D&C 85-87 I Consecrate, Gathering, Prophecy on War I Come Follow Church History with Lynne Wilson

Lesson handouts: https://scripturecentral.org/en/archive/books/book-chapter/d-and-c-85-87-consecration-wheat-and-tares-and-rumors-of-war D&C 85-87 I Consecrate, Gathering Israel, and the Prophecy on War I Come Follow Church History with Lynne Hilton Wilson 0:33 Background and key questions 4:10 Elijah Abel 6:01 Joseph and Newel Whitney mission and Brigham’s conversion 8:21 Gifts of the spirit 11:30 D&C 85 - Answering William W. Phelps’ questions 15:12 The law of concentration 20:40 Steading the ark and Joseph’s history 24:51 D&C 86 - Parable of the wheat and tares 28:12 D&C 87 - Civil War prophesy 33:34 Testimony from Sister Wilson The leaders of the Church in Missouri grew troubled. Saints were gathering there by the hundreds. Relatively few of them were obeying the law of consecration when they arrived. “Have you all fulfilled the law of the church,” William Phelps wrote to them in the Church’s newspaper, “which saith: Behold thou shalt consecrate all thy properties, that which thou hast, unto me, with a covenant and a deed which cannot be broken? In the fall of 1832, the Prophet Joseph and Bishop Newel K. Whitney traveled to New England and New York. On Nov. 6 they returned to Kirtland shortly after Emma delivered Joseph III. In time, Joseph returned to his work and found a letter from the saints in Missouri. The prophet prayed about his response and received direction. He wrote to W. W. Phelps on Nov 27, 1832, which was later published in the Missouri Newspaper, The Evening and Morning Star. A decade later, on Oct 15, 1844, nearly the full letter was published again in the Nauvoo newspaper, Times and Seasons. A portion of the letter made it into the Doctrine and Covenants and became known as D&C 85 Joseph reminded the uncooperative Missouri saints that the Lord had commanded that if they were to build up Zion, they must live the law of consecration (D&C 72:15, 24–26). The Lord’s revelation to clarifies the duty of the Lord’s clerk to record each person who consecrated property, and their names would be in “book of the law of God” (85:5, 7). Record keeping was of great concern to the Lord and the Prophet. The letter reminded John Whitmer of his duty to keep a record of those who consecrated their properties to building up Zion. The letter highlights the continuing challenges between the leaders in Missouri and Ohio. Even though saints wanted to gather to Zion, they did not always want to consecrate their properties and surplus (e.g. William McLellin). This warm encouraging letter to WW Phelps was in sharp contrast to his rebuke in a previous letter dated July 31, 1832. In the November letter, Joseph recorded: “Brother William, in the love of God[,] having the most implicit confidence in you as a man of God[,] having obtained this confidence by a vision of heaven, therefore I will proceed to unfold to you some of the feelings of my heart, and to answer the question” (HoC, 1:297–98). Meanwhile, in Ohio, the community of Saints continues to grow in size. Efforts to build a city of believers moves forward. However, challenges abound as the two communities enter into competition with each other generating some problems between the groups. Another revelation to Joseph from the Lord outlines one of the gifts of the Spirit that Joseph often mentioned as being the most important: the understanding of spirits. At the same time, one of Joseph Smith's most compelling prophecies was released: The prophecy on the American Civil War, recorded in Doctrine and Covenants 87. It outlines a future conflict beginning in South Carolina, escalating into a global war, and involving slaves rising against their masters. It also mentions the involvement of Great Britain and other nations. This prophecy, given on December 25, 1832, has been interpreted as a prediction of the American Civil War and subsequent global conflicts. But ho

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