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THE DOCTRINE AND COVENANTS
SECTION 62

Revelation given through Joseph Smith the Prophet, on the bank of the Missouri River at Chariton, Missouri, August 13, 1831. HC 1: 205—206. On this day the Prophet and his group, who were on their way from Independence to Kirtland, met several elders who were on their way to the land of Zion, and, after joyful salutations, received this revelation.

[D&C 62 is a restate of D&C 60 with emphasis on the conditional nature of the Lord's relationship with mankind. The missionarys traveling to the north away from MIssouri cross paths with the missionarys traveling south towards Missouri. Included in this group were John Murdock, Harvey Whitlock, David Whitmer and the prophets brothe Hyrum. (cf. Lyndon W. Cook’s Revelations of the Prophet Joseph Smith, see also D&C 52:8). One can assume that Joseph would have been glad to see his brother as well as to be with a group of missionariies excited about the work as opposed to the group who were not as enthusistic - the ones he had just left in MIssouri. ]

1—3, Testimonies are recorded in heaven; 4—9, The elders are to travel and preach according to judgment and as directed by the Spirit.

1 BEHOLD, and hearken, [ Hebrew "Shema" is translated here as hearken which means to "listen" and "obey". ] , O ye elders of my church, saith the Lord your God, even Jesus Christ, your advocate, who knoweth the weakness of man and how to succor them who are tempted.

[ This section provides details for this group of Elders who were not present at the previous conference and that weeks revelations D&C 59-61. The themes of the preceding sectionswere that they should be gathering into Zion and preaching the gospel to the world so the elect might be gathered as well. The text can be arranged as a relatively simple parallelism:
A - (v. 2) Not yet gone up to Zion
B - (v. 3) Blessed for the testimony borne
A - (v. 4) Assemble upon Zion
B - (v. 5) Continue to bear record and preach gospel
A - (v. 6) Brought to Missouri (Zion) so promise is fulfilled]

2 And verily mine eyes are upon those who [ Their names are Hyrum Smith, John Murdock, Harvey Witlock and David Whitmer. They were called on at the June 1831 conference in Kirtland at Issac Morleys farm. (D&C 52) All have arrived in Missouri except these four. ] have not as yet gone up unto the land of Zion; wherefore your mission is not yet full. [ Not all are saved yet so there is still missionary work to do. ]
3 Nevertheless, ye are blessed, for the testimony which ye have borne is recorded in heaven for the angels to look upon; and they rejoice over you, and your sins are forgiven you. [ These Elders are not repremanded like those in D&C 60:2 where they were not as faithful as they were supposed to be. These Elders have been faithful and diligent and are granted that all of their sins are forgiven. (James 5:20)]
4 And now continue your journey. Assemble yourselves upon the land of Zion; and hold a meeting and rejoice together, and offer a sacrament [ Or here it means a covenant. (D&C 5:61-63) ] unto the Most High.
5 And then you may return to bear record, yea, even altogether, or two by two, as seemeth you good, it mattereth not unto me; only be faithful, and declare glad tidings [ To preach the gospel Isa. 40:9; Luke 2:10. Glad tithings would include: That God Lives; There are living apostles on the earth; The heavens are not closed; Man is now commissioned to act for God; The Book Of Mormon is true; God answers prayers; Salvation is available for all; His coming is nigh. ] unto the inhabitants of the earth, or among the congregations of the wicked. [ The inhabitants of the earth - everyone that is - is lumped into one great big congregation - the message is that the world in general is so corrupt that they can be treated as one. Here we have essentually two different buckets that people can fit in - the congregation of the wicked or by contrast a "Zion" in which the saints are tasked in creating. So the saints are to leave the congregation of the wicked. The Greek term for "wicked" is literally translated as "Misery-drenched" hence the phrase "wickedness never was happiness".]
6 Behold, I, the Lord, have brought you together that the promise might be fulfilled, [see D&C 2:2] that the faithful among you should be preserved and rejoice together in the land of Missouri. I, the Lord, promise the faithful and cannot lie. [ See D&C 82:10 ]
7 I, the Lord, am willing, if any among you desire to ride upon horses, or upon mules, or in chariots, [ Wagons. ] he shall receive this blessing, [ The means of travel is up to them - they do not have to walk. Compare with the instruction given to the elders in MIssouri D&C 60:5. ] if he receive it from the hand of the Lord, with a thankful heart in all things.
8 These things remain with you to do according to judgment and the directions of the Spirit. [Compare D&C 58:25-29]

9 Behold, the kingdom is yours. And behold, and lo, I am with the faithful always. [ Compare with D&C 61:36-39. Dan 7:18. When he comes in his glory he will gove the kingdom back to us. The Kingdom has reference to the earth being a celestial planet, our eternal home. ] Even so. Amen.

 

[ Excerpt from History of the Church On the 13th [August] I met several of the Elders on their way to the land of Zion, and after the joyful salutations with which brethren meet each other, who are actually "contending for the faith once delivered to the Saints," I received the following: [text of D&C 62 quoted] After this meeting with the Elders, Sidney Rigdon, Oliver Cowdery, and myself, continued our journey by land to St. Louis, where we overtook Brothers Phelps and Gilbert. From this place we took stage, and they went by water to Kirtland, where we arrived safe and well on the 27th [August, 1831]. Many things transpired upon this journey to strengthen our faith, and which displayed the goodness of God in such a marvelous manner, that we could not help beholding the exertions of Satan to blind the eyes of the people, so as to hide the true light that lights every man that comes into the world. (Joseph Smith, History of the Church, volume 1, pages 206-207) Excerpt from Journal of John Murdock Met Brother J. [Joseph] Smith, Jr., S. [Sidney] Rigdon and others, and received the revelation recorded in the Book of Covenants [D&C] on page 202 or 308. We also fell in company with Brother Harvey Whitlock and David Whitmore [Whitmer], and we four put our money together and bought a pony. (Milton V. Backman, Writings of Early Latter-day Saints, John Murdock, Journal, page 10). ]