Doctrine and Covenants Week 26: D&C 124128

1) The next four lessons will cover the Nauvoo years (18391846). a) Although there are fewer canonized revelations from this time than from previous periods in Church history, many important doctrines and practices were established in Nauvoo, and Joseph gave many recorded sermons that contain invaluable teachings.1 2) The establishment of Nauvoo. a) [SLIDE 2] Eight to ten thousand Saints were forced from Missouri in the winter of 18381839. i) Most of them travelled east across Missouri to Quincy, Illinois, where the local residents treated them kindly and helped them find food, shelter, and work. ii) Joseph Smith joined them on 22 April 1839, after having been allowed to escape custody in Missouri.2 b) Forty-five miles to the north of Quincy, along a wide bend in the Mississippi River, lay the town of Commerce, Illinois. i) The town had failed to attract settlers, so a land agent offered it to the Saints. They made their first land purchases there in May 1839, and promptly began to resettle there. ii) [SLIDE 3] In August 1839, Joseph Smith renamed the city Nauvoo, a Hebrew word meaning beautiful.3 c) By the spring of 1840 Nauvoo had its own city charter, granted by the state legislature in Springfield, Illinois.4 i) This charter gave Nauvoo significant power and autonomy, including the establishment of a municipal court and the University of Nauvoo. (1) [SLIDE 4] They also had power to organize the Nauvoo Legion, a militia that answered to the city mayor. (a) This was especially important to the Saints after the abuses they had suffered under the county militias in Missouri. (b) At its height the Nauvoo Legion had at least 2,000 troops, including infantry and cavalry.

1 See T. Edgar Lyon, Doctrinal Development of the Church During the Nauvoo Sojourn, 18391846, BYU Studies 15/4 (Summer 1975), 43546 (https://byustudies.byu.edu/showTitle.aspx?title=5189). 2 Joseph Smith and four other Mormons were held in the Liberty, Missouri, jail from 1 December 1838 to 6 April 1839 (see lesson 25, pages 46; https://sites.google.com/site/hwsarc/home/dc/week25). On 6 April 1839 were transferred to the Daviess County Jail in Gallatin, Missouri, where a grand jury was investigating the charges against them. On appeal they were granted a change of venue to Boone County, Missouri. On 15 April 1839, while en route to Boone County, they were allowed to escape after the sheriff and three of their guards drank whiskey and the fourth guard helped them saddle their horses. History of the Church 3:32022 (http://byustudies.byu.edu/hc/3/22.html#320). 3 The Hebrew word (navu), to be beautiful, appears in three verses in the Old Testament, where the King James Bible renders it becometh (Psalm 93:5), comely (Song of Solomon 1:10), and beautiful (Isaiah 52:7). 4 The text of the Nauvoo city charter was published in Times and Seasons 2/6 (15 January 1841), 28185 (http://contentdm.lib.byu.edu/cdm/ref/collection/NCMP1820-1846/id/9713).

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(c) Joseph himself was appointed Lieutenant General, the highest ranking officer of the Legion. d) [SLIDE 5] Also in the spring of 1840, Joseph sent the Twelve on a second mission to Great Britain, where they had enormous success.5 i) One year later, as Brigham Young was departing for the United States, he reflected on what the apostles had accomplished:
We landed in the spring of 1840, as strangers in a strange land and penniless, but through the mercy of God we have gained many friends, established churches in almost every noted town and city in the kingdom of Great Britain, baptized between seven and eight thousand, printed 5,000 Books of Mormon, 3,000 Hymn Books, 2,500 [copies] of the Millennial Star, and 50,000 tracts, and emigrated to Zion 1,000 souls, established a permanent shipping agency which will be a great blessing to the Saints, and have sown in the hearts of many thousands the seeds of eternal truth, which will bring forth fruit to the honor and glory of God, and yet we have lacked nothing to eat, drink or wear; in all these things I acknowledge the hand of God.6

ii) By 1846 Mormon missionaries had baptized almost 18,000 British citizens. Of these, over 4,700 emigrated to Nauvoo. e) [SLIDE 6] In March 1842, Joseph presided over the organization of the Female Relief Society, with Emma Smith as its first president. i) The Society was raise funds for the support of the poor and the construction of the temple, and advance moral reform and civic activism. ii) [SLIDE 7] At their first meeting, President Emma Smith remarked, We are going to do something extraordinarywhen a boat is stuck on the rapids with a multitude of Mormons on board we shall consider that a loud call for reliefwe expect extraordinary occasions and pressing calls.7 iii) By the date of their last recorded meeting two years later (March 1844), a total of 1,331 women had enrolled as members, most of them joining the first year. f) [SLIDE 8] Following the Illinois political model, Nauvoo was divided into wards, with an alderman elected from each ward elected to the city council. i) These wards also became the first local congregations of the Nauvoo Stake, and the name has been in use ever since, even though it no longer has any political meaning. g) There were several key figures in the Church who served both as spiritual and political leaders. i) Weve already mentioned Joseph Smith, who was the head of the Nauvoo Legion. ii) Several of these brethren were mentioned in Josephs next revelation, received 19 January 1841, now section 124 of the Doctrine and Covenants.

5 For more on the 1840/41 British mission, see James B. Allen and Malcolm R. Thorp, The Mission of the Twelve to England, 184041: Mormon Apostles and the Working Classes, BYU Studies 15/4 (Summer 1975), 499526 (https://byustudies.byu.edu/showtitle.aspx?title=5194). 6 Brigham Young, History of Brigham Young, The Latter-Day Saints Millennial Star 26/1 (2 January 1864), 7 (http://contentdm.lib.byu.edu/cdm/ref/collection/MStar/id/27241). 7 Minutes of the Female Relief Society of Nauvoo, 17 March 1842, p. 12 (http://josephsmithpapers.org/paperSummary/nauvoo-relief-society-minute-book?p=9).

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iii) [SLIDE 9] Hyrum Smith. (1) 124:15. I, the Lord, love him because of the integrity of his heart, and because he loveth that which is right before me. (2) Hyrum had been called as second counselor in the First Presidency in November 1837. (3) 124:9193. After the death of Joseph Smith, Sr. in September 1840, the Lord directed Hyrum to be ordained Church Patriarch in his fathers stead. (4) 124:9496. He was also to be ordained as an Assistant Church President, to replace Oliver Cowdery.8 (5) As part of these two callings, he also received the sealing keys (124:93) which had been bestowed upon Oliver by Elijah the prophet in the Kirtland Temple (110:13 16). iv) [SLIDE 10] John C. Bennett.9 (1) 124:1617. Bennett is mentioned in Josephs revelation, but note the three ifs that made all of his promised blessing conditional. (2) Bennett was a Massachusetts native who had had several encounters with Mormonism during the 1830s.10 (3) He was a medical doctor, specializing in gynecology, and had risen to high office in the Illinois state militia by 1840. (4) After an exchange of correspondence with Joseph Smith,11 Bennett came to Nauvoo and was baptized in September 1840. (5) He help craft and pass the Nauvoo city charter, which secured for him the confidence of Joseph Smith. (6) By February 1841 he had been elevated to three of the highest leadership posts in the city: mayor, chancellor of the Nauvoo University, and major general of the Nauvoo Legion (second in command to Joseph). (7) In April 1841 general conference he was sustained as a counselor in the First Presidency. (8) [SLIDE 11] Eventually, however, rumors began to swirl that Bennett was involved in widespread sexual immorality.12 Eventually he was caught having secret sexual relationships with women in the city.

8 Oliver was ordained second elder on 6 April 1830. Joseph later ordained him assistant-president to the High and Holy Priesthood on 5 December 1834 (HC2:176; http://byustudies.byu.edu/hc/2/13.html#176), in which position he remained until his excommunication on 11 April 1838. The office of Assistant President was the second-highest authority in the Church and was a member of the First Presidency. The Assistant President ranked higher than the counselors in the First Presidency, and was to officiate in the absence of the President. It appears that Joseph was attempting to establish a line of succession in the event of his death; if so, Hyrum would probably have become the second President of Church had he not been killed at Carthage with Joseph on 27 June 1844. 9 For an extensive survey of John C. Bennetts career, personality, and deceptions, see Gregory L. Smith draft chapter of a book he intends to publish on plural marriage (http://pool.fairmormon.org/images/d/db/John_C._Bennett_draft.pdf). 10 Bennett was a member of Alexander Campbells Church of Christ, the same movement from which Sidney Rigdon had been converted. 11 One example is Bennetts 30 July 1840 letter to Sidney Rigdon and Joseph Smith, in which he expresses his anxiety to be with the Saints and offers them his military knowledge & prowess (http://josephsmithpapers.org/paperSummary/letterfrom-john-c-bennett-30-july-1840?p=1).

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(a) He told the women that the practice, which he called spiritual wifery, was sanctioned of God and Joseph Smith, that these women were now his wives, and that Joseph did the same.13 (b) When discovered, he privately confessed his crimes, and produced an affidavit that Joseph Smith had no part in his adultery. (c) Although he vowed to change, he was caught again. His indiscretions were publicly exposed and in June 1842 Joseph publicly announced that Bennett had been excommunicated from the Church and stripped of public office. (i) His career in Nauvoo lasted less than two years. (9) [SLIDE 12] After leaving Nauvoo in May 1842, he wrote a tell-all book, The History of the Saints; or, An Expose of Joe Smith and Mormonism, and went on a nationwide book tour.14 (a) Unlike others who had joined the Church in good faith and then later lost faith and fell away, Bennett had been a fraud from the start. v) [SLIDE 13] William Law (124:8791, 97102). (1) Law was an Irish immigrant who had lived in Pennsylvania and later moved to Ontario, Canada, where he was baptized in 1836. (2) He led a wagon caravan of Saints to Nauvoo in 1839, where he became acquainted with the Prophet. (3) In January 1841 he was called to serve as second counselor in the First Presidency (124:91). (4) As well discuss in three weeks, the fallout between William Law and Joseph Smith led directly to Josephs death. vi) [SLIDE 14] Sidney Rigdon (124:103110). (1) Sidney was First Counselor in the First Presidency, and participated in the founding of Nauvoo, was elected to the city council, and served as city attorney and postmaster. (2) But after his experience at Liberty Jail, Sidney was a different man. During the Nauvoo years he was almost completely silent and often sick. (a) 124:104. The Lord promised Sidney, through Joseph, that if he would be faithful, he would be healed and restored to his position as a spokesman for the Church. (3) By October 1843 had lost confidence in Sidney15 and wished to have him replaced as a counselor in the First Presidency, but Hyrum convinced Joseph not to.16
12 Soon after Bennetts baptism was announced the Mormon press, Joseph received a letter that charged Bennett with abandoning his wife and children in the east. Joseph sent Hyrum Smith and William Law to investigate, and in July 1841 he received a letter from them verifying the charge was accurate. Joseph confronted Bennett, who broke down and confessed, and tried to take his own life by poison, but recovered. Joseph forgave him and pledged to keep his past a secret, but Bennett continued to have secret affairs that were discovered in May 1842. 13 Bennetts private claim that Joseph was engaged in the same practice was a half-truth: Joseph was privately involved in the early practice of plural marriage, and had shared this with some of the leading brethren (including Bennett), but Joseph was not using this doctrine to coerce women into sexual relationships. Well discuss Josephs practice of plural marriage in lesson 28. 14 You can read Bennetts book online at http://books.google.com/books?id=C8Y8AAAAcAAJ&printsec=frontcover .

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3) Doctrinal development in Nauvoo. a) [SLIDE 15] Once again, the Saints were commanded to build a temple (124:2755). i) However, this temple was to be different than the ones in Ohio and Missouri.17 (1) 124:28. At the Nauvoo Temple the Lord promised to restore again that which was losteven the fulness of the priesthood. (2) 124:3839. The Lord also revealed that his people in all ages have always been commanded to build temples so that sacred ordinances could be revealed unto them.18 (3) One of these ordinances was baptism for the dead. b) Baptism for the dead. i) The origins of the doctrine of salvation for the dead can be found in Moronis quotation of Malachi 4:56 to Joseph Smith on the night of 21 September 1823. (1) This extract from Joseph Smiths history is canonized in two places: Joseph SmithHistory 1:3839 and D&C 2:13. ii) Salvation for the dead had been actively considered by the Prophet for at least 4 years before he publicly taught it. (1) In January 1836 he had a vision in the Kirtland Temple, in which he saw his deceased brother, Alvin, and was told, All who have died without a knowledge of this gospel, who would have received it if they had been permitted to tarry, shall be heirs of the celestial kingdom of God (137:7).19 (2) On 3 April 1836, the prophet Elijah appeared in the Kirtland Temple to Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery, bringing the keys of the sealing power (110:1316).20 iii) [SLIDE 16] Joseph first taught baptism for the dead during his funeral sermon for Seymour Brunson on 15 August 1840.

Sidney did not endorse the principle of plural marriage, although he never came out in opposition to it. This was the source of much of the tension between him and Joseph. (This will be discussed more in lesson 28.) 16 See the minutes of a Special Conference, held in Nauvoo on 68 October 1843. HC 6:47 49 (http://byustudies.byu.edu/hc/6/3.html#47). After the conference voted to retain Rigdon as a Counselor in the First Presidency, Joseph arose and said, I have thrown him [Rigdon] off my shoulders, and you have again put him on me. You may carry him, but I will not. 17 In this revelation, the Lord rescinded the commandment to build a temple in Jackson County (124:4951). This places 84:15 in a different light that it would otherwise read: It was not a prophecy that a temple would be built in Jackson County in this generation (84:5), but rather a commandment to build a temple there. When the Saints attempted to fulfill the commandment and were hindered by their enemies, the Lord saw fit to revoke the commandment. (Wherefore I, the Lord, command and revoke, as it seemeth me good56:4.) See
15 18 These ordinances are not always the same in each dispensation. Mosessought diligently to sanctify [the Isr aelites] that they might behold the face of God; but they hardened their hearts and could not endure [Gods] presencetherefore, he took Moses out of their midst, and the Holy Priesthood also; and the lesser priesthood continued (84:2326). The ordinances performed in the tabernacle, and later at the temple at Jerusalem, were ordinances of the Aaronic priesthood. 19 We will discuss this vision in lesson 30. 20 See lesson 22, pages 910 (https://sites.google.com/site/hwsarc/home/dc/week22).

http://en.fairmormon.org/Joseph_Smith/Alleged_false_prophecies/Independence_temple_to_be_built_%22in_this_generation%22 .

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[Joseph] read the greater part of the 15th chapter of Corinthians and remarked that the Gospel of Jesus Christ brought glad tidings of great joy, and then remarked that he saw a widow in that congregation that had a son who died without being baptized, and this widow in reading the sayings of Jesus except a man be born of water and of the spirit he cannot enter the kingdom of heaven, and that not one jot nor tittle of the Saviors words should pass away, but all should be fulfilled. He then said that this widow should have glad tidings in that thing. He also said the apostle [Paul] was talking to a people who understood baptism for the dead, for it was practiced among them. He went on to say that people could now act for their friends who had departed this life, and that the plan of salvation was calculated to save all who were willing to obey the requirements of the law of God.21

(1) After the funeral service, a widow named Jane Nyman, to whom the Prophet had referred in his sermon, was baptized vicariously for deceased son Cyrus in the Mississippi Riverthe first occasion of the performance of this ordinance in modern times.22 iv) [SLIDE 17] In a 15 December 1840 epistle to the Twelve Apostles who were away on missions, Joseph wrote:
I presume the doctrine of baptism for the dead has ere this reached your ears, and may have raised some inquiries in your minds respecting the same. I cannot in this letter give you all the information you may desire on the subject; but aside from knowledge independent of the Bible, I would say that it was certainly practiced by the ancient churches. The Saints have the privilege of being baptized for those of their relatives who are dead, whom they believe would have embraced the Gospel, if they had been privileged with hearing it, and who have received the Gospel in the spirit, through the instrumentality of those who have been commissioned to preach to them while in prison. Without enlarging on the subject, you will undoubtedly see its consistency and reasonableness; and it presents the Gospel of Christ in probably a more enlarged scale than some have imagined it.23

v) This privilege was received with great joy, and people flocked to the riverside to be baptized on behalf of departed relatives and friends. Many of these first baptisms were done without a recorder present. (1) Two further inspired commandments corrected this initial practice:

21 Reminiscent account of Simon Baker, left with the Church Historians Office. Words of Joseph Smith 49. Unfortunately there is no known contemporary text for this discourse. 22 In the early days of the Church proxies were baptized for individuals regardless of gender. Brigham Young standardized the current practice of men being baptized for men and women for women in 1845. Wilford Woodruff later explained: How did we feel when we first heard the living could be baptized for the dead? We all went to work at it as fast as we had an opportunity, and were baptized for everybody we could think of, without respect to sex. I went and was baptized for all my friends, grandmothers, and aunts, as those of the male sex; but how was it? Why, by-and-by, it was revealed, through the servants of the Lord, that females should be baptised for females, and males for males; but the full particulars of this order was not revealed till after the days of Joseph: therefore this shows an advance in the building up of the kingdom, the gathering of Israel, and the warning of the nations of the earth. Woodruff, 9 April 1857. Journal of Discourses 5:85 (http://en.fairmormon.org/Journal_of_Discourses/5/19#85). 23 HC 4:231 (http://byustudies.byu.edu/hc/4/13.html#231).

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(a) [SLIDE 18] The Lord commanded that a baptismal font be built within the new temple for the purpose of conducting baptisms for the dead. He allowed their performance in Mississippi River for the time being, but said that if the temple and font were not completed within a reasonable time, ye shall be rejected as a church, with your dead (124:2932). (i) On 3 October 1841, in General Conference, Joseph gave a sermon on baptism for the dead which [was] listened to with intense interest by the large assembly. He presented baptism for the dead as the only way that men can appear as saviors on Mount Zion.24 1. [SLIDE 19] He explained, Those Saints who neglect it in behalf of their deceased relatives, do it at the peril of their own salvation, and then announced:
There shall be no more baptisms for the dead, until the ordinance can be attended to in the Lords House; and the Church shall not hold another General Conference, until they can meet in said house. For thus saith the Lord!25

(ii) [SLIDE 20] A temporary font was dedicated in the cellar of the temple by Brigham Young on 8 November 1841, and ordinance work began on 21 November, when forty proxy baptisms were performed.26 1. During the entire Nauvoo period, 15,626 recorded baptisms for the dead were performed in and about the vicinity of the Nauvoo Temple. (b) [SLIDE 21] The second correction came during another difficult time in Josephs life. (i) On 8 August 1842 a sheriff from Missouri arrested Joseph on the charge of conspiracy to murder former governor Lilburn W. Boggs.27 A Nauvoo court issued a writ of habeas corpus, and Joseph was released temporarily. He spent the next four months in hiding, knowing that if he was extradited to Missouri he would never return alive. (ii) On 1 and 6 September 1842 he wrote two epistles to the Saints on the subject of baptism for the dead. These epistles are now known as D&C 127 and 128. 1. They were written in the attic of Edward Hunters house, which was so small he couldnt stand up straight. 2. 127:69. In the first epistle, he gave a commandment from the Lord that there be a recorder present to witness these baptisms, and that his record should be kept in the archives of the temple, and thereby it would also be recorded in heaven.
24 HC 4:42425 (http://byustudies.byu.edu/hc/4/26.html#424). This last phrase is a reference to Obadiah 1:21. To understand this verse in context, see Old Testament lesson 22, pages 56 (https://sites.google.com/site/hwsarc/home/ot/week22). 25 HC 4:426 (http://byustudies.byu.edu/hc/4/26.html#426) 26 HC 4:44647 (http://byustudies.byu.edu/hc/4/27.html#446), 454 (http://byustudies.byu.edu/hc/4/27.html#454). 27 On 6 May 1842 Boggs was shot by an unknown gunman as he sat reading in his study. He was seriously wounded in the head and neck, but made a surprising recovery. Two months after the failed attempt on his life, Boggs filed an affidavit charging Orrin Porter Rockwell and Joseph Smith with attempted murder. Rockwell was arrested in March 1843 and taken to Jackson County, Missouri, where he was held for trial. He was acquitted in December 1843. At his trial he was said to have testified, I never shot at anybody; if I shoot, they get shot! Hes still alive, aint he?

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3. 128:18. In his second epistle, he revealed the doctrinal reasoning behind the restoration of the keys of salvation for the dead:
The earth will be smitten with a curse unless there is a welding link of some kind or other between the fathers and the children, upon some subject or otherand behold what is that subject? It is the baptism for the dead. For we without them cannot be made perfect; neither can they without us be made perfect. Neither can they nor we be made perfect without those who have died in the gospel also; for it is necessary in the ushering in of the dispensation of the fulness of times, which dispensation is now beginning to usher in, that a whole and complete and perfect union, and welding together of dispensations, and keys, and powers, and glories should take place, and be revealed from the days of Adam even to the present time.

a. [SLIDE 22] Rudger Clawson, President of the Quorum of the Twelve, taught:
And so we have two great churches, one in heaven, the other upon the earth. They are moving along parallel lines, and the temple of God, it appears to me, is the connecting link that connects the heavens with the earth, because it is through the temple that we will be able to reach our dead, and not otherwise. To pray for the dead may not be of any real assistance to them. To actually help them we must do a work for them.28

i. This is another example of the doctrine of the Church of the Firstbornindividuals are being baptized into Christs Church on earth, and, through baptism for the dead, they are being brought into Christs Church in the spirit world.29 4. 128:2224. Note Josephs unrestrained enthusiasm for the doctrine of salvation for the dead, even in such troubling personal circumstances as he was in. c) [SLIDE 23] A new ordinance revealed. i) In connection with the restoration of the fulness of the priesthood (124:28) and the keys of the holy priesthood (124:34), the Lord also revealed to Joseph ordinanceswhich have been kept hid from the before the foundation of the world (124:4042). This is a reference to the endowment. ii) The Saints had previously been promised that they would be endowed with power from on high.30 This was realized in part at in the Kirtland Temple,31 but Kirtland was only the beginning of the blessing the Lord had in store for them. The later ordinances of washing and anointing, the endowment, and the sealing of husbands and wives were not practiced until Nauvoo.32

Rudger Clawson, General Conference, April 1933 (http://archive.org/stream/conferencereport1933a#page/n77). See notes for lesson 16, page 9 (https://sites.google.com/site/hwsarc/home/dc/week16). 30 See D&C 38:32, 38; 43:16; 95:8; 105:1112, 18, 33. 31 The Kirtland Temple rituals included the ordinance of washing of feet. See lesson 20, pages 10 11 (https://sites.google.com/site/hwsarc/home/dc/week20). 32 According to John Taylor, Joseph was very worried that he might die before he transmitted the endowment:
28 29

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iii) [SLIDE 24] On 4 May 1842 Joseph gave the full endowment for the first time in the upper room of his red brick store to nine of his closest associates.33 This group was called the Quorum of the Anointed.34 (1) Over the next two years more individuals were quietly added to the Anointed Quorum. By the time of the Prophets death in June 1844, the Quorum included 66 people (37 men and 29 women), including all of the Twelve.35 (2) After Josephs death, this group continued to meet under the direction of Brigham Young, and prepared the Nauvoo Temples upper floor for the administration of ordinances to the remainder of the Saints. (a) Between 10 December 1845 and 7 February 1846, 5,634 Saints received their endowments36 in the Nauvoo Temple, after which the temple was closed due to the migration of the Saints westward. During these two months the temple was operating 24 hours a day.37 iv) [SLIDE 25] What is the endowment? (1) The root of endowment is dower, which means a gift, more specifically, a gift given by God to an individual, or by a loving husband to his wife.38 (a) To endow is to enrich or furnish with any gift, and an endowment is that which is given or bestowed upon the person or mind by the creator.39 (b) The endowment should be understood in this sense, then, as a gift from God bestowed upon those who love him and desire to be like him. (2) [SLIDE 26] Brigham Young
There are but few, very few of the Elders of Israel, now on earth, who know the meaning of the word endowment. Let me give you the definition in brief. Your endowment is, to receive all those ordinances in the House of the Lord, which are necessary for you, after you have departed this life, to enable you to walk back to the presence of the Father, passing the angels who stand as sentinels, being enabled to give them the key words, the signs and tokens, pertaining to the Holy Priesthood, and gain your eternal exaltation in spite of earth and hell.40
Joseph Smith before his death, was much exercised about the completion of the Temple in Nauvoo, and the administering of ordinances therein. In his anxiety and for fear he should not live to see the Temple completed, he prepared a place over what was known as the brick-storewhich many of you who lived in Nauvoo will recollectwhere to a chosen few he administered those ordinances that we now have to-day associated with endowments, so that if anything should happen to himwhich he evidently contemplatedhe would feel that he had then fulfilled his mission, that he had conferred upon others all the keys given to him by the manifestations of the power of God. Taylor, 18 May 1884. JD 25:183 (http://en.fairmormon.org/Journal_of_Discourses/25/23#183). 33 Eight men received their endowment on 4 May 1842: James Adams, Heber C. Kimball, William Law, William Marks, George Miller, Willard Richards, Newel K. Whitney, and Brigham Young. Hyrum Smith received his endowment the following day from the others, along with Joseph himself. 34 For a history of this group, see Joseph Smiths Quorum of the Anointed, 18421845: A Documentary History, Devery S. Anderson and Gary James Bergera, eds. (Salt Lake City, Utah: Signature Books, 2005). 35 Many of these individuals also participated in the early, secret practice of plural marriage. 36 The correct terminology is a person receives his (or her) endowment. A person does not take out his endowment, he receives it as a gift. 37 HC 7:54180 (http://byustudies.byu.edu/hc/7/38.html#541). 38 Noah Webster, American Dictionary of the English Language, 1828 ed., s.v. Dower, defs. 3 & 4 (http://archive.org/stream/americandictiona01websrich#page/616). See also KJV Genesis 30:20; 34:12. 39 Webster, s.v. Endow, def. 3; Endowment, def. 3 (http://archive.org/stream/americandictiona01websrich#page/664). 40 Brigham Young, 6 April 1853. JD 2:31 (http://en.fairmormon.org/Journal_of_Discourses/2/6#31 ). 2013, Mike Parker http://bit.ly/ldsarc For personal use only. Not a Church publication.

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(a) This quotation is very important for two reasons: (i) It is, to my knowledge, the only authoritative statement defining what the endowment is,41 and (ii) It is very specific as to what are the essential parts of the endowment. Notice what he says the endowment is and what he does not mention about it. (3) [SLIDE 27] The endowment ceremony itself is a series of covenants and instructions, wrapped within in a ritual drama. (a) The core of the endowmentthe essential part, I would argueis the covenants made between individuals and God, along with instruction on the signs, tokens, and key words. (i) [SLIDE 28] Elder James E. Talmage explained:
The ordinances of the endowment embody certain obligations on the part of the individual, such as covenant and promise to observe the law of strict virtue and chastity, to be charitable, benevolent, tolerant and pure; to devote both talent and material means to the spread of truth and the uplifting of the [human] race; to maintain devotion to the cause of truth; and to seek in every way to contribute to the great preparation that the earth may be made ready to receive her King,the Lord Jesus Christ. With the taking of each covenant and the assuming of each obligation a promised blessing is pronounced, contingent upon the faithful observance of the conditions. No jot, iota, or tittle of the temple rites is otherwise than uplifting and sanctifying. In every detail the endowment ceremony contributes to covenants of morality of life, consecration of person to high ideals, devotion to truth, patriotism to nation, and allegiance to God.42

(b) [SLIDE 29] The covenants, tokens, and so forth are presented within the framework of a drama, with temple workers43 portraying roles in a play that includes the story of the creation, the temptation and fall of man, revelation by prophets, and path of salvation and exaltation. (i) The attendees are participants in the drama, making covenants and receiving instructions along the way that show them how to symbolically return to the presence of Gods celestial glory. (4) Its important to understand that the endowment was not revealed to Joseph word-for-word, scene-for-scene. Rather, he came to understand through inspiration its essential nature, and then put it together in the best fashion he could, using symbols and language that his contemporaries would understand.

The quotation itself is even used in the introductory portion of the endowment ceremony. James E. Talmage, The House of the Lord: A Study of Holy Sanctuaries Ancient and Modern (Salt Lake City, Utah: The Deseret News, 1912), 100 (http://archive.org/stream/houseoflordstudy00talm#page/100). 43 Since the late 1950s, the endowment has been presented on screen, with actors in the film taking over the roles once played by temple workers. This has numerous advantages, including the ability to staff a temple with fewer volunteers that do not need to memorize lengthy parts. The disadvantage to the film presentation, in my opinion, is that it distances the attendees from the role as participants in the drama, and also gives the impression, incorrectly, that the events shown in the film are meant to be historical. Two modern templesSalt Lake City and Manti, Utahstill perform the traditional endowment with temple workers as actors; attending an endowment session at one of these temple can be an enlightening experience.
41 42

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For personal use only. Not a Church publication.

Hurricane Utah Adult Religion Class

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Week 26, Page 11

(a) [SLIDE 30] Brigham Young recalled his experience after receiving his own endowment from Joseph Smith in 1842:
Bro[ther] Joseph turned to me and said: Brother Brigham this is not arranged right, but we have done the best we could under the circumstances in which we are placed, and I wish you to take this mat[t]er in hand and organize and systematize all these ceremonies with the signs, tokens, penalties and key words. I did so and each time I got something more; so that when we went through the Temple at Nauvoo, I understood and knew how to place them there. We had our ceremonies pretty correct.44

(b) This indicates to me that the endowment is a flexible, adaptable work. The method of the presentation can be modified to meet the needs of the audience or to help them understand it better. (5) This brings us to two important points: (a) [SLIDE 31] The first point is that, in constructing the presentation of the endowment, Joseph Smith worked with the symbols and methods of ritual instruction with which he was familiar. (i) Joseph needed to communicate these ideas to a diverse population; some with limited educational attainments, many of whom were immigrants; several with only modest understanding of the English language; all of whom possessed different levels of intellectual and spiritual maturitybut who needed to be instructed through the same ceremony. (ii) [SLIDE 32] Because there are connections between the LDS endowment and the rituals of Freemasonry, it is apparent that Joseph borrowed from Masonic rites when he prepared the endowment. 1. Freemasonry is a fraternal organization that arose in Scotland and England in late 16th and early 17th centuries from the guilds of professional stone workers.45 2. Membership in Freemasonry was common in the United States in the early 19th century,46 and many of the leading men in Nauvoo including Josephs father and brother, Hyrum47were Masons.48 a. Joseph himself was inducted as a Mason at the Nauvoo Lodge only six weeks before first presenting the endowment.49
44 Reminiscence of Brigham Young, recorded in the diary of his secretary, L. John Nuttall. Nuttall journal, 7 February 1877, L. Tom Perry Special Collections, Harold B. Lee Library, Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah. Cited in The Nauvoo Endowment Companies, 18451846: A Documentary History, Devery S. Anderson and Gary James Bergera, eds. (Salt Lake City, Utah: Signature Books, 2005), xxii (see excerpt here: http://signaturebooks.com/2010/10/excerpt-nauvoo-endowmentcompanies). 45 There is a persistent myth believed by many people, including some Latter-day Saints, that modern Freemasonry has ancient origins dating back to the Knights Templar and Solomons temple; however, these connections are without any basis in fact. Masonic ritual makes reference to the Biblical story of the building of Solomons temple, but there is no documented evidence that Masonic lodges date back any further than the late 14th century. 46 Freemasonry was introduced into the United States in the early 1700s, and reached the peak of its influence in the early 1800s. Many of the Founding Fathers were freemasons, and masonic iconography can be found throughout the architecture of Washington D.C. 47 Joseph, Sr. was initiated in Ontario Lodge #23 at Canandaigua, New York around 1816. Several years later, Hyrum received Masonic degrees in Mount Moriah Lodge #112 at Palmyra, New York. 48 See Encyclopedia of Mormonism (New York, New York: Macmillan, 1992), s.v. Freemasonry in Nauvoo, 2:52728 (http://eom.byu.edu/index.php/Freemasonry_in_Nauvoo).

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For personal use only. Not a Church publication.

Hurricane Utah Adult Religion Class

Doctrine and Covenants Sections 124128

Week 26, Page 12

3. There are some similarities between the rituals of Freemasonry and those of the LDS temple endowment. These similarities center around: a. The use of a ritual drama: The story of Hiram Abiff is used by the Masons, while the LDS endowment uses the story of Adam and Eve and the creation. b. Some symbolssigns, passwords, handshakes, clothing, etc.are common to both rituals, although the symbols mean different things in Masonry than they do in the endowment. 4. Joseph and his contemporaries believed that, like Christianity, Masonry had connections to the ancient priesthood, but had become corrupted over time.50 In Josephs view, he was restoring truths that had been lost from Masonry.51 5. And while Joseph may have used some of the symbols and forms available to him from Freemasonry, he drew even more heavily upon ancient Jewish and Christian worship.52 6. Also, I should emphasize that the goals of Freemasonry and the LDS endowment are not the same. a. Masonry teaches of mans relationship to his fellow men and offers no means of salvation. It is not a religion. b. The temple endowment, on the other hand, teaches of mans relationship to God, and Latter-day Saints consider it to be essential for exaltation in the world to come.

49 Joseph was initiated into Freemasonry at the Nauvoo Masonic Lodge on 15 March 1842, and was elevated to the third (sublime) degree on the following day, 16 March. HC 4:55052 (http://byustudies.byu.edu/hc/4/33.html#550). 50 This is abundantly clear from the writings of Josephs contemporaries. I include here three examples, and have in my possession half a dozen more: We have received some precious things through the Prophet on the Priesthood which would cause your soul to rejoice. I cannot give them to you on paper for they are not to be written so you must come and get them for yourself. There is a similarity of Priesthood in Masonry. Brother Joseph says Masonry was taken from Priesthood but has become degenerated. But many things are perfect. Letter from Heber C. Kimball to Parley P. Pratt, 17 June 1842; Parley P. Pratt Papers, LDS Church Archives, Salt Lake City, Utah, spelling and punctuation standardized. Many [in Nauvoo] have joined the Masonic institution. This seems to have been a stepping stone or preparation for something else, the true origin of Masonry. This I have also seen and rejoice in it. I have evidence enough that Joseph is not fallen. I have seen him after giving, as I before said, the origin of Masonry. Joseph Fielding journal. Cited in Andrew F. Ehat, They Might Have Known That He Was Not a Fallen ProphetThe Nauvoo Journal of Joseph Fielding, BYU Studies 19/2 (Winter 1979), 145, 147, spelling and punctuation standardized (https://byustudies.byu.edu/showTitle.aspx?title=5363). Masonry had its origin in the Priesthood. A hint to the wise is sufficient . Willard Richards, letter to Levi Richards, 16 March 1842. Published in Richards Family History, Joseph Grant Stevenson, ed. (Provo, Utah: Stevensons Genealogical Center, 1991), 3:90. 51 As I noted in footnote 45, theres no evidence that Freemasonry goes back to ancient times or has connection to firstcentury Christianity, but Joseph believed that it did. Whether he was right or wrong doesnt really make a difference, as his creation of the endowment was important and unique to Latter-day Saint worship. He wasnt trying to reform Masonry; he was trying to introduce the next level of priesthood ordinances to the Church. 52 There is large body of work on this. Three prominent examples are Hugh Nibley, Temple and Cosmos (Salt Lake City, Utah: Deseret Book and FARMS, 1992) (http://maxwellinstitute.byu.edu/publications/books/?bookid=103); Temples of the Ancient World: Ritual and Symbolism, Donald W. Parry, ed. (Salt Lake City, Utah: Deseret Book and FARMS, 1994); and The Temple in Time and Eternity, Donald W. Parry and Stephen D. Ricks, eds. (Salt Lake City, Utah: Deseret Book and FARMS, 1999) (http://maxwellinstitute.byu.edu/publications/books/?bookid=21).

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For personal use only. Not a Church publication.

Hurricane Utah Adult Religion Class

Doctrine and Covenants Sections 124128

Week 26, Page 13

7. Finally, to put this in a larger context, virtually everything Joseph Smith produced came from influences in his life and surroundings: His doctrines were based on the Bible, and many of his sermons were littered with quotations and paraphrases from the King James Bible; his new translation of the Bible prompted many of the revelations now canonized in our Doctrine and Covenants; his use of seer stones in his early life became an important part of his translation of the Book of Mormon53; his purchase of Egyptian papyri and mummies in 1835 was a catalyst for the Book of Abraham; and so forth. Freemasonry was just one more influence in his life that brought forth new and important teachings. (b) [SLIDE 33] The second point is that, because the presentation of the endowment is flexible, it has been modified from time to time since then to meet the needs of Latter-day Saints whose cultural expectations have changed.54 (i) The Lord is perfectly capable of revealing and inspiring changes to the endowment in order to make it more understandable and embraceable. (ii) These occasional changes are evidence that the Church is guided by revelation. 4) [SLIDE 34] Next week: a) D&C 129131.

See lesson 3, pages 711 (https://sites.google.com/site/hwsarc/home/dc/week03). Significant modifications to the endowment were made in 1877, 1927, and 1990, and minor changes were made in 1893 and 2008.
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For personal use only. Not a Church publication.