The Lord isn't Burning You, He's Transforming You: Consecration as Explained by Zion's Camp

(Published via Facebook October 19, 2020.)

Have you ever made a choice that required much sacrifice and ultimately resulted in a confusing, frustrating, or even painful outcome?

Zion's Camp (or the Camp of Israel) was a group of 229 Saints who traveled from Kirtland, OH, and upper Canada to Clay County, MO to petition Missouri's governor for assistance. (Saints in Jackson County, MO had been illegally forced from their properties and land.) Church leaders hoped that bringing out-of-state support would strengthen their petition to Governor Dunklin and convince him to employ the state militia to escort the Missouri Saints back to their homes in Jackson County. (And before traveling to Missouri, Church leaders communicated their desires with Dunklin and he promised he would try to help them.) After being escorted back, members of Zion's Camp would remain to protect Jackson County Saints, ensuring that they would not be driven out again and helping them rebuild their community.

To accomplish their purpose, the Lord tells Zion's Camp that they should obey, respect, and uphold the law of the land. (Previous Sections like 98 continue to reaffirm that the Saints should support the U.S. Constitution and rule of law, despite the injustice that had occurred.) In verses 86-89, the Lord specifically tells the Saints to appeal to their local and federal leaders for aid; Zion's Camp was not organized to enact any violent reclamation of their land or property.

While the Lord's instructions clearly stated that the purpose of Zion's Camp was to petition for redress of civil and property rights, members of the camp expected to encounter violence. Verse 27 doesn’t support it but it does suggest that being apart of Zion’s Camp requires serious, even life-threatening sacrifice: “Let no man be afraid to lay down his life for my sake.” Furthermore, the Missourians were incredibly against the Saints. They saw the Saints as a strange people who had suddenly disrupted and disrespected their local social and political culture with a controversial "new" religion. Several local newspapers even wrote about the formation of Missourian mobs to ward off Zion’s Camp or anyone who tried to help the LDS Jackson County members. While the Saints did not want to instigate violence, they harbored the fearful expectation that their tiny band would encounter it and would have to defend themselves. (Some Saints harbored a desire for revenge but this was never encouraged by Church leaders.) How else would they help the displaced Jackson County Saints? No other answers seemed logical. Nevertheless, they began their journey, hoping and praying that victory would be found through "diligence [and faithfulness]"(v27), not violence.

Their journey was hard. Some camp members endured it well but others complained frequently, for good reasons:

Because their wagons were full of baggage, the Saints had to travel on foot---and they usually walked 35 miles a day. This constant physical exertion damaged, blistered, and bloodied their feet. Food was not plentiful and the Saints sometimes had to collect dew for drinking water.

These physically-exhausting conditions broke down camp morale and tension built. Fighting words broke out and even Joseph Smith, the prophet and leader of the camp, made some harsh statements.

More negative events occurred--a mob at least triple the size of Zion's Camp tried to attack the Saints (but a storm sent from the Lord prevented the mob from attacking). After avoiding that violence and reaching their destination, Governor Dunklin decided to refuse to use the state militia to escort the Saints back to their lands. Unsure of what to do, Zion's Camp waited for Joseph Smith to receive advice from the Lord. Joseph Smith then received a revelation (now Doctrine & Covenants 105) which admonished the Saints who had complained and told them all to return to their homes because God would fight their battles.

Thus, the camp was disbanded. After traveling hundreds of miles and suffering much, they were told to go home without even trying to fulfill their purpose (petition for civil redress and help the Missouri Saints). To add to their pain, as members were discharged, a cholera outbreak (prophesied by Joseph) occurred and killed 13 camp members. While many members like 22-year-old Nathan Baldwin felt that the entire experience and the revelation in D&C 105 were faith-building, other members of the Camp apostatized.

So why did Zion's Camp have to suffer so much? Why would the Lord command them to do something that risked their lives and required so much physical and emotional sacrifice? Furthermore, why would he take them so far only to tell them it was over? Why would the Lord allow some Saints to be so stretched that they left the Church; why would he allow faithful members of the Camp to die from cholera despite their patient diligence? What was the point of it all?

Doctrine and Covenants 105 provides the Saints with some comfort but I really appreciate a perspective that Joseph Smith later revealed to the members of Zion's Camp:

"God did not want you to fight, He could not organize his kingdom with twelve men to open the gospel door to the nations of the earth…Unless he took them from a body of men who had offered their lives, and who had made as great a sacrifice as did Abraham." The modified purpose of Zion's Camp is revealed. Though unsuccessful in its original purpose (to petition for redress), it transformed certain men into the apostles they were meant to be. Eight of the men from Zion's Camp were called into the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, and all of the members of the Seventy were veterans of Zion's Camp.

Zion's Camp was a consecrating and transformative experience. The pain was needful and necessary. Even though the Camp's cause was good and sanctioned by God, they still experienced trials (and, to a certain degree, failure). Our good choices are not going to shield us from hardship. And sometimes, righteous choices are not going to produce the results we expect.

Because "God did not call you to fight", He called you to listen. He called you to be patient. He called you to be humble. He called you to trust in Him--even if, at the moment, that seems contradictory or confusing.

Al Carraway, a member of the Church, motivational speaker, and award-winning author once said simply but beautifully: "The unexpected is God intervening."The journeyings, afflictions, and eventual disbanding of Zion's Camp was certainly unexpected. And yet, it was purposeful. It was life-changing. It was orchestrated by God.

Mary Stallings, a Church member who runs an Instagram page devoted to commenting on Come, Follow Me lessons recently shared a modern-day experience similar to Zion's Camp. She said:

"You know those days when all of your efforts seems to amount to nothing?"

Mary then recounted a failed meal, a frustrated FHE activity, a lot of wasted efforts, an unproductive scripture study session, and an annoyingly burnt tongue.

As she went to bed that night and felt her burnt tongue, she thought: "I sacrificed all the things I wanted to do tonight and what did I get for it? Burned."

She then felt "the spirit whisper back: 'Refined.'"

What a paradigm shift!

When your best efforts fail, When you feel like God has misled you.

When the right choice brings you more pain than you ever could've imagined. If you find yourself asking "What was the point of that?" Or lamenting: "I can't believe I just wasted my time, energy, and efforts on ______", then stop.

Listen for the Spirit. And ask God: Is this my Zion's Camp?

Learn to praise the God who gives so, so much but who also takes away. Ponder upon what may be your personal Zion's Camp--what is your role in it? What are you supposed to learn? How can you rely on the Lord for strength and hope? And remember: the Lord isn't burning you, he's transforming you!