bishop Unto the Church,” Sherilyn Farnes notes that
Living the law of consecration was to be considered a privilege. Yet not everyone viewed it that way. Copley soon rescinded his offer and evicted the Colesville Saints from his land, leaving them wondering where to turn. On June 10, a revelation (now Doctrine and Covenants 54) addressed their concern in a surprising way: it called them to move permanently to Missouri, more than 800 miles away.
See “Revelation, 10 June 1831 [D&C 54],” in Revelation Book 1, 90, josephsmithpapers.org; see also Doctrine and Covenants 54:8.
In his book The Revelations of the Prophet Joseph Smith, Lyndon W. Cook sheds further light on the historical background for D&C 54:
Date. June 1831 (before June 19).
Place. Kirtland, Geauga County, Ohio.
Historical Note. The Saints from Colesville, New York, arrived in the Western Reserve about mid-May 1831 and were located in Thompson, Ohio, on property claimed by Leman Copley. Intending to purchase some of Copley’s property, Church leaders had made arrangements for members of the Church to occupy and improve the land. Soon after their arrival, the Saints from Colesville began to improve the property by making fences and plowing and planting the fields. When Church members in Thompson were asked to consecrate their property to the Church, Copley refused to do so, and he even reneged on the previous land agreement. With no place to live, members of the Church in Thompson “sent Newel Knight and other Elders” to see Joseph Smith. Responding to their request, the Prophet inquired of the Lord and received section 54. Joseph Knight, Jr., remembering the occasion, stated:
“[After arriving in Thompson, Ohio, we] commenced preparing houses on a brother’s land who had a thousand acres, my folks came on, they were called the Colesville church; we planted and sowed a great deal; the man was turned out of the church for bad conduct; his name was Leman Copley, he then began to persecute us and we had to leave his farm and pay sixty dollars damage for fitting up his houses and planting his ground. We then had a revelation to go to the western line of the States.”
This revelation instructed the Colesville Saints to “flee the land” and journey to Missouri. This group of about sixty members left Ohio on 3 Jully 1831 and arrived in Independence on 25 July.
Publication Note. Section 54 was first published as chapter 56 in the Book of Commandments in 1833. (p. 85)
In his section heading for D&C 54, Bruce R. McConkie frames the revelation thus:
Revelation given through Joseph Smith the Prophet to Newel Knight, at Kirtland, Ohio, June 10, 1831. Members of the Church living in Thompson, Ohio, were divided on questions having to do with the consecration of properties. Selfishness and greed were manifest. Following his mission to the Shakers (see the heading to section 49), Leman Copley had broken his covenant to consecrate his large farm as a place of inheritance for the Saints arriving from Colesville, New York. As a consequence, Newel Knight (leader of the members living in Thompson) and other elders had come to the Prophet asking how to proceed. The Prophet inquired of the Lord and received this revelation, which commands the members in Thompson to leave Leman Copley’s farm and journey to Missouri.
See also Saints, Volume 1, Chapter 12. “After Much Tribulation.”
With this historical background in place, let’s examine and appreciate this brief revelation contained in D&C 54:
Behold, thus saith the Lord, even Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, even he who was crucified for the sins of the world—
Behold, verily, verily, I say unto you, my servant Newel Knight, you shall stand fast in the office whereunto I have appointed you.
And if your brethren desire to escape their enemies, let them repent of all their sins, and become truly humble before me and contrite.
And as the covenant which they made unto me has been broken, even so it has become void and of none effect.
And wo to him by whom this offense cometh, for it had been better for him that he had been drowned in the depth of the sea.
But blessed are they who have kept the covenant and observed the commandment, for they shall obtain mercy. (D&C 54:1-6)
I admit that this is not what I was expecting in this revelation. It makes sense that the Lord would encourage and command Newel Knight to stand fast in the office of his calling, but the Lord could also see things that the early Saints could not see. This wasn’t just a matter of finding a good place to live where the Saints could cultivate the land and prosper. It was a matter of escaping real enemies. In order to escape these real enemies, the early Saints were commanded to repent and truly humble themselves before the Lord. This principle is just as valid for us today as it was in Newel Knight’s time.
I was also surprised by the severity of the rebuke and condemnation of those who had broken a covenant with the Lord. It seems to me that something else was going on behind the scenes besides just the refusal to abide by the land agreement. Leman Copley and others had broken a covenant with the Lord concerning the law of consecration, thus making it void and of none effect. But it seems as though someone was also guilty of grave offenses, offenses that called forth the most severe condemnation possible. The language of the condemnation is reminiscent of the language that the Lord used in the New Testament to rebuke those who offend little children. Nevertheless, those who kept the covenant and observed the commandment were blessed and obtained mercy.
On this section and these verses, Smith and Sjodahl observe:
Bishop Partridge had been instructed to organize the Colesville Saints who were located at Thompson, near Kirtland, according to the laws of the United Order (Sec. 51), but all of them did not keep the covenants they had entered into, and the result was confusion. In their troubles, the Saints sent Newel Knight to Kirtland to receive counsel of the Prophet Joseph. In this Revelation, which was received in answer to prayer, the Lord (1) releases the Saints at Thompson from the obligation of the vows that had been broken and were, therefore, void, and pronounces wo upon him through whom the offense had come (1-6); (2) commands all to repent and to flee to Missouri (7-10).
The Covenants Broken.
Thus said the Lord] Our Lord addressed Newel Knight, and the Colesville Saints through him, as their Lord, their Master. He reminds them of their allegiance to Him. He also speaks to them as the Existing One, the Beginning and the End, and the Redeemer of the world (See Sec. 19:1; 35:1). When our Lord, in the Book of Revelation (5:9, 10), undertakes to execute the decrees of the Father, He does so by virtue of His sacrifice of Himself, for, as a Lamb slain, He is the center of adoration; and the “new song” of the Saints, “Thou art worthy to take the book and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood,” fills the heavens and the Earth with sweet harmony. God rules the world through the Redeemer of it - through the One who gave His own life for it; not through a conqueror who came to destroy the life of others.
Stand fast in the office] Newel Night was to carry out the mission to which he had been called (Sec. 52:32), notwithstanding what had happened at Thompson. That was his office.
Let them repent] The Colesville Saints at Thompson were in jeopardy because of the enemies of the Kingdom of God; if they wanted to escape, they must repent and become contrite. Most of the evils that befall us are due to disobedience. Repentance is the true remedy.
Covenant *** has been broken] “It is difficult, says Elder B. H. Roberts (Hist. of the Church, Vol. I., p. 180), “to determine with exactness in what the transgression of the Saints at Thompson consisted; but it is evident that selfishness and rebellion were at the bottom of their troubles, and that Leman Copley and Ezra Thayre were immediately concerned in it.”
The Colesville Saints had been given permission to form a United Order, and some of the Saints at Thompson, Copley and Thayre among others, had agreed to enter the Order with them. Copley had land which he offered to place at the disposal of the brethren. A contract was drawn up and work begun, but Copley, it seems, broke the agreement. That Ezra Thayre was guilty of some such offense appears from Section 56:8.
Wo to him by whom this offense cometh] As the world is constituted, offenses will come. Some individuals will always place stumbling blocks in the paths of their brethren. But wo to him who does it! The fate of one lying at the bottom of the sea with a millstone around his neck is, as our Savior declares, better than that of those who cause offenses among the people of God (Luke 17:2).
Blessed are they who kept the covenant] “They shall obtain mercy,” but in the meantime they suffered through the conduct of the covenant-breakers. However, they were assured of divine comfort. There is a difference between the sufferings of those who are innocent of wrong-doing and those of wrong-doers, who must feel the tortures of an accusing conscience, in addition to the evil consequences of transgression. (pp. 314-316)
I think that it is an exaggeration to claim, as Smith and Sjodahl do in this part of their commentary, that most of the evils that befall us are due to disobedience. Certainly many of them are, and certainly repentance is the true remedy in every case. But I’m glad that they tempered their observation by distinguishing between the sufferings of the innocent and the sufferings of the guilty. Some of the best people I know have suffered the most because of the wickedness and injustice of others. This does not absolve any of us from the need for repentance, but I would caution against Smith’s and Sjodahl’s earlier claim that “most of the evils that befall us are due to disobedience.” That claim sounds a lot like the superstition of the original disciples who wondered whose sins had caused the blind man to suffer as he did:
And as Jesus passed by, he saw a man which was blind from his birth.
And his disciples asked him, saying, Master, who did sin, this man, or his parents, that he was born blind?
Jesus answered, Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents: but that the works of God should be made manifest in him. (John 9:1-3)
This notwithstanding, disobedience to God always results in negative consequences, and repentance is always necessary for all accountable beings.
The revelation to Newel Knight continues and concludes:
Wherefore, go to now and flee the land, lest your enemies come upon you; and take your journey, and appoint whom you will to be your leader, and to pay moneys for you.
And thus you shall take your journey into the regions westward, unto the land of Missouri, unto the borders of the Lamanites.
And after you have done journeying, behold, I say unto you, seek ye a living like unto men, until I prepare a place for you.
And again, be patient in tribulation until I come; and, behold, I come quickly, and my reward is with me, and they who have sought me early shall find rest to their souls. Even so. Amen. (D&C 54:7-10)
The Lord commanded these early Saints to be patient in tribulation, and they endured great tribulations. The persecution of, and the danger presented by, their enemies was severe enough that they had to flee to safety. Thankfully, the Lord revealed exactly where they should go and what they should do until He prepared a place for them. The Lord was beginning to blend the righteous latter-day Gentiles, these early Saints, with His covenant people, the seed of Lehi, by bringing them closer together, first by missionary work, and then by emigration to Lamanite lands. That blending continues and will reach a climax during the building of the New Jerusalem.
This is Smith’s and Sjodahl’s brief commentary on the same verses:
7-8. The Colesville Saints are here directed to leave Ohio and continue their journey westward, to Missouri.
9-10. In Missouri they were to make a living, as other men, until a place should be prepared for them. The Lord again promises that He will come quickly. If they were patient in tribulations, they would be rewarded at His coming. The Lord knew that the saints who went to Missouri, in search of the promised land, would meet tribulations; hence the promise of reward for patience. Saints bound for Zion should always remember the truth expressed in Eliza R. Snow’s beautiful hymn,
“Think not, when you gather to Zion, / Your troubles and trials are through; / That nothing but comfort and pleasure / Are waiting in Zion for you: / No, no; ‘tis designed as a furnace, / All substance, all textures to try, / To burn all the ‘wood, have, and stubble,’ / The gold from the dross purify.” (p. 316)
