The Mormon Pioneer Trail: A Modern Exodus

It's safe to say that one of the parts of our heritage we cherish most is that of the pioneers. During the mid-nineteenth century, Mormons traveled west after being driven out of Missouri and Illinois and settled in places like Utah, Arizona, or California. While many other people also trekked westward, there were several unique things about the Mormon groups. They were composed of people of all ages, from newborn babies and pregnant women to the elderly. They pooled their resources to establish companies that would get as many people safely across the plains as possible. The death rate on the Mormon trail was significantly lower than that on secular routes like the Oregon trail. When I was little, one of my favorite books was I Walked to Zion, a collection of stories about Mormon pioneer children.

Although this movement is obviously historically important, it also holds a special place in our hearts. The journey west strengthened the convictions of many of its participants and forged able leaders and members who were willing to sacrifice for their beliefs. My fourth great grandfather Abraham Hunsaker joined the Church in 1842 and traveled west to Utah alongside other pioneers.

Today, there are plenty of people who are modern pioneers, as the first members in their families or the first members of the Church in new parts of the world.

There are several strong parallels drawn between the exodus of the Saints from Illinois and Missouri and the exodus of the Israelites from Egypt. Both groups were lead by a prophet who was commanded to take them (the Israelites by Moses and the Saints by Brigham Young). Both groups were a covenant people who promised "to keep all the commandments and statues" (D&C 136:2) of God. Like the Israelites, the Saints were reminded of the importance of adhering to all of God's commands in order to be successful. The Lord even reminded the Saints "I am he who led the children of Israel out of Egypt; and my arm is stretched out in the last days, to save my people Israel" (D&C 136:22). God encouraged them by saying "Fear not thine enemies, for they are in mine hands, and I will do my pleasure with them" (D&C 136:30), just as he saved the Children of Israel from the wrath of the Egyptians.

These difficult journeys served as trials for both groups of people, separating those who were willing to follow God's commands in all things from those who were more casual in their faith. The Exodus and the Mormon Trail journey weren't just a practical change for the people of the Lord to escape bondage and persecution; they were chances for individuals to grow into the kind of people that God needed them to be. It was necessary for God to test his people and prove their commitment so that they would be prepared for future trials and more hard work. Like the Israelites, the Saints established a thriving community that allowed God's people to grow and flourish together.

Crandall Historical Printing Museum

Last week I visited the Crandall Historical Printing Museum in Provo. I'd heard about it before, but I didn't expect the experience to be nearly as entertaining as it was.

I went to the Grandin Press and Print shop with my family when we visited Church historical sites in New England a few summers ago. It was cool enough, but the tour seemed kind of long and I wasn't particularly interested. My experience at the Crandall Museum was completely different.

A large part of that can probably be attributed to the fact that the people who run that museum are awesome. Their passion for both the printing history and its historical implications was astounding. After working in Special Collections for a year, I knew a fair amount about the history of printing; however, it wasn't so much the demonstrations of the physical process of printing that impressed me.

I've heard it said before that Gutenberg's invention of the printing press was an important step in the Church's later success, but I had no idea just how much of a difference it made. To think of a time period in which everything was handwritten (by the few people who were literate) seems incredible in a moment when I'm sitting here writing on this blog. My words are written as fast as my little fingers can type and will be visible to people around the world just seconds after I hit the "publish post" button.

In fact, in his talk "Sharing the Gospel Using the Internet" (the primary motivation for this blog experience), Elder M. Russell Ballard states:

There are perhaps few inventions that have had a greater impact on the world than the printing press, invented by the inspired Johannes Gutenberg around 1436. The printing press enabled knowledge, including that contained in the Holy Bible, to be shared more widely than ever before.

Elder Ballard then continues by calling the internet our modern printing press. While each of us individually could never compare in long-term influence to Gutenberg, it's cool to see that we can each do a small part.

I'd recommend a visit to the museum to anyone-- even people who wouldn't expect to find the history of printing the least bit interesting. You'll actually get to see a demonstration of how each individual letter in Gutenberg's movable type was cast, the printing of a page from the Gutenberg Bible, and a page from a real Gutenberg Bible. Another room focuses on printing's importance in the 13 colonies. You'll see examples from Thomas Paine's Common Sense as well as a printed version of the Declaration of Independence. The third room focuses on the Grandin Print Shop and the story of the Book of Mormon. I had forgotten was a process it was just to BIND all of those copies of the book, never name the seven months spent typesetting and printing. Plus, the linotype machine was basically brilliant. It gave me the urge to go out and buy a typewriter.

I wasn't initially thrilled with the idea of going on a two-hour museum tour on a weeknight, but the Crandall Museum was well worth the time. The end message of this whole experience is that the Lord has His hand in the moving forward of His work. (See this talk by Elder Hales.)

The Museum website is still a work in progress, but hopefully you'll soon be able to donate to the cause of expansion or take a virtual tour.


Also, President Monson worked in the printing industry for a long time, and he's pretty much the best.

Revelation vs. Discourse

This week in Doctrine and Covenants we studied several of the last sections. As previously mentioned, after Joseph left Liberty Jail the quantity of his teaching increased dramatically, and some of his sermons and epistles are now canonized. Why would we place these lessons on a level equal with direct revelation and legitimize them by adopting them as part of our standard doctrine? These teachings represent some of the most beautiful doctrinal messages of hope and comfort given to the Church in its infancy, and their messages also apply equally to us today. It's powerful to be able to read the words of the prophet himself so that he can speak to us from out of the dust nearly two centuries later.

Doctrine and Covenants 127 is one of my favorites. I think it teaches us more about Joseph's personality than other third-person accounts, and his frankness and courage are both endearing and inspiring. I love the Prophet's bold statement:

And as for the perils which I am called to pass through, they seem but a small thing to me, as the envy and wrath of man have been my common lot all the days of my life; and for what cause it seems mysterious, unless I was ordained from before the foundation of the world for some good end, or bad, as you may choose to call it. Judge ye for yourselves. God knoweth all these things, whether it be good or bad. But nevertheless, deep water is what I am wont to swim in. It all has become a second nature to me; and I feel, like Paul, to glory in tribulation... (D&C 127:2)

If someone undergoing tribulation like Joseph's can adopt this attitude, the rest of us can certainly learn to be more optimistic. Joseph demonstrates his perfect faith in God's ability to preserve him and improve him, a quality that we should definitely emulate. What a glorious message of hope!

Doctrine and Covenants Section 128 is an important example of necessary procedures being canonized. Without guidance like this to standardize Church practice, Church organization would not have unity throughout time and throughout the world. Joseph blends practical instruction regarding ordinance recording with essential eternal doctrine:

...the earth will be smitten with a curse unless there is a welding link of some kind or other between the fathers and the children, upon some subject or other—and behold what is that subject? It is the baptism for the dead. For we without them cannot be made perfect; neither can they without us be made perfect. Neither can they nor we be made perfect without those who have died in the gospel also; for it is necessary in the ushering in of the dispensation of the fulness of times, which dispensation is now beginning to usher in, that a whole and complete and perfect union, and welding together of dispensations, and keys, and powers, and glories should take place, and be revealed from the days of Adam even to the present time.(D&C 128:18)

These teachings aren't just important for the Church in Joseph's day. They establish the lasting significance of the ordinances we still perform. Plus, the entire end of this section is one of my favorite parts in all of scripture. It underscores our message that "men are that they might have joy" (2 Nephi 2:25).

Doctrine and Covenants Section 129 is an important precursor to higher temple endowment instruction.

Doctrine and Covenants Section 130 is basically awesome. It teaches numerous profound truths that we don't find in other Christian sources. The Savior is a man like us. The earth will be sanctified and become the Celestial kingdom. Our intelligence continues with us after this life, and our knowledge can give us an advantage. Blessings are contingent on obedience to law. The Father and the Son have bodies of flesh and bone.

Doctrine and Covenants Section 131 is brief, but it contains some doctrines of paramount importance. Eternal marriage is necessary for exaltation in the highest degree of the Celestial kingdom. We can't be saved if we choose to be ignorant. All spirit is matter, and we will eventually be able to discern it with spiritual eyes.

It may seem strange to include these discourses and epistles in context of the rest of the Doctrine and Covenants, but when compared to other books of scripture it makes perfect sense. I think back to the numerous epistles of Paul in the New Testament or Alma's personal instructions to his sons in the Book of Mormon. It all goes back to a key point expressed in the Lord's preface to the Doctrine and Covenants.

What I the Lord have spoken, I have spoken, and I excuse not myself; and though the heavens and the earth pass away, my word shall not pass away, but shall all be fulfilled, whether by mine own voice or by the voice of my servants, it is the same. (D&C 1:38)

February 17, 1834

This week we read about an important set of meeting minutes (now found in D&C 102) in the Joseph Smith Papers book. In 1833, Saints had begun to flee from mobs in Missouri (and the Book of Commandments, a forerunner to the Doctrine and Covenants had been published), and just a few months after this revelation, in May of 1834, Zion's Camp, headed by the Prophet himself, left to try to relieve their suffering. The Quorum of 12 Apostles wasn't officially organized until the next year, when the First Quorum of Seventy was also established. Thus, the year 1834 marked an important point in the development of Priesthood lines of authority and the standardization of Church practices.

In this revelation, we learn how the first high council of the Church (in the Kirtland, Ohio stake) was founded. The writing was specifically marked to go into the 1835 edition of the Doctrine and Covenants and therefore carefully edited by the Prophet Joseph Smith. It was even presented to the high council to be accepted by that body. Verses 30-32 (which relate to the twelve apostles) were added in later (as we can possibly tell from a pin mark on the originally copied revelation pages).

The most important thing I learned from reading these manuscript revelations is the importance of procedure to God's work moving forward appropriately. The Church is built on carefully designed systems of order that prevent a body of so many members from quickly devolving into mass chaos. The power of the Priesthood provides for groups to be organized as governing bodies for Church units, and precedent is clearly established by revelation so that our procedures are standardized throughout the world. The process of approving these meeting minutes demonstrates the principle of common consent, a very important aspect of our Church organization. Another Doctrine and Covenants revelation shows that:

All things must be done in order, and by common consent in the Church, by the prayer of faith. (D&C 28:13)

One change to the revelation I found interesting was the revision from "by the voice of the Savior" to "by revelation"; this seems to indicate to me the fact that revelation doesn't always come in the voice of Christ, or even in an explicitly spoken voice at all. In many ways, this section resembles an official government document in its statement of a next meeting time and listing of the official clerks. God works through a careful system of procedures to ensure that all things are "acknowledged in... administration by the voice of the Church" (D&C 102:9).

God exhibits perfect justice in all of his designs. The high council system provides a way for cases of important business to be handled and then routed on to higher authority if necessary. This agrees with the principle of stewardship and allows responsibility to be appropriately delegated. He trusts his sons and daughters in their capability to imitate his own just nature and demonstrates this confidence by allowing us to work through problems by our own means. Clearly, this meeting was an important one to Church history if Joseph Smith specifically selected it to be published. It's intriguing to see the interior workings of higher bodies of Church authority. Since the Lord is unchanging, the idea of high councils (and their responsibility as disciplinary councils) in each stake continues today.

Museum of Art

Let the mountains shout for joy, and all ye valleys cry aloud; and all ye seas and dry lands tell the wonders of your Eternal King! And ye rivers, and brooks, and rills, flow down with gladness. Let the woods and all the trees of the field praise the Lord; and ye solid rocks weep for joy! And let the sun, moon, and the morning stars sing together, and let all the sons of God shout for joy! And let the eternal creations declare his name forever and ever! D&C 128:23

The BYU Museum of Art (MOA) is one of my favorite places on campus. It's a fun haven from the occasional frenzy and stress of college life. (To those of you who might ever find yourself on BYU campus, the MOA Cafè is also AMAZING.) In fact, I'm hoping to do an internship at the MOA in a future semester, so it's near and dear to my heart.

The exhibit that we visited this time is entitled "Types and Shadows: Intimations of Divinity." The Museum even has a really great website with lots of resources about it.

The entrance to the gallery displays this awesome scripture from the Pearl of Great Price:

And behold, all things have their likeness, and all things are created and made to bear record of me, both things which are temporal, and things which are spiritual; things which are in the heavens above, and things which are on the earth, and things which are in the earth, and things which are under the earth, both above and beneath: all things bear record of me. —Moses 6:63

I, as a Humanities major, can certainly appreciate the power of art to testify of God. Although some of the works in this exhibit weren't particularly to my taste, I like the fact that artists take the time and effort to express their love and appreciation for the Savior through their craft.


This work, painted by a Utah artist named Lee Bennion, was particularly striking to me. I'm usually not a big fan of this simplistic painting style, but after discussing the symbolic significance of the subject matter and composition with Rita Wright, a curator at the MOA, the painting began to grow on me. There's a bit of a tradition in my apartment that I make bread every Sunday night to share with friends; after analyzing this painting, that simple act has taken on greater significance. I could see how the distortion of the woman's body was an intentional stylization similar to that of the elongated forms of saints often used in church architecture. I noticed the importance of her hand gesture and the symbolic use of color.

This painting was another of my favorites:

This depiction of the story of the prodigal son, done by Modernist Bruce Smith, was unexpectedly poignant. First, I'm a sucker for aesthetic beauty; frankly, these apples and grapes looked good enough to eat. Second, I think that Smith's use of symbols is stunning. Even the triptych form of the canvas has significance to the segmentation of the storyline.

I'm no art expert or connoisseur. I don't even consider myself reasonably well educated when it comes to art. But I think that one of the most powerful things about these artistic genres is their ability to convey messages to the professional and ignorant alike. For the same reason that we hang artwork in our chapels and temples, religious art like this can edify both artist and viewer.

To all those in the general vicinity of Provo, hurry and get down here before the exhibit closes on the 13th. Who wouldn't want to see Rembrandt, William Blake, Minerva Teichert, and Carl Bloch alongside lots of talented contemporary artists?

The take-home message can be summarized in the words of Alma:

... all things denote there is a God; yea, even the earth, and all things that are upon the face of it, yea, and its motion, yea, and also all the planets which move in their regular form do witness that there is a Supreme Creator. Alma 30:44

The Joseph Smith Papers

For those who might be unfamiliar with this massive undertaking, the Joseph Smith Papers Project is an effort to compile and publish numerous revelations and other manuscripts, some of which have never before been seen, in order to facilitate new research. This is huge project, which will take many years to complete, represents a major breakthrough in the historical documentation of elements relating to Joseph Smith's life and work. The cool thing about being a BYU student is that many of the professors and students on campus are helping with the project research.



This week we examined the facsimiles and transcriptions of several revelations in order to look for new insights into the text. It's a little unsettling in some ways to see that the revelations weren't originally recorded in the manner we read them today. Any English teacher would have a thing or two to say about problems with run-on sentences, since punctuation certainly wasn't the forte of these scribes. Seeing the revelations written in this format made more sense in my mind than I had expected. Most of the time that I receive revelation, it doesn't come to me in the form of complete, perfectly punctuated sentences. The revelations recorded in this raw form agree more with my experience of getting particular impressions that don't necessarily come in the form of concrete words. It was enjoyable to read these familiar revelations in a more stream-of-consciousness paragraph format. This demonstrates that even though Joseph was a prophet and seer, he was still human and thus limited by mortal capabilities.

This manuscript format reminds me of an idea found in the Book of Mormon: "And if there be faults they be the faults of men" (Mormon 8:17). Despite the revelations being perfect, securing and printing a text of those revelations isn't necessarily a process without fault or hard labor. One of the things I noticed in the transcriptions was that Joseph Smith himself made many of the corrections to the original transcripts. Clearly he was preoccupied with making sure that the correct text of the revelations was the one that would be brought into the world view. Strangely, seeing these revelations in their original written form gave me a new appreciation for word processing. Having to write in and change sections of the manuscript manually took up extra space and time; however, I'm grateful to be able to see the process that the text went through, including mistakes that needed to be fixed and new ideas that needed to be added. On some level it's marvelous to see that God's even willing to work with people as flawed as we are. Although it might be easier to just reveal everything directly in written form (10 commandments style), the Lord allows us to participate in his work and even trusts us to use our own judgment as tools in His hands.

The sections of the Revelations and Translations volume that we examined were manuscripts that eventually became Doctrine & Covenants Section 88. This section is known as the "olive leaf," and it directly follows, both in chronological order and in the current ordering of the D&C, section 87, a revelation about the Civil War. For the most part, the changes to the manuscript merely fix problems of spelling or punctuation or clarify the meaning of particular sections of text. I certainly feel for John Whitmer trying to keep up with Joseph's revelation and having the pressure to record things exactly on his shoulders. The fact that these revelations weren't all received at the same time (even though they now comprise a single section of the Doctrine and Covenants) demonstrates the "line upon line, precept upon precept" principle outlined in the Book of Mormon (2 Nephi 28:30). Although we should hold ourselves to high standards, we also have to recognize that our human frailties preclude perfection in all of our efforts.

It might be tempting to say that the Lord would have been wise to just allow the typewriter or computer to be invented before translations and recorded revelations proceeded; however, there's something really awesome about seeing handwritten accounts. The very act of writing is a testament to the fact that these scribes saw Joseph as a prophet, seer, and revelator. I think we're sometimes tempted to assume that the work of the Lord will be clean and simple, but we have to remember that we're incorporating fallible humans into the mix.

This reminds me of something that came up at our stake conference today: a section of the famous Wentworth Letter.

“The Standard of Truth has been erected; no unhallowed hand can stop the work from progressing; persecutions may rage, mobs may combine, armies may assemble, calumny may defame, but the truth of God will go forth boldly, nobly, and independent, till it has penetrated every continent, visited every clime, swept every country, and sounded in every ear, till the purposes of God shall be accomplished, and the Great Jehovah shall say the work is done.”

"All these things shall give thee experience..."

Following the Haun's Mill Massacre on October, 30, 1838, approximately 50 Church leaders were arrested on false charges. Most of them were soon released, but some remained incarcerated for months, moving to Independence and then to Richmond. In December 1838, Joseph Smith, Hyrum Smith, Sydney Rigdon, Lyman Wight, Alexander McRae, and Caleb Baldwin were moved from Richmond, Missouri to Liberty Jail. Joseph describes a situation of scanty food, dirty straw bedding, and few blankets. The roof of the dungeon in which the prisoners were kept was too short for several of them to stand upright. The room was only 14' x 14' in size. As these prisoners were suffering, more than 8,000 Saints were being forcefully driven from their homes in Missouri. Counterintuitively, this "loathsome," "lonesome, dark, dirty" prison became the setting for some of the most comforting, hopeful revelations now found in the Doctrine & Covenants. (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith)

This Church website has some GREAT resources about the Liberty Jail experience. You can see pictures of the replica of the jail and find more historical information and primary sources.

This experience is a key example of how terrible adversity can become an opportunity for growth. Although Joseph experienced a slight crisis of faith, as any person placed in his circumstances could be expected to, he left the prison a changed man in April 1839.

In my typical fashion, I'll toss out a couple of my favorite talks on this subject.
Elder Jeffrey R. Holland "Lessons from Liberty Jail"
President Henry B. Eyring "Adversity"

The effects of this experience on the Prophet shouldn't be underestimated. After several months of time to ponder and to come to terms with his own frustration, Joseph Smith grew into a more powerful leader. He departed this "prison temple" (as B.H. Roberts called it) better for the experience. In the words of Neal A. Maxwell, "During his stay in Liberty Jail, the Prophet Joseph Smith received some of the most sublime revelations ever received by any prophet in any dispensation... probably some of the most tender tutorials in all of holy writ now available" ("A Choice Seer").

What did Joseph learn? Some of the quotes contained in the compilation of his teachings (see link above) outline a few of the most important lessons.

"Therefore, dearly beloved brethren, we are the more ready and willing to lay claim to your fellowship and love. For our circumstances are calculated to awaken our spirit to a sacred remembrance of everything... nothing therefore can separate us from the love of God and fellowship one with another." Clearly this prison experienced deepened Joseph's tender feelings toward his fellow Saints and reminded him that God's love should be a paramount force in his life.

"My son, peace be unto thy soul; thine adversity and thine afflictions shall be but a small moment; and then if thou endure it well, God shall exalt thee on high; thou shalt triumph over all thy foes" (D&C 121:7-8). This trial gave Joseph hope that the Lord would support him in all of his situations of adversity. As we read just a few sections later, "God knoweth all these things, whether it be good or bad. But nevertheless, deep water is what I am wont to swim in. It all has become a second nature to me; and I feel, like Paul, to glory in tribulation" (D&C 127:2). Joseph Smith didn't expect his life to become easier, but he knew that the Lord would make him equal to the difficult tasks.

Finally, the Prophet received strength and comfort from the Holy Ghost that would guide him for the remainder of his life. He later wrote:

That still small voice, which has so often whispered consolation to my soul, in the depths of sorrow and distress, bade me be of good cheer, and promised deliverance, which gave me great comfort. And although the heavens raged, and the people imagined vain things, yet the Lord of Hosts, the God of Jacob was my refuge; and when I cried unto him in the day of trouble, He delivered me.

Following his incarceration he became a tremendous speaker and gospel teacher. He preached with great power and force; his confidence had "waxed strong in the presence of God" because of his righteousness (D&C 121:45).

Perhaps equally important to the changes this experience wrought in Joseph Smith are the changes it can provoke in each of our lives.

...when you have to, you can have sacred, revelatory, profoundly instructive experience with the Lord in any situation you are in. Indeed, let me say that even a little stronger: You can have sacred, revelatory, profoundly instructive experience with the Lord in the most miserable experiences of your life—in the worst settings, while enduring the most painful injustices, when facing the most insurmountable odds and opposition you have ever faced. (Elder Jeffrey R. Holland)