Below are the quotes that were used in the video.
Five times in section 124 the Lord calls Nauvoo a “cornerstone of Zion.” A cornerstone has a quality or feature on which other things are based. The revelations that are received in Nauvoo establish the direction that God wanted to direct His church, and many were focused on the temple and temple ordinances. The cornerstone revelation of section 124 sets up the work of Joseph Smith for the rest of his life.
Hyrum Smith: One guard said to me, “I shall take good drink of grog, and go to bed, and you may do as you have a mind to.” Three others of the guards drank pretty freely of the whisky, sweetened with honey. They also went to bed, and were soon asleep and the other guard went along with us, and helped to saddle the horses. Two of us mounted the horses, and the other three started on foot, and we took our change of venue for the State of Illinois; and in the course of nine or ten days arrived safely at Quincy, Adams county, where we found our families in a state of poverty, although in good health. (From the affidavit of Hyrum Smith before the municipal court of Nauvoo, given July 1, 1843)
President Wilford Woodruff: A man came to [Joseph] and asked him if he would go about three miles and heal two of his small children, who were twins, about three months old, and were sick nigh unto death. He was a man of the world, he had never heard a sermon preached by a Latter-day Saint. Joseph said he could not go, but he would send a man. After hesitating a moment, he turned to me and said, “You go with this man and heal his children,” at the same time giving me a red silk handkerchief, and said, “After you lay hands upon them, wipe their faces with it, and they shall be healed; and as long as you will keep that handkerchief, it shall ever remain as a league between you and me.” I went and did as I was commanded, and the children were healed. (“History of Wilford Woodruff,” Millennial Star, vol. 27, no. 1 (May 27, 1865), 326.)
John Lyman Smith recalled a visit from the Prophet in September 1839: “The Prophet Joseph and his brother Hyrum visited us and administered to us all, father being delirious from the effects of the fever. Their words comforted us greatly, as they said in the name of the Lord you all shall be well again. Upon leaving the hovel Joseph placed his slippers upon my mother’s feet and sprang upon his horse from the doorway and rode home barefoot. The next day Joseph removed father to his own house and nursed him until he recovered.” (John Lyman Smith diary, in Birch, “July 22, 1839,” 17.)
Joseph lobbied the Illinois legislature for a city charter. In December 1840, the Illinois legislators overwhelmingly approved the charter. It authorized:
The Governor of Illinois signed charters for:
The charter was approved in December 1840, and it became effective with the election held the first Monday in February 1841.
The revelation specified that Robert B. Thompson, the Prophet's scribe, was to help write the document, and that John C. Bennett should assist in its dissemination. However, Thompson's premature death and Bennett's apostasy precluded either contributing to the project. The Prophet first gave attention to the proclamation on 22 December 1841, when he "commenced giving instructions to the scribe Willard Richards concerning writing the proclamation to the kings of the earth," but it appears that other pressures took precedence: by 15 November 1843 the Prophet still spoke of the writing as a future work. On 21 November 1843 Joseph Smith directed Willard Richards, Orson Hyde, John Taylor and William W. Phelps to proceed with the writing, but again other demands hindered any significant progress. In January 1844 a branch of the Church was invited to donate means to forward the writing of the proclamation, and finally, in the spring of 1844, one of Joseph's scribes was able to proceed in earnest. William W. Phelps reported in 1863 that he was specially commissioned in May 1844 to write the "great proclamation" under the direction of the Prophet and that he had in his possession twenty-two manuscript pages that Joseph Smith had approved. He lamented, however, that the project was dropped after the martyrdom. In 1845 the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles essentially fulfilled the instructions of section 124 by publishing their proclamation to the kings of the world. That Parley Pratt was the author of this item is made clear in the letter of Brigham Young to Parley P. Pratt, 26 May 1845, MS at Archives, Harold B. Lee Library, Brigham Young University.
Proclamation to the World
by the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles
6 April 1845
(Messages of the First Presidency, 1:252)
PROCLAMATION of the Twelve Apostles of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
To all the King’s of the World;
To the President of the United States of America;
To the Governors of the several States;
And to the Rulers and People of all Nations:
GREETING:
KNOW YE--
THAT the kingdom of God has come: as has been predicted by ancient prophets, and prayed for in all ages; even that kingdom which shall fill the whole earth, and shall stand for ever.
The great Eloheim Jehovah has been pleased once more to speak from the heavens: and also to commune with man upon the earth, by means of open visions, and by the ministration of HOLY MESSENGERS.
By this means the great and eternal High Priesthood, after the Order of his Son, even the Apostleship, has been restored; or, returned to the earth.
This High Priesthood, or Apostleship, holds the keys of the kingdom of God, and power to bind on earth that which shall be bound in heaven; and to loose on earth that which shall be loosed in heaven. And, in fine, to do, and to administer in all things pertaining to the ordinances, organization, government and direction of the kingdom of God.
Being established in these last days for the restoration of all things spoken by the prophets since the world began; and in order to prepare the way for the coming of the Son of Man.
And we now bear witness that his coming is near at hand; and not many years hence, the nations and their kings shall see him coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.
In order to meet this great event there must needs be a preparation.
Therefore we send unto you with authority from on high, and command you all to repent and humble yourselves as little children, before the majesty of the Holy One; and come unto Jesus with a broken heart and a contrite spirit; and be baptized in his name, for the remission of sins (that is, be buried in the water in the likeness of his burial and rise again to newness of life, in the likeness of his resurrection), and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit, through the laying on of the hands of the Apostles and elders, of this great and last dispensation of mercy to man.
This Spirit shall bear witness to you, of the truth of our testimony; and shall enlighten your minds, and be in you as the spirit of prophecy and revelation. It shall bring things past to your understanding and remembrance; and shall show you things to come. (For the full proclamaiton, visit https://josephsmithfoundation.org/proclamation-of-the-twelve-april-6-1845)
Section 124 - What makes Nauvoo a cornerstone of Zion?
Teaching Thoughts:
Hyrum Smith: One guard said to me, “I shall take good drink of grog, and go to bed, and you may do as you have a mind to.” Three others of the guards drank pretty freely of the whisky, sweetened with honey. They also went to bed, and were soon asleep and the other guard went along with us, and helped to saddle the horses. Two of us mounted the horses, and the other three started on foot, and we took our change of venue for the State of Illinois; and in the course of nine or ten days arrived safely at Quincy, Adams county, where we found our families in a state of poverty, although in good health. (From the affidavit of Hyrum Smith before the municipal court of Nauvoo, given July 1, 1843)
President Wilford Woodruff: A man came to [Joseph] and asked him if he would go about three miles and heal two of his small children, who were twins, about three months old, and were sick nigh unto death. He was a man of the world, he had never heard a sermon preached by a Latter-day Saint. Joseph said he could not go, but he would send a man. After hesitating a moment, he turned to me and said, “You go with this man and heal his children,” at the same time giving me a red silk handkerchief, and said, “After you lay hands upon them, wipe their faces with it, and they shall be healed; and as long as you will keep that handkerchief, it shall ever remain as a league between you and me.” I went and did as I was commanded, and the children were healed. (“History of Wilford Woodruff,” Millennial Star, vol. 27, no. 1 (May 27, 1865), 326.)
John Lyman Smith recalled a visit from the Prophet in September 1839: “The Prophet Joseph and his brother Hyrum visited us and administered to us all, father being delirious from the effects of the fever. Their words comforted us greatly, as they said in the name of the Lord you all shall be well again. Upon leaving the hovel Joseph placed his slippers upon my mother’s feet and sprang upon his horse from the doorway and rode home barefoot. The next day Joseph removed father to his own house and nursed him until he recovered.” (John Lyman Smith diary, in Birch, “July 22, 1839,” 17.)
Joseph lobbied the Illinois legislature for a city charter. In December 1840, the Illinois legislators overwhelmingly approved the charter. It authorized:
- Created an independent militia
- City courts and officers
- City officers were empowered to “pass ordinances that contradicted state law, as long as those ordinances did not conflict with the state or national constitution.” (Glen M. Leonard, Nauvoo: A Place of Peace, a People of Promise (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book and Provo, Utah: Brigham Young University Press, 2002), 103.)
The Governor of Illinois signed charters for:
- The city of Nauvoo
- The University of Nauvoo,
- The Nauvoo House Association,
- The Nauvoo Agricultural and Mechanical Association
- The Nauvoo Legion
The charter was approved in December 1840, and it became effective with the election held the first Monday in February 1841.
The revelation specified that Robert B. Thompson, the Prophet's scribe, was to help write the document, and that John C. Bennett should assist in its dissemination. However, Thompson's premature death and Bennett's apostasy precluded either contributing to the project. The Prophet first gave attention to the proclamation on 22 December 1841, when he "commenced giving instructions to the scribe Willard Richards concerning writing the proclamation to the kings of the earth," but it appears that other pressures took precedence: by 15 November 1843 the Prophet still spoke of the writing as a future work. On 21 November 1843 Joseph Smith directed Willard Richards, Orson Hyde, John Taylor and William W. Phelps to proceed with the writing, but again other demands hindered any significant progress. In January 1844 a branch of the Church was invited to donate means to forward the writing of the proclamation, and finally, in the spring of 1844, one of Joseph's scribes was able to proceed in earnest. William W. Phelps reported in 1863 that he was specially commissioned in May 1844 to write the "great proclamation" under the direction of the Prophet and that he had in his possession twenty-two manuscript pages that Joseph Smith had approved. He lamented, however, that the project was dropped after the martyrdom. In 1845 the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles essentially fulfilled the instructions of section 124 by publishing their proclamation to the kings of the world. That Parley Pratt was the author of this item is made clear in the letter of Brigham Young to Parley P. Pratt, 26 May 1845, MS at Archives, Harold B. Lee Library, Brigham Young University.
Proclamation to the World
by the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles
6 April 1845
(Messages of the First Presidency, 1:252)
PROCLAMATION of the Twelve Apostles of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
To all the King’s of the World;
To the President of the United States of America;
To the Governors of the several States;
And to the Rulers and People of all Nations:
GREETING:
KNOW YE--
THAT the kingdom of God has come: as has been predicted by ancient prophets, and prayed for in all ages; even that kingdom which shall fill the whole earth, and shall stand for ever.
The great Eloheim Jehovah has been pleased once more to speak from the heavens: and also to commune with man upon the earth, by means of open visions, and by the ministration of HOLY MESSENGERS.
By this means the great and eternal High Priesthood, after the Order of his Son, even the Apostleship, has been restored; or, returned to the earth.
This High Priesthood, or Apostleship, holds the keys of the kingdom of God, and power to bind on earth that which shall be bound in heaven; and to loose on earth that which shall be loosed in heaven. And, in fine, to do, and to administer in all things pertaining to the ordinances, organization, government and direction of the kingdom of God.
Being established in these last days for the restoration of all things spoken by the prophets since the world began; and in order to prepare the way for the coming of the Son of Man.
And we now bear witness that his coming is near at hand; and not many years hence, the nations and their kings shall see him coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.
In order to meet this great event there must needs be a preparation.
Therefore we send unto you with authority from on high, and command you all to repent and humble yourselves as little children, before the majesty of the Holy One; and come unto Jesus with a broken heart and a contrite spirit; and be baptized in his name, for the remission of sins (that is, be buried in the water in the likeness of his burial and rise again to newness of life, in the likeness of his resurrection), and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit, through the laying on of the hands of the Apostles and elders, of this great and last dispensation of mercy to man.
This Spirit shall bear witness to you, of the truth of our testimony; and shall enlighten your minds, and be in you as the spirit of prophecy and revelation. It shall bring things past to your understanding and remembrance; and shall show you things to come. (For the full proclamaiton, visit https://josephsmithfoundation.org/proclamation-of-the-twelve-april-6-1845)
Section 124 - What makes Nauvoo a cornerstone of Zion?
- Temple ordinances.
- We will build on the foundation of what happens in Nauvoo.
Teaching Thoughts:
- In what ways has Nauvoo served as a “cornerstone of Zion?”
- What beloved revelations were revealed in Nauvoo?
- How does section 124 set up the work of Joseph for the saint's time in Nauvoo?