Historical Introduction

In early March 1841, JS dictated a revelation directing the Latter-day Saints in Iowa Territory to settle in Zarahemla, Lee County, Iowa Territory, or in other appointed gathering sites.1 Beginning in 1839, many members of the church settled on the Illinois side of the Mississippi River, in and around Hancock County, while a smaller number settled in scattered communities across the river in Iowa Territory.

The precise date that JS dictated this revelation is unclear. In early March 1841 the settlement of church members in Iowa was apparently a pressing concern. John Smith, the president of the Iowa stake, recorded in his journal that on 6 March 1841, Bishop Alanson Ripley “came over to inform me that Joseph Said it was the will of the Lord the Brethren in generally in Ambrosia Should move in and about the City Zerahemla with all convenient Speed which the Saints are willing to Do Because it is the word of the Lord.”2 A few days later, on 11 March, John Smith and two other elders went to Nauvoo, Illinois, to see JS and “to learn the will of the Lord” concerning the Saints in Iowa. According to Smith, JS stated that the Saints were “to move into the city Speedily but make large fields without [and] rais[e] grain.”3 It is possible that this 11 March conversation between John Smith and JS led to both the “interrogatory” and the subsequent revelation featured here. It is also possible, however, that JS had dictated the revelation earlier and that the Saints in Iowa were already acting on the commands of the revelation prior to John Smith’s meeting with JS.4

Robert B. Thompson recorded this revelation in the Book of the Law of the Lord sometime around or after 20 March 1841, but he did not inscribe the date of its dictation. He placed the revelation after a 20 March 1841 revelation, and it was therefore included under that date in Willard Richards’s rough draft notes for JS’s multivolume manuscript history.5 This early March revelation was read, along with a 19 January 1841 revelation, at the April 1841 general conference of the church in Nauvoo.6

According to William Clayton’s diary, JS believed the intent of the revelation was to consolidate the scattered Latter-day Saint settlements in Iowa for the sake of safety. JS even invoked the grim specter of the 1838 massacre at Hawn’s Mill, Missouri, which occurred in part because Hawn’s Mill was isolated from other settlements.7 On 24 May 1841, JS wrote a letter in which he informed the Saints that all stakes except for those approved in Hancock County and Lee County were “discontinued” and that Saints living outside of those stakes should relocate to one of the approved areas as soon as they were able.8 In an August 1841 church conference held in Zarahemla, apostle John Taylor reemphasized the revelation’s call to gather there. A “large number present agreed to move in and assist in building up Zarahemla,” as the revelation directed. By August 1841, there were 326 members living in the Zarahemla branch.9

Footnotes

[1]Zarahemla was named after a prominent settlement in the Book of Mormon. The Book of Mormon indicates that the land and city of Zarahemla were named after a king of that same name who lived approximately two centuries before Christ. (See Book of Mormon, 1840 ed., 146–147, 221 [Omni 1:12–19; Alma 2:26].)

[2]Ambrosia was a small Latter-day Saint settlement a few miles west of Montrose, Iowa Territory. John Smith added this supplication in his journal: “O Lord Help they people to gather out of Babylon.” (John Smith, Journal, 6 Mar. 1841.)

Smith, John (1781-1854). Journal, 1833–1841. John Smith, Papers, 1833-1854. CHL. MS 1326, box 1, fd. 1.

[3]John Smith, Journal, 11 Mar. 1841.

Smith, John (1781-1854). Journal, 1833–1841. John Smith, Papers, 1833-1854. CHL. MS 1326, box 1, fd. 1.

[4]Elias Smith, bishop in the Nashville, Iowa Territory, settlement, noted by 16 March that the “first locations [were] made in Zarahemla by the citizens of Ambrosia.” (Elias Smith, Journal, 16 Mar. 1841.)

Smith, Elias. Journals, 1836–1888. CHL. MS 1319.

[5]Historian’s Office, JS History, Draft Notes, 20 Mar. 1841.

[6]See Revelation, 19 Jan. 1841 [D&C 124]. According to the published minutes of the conference, “Gen. [John C.] Bennett then read the revelations from ‘The Book of the Law of the Lord,’ which had been received since the last general Conference. . . . Pres. Jos. Smith rose and made some observations in explanation of the same.” While the published account does not specifically reference the featured revelation, William Clayton’s account of the conference meeting recorded that “a short revelation was also read concerning the saints in Iowa.” (Minutes, 7–11 Apr. 1841; Clayton, Diary, 8 Apr. 1841.)

Clayton, William. Diary, Vol. 1, 1840–1842. BYU.

[7]Clayton recorded: “Brother Joseph when speaking to one of the brethren on this subject says you have Haun’s Mill for a sample. Many of the brethren immediately made preparations for moving in here but on account of its being so late in the season President John Smith advised to get through with planting and then proceed to move in.” (Clayton, Diary, 8 Apr. 1841.)

Clayton, William. Diary, Vol. 1, 1840–1842. BYU.

[8]See Letter to the Saints Abroad, 24 May 1841.

[9]Iowa Stake, Record, 9 Aug. 1841, 102–103.

Iowa Stake, Record. / Iowa Stake. “Church Record,” 1840–1841. CHL. LR 7817 21.