12e When I called again, there was none of you to answer, yet my arm was not shortened at all, that I could not redeem, neither my power to deliver.
12f Behold, at my rebuke I dry up the sea. I make the rivers a wilderness; their fish stinketh, and dieth for thirst. I clothe the heavens with blackness, and make sackcloth their covering. And this shall ye have of my hand, ye shall lie down in sorrow.
13a Behold, and lo, there are none to deliver you, for ye obeyed not my voice when I called to you out of the heavens, ye believed not my servants; and when they were sent unto you ye received them not;
13b wherefore, they sealed up the testimony and bound up the law, and ye were delivered over unto darkness; these shall go away into outer darkness, where there is weeping, and wailing, and gnashing of teeth. Behold, the Lord your God hath spoken it. Amen.
DC 109 Intro: SECTION 109
The following letter from Joseph Smith, Jr., addressed to the Saints of Nauvoo, Illinois, September 1, 1842, was published first in "Times and Seasons," 3:919. It was included in the second (1844) edition of the Doctrine and Covenants and has been continued in all subsequent editions. The Conference of 1970 ordered its removal to the Appendix. Concerning "baptism for the dead" see the introduction to Section 107 (Appendix A).
NAUVOO, SEPTEMBER 1, 1842
1a Forasmuch as the Lord has revealed unto me that my enemies, both in Missouri and this state, were again on the pursuit of me; and inasmuch as they pursue me without a cause, and have not the least shadow or coloring of justice or right on their side in the getting up of their prosecutions against me;
1b and inasmuch as their pretensions are all founded in falsehood of the blackest dye, I have thought it expedient and wisdom in me to leave the place for a short season, for my own safety and the safety of this people.
1c I would say to all those with whom I have business, that I have left my affairs with agents and clerks, who will transact all business in a prompt and proper manner; and will see that all my debts are canceled in due time, by turning out property, or otherwise as the case may require, or as the circumstances may admit of.
1d When I learn that the storm is fully blown over, then I will return to you again.
2a And as for the perils which I am called to pass through, they seem but a small thing to me, as the envy and wrath of man have been my common lot all the days of my life;
2b and for what cause it seems mysterious, unless I was ordained from before the foundation of the world, for some good end, or bad, as you may choose to call it. Judge ye for yourselves. God knoweth all these things, whether it be good or bad.
