The themes of this week’s Come, Follow Me lessons are the gathering of the saints and the building of the community of Zion in preparation for the impending second coming of Christ. We’ll explore these themes and how they are communicated in the modern lesson materials, and talk briefly about how the church uses excommunication and the threat of discipline to achieve a unified conformity by expelling diverse perspectives or expressions of the faith.

Safely Gathered Together

Despite their failure to convert the Lamanites, the Mormon missionaries experienced tremendous success in Kirtland. They had baptized essentially the entire commune on Isaac Morley’s farmland, as well as Sidney Rigdon and several members of his Restorationist congregation. According to Parley P. Pratt, “In two or three weeks from our arrival in the neighborhood with the news, we had baptized one hundred and twenty-seven souls, and this number soon increased to one thousand.” This latter estimate may be inflated, as other credible and contemporaneous reports suggest that there were roughly two hundred converts in Kirtland and at least four hundred in the surrounding area. As Mark Lyman Staker explains:

Although only those over twenty-one were formally considered adults, Disciples generally baptized coverts older than fifteen of sixteen. Known baptisms by the new missionaries typically followed this pattern of baptizing only those in their mid-teens or older. [...]

As a result, it seems likely that almost all of the initial two hundred converts in Kirtland during 1830 were drawn from the 537 settlers there aged fifteen and older. This suggests that conversions in Kirtland may have included as many as one-third the adults in the village, and many of their children likely shared their excitement—a significant transformation of any community. [...]

However, if initial conversions were high, retention was apparently poor, and membership fluctuated. Many converts affiliated only briefly, then quickly returned to former associations or habits. Although figures are only rough estimates, those solidly committed to the cause in northeast Ohio apparently leveled off during the winter of 1830–31 at around three or four hundred adult believers.

Hearken, O Ye People: The Historical Settings of Joseph Smith's Ohio Revelations, p. 71–72

Given that membership in New York was far less—only 56 individual gathered for the inaugural conference in April 1830—and given that many of Smith’s New York and Pennsylvania neighbors were hostile to him and his followers on account of his history in the area as a “money-digger” and “disorderly person,” it is not surprising that Smith produced a revelation in December 1830 calling upon the entire church to relocate to Ohio. This was given shortly after Sidney Rigdon and Edward Partridge had travelled to Fayette, New York to meet Smith personally. Undoubtedly, Rigdon’s enthusiasm and reports of the rapid growth of the church in Ohio had an impact of the young prophet, and he seeing an opportunity to escape his troubles in New York, he took it, but he needed a way to convince those supporters around him to come with. The solution: another revelation produced at a conference of the church, promoting the idea of gathering the saints together into a promised land to create a community of shared resources and unity called Zion, in preparation for Christ’s imminent second coming.

Let’s analyze some of the rhetorical themes of this revelation, found in the modern LDS Doctrine and Covenants § 38. I’ve broken this section up three different ways to highlight the different themes found therein, but I also recommend reading the section in its whole, to see how these passages play out in their full context. That said, let’s look at what Joseph is doing here:

A Promised Land of Communally Distributed Inheritance

Communitarian themes and the narrative of a chosen land of inheritance for the members of the church are prominent throughout this revelation to the church. The members in New York would have been familiar with these themes, seeing as they are prominent throughout the Book of Mormon, and members may have seen themselves as living out the stories within its pages. Furthermore, the revelation prepares the members of the New York church to accept the economy of communal property that Isaac Morley’s “Big Family” was currently living, which would eventually evolve into the United Order. Of special mention is the idea that all property would be gathered “unto the bosom of the church,” whose designated Elders would “govern the affairs of the property of this church.”

18 And I hold forth and deign to give unto you greater riches, even a land of promise, a land flowing with milk and honey, upon which there shall be no curse when the Lord cometh;
19 And I will give it unto you for the land of your inheritance, if you seek it with all your hearts.
20 And this shall be my covenant with you, ye shall have it for the land of your inheritance, and for the inheritance of your children forever, while the earth shall stand, and ye shall possess it again in eternity, no more to pass away.

34 And now, I give unto the church in these parts a commandment, that certain men among them shall be appointed, and they shall be appointed by the voice of the church;
35 And they shall look to the poor and the needy, and administer to their relief that they shall not suffer; and send them forth to the place which I have commanded them;
36 And this shall be their work, to govern the affairs of the property of this church.
37 And they that have farms that cannot be sold, let them be left or rented as seemeth them good.
38 See that all things are preserved; and when men are endowed with power from on high and sent forth, all these things shall be gathered unto the bosom of the church.
39 And if ye seek the riches which it is the will of the Father to give unto you, ye shall be the richest of all people, for ye shall have the riches of eternity; and it must needs be that the riches of the earth are mine to give; but beware of pride, lest ye become as the Nephites of old.

Doctrine and Covenants § 38:18–20, 34-39
Emphasis my own.

Smith had very likely learned of the Morley family’s Owenite-inspired commune through Sidney Rigdon and Edward Partridge, who had travelled to meet the prophet only weeks earlier. Rigdon had recently given up preaching as a Campbellite minister and had moved into the Morley commune.

Deliverance From an Enemy Conspiracy

Another prominent theme in this revelation delivered to the church is that of the need to flee to Ohio to escape a hidden threat of imminent physical danger. The members in New York we’re faced with rising criticism from their neighbors, and this occasionally rose to the level of threatening and posturing behavior that undoubtedly intimidated the fledgling church. Of course, much of this backlash arose from Joseph’s prior involvement in defrauding his neighbors through his activities as a treasure seer. Inasmuch as the discovery of the Book of Mormon and its ‘translation’ were clearly seen as a continuation of these activities, Joseph’s neighbors became increasingly alarmed when he started a church and developed a following in the area. Between the vocal criticisms of concerned neighbors over what they likely perceived as an elaborate and dangerous fraud—including from Joseph’s former treasure-seeking companions—the members of the church clearly faced increasing public animosity towards their movement. Smith capitalized on this by inventing an imminent secret plot against the church:

13 And now I show unto you a mystery, a thing which is had in secret chambers, to bring to pass even your destruction in process of time, and ye knew it not;

28 And again, I say unto you that the enemy in the secret chambers seeketh your lives.
29 Ye hear of wars in far countries, and you say that there will soon be great wars in far countries, but ye know not the hearts of men in your own land.
30 I tell you these things because of your prayers; wherefore, treasure up wisdom in your bosoms, lest the wickedness of men reveal these things unto you by their wickedness, in a manner which shall speak in your ears with a voice louder than that which shall shake the earth; but if ye are prepared ye shall not fear.
31 And that ye might escape the power of the enemy, and be gathered unto me a righteous people, without spot and blameless—
32 Wherefore, for this cause I gave unto you the commandment that ye should go to the Ohio; and there I will give unto you my law; and there you shall be endowed with power from on high;

42 And go ye out from among the wicked. Save yourselves. Be ye clean that bear the vessels of the Lord. Even so. Amen.

Doctrine and Covenants § 38:13, 28–32, 42
Emphasis my own.

The idea of a hidden plot to destroy the church and harm its members likely resonated with the New York membership, echoing themes of “secret combinations” in the Book of Mormon. This language played on the fears of the New York church—amplifying them with a sense of immediacy to motivate their departure from the area to the welcoming refuge of Ohio. These themes of persecution and distrust of outsiders would only intensify from this point forward, and many of Smith’s revelations would continue to play upon this theme. As members of the church became increasingly insular and suspicious of their neighbors, their language and behavior became increasingly alarming to their neighbors, wherever they lived, and thus the self-fulfilling prophecy of the persecuted people persisted.

The Destruction of the Wicked and Purification of the Saints

The last theme I want to highlight from Smith’s revelation is that of the need to flee New York and gather in Ohio for the purification of the church in preparation for the impending destruction of the wicked as part of Mormon premillennialist eschatology. Repeatedly throughout this vision, Smith warns that the day of destruction is close at hand and that those who are not purified will be destroyed. This plays off Smith’s earlier teachings regarding Zion as a gathering place of refuge during the turmoil that would precede Christ return. Only a few weeks earlier, Smith haf warned Edward Partridge via revelation: “Save yourselves from this untoward generation, and come forth out of the fire, hating even the garments spotted with the flesh,” warning that Jesus Christ was preparing to “suddenly come to my temple” (D&C § 36). Notice how the language in D&C § 38 echoes these same warnings:

5 But behold, the residue of the wicked have I kept in chains of darkness until the judgment of the great day, which shall come at the end of the earth;
6 And even so will I cause the wicked to be kept, that will not hear my voice but harden their hearts, and wo, wo, wo, is their doom.

8 But the day soon cometh that ye shall see me, and know that I am; for the veil of darkness shall soon be rent, and he that is not purified shall not abide the day.

10 Verily I say unto you, ye are clean, but not all; and there is none else with whom I am well pleased;
11 For all flesh is corrupted before me; and the powers of darkness prevail upon the earth, among the children of men, in the presence of all the hosts of heaven—
12 Which causeth silence to reign, and all eternity is pained, and the angels are waiting the great command to reap down the earth, to gather the tares that they may be burned; and, behold, the enemy is combined.

14 But now I tell it unto you, and ye are blessed, not because of your iniquity, neither your hearts of unbelief; for verily some of you are guilty before me, but I will be merciful unto your weakness.

42 And go ye out from among the wicked. Save yourselves. Be ye clean that bear the vessels of the Lord. Even so. Amen.

Doctrine and Covenants § 38:5–6, 8, 10–12, 14, 42.
Emphasis my own.

The Unity of Zion

Another major theme of this week’s lessons is that of the unity of the saints. This conversation focuses largely on the folllowing passage from D&C § 38:

24 And let every man esteem his brother as himself, and practice virtue and holiness before me.
25 And again I say unto you, let every man esteem his brother as himself.
26 For what man among you having twelve sons, and is no respecter of them, and they serve him obediently, and he saith unto the one: Be thou clothed in robes and sit thou here; and to the other: Be thou clothed in rags and sit thou there—and looketh upon his sons and saith I am just?
27 Behold, this I have given unto you as a parable, and it is even as I am. I say unto you, be one; and if ye are not one ye are not mine.

Doctrine and Covenants § 38:24–27

Apart from general call for unity, these passages could also be interpreted in the light of preparing the members to accept the Owenite-inspired system of communal property being practiced by the members in Ohio—particularly verse 26. That said, I want to focus on the message of unity in spirit and purpose that the lesson manuals focus heavily on. The message of unity is most heavily emphasized in the Sunday School manual:

God’s people must be one.
The Saints who gathered in Ohio came from a variety of circumstances, but the Lord commanded them to overcome their differences and “be one” (verse 27). Why do we sometimes fail to see other people as equals? Encourage class members to ponder how they treat others as they read Doctrine and Covenants 38:24–27. What does it mean to esteem our brothers and sisters as ourselves? Why is it impossible to truly be God’s people if we are not united?

Reading Doctrine and Covenants 38:24–27 could lead to a discussion about unity in our relationships—as ward members, families, and so on.

Come, Follow Me — Sunday School Manual, 18 April 2021

Recent events highlight something truly problematic with how the church tries to maintain unity. This week, prominent Mormon sex therapist, Natasha Helfer, is facing a disciplinary council for publicly sharing her professional opinion on matters of sexual shame, masturbation as normal sexual development, eschewing the addiction model of pornography for a values-based understanding, and issues surrounding gender and sexual identity. At times, she has called out unhealthy practices common in the LDS church from the perspective of evidence-based “best practices” in her field as a certified sex therapist. Furthermore, she has been instrumental in the formation of the Mormon Mental Health Association (MMHA), which helps Mormons of all stripes—from active believers to decidedly not—to find mental health resources from professionals who have sufficient experience with Mormonism and Mormon culture to provide effective and culturally-informed counselling.

This Sunday, members across the globe will learn lessons encouraging members to strive for unity within the church. These lessons will emphasize the strength that comes from a diversity of thought and experience that is united in body and purpose. Consider the videos included in the lesson manuals, which will almost certainly be viewed this week in many a Sunday School class—especially in the current climate of intense political division over social issues between conservatives and progressives in America. This very same Sunday, Natasha Helfer will likely face excommunication for her work as a certified sex therapist who has been vocal about problems she sees within the church—problems that include the mistreatment and marginalization of faithful LGBTQ+ members. This raises important questions: what does unity mean to the LDS church, and how does it envision achieving that unity?

Formal discipline is a weapon wielded by church leaders to maintain an order of unity among the membership. Throughout church history, members have been disfellowshipped or excommunicated for espousing heterodox beliefs or practices that leaders perceive as a challenge to their authority or their desires to maintain a rigid orthodoxy within the faith. To me, this seems to be the antithesis of the vision of building Zion and the perfecting of the saints through the struggle of achieving a unity in our diversity, as sold in the church’s lesson materials. Rather, the church’s practice of casting off those who deviate too far from orthodoxy, or who vocally criticize problems they observe in the church, seems to be an effort to achieve unity by purging itself of diversity. In their mantra that “if ye are not one ye are not mine,” the LDS church appears to be focusing heavily on the “ye are not mine” portion of the passage—interpreting this as an indictment of individuals rather than of the church.

Excommunication, as wielded by the LDS church, is a spiritually harmful practice. What should only be used as a tool to protect the safety of the members from the threat of predatory individuals, is instead wielded as a sword to cut off those who pose a threat to the authority of church leaders to direct the personal affairs of the membership. Moreover, high-profile excommunications are used as a tool to suppress undesired voices or behavior through fear. The threat of excommunication—which comes with intense social ostracization among faithful members—manages to keep individuals in-line and to enforce orthopraxy, if not orthodoxy. Moreover, with excommunication in their toolkit, church leaders can pressure conformity merely by indicating their displeasure with certain groups or practices. It adds teeth to statements that discourage members from expressing certain ideas, engaging in certain practices, or associating with certain groups—without necessarily threatening excommunication directly. This creates and maintains a culture of authoritarianism within the church, that the members themselves participate in sustaining.

I have a hard time taking the church’s calls for unity seriously when they employ a spiritually and socially harmful weapon like excommunication to enforce conformity through fear. I cannot view the church’s celebrations of diversity as anything more than lip-service when they are anxiously engaged in suppressing a diversity of perspectives and expressions of the faith. I cannot personally participate in a church that disciplines members for calling out abuse within the church while simultaneously protecting abusers, or even promoting them through its ranks. If this is the vision of unity that defines the Mormon concept of Zion, I want to have nothing to do with it. I’ll find a holier Zion outside of the church—with the people they’ve expelled.