But the Drop

Yesterday I was reminded of the Lord’s rebuke to William Marks and Newel K. Whitney recorded in Doctrine and Covenants 117:1-11. It was given on July 8, 1838, and nearly all the faithful Saints had left Kirtland and relocated to Far West, Missouri. These two brethren were still there, reluctant to relinquish their property and obey the command to relocate to Far West. One commentary says, “The Saints had private property in Kirtland, and there was property belonging to the Church. Many of them lingered there, reluctant to sacrifice their temporal interests. Our Lord regards this disposition as a sin (v. 4), and calls upon the people to repent and to let the property go for the liquidation of debt (v. 5). He would recompense them for any sacrifice they might make in His service.” The Lord’s words surely had a powerful effect when they received them: “Let them settle up their business speedily and journey from the land of Kirtland, before I, the Lord, send again the snows upon the earth. Let them awake, and arise, and come forth, and not tarry, for I, the Lord, command it. Therefore, if they tarry it shall not be well with them. Let them repent of all their sins, and of all their covetous desires, before me, saith the Lord; for what is property unto me? saith the Lord. Let the properties of Kirtland be turned out for debts, saith the Lord. Let them go, saith the Lord, and whatsoever remaineth, let it remain in your hands, saith the Lord.” The Lord’s instructions invited them to act: Let them settle, let them awake and arise and come forth, let them repent, let them go. The Lord wanted them to let go of the desire to get more money for their property and instead depart to join the Saints in Missouri. The powerful lesson for us is that doing the Lord’s will for us should be more important than protecting our financial situation. But that is easier said than done—could we walk away from valuable property we own, likely to never get any value from it, in order to follow the Lord’s commands?  

                I love the Lord’s further reasoning in this revelation about why these two men should trust Him and not cling to their possessions in Kirtland. He questioned, “For have I not the fowls of heaven, and also the fish of the sea, and the beasts of the mountains? Have I not made the earth? Do I not hold the destinies of all the armies of the nations of the earth? Therefore, will I not make solitary places to bud and to blossom, and to bring forth in abundance? saith the Lord. Is there not room enough on the mountains of Adam-ondi-Ahman, and on the plains of Olaha Shinehah, or the land where Adam dwelt, that you should covet that which is but the drop, and neglect the more weighty matters? Therefore, come up hither unto the land of my people, even Zion.” When we truly have faith in the Lord, knowing that He created the heavens and the earth and holds the destinies of nations in His hands, we won’t let concern over material wealth become more important to us than accomplishing the work He has for us to do. Our own possessions are “but a drop” compared to what He has to offer, and we can’t let the “cares of the world” cause us to “reject the word” like it did for James Covel (Doctrine and Covenants 40:2). Instead, we must trust in this instruction and promise from the mortal Messiah: “Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you” (Matthew 6:33). Like Peter and the early apostles so long ago, we have to be willing to forsake our nets in order to follow Him, knowing that His reward is of far greater worth than the things of the world we might obtain otherwise. Like the early Saints we too must come to believe and know that the revelations of God are “worth to [us] the riches of the whole Earth” (heading to Doctrine and Covenants 70).