Begin the Gathering of Israel
Background Information on Doctrine and Covenants 38
On January 2, 1831, the third conference of the Church of Jesus Christ was held in Fayette, N.Y., during which conference the Lord revealed through the Prophet Joseph Smith what is now Doctrine and Covenants 38. (see J. Christopher Conkling, A Joseph Smith Chronology, p. 21)
In his book The Revelations of the Prophet Joseph Smith, Lyndon W. Cook sheds light on the background for this revelation:
Date. 2 January 1831.
Place. Fayette, Seneca County, New York
Historical Note. Section 38 was received at the third conference of the Church (Sunday, 2 January 1831) at the home of Peter Whitmer, Sr., in Fayette, New York. No minutes of this conference were kept, except a note in the “Far West Record,” which explains that a conference was held and a revelation received.
Inasmuch as section 37 had commanded the Church to assemble together “at the Ohio,” the congregation sought to know more concerning the matter. In response to their request, the Prophet inquired of the Lord and received section 38. Orson Pratt, remembering the occasion, stated:
“This brings to my mind a revelation which was given in a general conference on the 2d day of January 1831; the church then having been organized about nine months. All the Saints were gathered together from various little branches that had been established, in the house of old Father Whitmer… whose house became conspicuous as the place where the Prophet Joseph Smith received many revelations and communications from heaven. In one small room of a log house nearly all the Latter Day Saints east of Ohio were collected together. They desired the Prophet of the Lord to inquire of God and receive a revelation to guide and instruct the church that were present. Br. Joseph seated himself by the table; br. Sidney Rigdon… was requested to act as scribe in writing the revelation from the mouth of the Prophet Joseph.”
Not all the New York Saints were willing to sell their farms and move to Ohio. John Whitmer, aware of the concerns of those present, stated that the idea of the Church membership moving west caused “divisions among the congregation” some of whom asserted that the revelation had been invented by Joseph Smith himself. Newel Knight recalled that the instructions to gather to Ohio required much preparation and obliged the Saints to make “great sacrifices of our property.”
Around 23 January 1831 Joseph Smith and Sidney Rigdon, among others, left New York for Ohio; they arrived about 30 January 1831. Most New York Saints had arrived in the Kirtland, Ohio, area by mid-May 1831.
Publication Note. Section 38 was first published in the Evening and Morning Star (April 1833) and was included as chapter 40 in the Book of Commandments in 1833. (pp. 55-56)
This is the background information on D&C 38 in the Revelations in Context chapter “Go to the Ohio”:
Joseph’s mother, Lucy, later remembered that Joseph had received word that the fledgling congregations in Ohio were badly in need of direction, as the number of converts had ballooned to 300.10 Then, as Joseph and Sidney Rigdon traveled from Fayette to Canandaigua, New York, in late December, they received a revelation directing the Church to “go to the Ohio.”11 In the revelation, the men were also directed to temporarily stop working on the Bible revision in order to strengthen the congregations in New York in preparation for the move.
Three days later, the third conference of the Church convened in Fayette, and Joseph announced to the members the Lord’s charge to leave their homes and gather in Ohio. In connection with the announcement, Joseph dictated another revelation that elaborated on the command to gather and promised members that in Ohio they would receive God’s “law & there you shall be endowed with power from on high.”12
Newel Knight later wrote that the members present were “instructed as a people, to begin the gathering of Israel, and a revelation was given to the Prophet on this subject.”13 Though some Church members balked at the commandment to abandon their homes and gather to a new place, after a night of fasting and prayer, the young Church committed to obey the charge.14
This is more background information on the same section (38) from Saints, Volume I, Chapter 10, “Gathered In”:
At the end of December, the Lord instructed Joseph and Sidney to pause their work on the translation. “A commandment I give unto the church,” He declared, “that they should assemble together at the Ohio.” They were to gather with the new converts in the Kirtland area and wait for the missionaries to return from the West.
“Here is wisdom,” the Lord stated, “and let every man choose for himself until I come.”20
The call to move to Ohio seemed to bring the Saints closer to fulfilling ancient prophecies about the gathering of God’s people. The Bible and Book of Mormon both promised that the Lord would gather together His covenant people to safeguard them against the perils of the last days. In a recent revelation, the Lord had told Joseph that this gathering would soon begin.21
But the call still came as a shock. At the church’s third conference, held at the Whitmers’ home soon after the new year, many of the Saints were troubled, their minds full of questions about the commandment.22 Ohio was sparsely settled and hundreds of miles away. Most church members knew little about it.
Many of them had also worked hard to improve their property and cultivate prosperous farms in New York. If they moved as a group to Ohio, they would have to sell their property quickly and would probably lose money. Some might even be ruined financially, especially if the land in Ohio proved less rich and fertile than their land in New York.
Hoping to ease concerns about the gathering, Joseph met with the Saints and received a revelation.23 “I hold forth and deign to give unto you greater riches, even a land of promise,” the Lord declared, “and I will give it unto you for the land of your inheritance, if you seek it with all your hearts.” By gathering together, the Saints could flourish as a righteous people and be protected from the wicked.
The Lord also promised two additional blessings to those who gathered to Ohio. “There I will give unto you my law,” He said, “and there you shall be endowed with power from on high.”24
The revelation calmed the minds of most of the Saints in the room, although a few people refused to believe it came from God. Joseph’s family, the Whitmers, and the Knights were among those who believed and chose to follow it.25
As the leader of the Colesville branch of the church, Newel Knight returned home and began to sell what he could. He also spent much of his time visiting church members. Following the example of Enoch’s people, he and other Saints in Colesville worked together and sacrificed to ensure the poor could make the journey before spring.26
Joseph, meanwhile, felt an urgent need to get to Kirtland and meet the new converts. Although Emma was pregnant with twins and was recovering from a long bout of sickness, she climbed aboard the sleigh, determined to go with him.27
Let this suffice as background information for better understanding the Lord’s revelation through the Prophet Joseph Smith that is now contained in Doctrine and Covenants 38. In the following post we will examine and expound upon the revelation itself.