Doctrine and Covenants 101:2

Before the Saints were driven from Jackson County, Missouri, they had received several warnings that they would suffer afflictions if they did not repent. For example, in January 1833, Joseph Smith chastised William W. Phelps and Sidney Gilbert for “the spirit which [was] breathed” in letters they had written, stating that such a spirit was “wasting the strength of Zion” and would “ripen Zion for the threatened Judgments of God.” Orson Hyde and Hyrum Smith, writing to Bishop Edward Partridge, his counselors, and a conference of high priests, sent a letter of warning to Church leaders in Missouri. They referred to a letter from Sidney Gilbert that contained “low, dark, & blind insinuations.” They also condemned another letter that had implied that the Prophet was “seeking after Monarchal power and authority.” Because of these transgressions and others, Orson Hyde and Hyrum Smith warned that the Saints in Missouri would face “a scourge & a judgment” (see Documents, Volume 2: July 1831–January 1833, volume 2 of the Documents series of The Joseph Smith Papers [2013], 367, 373–74).

Doctrine and Covenants 101:3–5

Elder D. Todd Christofferson:

“In addition to stimulating our repentance, the very experience of enduring chastening can refine us and prepare us for greater spiritual privileges” (“As Many as I Love, I Rebuke and Chasten,” Ensign or Liahona, May 2011, 98).

Doctrine and Covenants 101:5

Elder D. Todd Christofferson:

“Divine chastening has at least three purposes: (1) to persuade us to repent, (2) to refine and sanctify us, and (3) at times to redirect our course in life to what God knows is a better path” (“As Many as I Love, I Rebuke and Chasten,” Ensign or Liahona, May 2011, 98).

Doctrine and Covenants 101:6

Elder D. Todd Christofferson:

“Under the direction of the Prophet Joseph Smith, early members of the Church attempted to establish the center place of Zion in Missouri, but they did not qualify to build the holy city. The Lord explained one of the reasons for their failure:

“‘They have not learned to be obedient to the things which I required at their hands, but are full of all manner of evil, and do not impart of their substance, as becometh saints, to the poor and afflicted among them;

“‘And are not united according to the union required by the law of the celestial kingdom’ (D&C 105:3–4).

“‘There were jarrings, and contentions, and envyings, and strifes, and lustful and covetous desires among them; therefore by these things they polluted their inheritances’ (D&C 101:6).

“Rather than judge these early Saints too harshly, however, we should look to ourselves to see if we are doing any better.

“Zion is Zion because of the character, attributes, and faithfulness of her citizens. Remember, ‘the Lord called his people Zion, because they were of one heart and one mind, and dwelt in righteousness; and there was no poor among them’ (Moses 7:18). If we would establish Zion in our homes, branches, wards, and stakes, we must rise to this standard. It will be necessary (1) to become unified in one heart and one mind; (2) to become, individually and collectively, a holy people; and (3) to care for the poor and needy with such effectiveness that we eliminate poverty among us. We cannot wait until Zion comes for these things to happen—Zion will come only as they happen” (“Come to Zion,” Ensign or Liahona,Nov. 2008, 37–38).

Doctrine and Covenants 101:16

President Gordon B. Hinckley:

“Recently while wrestling in my mind with a problem I thought to be of serious consequence I went to my knees in prayer. There came into my mind a feeling of peace and the words of the Lord, ‘Be still and know that I am God.’ I turned to the scripture and read this reassuring statement spoken to the Prophet Joseph Smith 150 years ago: ‘Let your hearts be comforted concerning Zion; for all flesh is in mine hands; be still and know that I am God.’ (D&C 101:16.)

“God is weaving his tapestry according to his own grand design. All flesh is in his hands. It is not our prerogative to counsel him. It is our responsibility and our opportunity to be at peace in our minds and in our hearts, and to know that he is God, that this is his work, and that he will not permit it to fail.

“We have no need to fear. We have no need to worry. We have no need to speculate. Our imperative need is to be found doing our duty individually in the callings which have come to us. And because, for the most part, the Latter-day Saints are walking in faith and working with conviction, the Church is consistently growing ever stronger” (“He Slumbers Not, nor Sleeps,”Ensign, May 1983, 6).

Elder W. Craig Zwick:

“To be in the hands of God would suggest that we are not only under His watchful care but also that we are guarded and protected by His wondrous power.

“Throughout the scriptures, reference is made to the hand of the Lord. His divine assistance is evidenced over and over again. His powerful hands created worlds, and yet they were gentle enough to bless the little children” (“The Lord Thy God Will Hold Thy Hand,” Ensign or Liahona, Nov. 2003, 34).

Doctrine and Covenants 101:17–21

Elder James E. Talmage:

The Lord’s promise to gather the Saints in the city of Zion in Jackson County, Missouri, “is held in abeyance, while the people are being sanctified for the great gift and for the responsibilities associated with it. In the meantime the honest in heart are gathering to the valleys of the Rocky Mountains [and to stakes all around the world]. … Temples have been erected. … But Zion shall yet be established on the chosen site” (The Articles of Faith, 12th ed. [1924], 353; see also Doctrine and Covenants Student Manual, 2nd ed. [Church Educational System manual, 2001], 240).

Elder Bruce R. McConkie:

“There is no occasion for uncertainty or anxiety about the building up of Zion—meaning the New Jerusalem—in the last days. The Lord once offered his people the chance to build that Zion from which the law shall go forth to all the world. They failed. Why? Because they were unprepared and unworthy, as is yet the case with those of us who now comprise the kingdom. When we as a people are prepared and worthy, the Lord will again command us and the work will go forward—on schedule, before the Second Coming, and at the direction of the President of the Church. Until then, none of us need take any personal steps toward gathering to Missouri or preparing for a landed-inheritance there. Let us, rather, learn the great concepts involved and make ourselves worthy for any work the Lord may lay upon us in our day and time. Some things must yet precede the building up of Jackson County” (A New Witness for the Articles of Faith[1985], 586).

Doctrine and Covenants 101:23–25

1. “All flesh shall see [Him] together” (D&C 101:23). Elder Orson Pratt of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles said: “The second advent of the Son of God is to be something altogether of a different nature from anything that has hitherto transpired on the face of the earth, accompanied with great power and glory, something that will not be done in a small portion of the earth … and seen only by a few; but it will be an event that will be seen by all, all flesh shall see the glory of the Lord; when he reveals himself the second time every eye, not only those living at that time in the flesh, in mortality on the earth, but also the very dead themselves … will also see him at that time” (in Deseret News: Semi-Weekly, Apr. 25, 1876, 1).

2. “Every corruptible thing … shall be consumed” (D&C 101:24). Elder Bruce R. McConkie of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles explained: “Incident to the commencement of the millennial era, the earth (the Lord’s vineyard) will be burned. Every corruptible thing will be consumed (D. & C. 101:24); all the proud and they that do wickedly shall be burned as stubble (Mal. 4:1; D. & C. 29:9; 64:23–25; 133:63–64); the sinners will be destroyed (Isa. 13:9–14); and there will be an entire separation of the righteous and the wicked. (D. & C. 63:54.) Those only shall be able to abide that day who are worthy to live on a paradisiacal or terrestrial sphere” (Mormon Doctrine, 2nd ed. [1966], 494).

3. “All things shall become new” (D&C 101:25). Of this newness Elder Parley P. Pratt of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles wrote: “A new heaven and a new earth are promised by the sacred writers. Or, in other words, the planetary systems are to be changed, purified, refined, exalted and glorified, in the similitude of the resurrection, by which means all physical evil or imperfection will be done away” (Key to the Science of Theology, 10th ed. [1965], 61.)

Doctrine and Covenants 101:29–31

President Joseph Fielding Smith taught that during the Millennium “there will be no death until men are old. Children will not die but will live to the age of a tree. Isaiah says this is 100 years [see Isaiah 65:20–22]” (Doctrines of Salvation, comp. Bruce R. McConkie [1954–66], 1:86–87).

President Joseph Fielding Smith:

“When Christ comes the saints who are on the earth will be quickened and caught up to meet him. This does not mean that those who are living in mortality at that time will be changed and pass through the resurrection, for mortals must remain on the earth until after the thousand years are ended. A change, nevertheless, will come over all who remain on the earth; they will be quickened so that they will not be subject unto death until they are old. Men shall die when they are one hundred years of age, and the change shall be made suddenly to the immortal state. Graves will not be made during this thousand years” (The Way to Perfection [1931], 298–99).

Doctrine and Covenants 101:35–38

President James E. Faust:

“Rafael Monroy was the president of the small San Marcos Mexico Branch, and Vicente Morales was his first counselor. … They were told they would be spared if they would give up their weapons and renounce their strange religion. Brother Monroy told his captors that he did not have any weapons and simply drew from his pocket his Bible and Book of Mormon. He said, ‘Gentlemen, these are the only arms I ever carry; they are the arms of truth against error.’

“When no arms were found, the brethren were cruelly tortured to make them divulge where arms were hidden. But there were no arms. They were then taken under guard to the outskirts of the little town, where their captors stood them up by a large ash tree in front of a firing squad. The officer in charge offered them freedom if they would forsake their religion and join the [soldiers], but Brother Monroy replied, ‘My religion is dearer to me than my life, and I cannot forsake it.’

“They were then told that they were to be shot and asked if they had any request to make. Brother Rafael requested that he be permitted to pray before he was executed. There, in the presence of his executioners, he kneeled down and, in a voice that all could hear, prayed that God would bless and protect his loved ones and care for the little struggling branch that would be left without a leader. As he finished his prayer, he used the words of the Savior when He hung upon the cross and prayed for His executioners: ‘Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do.’ [Luke 23:34.] With that the firing squad shot both Brother Monroy and Brother Morales” (“Discipleship,” Ensign or Liahona, Nov. 2006, 21–22; based on Rey L. Pratt, “A Latter-day Martyr,” Improvement Era, June 1918, 720–26).

Doctrine and Covenants 101:35–38

The Prophet Joseph Smith:

“We contemplate a people who have embraced a system of religion, unpopular, and the adherence to which has brought upon them repeated persecutions. A people who, for their love to God, and attachment to His cause, have suffered hunger, nakedness, perils, and almost every privation. A people who, for the sake of their religion, have had to mourn the premature death of parents, husbands, wives, and children. A people, who have preferred death to slavery and hypocrisy, and have honorably maintained their characters, and stood firm and immovable, in times that have tried men’s souls. Stand fast, ye Saints of God, hold on a little while longer, and the storm of life will be past, and you will be rewarded by that God whose servants you are, and who will duly appreciate all your toils and afflictions for Christ’s sake and the Gospel’s. Your names will be handed down to posterity as Saints of God and virtuous men” (in History of the Church,4:337).

Doctrine and Covenants 101:39

Elder Carlos E. Asay:

“When the Lord used the expression ‘savor of men,’ he was speaking of those who represent him. He was referring to those who have repented, who have been washed clean in the waters of baptism, and who have covenanted to take upon them his name and his cause. Moreover, he was speaking of those who would share by covenant his priesthood power. He was speaking of you and me” (“Salt of the Earth: Savor of Men and Saviors of Men,”Ensign, May 1980, 42).

Doctrine and Covenants 101:40

Elder Carlos E. Asay:

“A world-renowned chemist told me that salt will not lose its savor with age. Savor is lost through mixture and contamination. …

“Flavor and quality flee a man when he contaminates his mind with unclean thoughts, desecrates his mouth by speaking less than the truth, and misapplies his strength in performing evil acts” (“Salt of the Earth: Savor of Men and Saviors of Men,” Ensign,May 1980, 42).

Doctrine and Covenants 101:44–64. The parable of the nobleman and the olive trees

“It would seem that the parable is to be interpreted in this way: the nobleman is the Lord, whose choice land in His vineyard is Zion in Missouri. The places where the Saints live in Zion are the olive trees. The servants are the Latter-day Saint settlers, and the watchmen are their officers in the Church. While yet building in Zion, they become at variance with each other and do not build the tower or Temple whose site had been dedicated as early as August 3, 1831. Had they built it as directed, it would have been a spiritual refuge for them, for from it the Lord’s watchmen could have seen by revelation the movements of the enemy from afar. This foreknowledge would have saved them and their hard work when the enemy made his assault.

“But the Saints in Missouri were slothful, lax, and asleep. The enemy came, and the Missouri persecutions were the result. The Lord’s people were scattered and much of their labors wasted. The Almighty rebuked His people, as we have already seen, but He commanded one of His servants (vs. 55), Joseph Smith (103:21), to gather the ‘strength of Mine house’ and rescue His lands and possessions gathered against them.

“Subsequently, the Prophet and his brethren in the famous Zion’s Camp did go to Missouri in 1834 in an attempt to carry out the terms of the parable. Before they went, additional revelation was received (see 103:21–28) concerning the redemption of Zion. The brethren were instructed to try to buy land in Missouri, not to use force; and if the enemy came against them, they were to bring a curse upon them. Zion was not redeemed at that time, but we may look for it in the not-too-distant future. … It will be redeemed when the Lord wills it.” (Sidney B. Sperry, Doctrine and Covenants Compendium [1960], 521–22; quoted in Doctrine and Covenants Student Manual [Church Educational System manual, 2001], 243).

Doctrine and Covenants 101:65–66

Elder David A. Bednar:

“The garners are the holy temples” (“Honorably Hold a Name and Standing,” Ensign or Liahona, May 2009, 97).

Doctrine and Covenants 101:78

Elder D. Todd Christofferson:

“In years past, we generally used the term free agency. That is not incorrect, but more recently we have taken note that free agency does not appear as an expression in the scriptures. They talk of our being ‘free to choose’ and ‘free to act’ for ourselves and of our obligation to do many things of our own ‘free will.’ But the word agency appears either by itself or, in Doctrine and Covenants, section 101, verse 78, with the modifier moral: ‘That every man may act in doctrine and principle … according to the moral agency which I have given unto him, that every man may be accountable for his own sins in the day of judgment’ (emphasis added). When we use the term moral agency, then, we are appropriately emphasizing the accountability that is an essential part of the divine gift of agency. We are moral beings and agents unto ourselves, free to choose but also responsible for our choices” (“Moral Agency” [Brigham Young University devotional address, Jan. 31, 2006], 1, speeches.byu.edu).

Doctrine and Covenants 101:80

President J. Reuben Clark:

“To me, my brethren and sisters, that statement of the Lord, ‘I have established the Constitution of this land,’ puts the Constitution of the United States in the position in which it would be if it were written in the book of Doctrine and Covenants itself. This makes the Constitution the word of the Lord to us. That it was given, not by oral utterance, but by the operation of his mind and spirit upon the minds of men, inspiring them to the working out of this great document of human government, does not alter its authority” (in Conference Report, Apr. 1935, 93).

Doctrine and Covenants 101:80

President Brigham Young:

“We believe that the Lord has been preparing that when he should bring forth his work, that, when the set time should fully come, there might be a place upon his footstool where sufficient liberty of conscience should exist, that his Saints might dwell in peace under the broad panoply of constitutional law and equal rights. In this view we consider that the men in the Revolution were inspired by the Almighty, to throw off the shackles of the mother government, with her established religion. For this cause were Adams, Jefferson, Franklin, Washington, and a host of others inspired to deeds of resistance to the acts of the King of Great Britain … in thus establishing a new government upon a principle of greater freedom, a basis of self-government allowing the free exercise of religious worship.

“It was the voice of the Lord inspiring all those worthy men who bore influence in those trying times, not only to go forth in battle but to exercise wisdom in council, fortitude, courage, and endurance in the tented field, as well as subsequently to form and adopt those wise and efficient measures which secured to themselves and succeeding generations, the blessings of a free and independent government” (Discourses of Brigham Young, sel. John A. Widtsoe [1954], 359–60).

Doctrine and Covenants 101:81–95

President Joseph Fielding Smith:

“The saints were also to carry their grievances to the proper tribunals and seek for redress of their wrongs. This was a very necessary step, and when the Saints did this and were denied their civil and religious rights, those officials were left without excuse, and the judgments of the Almighty which later came upon them during the Civil War, were justified. …

“Since there is a just law of retribution, as fixed and eternal as are other laws of the Almighty [see 2 Corinthians 9:6; D&C 6:33], the day must come when there shall be adjustments made before a Just Magistrate who will not be cowed by the threats of mobs” (Church History and Modern Revelation,2 vols. [1953], 1:462, 469).