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Millennialism D&C 87, 133
Millennialism Millennialism, it must be stressed, is far more than simply believing that the millennium is near. It is a comprehensive way of looking at human history and an integrated system of salvation. It is a type of eschatology, a term derived from Greek for ‘doctrine of the last things’ or ‘end times,’ and used to refer broadly to people’s ideas about the final events in individual human lives as well as the collective end of human history. Grant Underwood, The Millenarian World of Early Mormonism, 2.
What is Millennialism? • Millenarians view salvation as: • Collective, to be enjoyed by the faithful as a group • Terrestrial, to be realized here on earth • Total, to completely transform life on earth • Imminent, to come soon and swiftly rather than gradually • Miraculous, to be accomplished by supernatural means
What kind of Millennialism? • Premillennialists: Christ will come at the beginning of millennium; major changes and a discontinuity of earth and heaven; literalist readings of the Bible • Postmillennialists: Christ will come at the end of the millennium; small, gradual changes; metaphoric readings of the Bible
Millenarian History • Apocalypticism Throughout the Ages • Apocalypticism Millennialism • Often Coincided with Societal Problems • Rise of Postmillenarianism in 19thCentury • Many extreme millennial beliefs still survive in different groups
Mormonism’s Millennialism • Joseph Smith’s First Vision: “Behold the world lieth in sin at this time and none doeth good no not one they have turned aside from the gospel and keep not my commandments they draw near to me with their lips while their hearts are far from me and mine anger is kindling against the inhabitants of the earth to visit them according to thir ungodliness and to bring to pass that which hath been spoken by the mouth of the prophets and Apostles behold and lo I come quickly as it [is] written of me in the cloud clothed in the glory of my Father.” • Sidney Rigdon’s “Millennium” and Parley Pratt’s A Voice of Warning • Millenarian readings of the Bible and Book of Mormon • Gathering as an escape
D&C 87: Origin • Section 87 resulted from a Constitutional crisis. Congress passed tax laws in 1828 and again in 1832 that favored northern factories in lieu of southern planters. A South Carolina convention then "unilaterally nullified the tariff and forbade its collection. President Andrew Jackson, refusing to acknowledge this assertion of state power, called out troops. By Christmas 1832, a military confrontation appeared imminent." • An article in the church's newspaper and the description of these events in Joseph's later history shows that the saints' viewed these events (along with a plague in India and a nearly global outbreak of cholera) in millennial terms. Joseph's history notes that South Carolina had appointed a day of prayer "to implore Almighty God to vouchsafe His blessings, and restore liberty and happiness within their borders." Meanwhile "President Jackson issued his proclamation against this rebellion . . . and implored the blessings of God to assist the nation to extricate itself from the horrors of the approaching and solemn crisis." No doubt wondering what God thought of the situation, Joseph received what his history calls a "revelation on prophecy and war" on Christmas day, 1832. • Making Sense of the Doctrine & Covenants, Section 87.
D&C 87: Outcomes • This revelation is best known for the fulfillment of its remarkable prophecy of the American Civil War, which began in South Carolina over slavery, without which the war would not have happened. But the revelation is most significant for its millennialism. It "linked the 'appearances of troubles among the nations' to prophecies of the last days." Though by no means the first millennial-minded of Joseph's revelations, Section 87 was the first "to correlate political events with the millenarian calendar" as it charted the events that would lead the Lord of Hosts to come and avenge his enemies. It paints an expansive, violent, and depressing picture before concluding with comforting promises. • Joseph Smith cited this revelation at least once but never published it during his lifetime (See Section 130). It rose to the forefront of LDS consciousness in the 1850s as the Civil War loomed. Then, in 1861 when it began to be fulfilled to the letter with as civil war beginning in South Carolina over the slavery crisis, a Philadelphia newspaper reprinted the revelation and said, "In view of our present troubles, this prediction seems to be in progress of fulfillment, whether Joe Smith was a humbug or not.” It then concluded with the question, "Have we not had a prophet among us?" • After a devastating defeat of the Union army in 1862, President Abraham Lincoln surmised that "in the present civil war it is quite possible that God's purpose is something quite different from the purpose of either party—and yet the human instrumentality, working just as they do, are of the best adaptation to effect his purpose." Lincoln realized solemnly that both sides "pray to the same God, and each invokes His aid against the other. . . . The prayers of both could not be answered. That of neither has been answered fully. The Almighty has His own purposes." He set some of those purposes forth with frightening clarity in Section 87. With Lincoln, our concern should not be to ask God to join our side, but rather to take our stand on his side. • Making Sense of the Doctrine & Covenants, Section 87.
D&C 133 Origins • The November 1831 conference at Hiram, Ohio decided to publish 10,000 copies of Joseph's revelations as A Book of Commandments for the Government of the Church of Christ. Joseph began to edit the revelations and Oliver Cowdery made plans to take them to Independence, Missouri for publication by William Phelps on the Church’s press. Joseph’s History says that “at this time there were many things which the Elders desired to know relative to the preaching of the Gospel to the inhabitants of the earth, and concerning the gathering; and in order to walk in the true light, and be instructed from on high, on the 3rd of November, 1831, I inquired of the Lord and received the following important revelation, which as since been added to the book of Doctrine and Covenants, and called the Appendix.” • Making Sense of the Doctrine & Covenants, Section 133.
D&C 133: Outcome • Section 133 answers the elders’ questions about preaching the gospel and gathering lost Israel. Other revelations give much more detailed instructions how to do those things. This one emphasizes why and when. To a fledgling group of fallible Latter-day Saints gathered in a private home, it sets forth an audacious scope of covering the globe with the restored gospel. It reiterates Christ’s great commission to take the gospel to every creature so that each can decide whether to repent or not. Moreover, there is no time to lose. The revelation's urgent tone emphasizes that Christ soon comes to judge an apostate world—Babylon. What results from this revelation? That fledgling group of fallible Latter-day Saints has grown exponentially and sent tens of thousands of its sons and daughters to the ends of the earth to preach the gospel and gather scattered Israel to Zion in anticipation of the Lord's second coming. It would be hard to overstate the motivating power of Sections like 133. It is, as one early saint declared, “fraught with so much heavenly intelligence.” • Making Sense of the Doctrine & Covenants, Section 133.
Discussion • Is millenarianism as important now as in the 1830s? • What are the downsides of millennialism? What are the benefits? • Is there a certain check-list of events that must happen before the Second Coming?
