Lesson 118:Doctrine and Covenants 102–105

Doctrine and Covenants 105

“They Should Be Brought Thus Far for a Trial of Their Faith”

fishing river in Missouri

Shortly after the Camp of Israel arrived in Missouri, the Lord revealed that the redemption of Zion “should wait for a little season” (Doctrine and Covenants 105:9, 13). Having just marched over 800 miles (1,280 kilometers) and expecting to help the Missouri Saints reclaim their lands, the company felt their faith tested by the Lord’s instruction to return home. This lesson can help students feel a greater desire to remain faithful to God when their faith is tested.

Possible Learning Activities

Encourage preparation for learning experiences. To learn more about helping students prepare for the learning experience, see the training titled “Invite Learners to Prepare to Learn,” found in Teacher Development Skills: Invite Diligent Learning. Consider practicing the skill “Create invitations that help learners prepare for the next learning experience.”

This is the third of three lessons about the experiences of the Camp of Israel in the Doctrine and Covenants 102–105 week. If you did not teach one or both of the previous lessons, consider how you might incorporate portions of those lessons into this one.

Trials of our faith

Consider sharing a scenario like the following and then discussing the questions.

For as long as she could remember, Sister Gonzalez had been excited to serve the Lord as a full-time missionary. Throughout her missionary service, she worked diligently and relied upon the Lord. Despite these efforts, Sister Gonzalez and her companions found very few people to teach, and even fewer accepted their invitations to come unto Christ and be baptized. Most of Sister Gonzalez’s friends who served missions seemed to have helped a lot more people accept the Savior’s gospel than she did.

• What are some negative conclusions Sister Gonzalez might be tempted to make about her mission?

• How might her conclusions be different if she viewed her missionary service with an eternal perspective?

Explain that there can be times when our efforts to serve and follow the Lord can have different results than we expected. Invite the students to share some examples of these types of situations. Examples could include the following: trying to keep the commandments but noticing that others who do not follow God seem better off, studying the scriptures regularly but not feeling like you are gaining much, or striving to live the gospel but experiencing challenges like anxiety or depression.

Invite the students to think about how they have reacted or would react in situations like these. Encourage them to look for teachings as they study that can help them when their efforts to serve and obey the Lord produce unexpected outcomes.

The Lord’s instructions to the Camp of Israel

zion’s camp

Before sharing the following summary, give students an opportunity to share any details they remember from the previous lesson about the Camp of Israel and their march from Ohio to Missouri.

After marching for almost seven weeks and experiencing both hardships and miracles, the Camp of Israel approached Jackson County, Missouri. Members of the camp were eager to know the Lord’s will and learn how Zion was to be redeemed. For many, redeeming Zion meant restoring the Missouri Saints to their homes. On June 22, 1834, while they were about a day’s journey from Jackson County, Joseph Smith received the revelation recorded in Doctrine and Covenants 105.

Read Doctrine and Covenants 105:9, looking for what the Lord said about the redemption of Zion.

• If you had been a member of the Camp of Israel, how might you have felt about this instruction? Why?

Read Doctrine and Covenants 105:10–14, 17–19, looking for reasons the Lord gave for why Zion would not be redeemed at that time.

• How would you summarize the Lord’s teachings from verse 19 in your own words?

  Before discussing the next question, remind students of the Sister Gonzalez scenario and their own examples of when following the Lord turns out different than we expect.

• What do you learn from these verses that can help when we experience trials of our faith?

Students may share a variety of truths in their own words, including something like the following: God has prepared great blessings for those who remain humble and faithful to Him during trials of their faith.

If needed, explain that a trial of faith can be a test of whether we will choose to trust and obey the Lord no matter the circumstances.

Blessings come after trials of faith

Explain that there are many truths in the scriptures that can help us during trials of our faith. Remembering these truths during trying times can help us remain faithful to God.

Take a moment to find teachings from the scriptures or Church leaders that can help you remain faithful to God when your faith is being tested. Examples could include Isaiah 55:8–9; Romans 8:28; Ether 12:6; Doctrine and Covenants 76:2–3.

Before asking the next question, consider inviting students to write on the board a phrase they found particularly meaningful. After multiple phrases are written, point to a few phrases, and invite the students who wrote them to explain why their selected phrase was meaningful to them.

• What did you find that could help you remain faithful to God when your faith is tested or tried?

• What are some blessings you or others have received for remaining faithful to God during trials of faith?

As students think of experiences, consider sharing one of your own. You could also invite them to find examples of people in the scriptures. Examples could include Abraham (see Genesis 22:1–18), Gideon (see Judges 6:11–16; 7:2–9, 15–21), or Jesus Christ (see 3 Nephi 11:10–11).

Explain that many members of the Camp of Israel also recognized great blessings after their participation.

President Brigham Young (1801–77), who marched with the Camp of Israel, recalled conversations he had after returning home:

President Brigham Young

On my return many friends asked me what profit there was in calling men from their labor to go up to Missouri and then return, without apparently accomplishing anything. “Who has it benefited?” asked they. “If the Lord did command it to be done, what object had he in view in doing so?” … I told those brethren that I was well paid—paid with heavy interest—yea that my measure was filled to overflowing with the knowledge that I had received by traveling with the Prophet. (Brigham Young, “Discourse,” Deseret News, Dec. 3, 1862, 177)

• What blessings did Brigham Young recognize he had received as a result of his experience with the Camp of Israel?

To help students see another example of God’s purposes and blessings for those who faithfully marched with the Camp of Israel, share the following summary. Alternatively, you could show the video “Zion’s Camp” (21:29) from time code 19:16 to 21:29. This video is available at ChurchofJesusChrist.org.

In the Lord’s perfect wisdom, the testing during Zion’s Camp helped prepare many future leaders of the Church. In February 1835, the Savior organized the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles and the First Quorum of the Seventy through the Prophet Joseph Smith. The majority of those original Apostles, all seven Presidents of the Seventy, and all sixty-three other members of the First Quorum of the Seventy had marched with the Camp of Israel in 1834.

Think about your life

Give students time to process what they have learned and felt during the lesson. One way to do this is to invite them to respond to the following question in their study journals.

• What have you learned or felt today that can help when you experience trials of your faith?

Consider inviting a few willing students to share what they wrote. To conclude, consider testifying of the truths you have discussed today.

Additional Resources

What did Joseph Smith teach about God’s purpose for Zion’s Camp?

Joseph Young, who had been a member of the Camp of Israel, recalled Joseph Smith teaching the following:

Brethren, some of you are angry with me, because you did not fight in Missouri; but let me tell you, God did not want you to fight. He could not organize his kingdom with twelve men to open the gospel door to the nations of the earth, and with seventy men under their direction to follow in their tracks, unless he took them from a body of men who had offered their lives, and who had made as great a sacrifice as did Abraham. (Quoted in Joseph Young Sr., History of the Organization of the Seventies [1878], 14)

Doctrine and Covenants 105:4–5. What does it mean to live according to “the law of the celestial kingdom”?

Elder D. Todd Christofferson of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles taught:

D. Todd Christofferson

Much of the work to be done in establishing Zion consists in our individual efforts to become “the pure in heart” (D&C 97:21). “Zion cannot be built up unless it is by the principles of the law of the celestial kingdom,” said the Lord; “otherwise I cannot receive her unto myself” (D&C 105:5). The law of the celestial kingdom is, of course, the gospel law and covenants, which include our constant remembrance of the Savior and our pledge of obedience, sacrifice, consecration, and fidelity. (D. Todd Christofferson, “Come to Zion,” Ensign or Liahona, Nov. 2008, 38)

Doctrine and Covenants 105:18–19. How can I “continue faithful” during a trial of my faith?

Elder Neil L. Andersen of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles taught:

Elder Neil L. Andersen

How do you remain “steadfast and immovable” [Alma 1:25] during a trial of faith? You immerse yourself in the very things that helped build your core of faith: you exercise faith in Christ, you pray, you ponder the scriptures, you repent, you keep the commandments, and you serve others.

When faced with a trial of faith—whatever you do, you don’t step away from the Church! Distancing yourself from the kingdom of God during a trial of faith is like leaving the safety of a secure storm cellar just as the tornado comes into view. (Neil L. Andersen, “Trial of Your Faith,” Ensign or Liahona, Nov. 2012, 40)

Supplemental Learning Activities

Doctrine and Covenants 105:1–6. “The law of the celestial kingdom”

Students may wish to study more about why the Lord did not allow Zion to be redeemed by Zion’s Camp in 1834. Consider inviting them to study Doctrine and Covenants 105:1–6, looking for reasons the Lord provided. Students could list these on the board and discuss similar challenges they may have noticed in their area or community.

Encourage students to avoid judging others and to focus the discussion on ways they can liken the Lord’s teachings to themselves. For example, discussion topics could center around the importance of obedience and how to better assist the “poor and afflicted” (verse 3). Students could also discuss how being united as a ward or branch can help prepare them to inherit celestial glory with Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ (see verses 4–5). If students need help understanding what the law of the celestial kingdom is, consider sharing the statement by Elder Christofferson in the “Additional Resources” section.

Doctrine and Covenants 105:20–41. “Be very faithful, and prayerful, and humble before me”

After revealing to the Saints that the redemption of Zion was to be delayed (see Doctrine and Covenants 105:9, 13), the Lord provided counsel on how they should respond to continued persecution. Consider inviting students to read Doctrine and Covenants 105:20–41, looking for principles and counsel that could help them better deal with conflict and respond to persecution. Students could work in pairs and make lists in their journals. Following the study activity, help students identify a principle from verses 38–40—for example: if we seek to establish peace with others, then all things will work together for our good. You could write this principle on the board and discuss questions like the following:

• What can we do to help establish peace with others?

• How have you been blessed as you have sought to establish peace, including with those who might persecute you?

• How can relying on Jesus Christ by being faithful, prayerful, and humble help you avoid conflict and establish peace with others?