DC 116 Intro: SECTION 116
Revelation given through President Joseph Smith III, May 4, 1865.
A council of the first Presidency and the Quorum of Twelve was in session at the home of Bishop Israel L. Rogers in Kendall County, Illinois, May 1-5, 1865. Among other things the council was concerned about "the ordination of men of the Negro race." President Joseph Smith was asked to seek divine guidance in this connection, and the revelation was received in response to the fasting and prayers of the members of the council. It should be studied against the background of the American Civil War and with the social and educational status of the American Negro of that period in mind.
The revelation was presented to the Quorum of Twelve, who voted unanimously to approve it. The semiannual conference of 1878 authorized its inclusion in the Doctrine and Covenants.
1a Hearken! Ye elders of my church, I am he who hath called you friends. Concerning the matter you have asked of me:
1b Lo! It is my will that my gospel shall be preached to all nations in every land, and that men of every tongue shall minister before me:
1c Therefore it is expedient in me that you ordain priests unto me, of every race who receive the teachings of my law, and become heirs according to the promise.
2a Be ye very careful, for many elders have been ordained unto me, and are come under my condemnation, by reason of neglecting to lift up their voices in my cause, and for such there is tribulation and anguish:
2b haply they themselves may be saved (if doing no evil) though their glory, which is given for their works, be withheld, or in other words their works are burned, not being profitable unto me.
3a Loosen ye one another's hands and uphold one another, that ye who are of the Quorum of Twelve, may all labor in the vineyard, for upon you rests much responsibility;
3b and if ye labor diligently the time is soon when others shall be added to your number till the quorum be full, even twelve.
4a Be not hasty in ordaining men of the Negro race to offices in my church, for verily I say unto you,
4b All are not acceptable unto me as servants, nevertheless I will that all may be saved, but every man in his own order, and there are some who are chosen instruments to be ministers to their own race. Be ye content, I the Lord have spoken it.
DC 117 Intro: SECTION 117
As he approached the annual conference of 1873, President Smith was deeply concerned that he was again the only member of the First Presidency (Counselor William Marks had died in May 1872) and that the death of Apostle Samuel Powers in February 1873 had left the Quorum of Twelve with but five members. This concern was shared by the remaining members of the Twelve, and these were joined by a number of the Seventy in requesting that the prophet seek divine guidance.
In presenting the following revelation to the elders of the church, President Smith stated that it had been received "in answer to long and continued and earnest prayer to God upon the condition of the Quorums of the Church."
The revelation was approved by the available apostles and, on April 10, 1873, was endorsed by the conference. With the ordination of William Wallace Blair and David H. Smith, as provided for in this instruction, the quorum of the First Presidency was now complete for the first time since the reorganization of the church. This was also the first time in the Reorganization that members of the Twelve had been called by revelation through the President of the Church. Prior to this time, and on occasions in the early church, members of the Twelve had been selected by committees.
