Joseph Smith Biography

Twenty-Four (1829)

Law of Consecration, sometimes referred to as the United Order.^30 If he could not get people
to accept the simple gospel that Christ gave from his own mouth, then maybe the people
would be willing to do what the Jewish apostles^31 and the Nephites tried to do:

And they had all things common among them; therefore there were not rich

and poor, bond and free, but they were all made free, and partakers of the

heavenly gift.^32

Even after Joseph had given them their desired church and religion, he attempted to
persuade them to live a “higher order.” He retranslated pertinent parts of the Bible and
incorporated that principle into its text:

And the Lord called his people Zion, because they were of one heart and one

mind, and dwelt in righteousness; and there was no poor among them.^33

This is what Joseph pictured as “Zion.” But the concept quickly dissolved, according
to the people’s desires, into a convoluted mess of arrogance, elitism, and pride; and added
substantially to the growing list of LDS/Mormon “law[s] of carnal commandments.”^34 Years
later, it resulted in one of the richest churches per capita in the entire world—the Church of
Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, a people who think they belong to “Zion, ” when they
couldn’t be further from it.
As the Law of Consecration required, if people were going to sell their possessions
and goods and lay them at Joseph’s feet to be distributed as he directed, then, according to
the law of the land, there needed to be verifiable proof that no fraud was going on according
to the current laws. Joseph’s very real concern was that Lucy Harris’ complaint and others
like it could have met the criteria of law enforceable in the respective jurisdiction of his
locale. Therefore, Joseph needed verifiable affidavits that could be used in court to protect
him against any further accusations of fraud concerning his work and the Book of Mormon.
Of course, the advanced humans who were overseeing Joseph’s work had no problem in
manipulating human laws (just like a good attorney does) in order to accomplish the
purposes required of Joseph; therefore, he was necessarily directed to do, sometimes
through arguably “fraudulent” means, whatever was required to allow the work to
continue. (This will be further explained and detailed below.)

The Whitmer Community........................................................................................................

Joseph and Emma had moved to the Whitmer farm in May of 1829,^35 in hopes of
getting away from the curiosity of the Hale’s neighbors and the rising persecution that
resulted from Lucy Harris’ persistence in exposing Joseph as a fraud.^36 The Whitmer family
came to know and respect Joseph and Emma, and felt quite privileged to afford Joseph a
safe haven where he could complete the translation. The Whitmer women were
affectionately attracted to the beautiful Emma and felt for her pain in losing her first child.
The Smiths and Whitmers became very close, very quickly.
After David Whitmer became one of the Three Witnesses to whom Moroni appeared
and showed the plates in June of 1829, he rushed home to share the experience with his
family. Those he told included, among others, his father, Peter Whitmer, Sr.; his mother,
Mary; his brothers, Christian (age 31), Jacob (29), John (27); and his brother-in-law, Hiram