He Setteth Up a Golden Calf

In the first canonized revelation from Nauvoo, the Lord said this about Almon Babbitt to Joseph Smith: “And with my servant Almon Babbitt, there are many things with which I am not pleased; behold, he aspireth to establish his counsel instead of the counsel which I have ordained, even that of the Presidency of my Church; and he setteth up a golden calf for the worship of my people. Let no man go from this place who has come here essaying to keep my commandments” (Doctrine and Covenants 124:84-85). The student manual gives some context about what the Lord was likely referring to: “In October 1840 the Prophet Joseph Smith called him to preside over the Kirtland, Ohio, stake. In a letter announcing this call, the Prophet wrote: ‘It has been deemed prudent to advise the Eastern Brethren who desire to locate in Kirtland, to do so, consequently you may expect an increase of members in your stake, who probably will be but young in the faith, and who will require kind treatment.’ After receiving these instructions Almon became overzealous in his efforts to rebuild Kirtland and ‘not only encouraged members in the [eastern United States] to gather to Kirtland’ but also immigrating converts from England. He also tried to persuade Church members already living in Nauvoo, Illinois, to move back to Kirtland.” Though he was partially fulfilling his duty, he overstepped his bounds and went contrary to the spirit of what he had been called to do. The tendency to “establish his counsel instead of the counsel which [the Lord] ordained” seems to have been a struggle for Babbitt throughout his life for he was “disfellowshipped from the church four separate times, in 1839, 1841, 1843, and 1851.” Perhaps the saddest commentary on his attitude towards supporting the servants of the Lord is this event right before the prophet was martyred: “The day before Joseph Smith, Jr. was killed in Carthage Jail, Smith instructed his uncle John Smith to ‘tell Almon W. Babbitt I want him to come and assist me as an attorney at my expected trial.’ Upon delivering the message a few hours later, Babbitt told John Smith that ‘You are too late, I am already engaged on the other side.’”

                The Joseph Smith Papers suggest that Babbitt was excommunicated in 1854, though other sources I have don’t mention this. He remained among the Saints for the next two years until he was killed by Cheyenne Indians as he traveled from Utah to Washington, D.C. Clearly his legacy his marred by an unwillingness take counsel from those God had appointed. The image that the Lord to describe him is instructive for all of us to consider: when the children of Israel waited for Moses on the mount and he did not return, they were led to follow Aaron’s counsel to create a golden image. We read, “And all the people brake off the golden earrings which were in their ears, and brought them unto Aaron. And he received them at their hand, and fashioned it with a graving tool, after he had made it a molten calf: and they said, These be thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt” (Exodus 32:3-4). While it seems I think hard for us to imagine how they could be turned from worship of the true Jehovah so quickly—especially after being miraculously led out of Egypt and across the Red Sea—surely we are prone to similarly fail to trust in and wait on the counsel of the Lord’s anointed. When we think we know better we are prone to criticize and put trust in our own wisdom and counsel instead of trusting the Lord’s servants. As we start to value the wisdom of the world over that of the Lord’s, we are figuratively setting up our own golden calf as the Lord suggested to Babbitt. But we will find no salvation in the counsel of the world that goes against the Lord’s word, and our trust must remain in the counsel of the Lord through His duly ordained servants.