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by Paul C. Richards

Section 124, given January 19, 1841, to the Prophet Joseph Smith, is the longest revelation in the Doctrine and Covenants. It was the first section received at Nauvoo, Illinois, and was first printed in the 1844 edition of the Doctrine and Covenants as number 103.

Church members had fled from Missouri to Illinois in 1839 to escape the Extermination Order of Governor Lilburn W. Boggs. The eastern banks of the Mississippi River became a place of refuge and the Church headquarters. By 1841, Nauvoo had been established there and the village had grown to approximately 3,000 inhabitants. In that setting, section 124 served as an important inaugural, a kind of Constitution for further development of Nauvoo and the Church. It provided instruction on temporal, doctrinal, and organizational matters, and gave assignments and counsel to fifty-five individuals.

Section 124 includes the following:

• A charge to Joseph Smith to "make a solemn proclamation" of the gospel to rulers of all nations (verses 2-14, 16-17, 107).

• Directions to build the Nauvoo house, a hotel where "the weary traveler may find health and safety" while contemplating the word of the Lord (verses 22-24, 56-82).

• A commandment to members to assist in building the Nauvoo Temple, begun three months earlier. It was to be a place for the Lord to restore the fulness of the priesthood and reveal "things which have been kept hid from before the foundation of the world" pertaining to the dispensation of the fulness of times (verses 25-28, 40-44; see also Temple Ordinances).

• A promise that if members would hearken unto the voice of God and his servants, "they shall not be moved out of their place" (verses 45-46).

• A clarification on baptism for the dead, defined as a temple ordinance. The revelation said Moses had received a similar charge to build a tabernacle for ordinance work (verses 25-48).

• A declaration that efforts of the Saints to establish a city and temple in Missouri were accepted by the Lord, even though persecutions prevented their establishment at that time (verses 49-54).

• Callings and confirmations of various positions in the Church, including a listing of some new officers and a reiteration of some previous callings. For example, Hyrum Smith was named as patriarch, replacing his father, who had died September 14, 1840. Joseph Smith, Sidney Rigdon, and William Law were appointed to the First Presidency. Brigham Young was renamed President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles (he had been sustained in this position on April 14, 1840), and assignments were made to that quorum. Twelve members were named for a stake high council, and others were called to serve in the presidencies of the high priests, elders, seventies, two bishoprics, and priests. Teachers, deacons, and stake organizations were mentioned, but no leadership assignments in these were made (verses 20-21, 123-42).

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Encyclopedia of Mormonism, Vol. 1, Doctrine and Covenants Section 124

Copyright © 1992 by Macmillan Publishing Company