D&C 111

111:1 - Section 111 covers some concepts that are near and dear to my heart, money and money making. I don’t really care about money very much, but that’s because I’ve always had enough. I try all types of business stuff all the time and I feel like there’s a lot to this section that pertains to me and gives me comfort, such as verse 1 saying, “I, the Lord your God, am not displeased with your coming this journey, notwithstanding your follies.” The IM says, “The Prophet Joseph Smith’s motives for following William Burgess’s suggestion to search for the hidden treasure in Salem were good, prompted by his love for the Saints and for the Church. It appeared that in one incredible stroke of good fortune the Church could gain money enough to clear itself of its debts and care for the suffering Saints in Kirtland and Zion. The leading elders had no thought of personal gain in the trip. So the Lord was not displeased with their journey, ‘notwithstanding (their) follies.’ Their folly lay in the fact that less than three years earlier, the Prophet Joseph Smith had received counsel from the Lord about the Church’s indebtedness. At that time Church members were told that if they would humble themselves and seek through diligence and the prayer of faith to be relieved of their indebtedness, the Lord would send means for their deliverance. Now, still deeply in debt, Church leaders were trying to solve the financial difficulties of the Church through their own efforts. The Lord reminded them that He could give them power to pay their debts and that He would deal mercifully with Zion. Occasionally Church members with financial difficulties are tempted to seek relief in highly speculative investments. They focus on the hope that the Lord will take away their problems and reward their sincerity in a sensational way, when more often the Lord blesses us through quiet miracles or by giving us the means to work our way out of our problems. The lessons of section 111 are of great value to Saints in all circumstances. The Lord allowed the Prophet Joseph to go to Salem, for in Salem was a treasure of much greater value to the kingdom than that for which they had come. There were many souls in Salem whom the Lord knew would accept the gospel. Their conversion would greatly benefit the Lord’s work because these new members of the Church would unite their efforts with those the Saints and contribute generously to the cause of Zion. Elder Erastus Snow wrote of his own later experiences in Salem: ‘Until this time (6 July 1841) I had been calculating to spend the summer in the country and return home to Nauvoo late in the fall in compliance with advice given me by President Joseph Smith when I left in Nov. last- But President Hyrum Smith and (William) Law who had been easy as far as Salem, Massachusetts and just returned through Philadelphia on their way home again (counseled) that I should not return to Nauvoo in the fall but that I should go immediately with Brother Winchester to Salem Mass. and try to establish the kingdom in that city. They left with us a copy of a revelation given about that people in 1836 which said the Lord had much people there whom he would gather into his kingdom in his own due time and they thought the due time of the Lord had come. Though I felt anxious to go home in the fall and thought it would involve with little property I had in the West in a difficulty to stay I felt willing to do the will of the Lord. I prayed earnestly to know his will and his spirit continually whispered to go to Salem… the conference also voted that I should go and promised their prayers in my behalf that God might open an effectual door for the work.’ Later entries in his journal show that Elder Snow baptized over one hundred people from the time he arrived in Salem until he returned to Nauvoo on 11 April 1843. For example Elder Snow indicated that there were ninety members in the Salem branch on 28 May 1842.” This is an interesting lesson that I’ve learned over time because honestly, it isn’t too far-fetched, especially in our society to hear of large transactions taking place with millions or billions of dollars, and think “can’t I just have a little bit off the top there?” I don’t want all this money so that I can live in a fancy house or drive a fancy car or anything like that, I just want to be able to spend more time with my kids and work less, that’s all and I’ve tried so many different things, and I believe that the Lord wanted me to do many of them because I’ve learned many many lessons while in the pursuit of business. I’ve learned how to talk to complete strangers, how to make connections with people I don’t know, how to steer a conversation, I’ve learned to follow the prophets, I’ve learned about money and wealth and poverty. I’ve learned so many lessons and looking back on my experiences, they make perfect sense. It’s so easy to think that we’re going to be given this windfall, but the IM is correct. I haven’t seen any major loads of cash knocking at my door, but there have been times too many to count where I’ve been given the opportunity to work myself out of a financial hole. I have a great job, I’m exceptionally blessed financially, and that is my blessing. For the Prophet Joseph Smith to think that the Lord had secured a large financial sum of money for use by the Church is totally logical, makes total sense, it just wasn’t the Lord’s will at the time.

111:2-4 - The Lord assures them that he has “much treasure in this city for you, for the benefit of Zion, and many people in this city, whom I will gather out in due time for the benefit of Zion, throughout your instrumentality. Therefore, it is expedient that you should form acquaintance with me in this city, as you shall be led, and as it shall be given you.” I had the idea while listening to this that this might have meant that the people in the city will embrace the gospel and as a result pay tithing, so the money will come into the church through those means and not through the means of an abandoned basement mattress full of cash. And the Lord tells them that “in due time I will give this city into your hands… and its wealth pertaining to gold and silver shall be yours.” The IM teaches, “ ‘In due time the Almighty will give Salem into ‘your’ hands, that the Elders shall have power over it, insomuch that ‘they,’ probably meaning the people of the city, shall not discover ‘your secret parts.’ Not only that, but also the wealth of the city, its gold and silver, shall be in possession of the brethren. This verse is obviously a prophecy of some future happening, even yet future, and evidently looks forward to a day when the Lord’s Kingdom will be established upon the earth, when towns, cities, and nations will be governed under his direction by brethren holding the Priesthood. When that day comes, the Elders of the Church will govern even Salem without being shamed by the people of the city. Its wealth will also be theirs. The meaning here is that it will be used, not so much for their own personal desires, as for righteous purposes.’”

111:5-6 - Here’s where it starts to be important to understand the history of this section and reconcile the words here with the current counsel of the prophets. The Lord tells them “concern not yourselves about your debts, for I will give you power to pay them. Concern not yourselves about Zion, for I will deal mercifully with her.” We are counseled now to stay out of debt, to be self-sufficient, and to live modestly and frugally, and it sounds like the Lord’s counsel here is the opposite of that. We have to remember that during the birth of the Church in this dispensation, the tasks were so all consuming that there wasn’t much time for the temporal aspects of this life. JS couldn’t go get a job that took up all this time, the heading of this section says that they were in debt because of the time they committed to the restoration of the gospel. They didn’t live in a vacuum, the money had to come from somewhere to move and publish and build all these things, to spread the gospel. It seems to me that perhaps JS was taking ownership of those debts, trying to pay them off, letting them weigh him down. It seems that the Lord is essentially saying, “those are my debts, I’ll pay for them,” taking the ownership off of JS and giving him some breathing room. The Lord is NOT telling us today “don’t worry about getting into debt, I’ll pay them off for you.” It’s very easy to get talked into that state of mind, I know I did. I used to think that I was so special I didn’t have to follow the prophet’s counsel. Now I know that it is because I am so special that I need to follow the prophet’s counsel. I’m grateful for the way the Lord has orchestrated my learning experience, it’s truly been amazing.

111:7- - The Lord tells them to stay in Salem and that “the place where it is my will that you should tarry, for the main, shall be signalized unto you by the peace and power of my Spirit, that shall flow unto you.” The Lord could have straight out told them “you should stay at this place for this amount of time and talk to these people about these subjects,” but he didn’t. He gave them the opportunity to learn to communicate with the Holy Ghost. The IM says, “Righteous servants of the Lord who seek His help in their decisions can know that He approves their actions through the peace and confidence that comes to their souls. By being sensitive to the Spirit, the Lord’s people can be continually led by Him in their lives. This verse is also a reminder that when we follow the Spirit, we know where the Lord wants us to be.” Finally the Lord finished the revelation with some interesting instruction. He tells them to “inquire diligently concerning the more ancient inhabitants and founds of this city; for there are more treasures than one for you in this city.” The IM gives insight saying, “Elder B.H. Roberts said that the Lord’s instructions to learn about the ancient inhabitants of Salem were given, ‘doubtless having in view the securing of their genealogies and redemption of the past generations of men who had lived there. So that if for a moment the weakness of men was manifested in this journey, we see that fault reproved and the strength and wisdom of God made manifest by directing the attention of his servants to the real and true treasures that he would have them seek, even the salvation of men, both the living and the dead.’ Verse 9 of this section was also of great importance to the Prophet because of his special association with the people of Salem. Smith and Sjodahl pointed out that ‘history is, perhaps the most useful knowledge a missionary can have, next to a thorough understanding of the principles of the gospel, but ‘ancient in habitants’ refers more particularly to the ancestors of the Prophet. The Revelation was given at Salem, the county seat of Essex County, Massachusetts. It was in that county that Robert Smith, the first of the Smith family in America, settled. It was the residence of many more of the pioneer immigrants of American, whose descendants joined the Church. At Salem, the county seat, the records for all the towns in the county were kept, and the smith’s record, among others, were there. The matter of genealogy evidently entered into the inquiry concerning the ‘ancient inhabitants,’ for a purpose which was manifest later, of the salvation of the dead.’” This is one of those examples of a time where those on the other side wanting to get their work done facilitate opportunities for them to be discovered to their posterity. I wonder how the Prophet felt when he discovered this fact in Salem, how fun.

111:11 – The end verse is particularly powerful for me, saying “Therefore, be ye as wise as serpents and yet without sin; and I will order all things for your good, as fast as ye are able to receive them.” I struggle with this concept SO much. I want what I want, right now, especially if it’s a righteous desire, like to get out of debt or to stay home with my kids or to get married again. So often I have to stop myself from battering the Lord constantly like “why can’t I have this?” And this is comforting to me because it says that I will get all the righteous desires of my heart, but in the Lord’s time, and a lot of that is based on when I’m ready for it.