TWENTY-NINE
(1834)
Joseph allowed the LDS Church to evolve and become institutionalized. The “stakes of Zion” referenced in
Isaiah related to finding the “kingdom of God” within, rather than building a “Kingdom of God” through
a church organization. The LDS people sought for vengeance instead of forgiveness in Missouri.
Joseph responded with a significant “revelation” on self-defense. The people in their rebelliousness
disregarded the simple gospel of Christ given to them in the Book of Mormon, which, in turn,
was the direct cause of all of their temporal and spiritual problems.LDS/Mormon-slanted historians would want the world to believe that Joseph had
his hand in all of the Church’s major decisions. However, directly, Joseph had very little to
do with the formation of the early church. He allowed those who wanted a religion to
choose their own leaders. The undisputed fact that Joseph had nothing to do with the
organization of the most important leadership bodies in the Church is demonstrated in how
the first Quorum of the Twelve Apostles was chosen. This fact has never been disputed by
historians, but is an important fact that is kept away from the knowledge of the general
membership of the Church. Everything that transpired as the Church began to organize
itself was discussed and voted upon by the presiding members of the Church. Joseph
acquiesced to their vote as he was commanded, causing them to stumble.^1
Misunderstanding the Meaning of “Stakes of Zion”
This year (1834), the church organized the first Stake of Zion. The idea came from the
discussions held among the men who attended the School of the Prophets, as they studied
the book of Isaiah. As reported in the Book of Mormon,^2 these were the only Old Testament
passages that Christ commanded the people to “search.” Joseph had mentioned the phrase
“Stake of Zion” on many previous occasions; but the aim of his meaning was to represent
any righteous individual, just as Isaiah intended it to mean.
Joseph told the people, as they were baptized before the Church was legally organized
in 1830, that each of them was a “stake” that held the “cords” that secured the “curtains of the
habitations of the Lord.”^3 The “curtains,” or covering, as in the representation of a tent, were
the effect of having righteousness among the people. It symbolically represented the way in
which the people were protected from the environment of the world (i.e., worldliness). The
ancient Jews used curtains as tents held by cords and stakes to protect them from the heat, the
rain, and the cold. The way that Isaiah used the terms, “cord” represented the manner in
which each individual participates and supports righteousness.
Isaiah refers to Jerusalem as “a quiet habitation, a tabernacle that shall not be taken
down.” As the Jews wandered in the wilderness, their tabernacles were made of curtains.
The terms “Jerusalem,” or “Zion,” which are synonymous expressions, are a literal reference
to “peace”; thus, Isaiah states that Zion will be “the city of our solemnities...a quiet
habitation.”^4 Joseph placed personal responsibility on each individual to act righteously for
the sake of peace. In other words, the tent is only as strong as its “cords” and “stakes,”
meaning as strong as the righteousness of each individual.