The culture of authoritarianism in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is on full display in this week’s Come, Follow Me lessons. Covering Doctrine and Covenants § 41–44, the manuals focus on the revelations comprising “the law of the Church” that Joseph Smith produced shortly after arriving in Kirtland, Ohio. This week, there are two principal themes I want to highlight that are found in all three Come, Follow Me manuals: the emphasis on obedience to God’s law (which happens to mean obedience to the church), and the consolidation of authority in the President of the Church. As is often the case, these messages are the most transparent in the messaging for the Primary, so this week I will largely focus our attention there.
Charismatic Commissions in Kirtland
Kirtland was an environment of particularly strong religious fervor. Since the beginning of the Second Great Awakening, religious seekers found themselves engaging in a variety of forms of ecstatic religious expression in camp meetings and other assemblies, which included falling prostrate, losing the ability to speak, approximations of speaking in tongues, intense trembling and shaking, or many other behaviors. The community of new Mormon converts in Ohio were known for these sorts of experiences. As related by Dr. Samuel Underhill, the Owenite leader of the nearby Kendal Community:
You wonder at the success of the New System of the Mormonites! I wonder not at all It is all explained in a few words! ... Let me ask you, did you never feel in a religious meeting an unexpected mighty solemn feeling, a kind of vivid flame glowing in every part of your frame? Did it never make you tremble, like an aspen leaf at such a time? have you never heard the involuntary sigh at such a season? Have you not felt it rest on an assembly like a spell? Have you not witnessed the thrilling shriek? The convulsive sobs? The broken words? Have you not seen the prostrate fallen helpless, motionless? Have you in short felt nothing of any of these sensations? Then indeed you cannot understand me, cannot know the mysteries of Mormonism. ... Had you felt what I have felt and seen what I have, you need only to be told that these feelings are extensively witnessed among the Mormonites & there as everywhere supposed to be the owning and wonder-working display of supernatural power and the wonder is all solved and the progress of Mormonism is no longer a mystery. Samuel Underhill, "Chronicles, Notes, and Maxims," no date. Hearken, O Ye People: The Historical Settings of Joseph Smith's Ohio Revelations, p. 62.
Some of these religious experiences among the Kirtland Mormons took the form of revelations and divine commissions received via angels or letters that fell from heaven. Mark Lyman Staker explains:
As part of Kirtland's ecstatic religious experiences, a number of men received "letters" that fell from heaven which were copied onto paper before the original letter disappeared. Black Pete was among those who received one of these letters, his delivered by a black angel. Because these letters were apparently divine commissions to travel the countryside preaching and baptizing and because Black Pete was among those who went about the country preaching, it is likely he also performed baptisms during January 1831. ... A practice that the group introduced in late January was that of receiving written commissions from heaven. ... According to the explanations of Black Pete and his three companions, writing would appear on the outside cover of a Bible, or sometimes on parchment which fell from the sky. Recipients of these heavenly letters, written in flowing "Italianate" gold letters, quickly copied them onto paper before they vanished. ... E. D. Howe added, "These commissions, they said, came on parchment, and they only had time to copy them before they vanished from their sight. With such papers in their pockets they actually went through the country, preaching, and made many converts. Two or three afterward obtained their reason, and left the concern." Hearken, O Ye People: The Historical Settings of Joseph Smith's Ohio Revelations, p. 64–65, 80.
The religious enthusiasm of the Kirtland Mormons would have probably have been both exciting and concerning to Joseph Smith upon his arrival. Here was a group of clearly fervent believers, but their expressions of religious ecstasy may have presented a challenge to Smith’s goal of maintaining order in his church and authority consolidated in himself. One incident in particular may have concerned him greatly—the self-proclaimed prophetess Laura Hubbell.
Ezra Booth described Laura Hubbell as someone who “professed to be a prophetess” and who “so ingratiated herself into the esteem and favor of some of the Elders, that they received her as a person commissioned to act a conspicuous part in Mormonizing the world.” Importantly, Hubbell professed to receive many revelations confirming the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon and calling her to become a teacher in the church. Apparently, many members in Kirtland were suitably impressed with her and she accumulated a number of supporters. However, she also represented a challenge to the channels of authority that Joseph had established in New York, by calling herself to the ministry rather than through the ecclesiastical structures of the church. Therefore, Smith produced a series of revelations that outlined “the Law of the Church,” which specifically addressed who was commissioned to preach and baptize, how they were to receive that commission, and reinforced Joseph’s exclusive privilege to direct the church through revelation (D&C § 41–44).
A Culture of Obedience
With that historical context behind the sections of the Doctrine and Covenants that make up the basis for this week’s lessons, let’s turn now to the two themes I previously mentioned that make up the center of the messaging to the members in the lesson materials. For the sake of brevity, and because its presentation is particularly heavy-handed this week, I will be drawing exclusively from the Primary manual to illustrate my point, but similar messaging can be found in the materials for the Sunday School and for Individuals and Families.
The first theme is that of obedience to God’s law. Inasmuch as the sections of the Doctrine and Covenants relied upon for these lessons are collectively known as “the Law of the Church,” it is already immediately clear that obedience to God means obedience to the church. This conflation is made even more clear in the lesson materials, as is the message that true happiness comes through obedience to the rules of the church:
I can obey God’s laws. As the Church grew and members gathered in Kirtland, Ohio, the Lord revealed to the Prophet Joseph Smith what He called His “law” and commanded the Saints to “hearken and hear and obey” it. How can you help the children understand that we are blessed when we are obedient? Read Doctrine and Covenants 42:2, emphasizing the word “obey.” Give the children a few simple scenarios in which a child chooses to obey or disobey a law or rule. Ask the children to listen carefully and smile if the person in the story obeys and frown if the person disobeys. Share blessings you have received when you have obeyed God’s laws. A disciple is someone who receives God’s law and obeys it. Do the children you teach know what it means to be a disciple of Jesus Christ? Doctrine and Covenants 41:5 can help them understand how to be better disciples. ... After discussing Doctrine and Covenants 41:5, ask the children to think of laws we have received from the Lord. Invite them to take turns acting out obeying one of those laws while the rest of the class tries to guess what it is. Come, Follow Me — Primary Manual, 25 April 2021
Members are taught that blessings and happiness come through obedience to the teachings and laws of the church. Conversely, those who are not obedient to the rules of the church are portrayed as unhappy. This echoes rhetoric found in the Book of Mormon wherein the righteously obedient are repeatedly assured that they will “prosper in the land,” whereas the wickedly disobedient are cut off from God’s presence and cursed. This doctrine is often referred to as the prosperity gospel, which fits within the domain of what I call “transactional faith.” Basically, the idea is that blessings and happiness are the product of obedience; trials, adversity, the lack of prosperity, and unhappiness are a reflection of one’s disobedience or insufficient faith. This is a pretty toxic and self-congratulatory theology that excuses a myriad of abuses by treating prosperity as a sign of God’s approval and impoverishment and hardship as God’s disapproval.
Consolidation of Authority
The other major theme in the lessons this week is the need to follow the prophet as God’s singularly chosen authority on Earth. This is the theme that has thus far been the most prevalent through this year’s curriculum, and is what started me on this series to begin with. This week, it draws specifically from D&C § 43:1–7:
1 O hearken, ye elders of my church, and give ear to the words which I shall speak unto you. 2 For behold, verily, verily, I say unto you, that ye have received a commandment for a law unto my church, through him whom I have appointed unto you to receive commandments and revelations from my hand. 3 And this ye shall know assuredly—that there is none other appointed unto you to receive commandments and revelations until he be taken, if he abide in me. 4 But verily, verily, I say unto you, that none else shall be appointed unto this gift except it be through him; for if it be taken from him he shall not have power except to appoint another in his stead. 5 And this shall be a law unto you, that ye receive not the teachings of any that shall come before you as revelations or commandments; 6 And this I give unto you that you may not be deceived, that you may know they are not of me. 7 For verily I say unto you, that he that is ordained of me shall come in at the gate and be ordained as I have told you before, to teach those revelations which you have received and shall receive through him whom I have appointed. Doctrine and Covenants § 43:1–7, emphasis my own.
When this section is placed within its historical context, it is easy to see that it was produced by Joseph to further cement his position as the sole authority to govern the church. Just as he had produced revelations to put down rival claims to his authority in New York, he again produced even more forceful revelation to consolidate power and authority in himself among the converts in Kirtland. These revelations form the foundation for the church’s authoritarian top-down structure that continues into the present day. The message that members should unquestioningly follow the prophet in all things and trust no other authority is taught very explicitly in the current lesson manuals:
The Lord leads His Church through His prophet. You can help the children avoid being deceived throughout their lives by teaching them, while they are young, the Lord’s pattern for leading His Church through the living prophet. Explain the Lord’s teaching that only the prophet is “appointed unto you to receive commandments and revelations from [the Lord]” to lead the Church (Doctrine and Covenants 43:2). Only the prophet can receive revelation for the whole Church. As the children grow, they will likely meet people who want to lead them astray. How can you help the children trust God’s pattern of leading His children through His chosen prophet? Invite the children to imagine that someone stands up in testimony meeting and tells the ward that he has received a revelation for the Church (for example, that we should no longer drink milk or that we should start holding sacrament meetings on Tuesdays instead of Sundays). He says that we should listen to what he says instead of the prophet. What would be wrong with that? Help the children search Doctrine and Covenants 43:1–7 to find out how the Lord gives commandments to His Church. Sing together a song about prophets, such as the last verse of “Follow the Prophet” (Children’s Songbook, 110–11). Come, Follow Me — Primary Manual, 25 April 2021
This messaging is particularly emphasized at an early age, establishing a culture of institutional obedience and leader worship early on. Consider the following video produced recently by the church for the instruction of the Primary on the importance of following the prophet: