Proclaiming My Gospel Until Thou Be Taken

I’m impressed by the life and missionary service of John Murdock. It appears that he had a difficult childhood, for his mother died when he was four years old, and according to one source, “His father remarried, but Murdock and his brothers experienced substandard treatment compared to their step-siblings.” After participating in many different churches, he was introduced to the restored gospel and was baptized by Parley P. Pratt in November of 1830 at the age of 38. He was ordained an elder within a week of his baptism, and he began proselyting almost immediately, baptizing seventy people in four months. He is perhaps most well known for the fact that about six months after his baptism, his wife Julia died giving birth to twins in Ohio. He gave those twins to Joseph and Emma who had just lost their twins born around the same time. They were named Joseph and Julia, and Joseph died a year later after the mob attack on Joseph worsened his illness. At the time his wife Julia died, John had three children, the youngest of whom was only three years old. Shortly after her death, John followed the instruction of a revelation to leave for Zion: “And also my servant John Murdock, and my servant Hyrum Smith, take their journey unto the same place by the way of Detroit” (Doctrine and Covenants 52:8). His children were cared for by neighbors and family while he fulfilled this and other missions.

               Section 99 of the Doctrine and Covenants is directed to him in August 1832, and in it the Lord emphasized his responsibility to continue preach the gospel. It says, “Behold, thus saith the Lord unto my servant John Murdock—thou art called to go into the eastern countries from house to house, from village to village, and from city to city, to proclaim mine everlasting gospel unto the inhabitants thereof, in the midst of persecution and wickedness” (v1). He did indeed fulfill this mission and left to serve in the eastern states with Zebedee Coltrin in April 1833. I love though that the Lord was aware of his situation with his children and said this about preparing to depart on that mission: “And now, verily I say unto you, that it is not expedient that you should go until your children are provided for, and sent up kindly unto the bishop of Zion” (v6). Those three children were apparently sent to Missouri with others, but tragedy struck the next year when John was a part of Zion’s Camp the next year. His youngest daughter Phebe, six at the time, was living with Sidney Gilbert’s family in Missouri and died from Cholera. The marker commemorating those who died in Zion’s Camp at Rush Creek, Missouri lists 15 who passed away in conjunction with the effort, and Phebe Murdock is among them. Surely this was a devastating blow to John who was among those in the Camp of Israel. His loss of family members did not stop there, though. He married Amoranda Turner in 1836 and she passed away the next year. He married his third wife Electa Allen in 1838 and she passed away in 1845. So he lost three wives and two children during his lifetime (counting Joseph Murdock Smith whom Joseph and Emma adopted).  

Despite these trials, he continued faithful preaching the gospel and serving in the Lord’s kingdom the rest of his life. The Joseph Smith Papers summary records these additional formal missions not already mentioned above that he also served: 

·        Appointed to serve mission to Missouri, Ohio, and Virginia, Jan. 1832.

·        Served mission to Vermont and New York, 1835–1836.

·        Served mission to Indiana, Nov. 1844–Mar. 1845.

·        Served mission to Australia, 1851–1853.

During that last mission to Australia he served as the country’s first mission president. Upon return he served as a patriarch and remained true to the faith until he passed away in 1871 in Utah. When he originally joined the church he recorded, “Being thronged with inquiries, I quit other business and gave my full time to the ministry.” That seems to have been a description summarizing his whole life despite the hardships he endured, and he indeed did as the Lord said in the revelation to him: “Otherwise thou shalt continue proclaiming my gospel until thou be taken” (Doctrine and Covenants 99:8). He is a powerful example of faithful missionary service to all of us.